Question for people who don't eat dairy...

Lyadeia

Just curious what you eat INSTEAD OF dairy?

I will personally never give up dairy. I am not allergic and I don't get bloated from it. Plus, it tastes good and I am reaching my goals.

But, I have always wondered that if you take it out completely, do you put something in it's place? I love cheese to death...is it just cow's milk cheese that you give up, or is goat cheese off limits, too? What do you have instead of cheese in your dishes, or do you just live without it?

jgover

I mainly live without cheese. I used to love it but when I realize how much saturated fat is in it, I decided that I don't love it that much. If I just have to have it, I will have Veggie Shreds. As for milk, I use Vanilla Soy or Almond. Haven't missed it at all.

Lyadeia

There are cheeses that are not that high in sat. fats, and I have actually found some fat free cheeses that taste great. Would those still be concidered off limits to people who don't eat dairy?

JMuzzy

lyadeia---
i am a vegetarian who considered going vegan but i didnt want to give up dairy completely. if you have a whole foods store near you they sell TONS of cheese alternatives for people that are vegan/lactose intolerent. they dont have that great of a selection at big y/stop&shop/etc but you could find stuff there as well. I drink soy milk sometimes and really like it but i can't imagine never having real icecream or pizza again.

jennie :flowerforyou:

TamDTam

I dont eat dairy simply because I do not feel it is necessary and further feel like it is counter-productive to our overall health. I feel similarly about red meat as well....

we are not cows and thus I do not think our bodies were meant to digest cow by-products ( milk & red meat)

as a kid who grew up on burgers, this is sometimes a hard stance for me to take but then I look at my long term goal & move on...

jgover

Mostly I gave up cheese because I chose to go Vegan (well, as close as I can.) So, yes, even fat free would be out for me. I put avocados on my sandwiches now instead. There really is no nutritional value in eating cheese or milk. If I want to cheat it will be with dark chocolate, not cheese. Although, I haven't been tempted with Brie yet, I did love that stuff.

audjrey

In terms of nutrition, nothing beats dried figs for calcium; however, they're high in sugar so personally I'm looking elsewhere for alternatives, especially giving that I can eat about 10 in one sitting.

Other calcium rich foods include:
* dark green leafy vegetables (such as kale, bok choy, swiss chard, arugula, romaine, sprouts, collards, and dandelion leaves), tofu, all the various fortified nut milks, hemp (seed, flour, protein powder and milk), and maca root powder.

Yet as for the actual 'taste' of dairy and its replacement - well, there simply isn't a replacement as far as I'm concerned. I've tried soy cheese, soy ice cream, soy yogurt, etc, but it all tastes like bean to me. Dairy is dairy is dairy. Period. Yet if you make the choice to forgo dairy for health or philosophical and moral reasons, then you simply forget about its existence in your life. It's there, you know it is, but you simply don't eat it.

As for cheese substitutes, well there's nutritional yeast (bacteria from molasses, which has a cheesy taste and is high in B12) and all the various degrees of tofu. Coconut (milk, cream & water) is a great and tasty alternative to milk.

Vicky14174

i will never give up my diary completely. we all started out on milk when we were born even if it was our mother's milk we were drinking. i have just gone from whole milk which i dearly love and drank it like water, to fat free products. i still on occasion use real butter in some of my recipes because you can use it in moderation just like anything else. i also use skim milk cheese, goat cheese and regular cheeses in my recipes. i even sometimes use soy and almond milk.

amysambora

I'm mildy lactose intolerant, and like another poster said, you can't really replace it. You just give it up! A lot of people with sensitivities to dairy will also be sensitive to goat or soy products (soy can even just as bad). I tried rice milk for a while and it's OK on cereal and stuff but horrendous in tea and coffee. Light or skim milks are worse for me than whole milk funnily enough - I can usually tolerate a splash of whole milk in a couple of cups of tea a day before starting to feel the effects, whereas I feel it immediately with light varieties. Something about the other stuff they add to it, I think. I'm thinking of trying almond milk but not sure how that would taste in tea?