So, let’s talk chocolate!

When I first gave up dairy all I could think about was the food I was no longer able to have. I craved it more than ever! Cheese, ice cream, cake, Baileys and CHOCOLATE. When you’re a mum, there are undoubtedly tough days, days when you need a little pick-me-up. Well, my go to pick-me-up was chocolate – normally a large slab of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk!

What would I do? How would I survive a day with a nearly 3 year old and a baby, on only a few hours sleep and no chocolate? Well, I turned to the internet. Surely there would be some super dairy free alternative? Well according to Google, yes, there are many dairy free alternatives out there, many targeted at vegans. I started clicking around and the first thing that dawned on me was the price of some of these chocolates. Surely £7 for a bar of dairy free chocolate couldn’t be right could it?

I started looking around, first in the Free From sections of my local supermarkets where, to my dismay, I found that they all seemed to contain soya – a no go for us. It was at this stage I stumbled across a website sharing accidental vegan foods and sure enough there was a section on chocolate. I started reading the ingredients list and, HOORAY, some were dairy AND soya free and, even better, many were very reasonably priced, including one at only 30p a bar!

So, I did what any chocolate obsessed person would do – I bought a heap of ‘safe’ chocolate to enjoy. It never lasted long. There is a lot out there, you just need to know where to look.

It’s not just the bars of the good stuff that I discovered, there are an array of chocolate based yummy treats and puddings out there too, ready to be savoured.

I started to get creative in the kitchen too. I played around and started making chocolate custard using Bird’s Custard powder mixed with a bit of Lidl’s own brand chocolate-flavoured milkshake mix and Koko Milk (though other non-dairy milks would work just as well).

After my disappointment at reading the words ‘Dairy Free Milk Chocolate Ganache Pots’ only to read the ingredients and discover ‘soya’ listed, I played around and made my own using the 30p bar or chocolate, coconut cream and marshmallows – believe me it was GOOD!

My recent go to chocolate treat is a chocolate mug cake that is dairy, soya, egg and gluten free. In under 5 minutes, I can have a fully cooked cake – yum! Simply mix and microwave for 2 minutes and voila!

At Christmas, my husband also uncovered a little gem at Marks & Spencers. A vegan chocolate liqueur that was AMAZING.

So, don’t dismay! Dairy free treats are out there to be enjoyed! So let’s share the chocolatey love. I have put together a list of some of the chocolates I have tried over the last few months. On my Facebook group there are people sharing their finds every day. Feel free to have a look and share any of your finds with us too!

My unofficial list of dairy and soya free chocolates (recipes change all the time so please always check the label):

• Moo Free (a variety of bars and flavours available)
• Booja Booja – probably the yummiest chocolate that I have had since becoming an allergy mum (and they make ice cream too)!
• IChoc – a new find for me. Some really yummy chocolates including a white chocolate bar.
• Ombar coco mylk bars *All Ombar products are vegan, dairy-free and refined sugar-free
• *Tesco/Sainsbury’s/Aldi store brand ‘After Eight’ type chocolates (Tesco
• Tesco 72% and 74% dark chocolate
• Asda 70% Dark Chocolate Cocoa Bean Nibs and 85% Ivory Coast and Dominican Republic Dark Chocolate
• Asda mint thins (their own version of after eights) – i’m pretty sure Tesco’s do their own version too
• Lidl Mint crème bar
• Lidl Fin Carre Dark Chocolate bar (and it’s only 30p and bar!)
• Aldi Choceur After Dinner Orange Thins and Mint Thins
• Aldi Dairyfine Mint Creme
• Lindt Excellence – 70%, 85% and 90% dark chocolate
• Plamil So Free Organic Dairy Free Chocolates – they have a whole range! Available through Holland and Barrett http://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/dairy-free-chocolate/
• D&D (Doisy & Dam) available through Ocado have a dairy and soya free range of chocolates
• Montezuma’s Dark Chocolate
• Choc Chicos Dairy Free Cheeky Chocolate Making Kit for Kids
• The Raw Chocolate Co bars
• Nature’s Store Hazelnut & Chocolate Spread – not a chocolate bar but I like to eat it straight of the jar with a spoon – yum!
• Choc Chick Raw Cacao Butter – like white chocolate drops
• Willies Cacao – luscious orange

Chocolate dessert treats:

• Booja Booja ice creams – these are beyond amazing and officially the best find. My husband prefers this ice cream to any normal ‘dairy’ ice cream.
• ASDA Free From Chocolate Cookie Sandwich Kit – a little bland in my opinion but I added some natural orange extract and it was a nice treat.
• Creative Nature Chia & Cacao Chocolate Chip Brownie Mix
• ASDA Free From Chocolate Sponge Mix – I use egg replacer as we are egg free too.