Just Bento

Hi Mistek, and welcome to the forums!

In Japan, people who are lactose intolerent (though they are in the minority of the population really - 'a lot' is a bit misleading) get calcium mostly from dried fish products like niboshi (whole dried little sardines, used traditionally for dashi), sakuraebi and hoshiebi (dried shrimp) and so on, rather than by eating the bones of raw / cooked fish. Dried fish can just be crunched up so are easier to eat. You can find them in the snack department of a Japanese grocery. Nuts, seeds (like sesame seeds), some green herbs (parsley, shiso, etc) and green leafy vegetables are also fairly good sources of calcium. Recently there has been an increase (or increased diagnoses) of children with dairy allergies, and those are the foods I've seen recommended.

Here are two savory vegan muffins that most people seem to like a lot.

You can use soy milk instead of cow milk in just about any recipe. Muffins will be fine. I am suspicious about milk replacements (I'd never actually try to drink soy milk because I'm too scared I'd be sick), but I used to make cakes and things for my nephew with soy milk and I couldn't taste the difference.

It is not necessary to have dairy food to get proper nutrients. Dairy food has a nice balance of nutrients; milk is, after all, intended as a complete food for baby animals, but you can get just as good a mix of nutrients by combining other foods. Instead of getting your carbs, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals from a single food, you get carbs from rice or bread; fat from fish and beef and vegetable oils; protein from meat and fish and beans and corn; and vitamins and minerals from all of those things.

I have a dairy, egg, and nut allergic daughter. Here is our favorite recipe for vegan (dairy and egg-free) muffins:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Vegan-Banana-Muffins-179846

It doesn't require any milk or milk replacements and tastes exactly like regular banana bread. IMO, the best vegan recipes don't include any sort of replacement product (ie, dairy-free margarine, soy milk, etc.). Most such recipes I've tried (and I've tried gazillions) either have an odd aftertaste or texture issues. They're OK or even delicious to people accustomed to eating those products, but would never pass in the "real" world. The muffins I linked above definitely pass the real-world-deliciousness test.

These apricot muffins are easy to make and yummy (I got the recipe on a card in a cereal box years ago)
1 cup diced dried apricots
1 cup self raising flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoon margarine or butter, melted
1 cup boiling water
1 cup self raising plain flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup apricot nectar

1. place apricots and boiling water in a small bowl, stand for 30 minutes, then drain well
2. sift flours into a large bowl
3. add sugar and apricots.
3. combine egg, nectar and butter in a separate bowl
4. pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
5. spoon into muffin tray
6. bake at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes

makes 12

Kyla