1. Guacamole

Try shop-bought or make your own by mashing a ripe avocado with salt and lemon juice. Use a dip, spread on a sandwich or dollop in a pitta bread.

2. Sweetcorn, ham and mayo

Chop up some cooked chicken or ham, add a few spoons of tinned sweetcorn (drained) and a few spoons of dairy-free mayo. Mix and use as a sandwich filling.

3. Hummous

Buy from the supermarket (check label) or make your own by whizzing a tin of chcikpeas in the blender and adding olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and tahini to taste. Add a little more water or oil if mix is too stiff. Use as a dip or spread and add other ingredients of flavours for some variety,

4. Egg mayo

Boils eggs, peel, mash and add dairy-free mayo. Even better if you add a little mild mustard.

5. Mushroom pate

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Mushroom-Pate-Recipezaar_2

Another post on replacing ingredients in recipes if you're cooking for someone with intolerances etc:

Onions and garlic - use a pinch of asafoetida.

Egg -  you can buy egg replacer from some health food shops or use a mashed banana in cakes. I've read that you can use apple sauce too, but haven't tried it.

Wheat - Dove Farm's flours are pretty good. Making decent wheat free cakes is not too difficult, wheat free bread is harder to do. The best recipe I've found is - http://www.piginthekitchen.co.uk/2008/01/archimedes-gluten-free-bread-rolls-e...

Yeast - try soda bread - it's very easy to make and tastes even better if you add raisins.

Burgers - sometimes you need something that tastes a bit like a takeway. We found that tacos (ie maize-based) filled with chili were a pretty good substitute for a burger if you can't eat wheat.

Cream - the best non-dairy cream is Oatly.

This is to remind me that I can have my sweet things without getting fatter...

• South Beach chocolate creme - http://www.food.com/recipe/south-beach-diets-mocha-ricotta-creme-phase-i-110938

Variations on the chocolate creme:

1. Use lemon juice, zest and canderel instead (also pretty good using silken tofu instead of ricotta)

2. Still working on it!

• Sugar free jelly

• Baked apple - core an apple, put some raisins in the hole where the core was and sprinkle with mixed spice. Cook for about a minute in the microwave.

• Natural yogurt, frozen summer fruits (defrost first) and canderel for sweetening
• Angel delight - a very small dish of it. In fact a baby weaning pot full.
• Fruit - preferably dipped in chocolate!

We've got a lot of food allergies and intolerances in our family. Here's a recipe that tastes pretty good considering how many things it hasn't got in it!

200g rice flour
45g cocoa
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
140g sugar
1/4 pint (140 ml) vegetable oil
1/4 pint (140 ml) water
2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1. Preheat oven to 160C/325F/gas mark 3.
2. Beat all the ingredients together and place in a 7 inch round cake tin, greased and floured. (I used 7 muffin cases instead and cooked it for 20-30 mins)
3. Bake for 30-35 minutes in the pre-heated oven.

I adapted it from this recipe http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/food/recipes/cakes/banana-chocolate-cake.aspx

The original recipe also has 1tsp of baking powder, but most baking powder has corn in it so I missed it out. The texture would be lighter with more raising agent - another time I might try 1sp of cream of tartar as well as the bicarb.