The first few weeks on an elimination diet are daunting. To say the least.

Of course, most fresh foods and whole foods are allowed on the diet. But, sometimes you don’t want a carrot. You want a baked treat or even just a cracker. You don’t have time to cook everything that you eat from scratch. You just want to be able to eat crackers, maybe some sliced bread. Supermarket trips turn into hours long assignments, trying to find a single brand of packaged food you can eat.

And then come the sad days when you just want a cookie, darnit. Just one cookie. It’s been months, maybe a year or more, since you had a cookie.

Here is a list of my go-to comfort food products while on the diet. Ice cream, cookies, potato chips, and even pie. Go treat yourself.

 

(You should still check the ingredients, as recipes can change overnight. But, fingers crossed they’re all still milk, soy, egg, and nut free.)

 

1. Coconut Bliss Ice Cream

The trouble with a milk and soy free diet is that most dairy alternative products use soy. So, you end up in a bit of a void when it comes to finding non-dairy, fake dairy products. Coconut milk is naturally creamy, and it makes for wonderful ice cream. It has a slight coconut flavor, obviously, but you get used to it. I found the best flavors were the ones that complimented the natural coconut flavors: chocolate and nuts. Straight up, plain chocolate was my favorite when I also couldn’t eat nuts.

 

2. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

This was the only brand of chocolate chips that were both dairy and soy free. (Soy lecithin is used in a lot of chocolate products.) I’d either eat them straight, or use them in vegan cookies. Also work great as a topping on your Coconut Bliss Ice Cream

 

3. Kettle Brand Potato Chips

It was shocking to realize how much dairy sneaks its way into potato chips. And if it’s not dairy, the potato chips are fried in vegetable (aka soybean) oil. Kettle Brand chips are consistently soy and dairy free (well, most flavors), so this is what I gorged on when I wanted some chips.

 

4. Earth Balance Coconut Spread

Just like with other non-dairy alternatives, I preferred this fake butter for being creamy and basically totally delicious. It’s so good I still eat it. It’s slightly sweet, slightly tastes of coconut. And it is fantastic on some bread with honey, or on vegan pancakes.

 

5. Hail Merry Miracle Tarts

I’d buy myself some of these mini-pies if I was going to a party where I knew I wouldn’t be able to eat any of the desserts. The lime custard is tart and creamy. The crust is made of crushed almonds and cashews. Just a great combination of nutty, citrusy flavors.

 

6. Safeway’s Open Nature Sliced Bread

I know, who would have thought sliced bread would be a comfort food. It’s hard to find sliced bread that conforms to an elimination diet, and a lot of the brands I tried ended up being dry and dense. That put me off sliced bread for a while. But, this Safeway brand is the only bread I’ve found that replicates that soft, squishy texture we all expect out of highly processed sandwich bread. (There is a time and place for high quality, healthy breads. Sometimes, though, you just want a sandwich with a familiar soft bread, hence why I’m putting this in the comfort food section.)

 

7. Hail Merry Caramel Sea-Salt Macaroons

Lordy, these things. Absolutely delicious, even if you aren’t on an elimination diet or vegan. They’re expensive, so this was my guilty pleasure of all guilty pleasures. They do have almonds in them, though. If you need nut-free, get the chocolate macaroons instead. Just as delicious.

 

8. Annie’s Honey Bunny Grahams

The honey version is completely MSPI friendly. I preferred the chocolate chip version, but those have soy lecithin in them. The only problem with these is how quickly I’d eat my way through an entire box.

 

9. Oreos

Oh yes. Did you know Oreos no longer have any dairy in them? Let’s not ask questions about what that cream substance is and just enjoy a box of guilty pleasures.

The bad news is that real Oreos do have soy lecithin in them, so Oreos are a no-go if you’re also avoiding that on a soy-free diet. But, Newman’s Own Newman O’s (aka fake Oreos) don’t have any soy in them. They taste slightly weird (must be all those natural, organic ingredients), but definitely get them if you can’t eat any soy.

 

 

And really,  if you can bake, there is almost nothing out there that can’t be made with dairy, soy, egg, and nut free ingredients. Check out my cupcake, muffin, cookie, and cornbread recipes for tips on how to convert any recipe into something you can eat.