Q: Pam - I've talked with my family about my dairy allergy and they told me that they don't want to know about it. How do you do holiday dinners?

A: Alisa - I think this is a challenge for all free-from dieters, whether gluten-free for Celiac Disease, dealing with a life-threatening peanut allergy, or strictly following a vegan diet. As a collective group, we probably have quite a few good and bad stories.

Over the years though, I have become quite adept at managing situations and food away from the home with a milk allergy. After all, I still love restaurants and time with our family and friends. Here are some tips for how I handle holiday dinners and events:

Alisa Fleming ~ In recent years, home cooking has taken on a whole new value. Purchasing expensive, pre-made dinners just isn't in the budget, and gifts from the kitchen are back in style.  Of course, if you have been dairy-free for a while, then you already know that from-scratch is really the way to go ... but, how to create a festive dinner that everyone will enjoy, even your cheese-addicted sister (okay, maybe that's just my sister)? 

For starters, I recommend taking a peek at The Biggest Gathering of Dairy-Free Thanksgiving Recipes that I compiled for you last month. How convenient is it that the major holidays share so many traditional dishes? If the big day wouldn't be complete without a festive pie, check out The Huge Dairy-Free Holiday Pie Recipe Round-Up and Mission Impossible Pies (vegan and gluten-free crustless pies!). Also, for those of you scrambling for last minute, quick & easy dairy substitutes (perhaps for that cream of mushroom soup or sweetened condensed milk?), you can get Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook in an ebook format, delivered instantly.

Now, a few weeks have passed since Thanksgiving, so I have had some time to discover a few more dairy-free recipes (lactose-free, casein-free, milk-free, you name it). That's right, the recipes below are dairy-free as is; no hoping that your substitutes will work ... after all, who has time for experimentation at the 11th hour?! ...

I have an early Christmas gift for you ... it's dairy-free cheesecake. No joke. And guess what? You don't need to seek out store-bought cream cheese alternative for this decadent delight. In fact, this dairy-less "cheesecake" recipe is made with basic ingredients that you can find in almost any small town.

You might be wondering where such a fantastic recipe came from ... it was created by the dynamic vegan baking duo, Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero for their latest cookbook, Vegan Pie in the Sky. They were kind enough to share it with Go Dairy Free so that you could enter the New Year with a fabulous new "can I get the recipe" dessert.

If you are looking for a unique "pie" to dress up that holiday table, then this is it. Or perhaps you are planning in advance for a show-stopping final course to serve at that big New Year's bash. Either way, pure creamy, cheesy bliss is just an hour (or so) away ...

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Alisa Fleming ~ Even though I haven’t been gluten-free in the past, I found myself at numerous gluten-free events this past year, where I had the chance to sample dozens upon dozens of products. Some were just okay, some were quite good, but just a few were excellent. One little company that really hit the mark was Zema’s Madhouse Foods. At the Gluten-Free Allergen-Free Expo, they showcased about a half dozen prepared goodies using their baking mixes. My friend AndreAnna was fixated at the Zema’s table, causing me to inhale at least four or five samples of their Sunbutter & Jelly Bars.

What AndreAnna and I loved most about this company, beyond the fact that their mixes produced very tasty baked goods, was their commitment to using wholesome ingredients. Most gluten-free baking mixes are very starchy and primarily packed with “white” flours and/or heavy bean flours, but Zema’s takes a multigrain approach, using teff, millet, and gluten-free oat flours along with omega-rich seeds like flax, chia, and hemp … perfect for those of us who like the taste and nutrition of whole grains.

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