Two years ago, when my son was first diagnosed with food allergies, I felt incredibly overwhelmed. Not only did we have to eliminate 5 major foods from his diet, we had to somehow find suitable, palatable alternates.  Taking away dairy, which is so abundant in the American diet overtly and covertly, was incredibly challenging.  I tried a number of different types of dairy alternatives including rice, hemp, and almond milk, all of which he initially flat-out refused.  It took months before he would finally drink almond milk, but it’s never been his preference.

Today, we as Americans are fortunate to have a variety of dairy alternatives including soy, rice, almond, hemp, and coconut milk.  And I’m not joking when I say we’ve tried many, if not all of the brands on the market (minus the soy or coconut milks). We were recently introduced to Earth’s Own, a Canadian-based company that is dedicated to “nutritional innovation and sustainability” to improve well being and lives.  The company makes several non-dairy beverage alternatives, including Ryza and Almond Fresh, which were recently introduced in limited markets across the country.

Ryza is a rice milk containing 16 grams of whole grains per serving, and Almond Fresh is an almond milk made with California almonds and possesses an exclusive and unique nutty flavor.  Since both of my children are accustomed to drinking rice and almond milk, convincing them to drink both was not difficult.  Each is delicious as a dairy alternative.  Ryza is currently available in Original and Vanilla flavors.  We have always preferred almond milk and really enjoy the “nutty” flavor of this particular brand. There are four varieties currently available including Original, Unsweetened (ideal for cooking), Vanilla, and Chocolate.  It’s important to note that at present, these products are refrigerated.  Many dairy alternatives are available in shelf-stable varieties, however, I have found that those that taste the best are the ones that can be found in the refrigerated section.

Because I frequently use dairy alternatives in my son’s meals, I decided to make two of the recipes I found on the site. For breakfast, I altered their Almond Fresh Waffle Recipe as follows:

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached white flour
1 tbsp baking powder
Pinch salt
1 3/4 cups Almond Fresh Unsweetened
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup oil
3 tsp dry Egg Replacer plus 4 tbsp water (for the 2 eggs)

1. In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt.

2.  In a smaller mix up Egg Replacer.  Add Almond Fresh, cinnamon and oil.

3. Add to flour mix to liquid all at once. Stir or fold until mixed but still slightly lumpy.

4. Heat waffle iron letting waffle mix work for about 7 minutes. Pour batter onto preheated iron. Do not open while the waffles are cooking!

5.  Serve with fresh fruit, if desired.

I decided to make a strawberry syrup to accompany these waffles.  Here is my recipe (feel free to adjust the amount of ingredients depending on how many people you’re planning to serve):

Strawberry Syrup (1-2 servings)

1/2 package of frozen strawberries

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (may need more or less depending on desired consistency of syrup)

Pinch of sugar, if desired.

After defrosting frozen strawberries, add orange juice and heat in a saucepan over low heat. Added sugar isn’t necessary, however can be used to achieve a somewhat thicker consistency. Simmer, stirring occasionally without letting syrup scorch.

The waffles were delicious, relatively easy to recreate and most importantly, free from allergens for my son.

For lunch, I decided to use Ryza to recreate their Vegetable Chowder. Here is the recipe, modified so that it’s Vegan.

1 Onion, chopped
2 Stalks of celery, chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
2 tbsp Vegan Butter
3 cups potatoes, diced
3 cups ryza (Original)
1/2 package of frozen corn
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garnish with scallions, if desired (because scallions make everything taste better!)

In a skillet, sauté onion and pepper in butter until onion is translucent. Transfer to a large stockpot and add potatoes, celery, corn and ryza, simmer until potatoes are tender.  Be certain to stir occasionally as the soup will scorch if the heat is too high or you allow it to sit for too long over the heat. If desired, you can take a potato masher and mash the potatoes up a bit for a thicker, creamier texture.

This soup is incredibly delicious and has that rich flavor and texture we appreciate in a potato soup, without cream, cheese, or butter.  It’s full of vegetables and per serving, low in fat and calories.

Both sites (Ryza and Almond Fresh) have a pretty expansive recipe section and I was most impressed with how versatile these dairy alternative beverages are with regards to baking and cooking.  At present, you’ll find both beverages in the refrigerated section of select retailers including Whole Foods.

Win It! One of you will win a voucher to try both Almond Fresh and Ryza PLUS a $40 gift card to Whole Foods. Simply leave me a comment with another recipe (not listed above) from either site that you’d like to try.  Comments will close on October 23rd, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST.

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No compensation was received for this post.  Items for review and giveaway supplied by the company.