Holiday deadlines quickly approach when it comes to ordering gifts online. Avoid missing out on these vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and some even nut-free chocolate treats by adhering to the order / shipment deadlines noted. Of oourse, you will still be able to order most of these delights after those dates, but they may not arrive in time for Valentine's Day! ...

Premium Chocolatiers ~ Hearts (pictured at left) and roses is really a year-round theme with this completely dairy-free (nut-free, egg-free, and gluten-free too!) chocolatier. But, their "milk" and dark hearts are in full force for this holiday. See their Valentine's Selection. Order By: February 9, 2010 for Priority Mail, February 11, 2010 for Express Mail

Divvies ~ They say two chocolate hearts are better than one, which is why Divvies puts two of their allergy-friendly chocolate hearts in one package (made in a dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free facility). But why stop with chocolate? They also offer Valentine-inspired jelly beans and pink frosted cupcakes (pictured below). See their Valentine's Selection. Order By: February 5, 2010 for west coast, February 9, 2010 for rest of the country

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Sweet Alexis has just released a delicately sweet Shortbread Cookie that is perfect for decorating!  The cookies come by the dozen, are individually wrapped, and all Sweet Alexis baked goodies are always dairy-, egg-, peanut- and tree nut-free. Order them for your dairy-free or vegan loved ones at home or for classroom parties, and if you can, order them by Valentine's Day. Sweet Alexis is offering 20% off all on-line orders from now though February 14, 2010. Just head to www.sweetalexis.com and use the following promo code at checkout: heart10. 

I confess, like so many organizations, we put up an FAQ section when our website was inaugurated (five years ago) with the best of intentions. A few questions were added in the beginning, but as the website progressed with content, that wee little section was ignored. This does not mean the questions ceased, oh no. For years we have been personally fielding your questions, and it seemed about time we start publishing them.

As you may have noticed, we started a new weekly feature called "Ask Alisa" to highlight some of your questions and our researched answers. Realizing that this may actually be our new FAQ's, we have started an Ask Alisa section on Go Dairy Free to put all of these questions in one place for your ease and perusal.

We promise that your questions will continue to be a central feature on Go Dairy Free each week, no longer relinquished to the hidden FAQ department. And as you can imagine, with at least one new Q&A per week, that section will grow quite rapidly ...

Freezing temperatures won't keep our sweet vegan reviewer, Hannah, from enjoying ice cream. Especially not a new soy-free, gluten-free, and vegan ice cream that is this creamy and delicious. Take it away Hannah ...

Transforming ordinary ingredients into something truly extraordinary: That's the basic idea behind the concept of alchemy, which Alkemie Ice Cream rightly exemplifies. Utilizing a unique base comprised of cashews, coconut, and agave, this small company is making a big splash in the frozen dessert market, setting itself apart from the competition with quality ingredients, and perhaps just a little bit of magic. Although still unavailable in much of the country, I went right to the manufacturer as soon as I caught wind of this mystical creation, and all but begged for a taste. Luckily, I needn't have pleaded so hard, as it turns out the people behind Alkemie are very friendly and easy to communicate with. I had three solid pack pints arrive on my doorstep in no time at all.

January always seems to be hectic, time for getting organized after the holidays and serious about our goals. Unfortunately for me, this also means a little less time for creating in the kitchen. Lately, my husband and I have been in throw-it-together mode. The results have beeen delicious (a dairy-free/gluten-free eggplant lasagna that I created and a spicy mushroom pepper pork stir fry courtesy of my husband), but alas, they really were using up the fridge meals that I just didn’t have the energy to measure and write down.

But in the spirit of things, I thought I would share one of my quick lunch meals, Ten-Minute Tuna Couscous. It is truly a speedy endeavor, flavorful, and quite versatile. The recipe, as I have made it numerous times for myself and a ravenous husband, is below. However, I tend to fiddle with the seasoning amounts often, so feel free to adjust to your own tastes.

I am planning on attempting a vegetarian / vegan version of it using lightly smashed chickpeas and a sheet of nori seaweed (cut into small pieces) in place of the tuna. Nori seems to have that great “from the sea” taste and I thought it might compliment chickpeas/garbanzo beans well. Head to One Frugal Foodie to see the recipe (and the new blog look!) and to offer any quick couscous lunch ideas you may have.

Q: Heather (of Heather Eats Almond Butter) - I was curious about how my body would react to heavy whipping cream and butter. I know I have problems with the proteins in dairy, but do you know of anyone who has to skip out on the high protein dairy products like yogurt and cottage cheese but can handle the ones that are mostly fat?

A: Alisa – The answer to this question hinges on the level of milk sensitivity and the product in question.

In general, heavy cream will offer little relief to someone who is sensitive to milk, and will still pose a threat to the milk allergic. Cream varies in grade depending on the country. In the U.S., heavy cream or heavy whipping cream is defined as 36% milk fat or higher. It is the higher-butterfat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. Increasing the fat “pushes out” some of the proteins, but not all. For example, skim milk contains about 8 grams of protein per cup, while fluid heavy cream contains just under 5 grams of protein per cup. There is certainly enough protein remaining in heavy cream to cause problems for most people who are sensitive to milk proteins (whey, casein, or otherwise), and it is definitely an unsuitable food for those with moderate to severe milk allergies ...