I know I shouldn’t have been expecting a lot when I walked through the frozen aisle in Lunds & Byerly’s looking for my favorite dairy products, such as ice cream and cheese, but without any dairy. I have gone a total of three months now without eating any lactose, and I decided that it was time to branch out and find some alternatives to some my former favorite foods. To say the least I was pretty disappointed in both the selection and quality of products directed towards the lactose intolerant consumer.

4. SO Delicious: Cultured Coconut Milk, strawberry

Compared to other dairy free options, this yogurt is not that bad, and I would actually recommend it to anyone who misses the taste of yogurt but can’t eat dairy. The one downside of this yogurt is that the strawberry flavor is very sweet; it is like eating plain strawberry jelly for breakfast. If you do not want to be reminded of eating a condiment, than you should try the Yoplait Lactose Free Yogurt. It is the same as the original Yoplait yogurt but with the lactase enzyme that makes it a safe option for any lactose intolerant yogurt fan.

3. Arctic Zero: Fit Frozen Desserts, chocolate peanut butter

More Health

Fitness plans offered by senior on new website

Skip the lines and bring lunch from home

Monitor your water intake to transform your health

This is an alternative for the creamy, flavor filled dessert known as ice cream. This on the other hand does not contain the two most used ingredients that most “normal” ice cream has, cream and skim milk, but instead it has purified water and whey protein concentrate. To me, this Fit Frozen Dessert has a similar taste and texture to frozen chocolate flavored water. If you are looking for a healthier alternative for ice cream than this is the one to choose, but I wouldn’t recommended buying this if you are looking for something with similar taste as the original creamy treat that nothing can compare to.

2. Good Karma: Flax Milk, vanilla flavor

Ron Swanson, from Parks and Rec, once described skim milk as “water that’s lying about being milk,” and I believe that this description can also be used for Good Karma’s Flax Milk. This so-called “milk” has an overly sweet, vanilla flavor that is unsuccessfully used to mask the strong, bitter after taste of flax seed oil. The worst thing about this flax milk is the texture of it; it is very thin and has a similar texture to water that is lying about being milk. The biggest disappoint with this milk is that it does not have one of the main benefits cow’s milk has, which is protein.

1. Daiya: Cheddar Style Shreds

I was slightly skeptical when I saw this dairy free cheese that was advertised as being “now, even cheezier & stretchier.” Why would anyone want stretchy cheese? But regardless of the startling and confusing packaging, I decided that I to try this dairy, gluten, soy, and cholesterol free cheese. As I was buying this product I asked myself “what is in this cheese if everything that makes cheese isn’t in it?” Well the answer is water, tapioca and arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and/or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, and  a compilation of other odd and artificial ingredients. The worst part is, the cheese substitute isn’t even healthy. When compared with Kraft Natural Shredded Cheddar Cheese made with 2% milk, Daiya cheese has 10 more calories per 28 gram (¼ cup) serving, 20 mg grams more sodium, one and a half grams more of saturated fat, and six more grams of carbohydrates. Daiya cheese has 38% less calcium than Kraft and six less grams of protein. So, if you are dairy-free, instead of trying to find an alternative to former foods you loved, I would recommend skipping it altogether and just moving on.