What's in my trolley: A dairy-free 25-year-old shares her bi-weekly grocery shop.

What's in my trolley is Mamamia's look into the weekly grocery shop of Australian women. From food to everyday essentials, here's a peek at what different people are putting in their trolleys. This week, podcast host Lucy Neville shares her latest grocery shop, including her meals and snacks.

I’m a 25-year-old dairy-intolerant woman, living alone in the heart of the city, who LOVES food... particularly snacks (and I know I’m certainly not the only one). I snack constantly. 

Though I have to be honest — I’m not the best meal-prepper you’ve ever met, but that’s the best part of living in the city. The options are endless.

But naturally, there are some downsides. Not enough to deter me, but enough for it to be more than a slight inconvenience.

Exhibit A: The fridge will rarely be big enough to be completely stocked, and as a result, my grocery shops are more bi or tri-weekly than I'd like them to be, but entirely necessary to accommodate said tiny fridge.

Not only does it impact my grocery shop, but it also means that I cook what I feel in the moment. No meals can be planned past my almost daily grocery shops, which was certainly an adjustment when moving out of home.

Though, after three years now, I feel like I've pretty much got it covered.

I don’t eat much takeaway food, maybe once a week with a friend, and I deleted Uber Eats off my phone after spending four figures on delivery food in 2020. (I don’t want to talk about it.) 

So, I am a frequent visitor to Woolies to make sure I’ve got something to fill me up.

I’ve also been dairy free for nearly a decade now. It just doesn’t agree with me — I have an autoimmune disease and part of my individual management is to keep my inflammation as low as possible and dairy is something that raises those levels in my body, so it’s just a no-go zone. 

I’ve been navigating the grocery aisles for 10 years, reading the back of packets, scanning for the sneaky ‘skim-milk powder’ on an item that would otherwise be dairy free. 

The good news is that over that decade, the options for dairy-free friends have dramatically improved, and I’m a pro at finding the goods. Especially snacks. I’ve got you covered for that.

This particular shop was a bit of a snack-stock up. I also grabbed some key ingredients for my everyday life and some yummy dinners I have planned. 

First, my go-to breaky at the moment: Yoghurt and berries.

Image: Supplied. 

Coconut yoghurt has been a real game-changer for me, because I’m still getting all of that good bacteria and a healthy start to my day.

This particular one is my FAVOURITE. So creamy, and it has little pieces of fruit throughout which I absolutely love. I usually stir through some berries for extra micronutrients and these ones are SO big and crispy. Plus, they were on sale, so I was stoked with that.

I also grabbed some apples and celery sticks to have some options for a mid-morning snack. 

Next, I stocked up on some chocolate. 

Image: Supplied.

I got my usual bars of Loving Earth chocolate. This was one of the first brands that catered for me as a dairy-free chocolate lover. It used to be a bit challenging to track them down as they used to only be sold in health food stores, but now I can easily find them in the health food aisle at Woolies.

I remember seeing it for the first time and buying every single flavour in sheer delight knowing that I could enjoy creamy, delicious chocolate again. 

I feel good about eating it too because the ingredient list is short, full of real food and gluten-free. They buy their cacao directly from co-op to support the indigenous growers.

Plus, their packaging is environmentally friendly, and the wrapper is even compostable. You couldn’t pack more goodness into these bars if you tried.

I got the Salted Caramel Chocolate which I sometimes bake into cookies or muffins, or... just eat on its own; the 72% Dark Chocolate, which is my favourite after dinner delight; and the Hazelnut Chocolate. I also picked up two of new bars to try. Of course, their chocolate is dairy-free, but it’s not just for those of us who can’t tolerate dairy. It’s delicious across the board for everyone to enjoy.

Next I picked up a couple of Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes. 

Image: Supplied. 

They’re creamier and sweeter than your regular sweet potato — purple on the inside, white on the outside. If you're looking to shake things up, I encourage you to pick them up next time and sub them in for your orange ones. 

I am making a sweet potato and chickpea satay curry tonight, and I had the satay sauce, rice, coconut milk and chickpeas already at home. Just needed a couple of these to cube up and add to the pot. 

Then I grabbed a couple of bottles of oat milk because it was on sale.

Image: Supplied. 

I’ve got an espresso machine at home so I try to make my own morning coffee. I will either use oat or soy milk, depending which is on special. But this is the best oat milk I’ve found so far, and it’s one of the more affordable brands.

I then popped these Honey Soy flavoured rice crackers into my basket. 

Image: Supplied. 

They’re vegan and gluten-free, and really hit the spot when I’m craving something salty in the afternoon. 

There's actually a lot of chips that have dairy in them! Make sure you’re checking the back of the pack and not just assuming something is DF.

I also picked up a wedge of watermelon, some broccolini, half a dozen eggs and some spiral pasta. 

I’m planning to have some pasta later in the week, but I have all the other ingredients at home (diced tomatoes, onion, garlic and falafels to crumble up in place of the mince). The only other thing I needed was some cheese to grate on top. 

Image: Supplied. 

If you’re dairy free, listen up. This. Cheese. Melts. IT MELTS. 

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been dairy free for a decade and I have come across some... less than impressive cheese alternatives. This one tastes delicious, has a great texture, grates and melts well, and it’s affordable and accessible from your local Woolworths in the dietary fridge section.

In total, I spent $35.

Enjoy the simple pleasure of chocolate by checking out Loving Earth's plant-based, organic and regenerative range at your local Woolworths.

Feature Image: Supplied/Mamamia.