My husband and I watched a documentary called Cowspiracy about this time in 2015. The next day, was the food shop and we came up with the plan of just trying it. Buying things which would replace meat, eggs, dairy etc and see how we got on with it.
I never put any constraints on my self and if I fancied something I would have it....
Well I still from that day have not brought any meat, eggs, dairy or honey. I just haven't wanted it, in fact now the thought of having it makes me feel ill.
So, dairy. You are not a baby cow!
I was breastfeeding my baby, the bond together is huge. Then I thought, goodness, humans buy cows breastmilk without even a thought.
You do not need cows breastmilk, you are not a cow.
I asked on a vegan fourm for any information to add to this blog, I felt sick reading this:
'Something often overlooked is the industry practice of purposely sending ex-dairy cows to slaughter pregnant, because the unborn calf's blood is "pure" and can be used in medicine so the farmer gets a bit more money. The calf of course suffocates within its dead mother's womb.'
There are so many things I could quote which would make you bin that bottle of milk in your fridge but what am hoping is that you have found this blog for help in replacing that breastmilk, for something much better for your body and the planet and the cows.
Milk
My first bit of advice is just try it, everyone likes different milks.
My fav is Almond!
HUGE tip, milk in first!!
The closest to cows milk is soya, if am out and about I will have soya. As a lot of places now stock soya. At home though its almond. Its flipping yummy is smoothes too! (Almond milk, tp - protein, tp - peanut butter and a banana. YUM)
Our oldest is also intolerant to cows milk. We found this out by going plant based/vegan and all the problems we had spent years going to the doctor went! We later had it confirmed and now the school is on board too, so no more crazy early mornings and hours in the bathroom.
Most of us are intolerant to cows milk, my tummy and skin is sooooo much better since getting rid of dairy! At the very start of us changing our diet I had a coffee out with dairy, I was so ill after not having it, I now if really want one have a black one ;)
Our little mini people, LOVE this!! Has all the goodness of milk without the horrible stuff.
A huge treat for the minis is the chocolate one, its very yummy!
Buy a few and have a taste test.
I must add that when am making a crazy amount of pancakes, I use 'smart price' tesco own soya, its not to different in goodness to the Soya +1 but cheaper. (Currently 59p.)
Cheese
AKA GARY
When we first changed our diet over, they was a lot less choice but now, the supermarkets are catching on and there is a lot of Gary out there!
Here are my top too:
Yes I shop a lot in tesco.....
This one is flipping yummy! Now don't get me wrong, Gary is still not quite out stripped dairy but its getting better and better. Remember that all dairy products have hormones in them telling you "YOU NEED MORE" So after three weeks, you wont be needing cheese in crazy amounts and will find these replacements good. ;)
This one melts really well, perfect on pizza, or the top of pasta etc.
Another one I filpping love! I mix these two together on the top of pizza or pasta. Yum!
Most replacement cheese, aka Gary, is soya based, so keep that in mind.
Here you go, not only do these two melt well but they taste yummy too!
Soya....a few of my friends can't have soya and the above (my fav's) contain soya. I have heard good things about Vegusto click here to see their collection of Garys. Another good one to try is Violife, they do a mild cheddar tasting one which is really easy to find in the shops. Click here to see their range of 100% vegan products. I love their mild cheddar one and its perfect with pineapple chunks on cocktail sticks ;)
Butter
Hands down my favorite spreadable butter is Vitalite! Its blinking yummy, tastes amazing with peanut butter and bananas on toast (if you haven't tried it, yummy!) I have been using this spread for more years than I can remember, way before changing our diet, just due to loving the taste. Yes I do miss their old packaging and which they would bring them back....
That's your sandwiches and toast sorted.....what about baking? Making some pastry what are you going to use which is dairy free?
This is where am crossing over into a grey area, why a grey area I hear you ask? Well, if your thinking about your impact to the planet am sure you think about what companies you buy from. The next product is dairy free, but double check when you pick it up as the spreadable type I believe is not dairy free!
Stork for baking, is the one I pick up for pasty. (As noted above, double check when buying as I think the spreadable is not dairy free.)
The only thing which is worth noting is its made by Unilever, my grey area. There are many companies I will not buy from and I really think about where I buy from too, buying local where ever possible.
Am a big believer that buying a vegan product from a company which is not all that vegan is a good thing.
Its showing them there is a demand for the item and being a big company they are sales lead. All that money going behind a vegan product is a good thing!
Just in the few years I have changed my diet I have noticed huge changes in what is available! Having said that, there are still companies I will avoid! So make up your own mind on that one ;)
What else can you buy?
This is Bear's fav, its yummy, the other two love the chocolate.
***BIG tip, look for the cheaper own brand version of your favorite item, often it will be dairy-free without saying so as its cheaper to leave out milk***
Make sure you check items, you will find milk in alsorts of things, from bread to soups!
Worried about how you will make a cake? Worry no longer, click here for my mega easy birthday cake!
Cheese sauce:
I worried a little about cheese sauce, but I didn't need too. Not only is it yummy but soooo much better for you!
You don't need dairy!
I was going to link to lots of very scary facts about dairy but am going to just say - GO FOR IT, DITCH THAT DAIRY!!
Any questions please ask, the above is just what I love. Please just go for it and try different things, remember that all the things I make are dairy, meat, eggs and honey free so check out my recipes.
I will be updating this blog and adding more items so keep a look out ;)
Brilliant, thank you Alice. I have been slowly laying off the dairy since September, then for about 3 weeks now have been completely non-dairy. You're right that after 3 weeks you no longer miss it. I also read somewhere that cows have three stomachs to process the milk - we have only one. Beforehand when I tried giving up dairy, I OD'd on soya which made my migraines worse. Now, like you say, there is nut milk which is yummy, and I have soya out so I don't OD on it. Similarly, my friend OD'd on Almonds and their products, so again I think it's important to mix it up. My Sainsbury's now stocks a lot of non-dairy cheese alternatives. Another advantage? All those cakes and chocolate that my Mum keeps in her fridge are now off-limits, so I'm no longer tempted there either. Thanks a lot for this great blog post!
ReplyDeleteSo happy that my blog has helped. Soya is very close to dairy and often people like you say can od on it, as its the most common replacement. I mix it up with having Almond milk as my main coffee milk ;) I will adding to this blog so make sure you bookmark it and any questions just give me a shout. Am glad you have seen how different it is after three weeks dairy free. I have added a dairy free easy cake to this blog...... ;) Alice
ReplyDeleteHi Alice. Great blog. We have been using Oat Milk for our daughter for an age. Although not confirmed as dairy intolerant we did notice that she coughed a lot less in her sleep when we switched her night bottle from diary to Oat. Also agree on the cheap soy milk. I use aldi's for smoothies. Also around the 50p mark
ReplyDeleteThank you Simon, I really need to try Oat Milk again! My friend makes her own, even cheaper and just as nice - she said its easy to do.
DeleteSo glad to hear you have seen good changes since getting rid of dairy from her night bottle. :)