Louise Hudson

No, this isn’t an ad for Oatly, but their barista oat milk is something to write home about.

I’ve been dairy-free since the start of January, so admittedly not long at all. A mere few days, that’s it. But for someone who drinks milky lattes and troughs through mountains of Brie like it’s going out of fashion, it should have felt like a loooooong few days.

So imagine my surprise when not only do I not miss dairy, I actually enjoy not consuming it? Weird, right?

A little backstory. I have a few ongoing health problems, one being a recurrent chest and sinus infection that doesn’t seem to want to quit. I’ve tried everything, been on every type of antibiotic or steroid under the sun, and when those failed to work I decided to look at the thing I probably should have started with: my diet.

I eat very healthily. But the presence of dairy in my diet was high, and after some research I thought it would be a good idea to cut it out totally to see if it had any effect on my health. I’m congested badly on a daily basis, have a horrible cough that won’t shift, and my skin seems permanently in a strop with me no matter how well I treat it.

I’ve been an on-again, off-again vegetarian for years, and finally made the decision to go vegan almost overnight. It’s hasn’t been the huge lifestyle change I thought it would be, and I’ve found it surprisingly easy to cut out meat and anything else containing animal products.

My only problem was cheese, but so far I’m discovering more and more vegan cheeses that really taste incredible.

I digress. Enough waffle, onward to the list of the things I’ve learned from going dairy-free – the good and the mediocre!

1. Oat milk lattes taste better than dairy milk lattes. 100% true. It took a few false starts to find the best foamable oat milk to use at home, but now I can tell you with full certainty that Oatly Barista Oat Milk is superior to Alpro Foamable Oat Milk. Now you know.
2. It costs more. OK, not a lot more. But plant-based milk is typically more expensive in a supermarket, and 25p extra is an average for most coffee shops if you want a non-dairy alternative.
3. Swapping dairy milk for plant milk is just the start. Everyone focuses on soy or oat or almond milk over dairy when you discuss a dairy-free diet, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg, depending on your diet.
4. There are easy, tasty alternatives for calcium. Leafy greens like spinach and kale are the best way forward, and these can easily be added to meals or smoothies.
5. Vegan cheese isn’t as bad as people say. I actually really like it, and once you stop expecting it to taste the same as ‘regular’ cheese then you’re set. No, I couldn’t sit and munch my way through a block of it, but that’s actually a good thing. But grated on spaghetti bolognese? That’s some good shit.
6. Plant-based yoghurts are not only available, but they taste really good. I had a hazelnut chocolate mousse last night that was to die for.
7. Most supermarkets cater to you these days. When I first explored veganism back in 2009, plant-based alternatives were scarce and not exactly exciting. But fast-forward to 2021 and the options are endless. There’s almost too much choice.
8. Any good restaurant or cafe will cater to you. Don’t be shy about asking for dairy alternatives, or saying that you’re dairy-free when booking. Try to go for restaurants that prepare everything on-site, rather than buying things in. That way you can guarantee the ingredients.
9. It’s much easier when the whole household is dairy-free, but not impossible. My husband and toddler still drink dairy milk and eat cheese, so they still sit and peer out at me when I open the fridge, but knowing that I have really good dairy-free alternatives makes avoiding them really easy.
10. You will very quickly stop missing dairy altogether. Take it from me.