how to take dairy out of your diet, without sacrificing flavor

So, why should we stop drinking milk? cow's milk for one, is for.. cows.. not humans. It is fatty and really not at all good for us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYmNq-xzJ80&list=UUmiSghTB8gd4epkfngFDW8Q&index=10
>>This is a great youtube video, watch it.
Back in the day, there used to be nice farms, with cows, who would graze, and be milked daily. These cows were treated much better than today's cows...








                                                 what we picture.....









The sad truth.

hundreds of cows crammed together in factory farms, 

many are not allowed to ever go outside. And most are hooked up

to semi permanent milk pumps, that they wear 24/7.
And cows do not produce milk forever you know, back in the day,
people had a male cow, and a female cow. But now, in the industry, 
the basically "rape" the cows by artificially inseminating them 
with bull sperm. Once the cow gives birth, the baby is taken from the mother,
causing emotional stress to the baby , and the mother.
The baby is put in a small crate, where it can not move for weeks.
Then it is slaughtered and sold as veal. so by purchasing milk products,
you are supporting the veal industry.




How will I get calcium if I avoid milk?

• dark leafy greens like- collard greens, kale, spinach, turnip greens, bok choi, swiss chard
• organic tofu, organic tempeh
• calcium fortified orange juice, rice milk, and almond milk
• organic soybeans
• almonds
• broccoli
• tahini/ sesame seeds
• great northern beans
• okra
• oranges
• kelp, algae
• black strap molasses
• brazil nuts
• celery
• papaya
• flax seeds
• vegan yogurt
• chia seeds

Now I'm not vegan, or vegetarian. I realized if you go to someone's house and they made chicken.. Yes that tortured chicken  lived a terrible life, but that chicken is dead and on the plate, what happened, happened, there's nothing you can do. Unless you are disgusted by the thought of eating any animal products, I don't see an issue with occasionally eating meat, eggs, and dairy (especially free-range!!!).

so finally, how to take dairy out of your diet!!!:

1. So the easiest thing to do first is to cut out milk and butter. the best "butter" I've found is earth balance (do not use salt when baking with this). When baking, I usually use organic coconut oil instead of butter. As for milk, I use organic rice milk (for cereal and baking) and vanilla sweetened almond milk for drinking. I also buy coconut milk- for puddings and baking. There are many non dairy beverages; rice, almond, coconut, hemp, wheat.. to name a few. Find some you like and stick to it. I would not recommend soy all the time, because too much soy is no good, see article>>>http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/13/soy-controversy-and-health-effects.aspx
2. After you got used to your non dairy milk take out something else... like icecream. There are delicious coconut milk icecreams and also soy ice cream. But you can also make it yourself! Find a cheap ice cream machine, and have fun! I have made many icecreams with coconut milk, banana, and soaked raw cashews (pureed).
3. Almost there! yogurt. You either love it or hate it. If you love it, try almond milk yogurt, it's very good, and cruelty free! You can also try coconut milk yogurt, or soy yogurt. Or you can make your own flavored no-bake chia seed puddings, or buy a yogurt maker and use non dairy milk.
4. cheese. Probably the hardest thing to swap out. The only thing I haven't found a good replacement for is mozzarella cheese sticks. For cheesey casseroles I use galaxy vegan rice milk cheese. For pizza I use vegan mozzarella teese , for mac & cheese I use vegan rice milk cheddar, and daiya pepperjack shreds. Instead of Parmesan cheese I use sea salt or vegan Parmesan cheese, you can also try nutritional yeast.. Some things that were not so good: soy mozzarella, soy ricotta, soy cream cheese.

I have heard this is very good:   cashew vegan ricotta  {update-- I have made vegan ricotta, search my blog for ricotta to find the recipe}

And I am getting better and better of making dairy free products. My son absolutely loved yogurt, every single day. But I explained to him how much the cows suffer. And non dairy yogurts get very pricey, if you are having one daily. So, I am now making him chia seed pudding "yogurt"

I eat it too, it's absolutely delicious, and packed with protein!!!

next post will be those recipes: stay tuned!

Oh no my recipe calls for buttermilk!!?

-I use rice milk or almond milk, with a tad of apple cider vinegar and vanilla extract. works fine.

other dairy free recipes that sound good:

avocado pesto alfredo

paleo blackberry blueberry bars

vegan strawberry banana bread

gluten free vegan blueberry scones

raw vegan chocolate mint cheesecake

For more great tips and recipes follow me on pinterest!!!

http://pinterest.com/brittani777/