As excited as I am about eating dairy free for the month of February, I am also pretty scared. There is a reason why I have never cut out dairy before: I love dairy! If I am going to do this successfully I need to construct some guidelines.
1. Only cut out major dairy products. I recently learned that most foods have some type of dairy in them, even in tiny amounts. As for right now I don't think I need to go that extreme. So that means no milk, cheese, ice cream, and other main dairy products. I have already switched to drinking almond milk so the biggest thing is going to be cutting out cheese.
2. Don't stress about finding dairy free options while eating out. Being a vegetarian already makes it more difficult for my boyfriend and I to find places to eat out at so restricting myself 100% of the time is just not realistic. I do want to try to select options with minimal amounts of dairy but I understand that dairy free options at restaurants can be hard to come across (i.e. if we are ordering Dominoes, how am we supposed to order a dairy free pizza).
3. Keep a food log. This is also a February goal and it goes hand in hand with going dairy free. I found a great free food log online that helps you keep track of not only what you eat but how you feel after eating. I want to be able to look back and see how eating dairy affects me. I will report back at the end of the month with my results!
4. Find a good dairy free cookbook. Since I have been trying to cook more for myself I am really interested in finding new recipes that are both dairy free and delicious. While many of the recipes that I currently make can be done dairy free, I also want to try new things and get a new experience.
5. Ensure I'm eating enough nutrients that are commonly found in dairy products. The overall goal of this experiment is to improve my overall health. But I also need to make sure that I am not missing any important nutrients by not eating dairy. The primary way I plan on doing this is through eating wholesome foods. I am also going to restart taking a calcium pill since calcium is primarily found in dairy.
Why do you want to go dairy free? It's good for you
ReplyDeleteI was allergic to it when I was little and it has been bothering my stomach lately.
DeleteI like almond milk, too, even though my body does just fine with dairy. What is the online food journal? I've been looking at tracking my nutrition this month, too. With a race coming in April and the holidays past, I need to hone in my awareness and I love the idea of tracking not just what I eat but how I feel after I eat!
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