Dairy Free Archive

Nut Milks

Posted June 16, 2014 By Sandy

When I first became dairy (casein) free, my first thought was what was I going to do for milk?  Since we are also gluten free, we cannot use oat milk (not certified GF).  It wasn’t until later that I discovered nut milks!

My husband, Malcolm, is a huge lover of nut milks.  He usually makes walnut milk — which is his favorite.  (Personally, I am very fond of coconut milk, but that is a subject for another post).

So how, do you make nut milks?  Believe it or not, they are easier to make than it sounds.

1. Soak 1 cup of your favorite unsalted nuts overnight in filtered water

2. Drain the water and rinse nuts

3.  Add 3-4 cups of fresh filtered water to your 1 cup of nuts, 2 tsp. vanilla and 4-5 drops of stevia (Note:  If you plNut Milksan to drink your milk right away, substitute one cup of water with ice cubes.)

4.  Blend well in your VitaMix.

5.  Run nut milk through cheese cloth or fine stainer to remove the pulp or, if you are like my husband, leave nut pulp in the milk.

6.  Refrigerate until chilled before drinking.

Nut milks are delicious and nutritious.

But why soak them first?  My friends at Tasty Yummies explains the reason:

How-to Make Nut Milks

Most nuts, seeds, grains and beans are covered in natural chemicals – enzyme inhibitors and toxins – that protect them while growing, both from sprouting prematurely and also from predators. … Once harvested, those same chemicals, the major one being phytic acid – are indigestible to the human body and must be broken down before consumption. When food containing phytic acid is consumed, the acid combines with important minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc in the intestinal tract and blocks their absorption which inhibits our digestive systems’ ability to break the nut down properly.

The very simple process of soaking releases these chemicals, helping you to absorb your food’s essential minerals and nutrients. Additionally, by soaking the nuts with the removal of these nutritional inhibitors and toxic substances, the flavor and taste is much more ideal and appealing.

Read more about nut milks in the Tasty Yummies article!

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Giving Up Dairy

Posted April 10, 2013 By Sandy

We spent the last two weeks talking about Cow’s Milk vs. Non-Dairy Milk, Part One and Part Two.  But what about Giving Up Dairy all together?  If cow’s milk is not good for you, neither is cheese, ice cream, sour cream, …..

My favorite article on this subject comes from Dr. Mark Hyman.  He writes a very lengthy article on the fallacies of the food pyramid and quotes Walter Willett, M.D., Ph.D (the second-most-cited scientist in all of clinical medicine and the head of nutrition at Harvard’s School of Public Health) views on dairy:

Dairy: 6 Reasons You Should Avoid It at all Costs

1. Milk doesn’t reduce fractures. Contrary to popular belief, eating dairy products has never been shown to reduce fracture risk. In fact, according to the Nurses’ Health Study dairy may increase risk of fractures by 50 percent!

2. Less dairy, better bones. Countries with lowest rates of dairy and calcium consumption (like those in Africa and Asia) have the lowest rates of osteoporosis.

3. Calcium isn’t as bone-protective as we thought. Studies of calcium supplementation have shown no benefit in reducing fracture risk. vitamin D appears to be much more important than calcium in preventing fractures.

4. Calcium may raise cancer risk. Research shows that higher intakes of both calcium and dairy products may increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer by 30 to 50 percent. Plus, dairy consumption increases the body’s level of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) — a known cancer promoter.

5. Calcium has benefits that dairy doesn’t. Calcium supplements, but not dairy products, may reduce the risk of colon cancer.

6. Not everyone can stomach dairy. About 75 percent of the world’s population is genetically unable to properly digest milk and other dairy products — a problem called lactose intolerance.

So, now you know that dairy is not good for you and you should avoid it as much as possible (of course, if you are vegan, you are probably already doing that!).  But what do you do to replace dairy.    Here are a few recommendations from Lindsay Nixon from Happy Herbivore:

How to Give Up Cheese, Yogurt, etc.

1. Know your motivation. Keep in mind why you’re dumping dairy (see above).

2. Willpower. Know that you’re going to have to fight off an addiction. There will be a withdrawal — stay strong and break the cycle.

3. Find substitutes. Find vegan cheese and dairy substitutes to help make the transition easier. Find a non-dairy milk you like. If you liked whole milk, try almond milk. If you liked skim milk, try rice milk. Try different brands and different milks — soy, almond, rice, sweetened, unsweetened. You will find one you like.

Try different cheese substitutes (just make sure it’s vegan. Some rice, soy, and almond-based cheeses contain casein or whey, milk proteins). The most popular brand is Daiya. Other brands include Tofutti and Follow Your Heart.Gluten Free Vegan Substitutes

I have just released a digital guide, How to Replace Gluten, Dairy and Eggs in Your Diet, that lists numerous tips to help you along.  Order a copy today!

If you are interested in more information from either Dr. Mark Hyman or Dr. Walter Willett, check out the links below:

 

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Cow’s Milk vs Non-Dairy Milks, Part Two

Posted April 3, 2013 By Sandy

Last week we talked about Cow’s Milk and some of the reasons why dairy is not good for our bodies.  Today, I want to talk about Non-Dairy Milks.

Non-Dairy Milks are plant based milk.  In other words, they are made from plants, nuts and seeds.  Here is a short list of the most popular ones:

  • Almond milkMilk 09
  • Coconut milk (my favorite, by the way)
  • Hazelnut milk
  • Hemp milk (my husband’s favorite)
  • Oat milk (not sure if there is a Gluten Free variety available!)
  • Rice milk
  • Soy milk (I don’t recommend soy milk)

Lindsay Nixon, the Happy Herbivore, provides a list of what to look for when buying your non-dairy milk:

1. Make sure the plant-based milk you are using doesn’t contain oil. Refrigerated milks tend to, but shelf-stable do not. The shelf-stable ones also tend to be cheaper, and the great thing about them is you can stock up so you never run out in the middle of the recipe.

2. If you trying to eat a low-fat diet, you might want pick the brand with the lowest amount of fat per serving. This tends to be rice or oat milk, as soy and almonds both are fairly rich in fat naturally. You can, however, find low-fat and fat-free soy milks.

3. Pick the brand with the least number of ingredients.

4. Buy unsweetened if you can. If you need your plant-based milk sweetened, that’s fine. Sugar is a scapegoat, not the biggest concern. A little sweetener in your plant-based milk is nothing to worry about — just make sure you’re buying sweetened plain or vanilla, not chocolate or another flavor, which is basically a candy bar in a glass.

Although, Lindsay and I don’t agree on oil based milk, she has some excellent points for choosing Non Dairy Milk.  (If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you know how much I love coconut products — including coconut milk.)

You can also, easily, make your own Non Dairy Milk.  I have published a complete recipe for making Non Dairy milk here.  My husband, Malcolm, prefers homemade Non Dairy Milk and has developed his own recipe!

If you are interested in more dairy substitutes, I recommend you purchase a copy of my new ebook:

Gluten Free Vegan Substitutes:  How to Replace Dairy and Egg in Your Diet.

 

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Cow’s Milk vs Non-Dairy Milks, Part One

Posted March 27, 2013 By Sandy

Before we talk about Non-Dairy Milks, let talk about Cow’s Milk.

Even if you are not casein intolerant (that is the main protein in milk) like me, cow milk is just not the best thing to drink.  Despite the hype that the Dairy Counsel has put out for years, the human body was not meant to ingest as much dairy as modern Americans, especially, do today.

Cow 20

According to the Global Healing Center .….

“Ingredients” Added to Cow’s Milk

  • A Veritable Hormone Cocktail: including pituitary, steroid, hypothalamic, and thyroid hormones (remember most cows are extremely stressed)
  • Gastrointestinal Peptides:  Nerve and epidermal growth factors, and the growth inhibitors MDGI and MAF
  • rBGH (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone): a genetically engineered hormone directly linked to breast, colon and prostrate cancer. This is injected into cows to increase milk production.
  • Pus: National averages show at least 322 million cell-counts of pus per glass! This is well-above the human limit for pus-intake, and has been directly linked to paratuberculosis bacteria, as well as Crohn’s disease. The pus comes from infected udders on the cows known as mastitis.
  • Blood Cells: The USDA allows up to 1.5 million white blood cells per milliliter of commonly-sold milk. Yes, you are drinking cows blood in the milk and the USDA allows this!
  • Antibiotics: Currently, cows are in such a state of disease and mistreatment that they are continually being injected with antibiotic medicines, and rubbed down with chemical-laden ointments to deal with their chronic infections. Currently, regulating committees only test for 4 of the 85 drugs in dairy cows. This means that the other 81 drugs in cow’s milk are coming directly into your glasses and bodies. Estimates show that 38% of milk in the U.S. is “contaminated with sulfa drugs or other antibiotics,” according to a study by the Centre for Science in the Public Interest and published in the Wall Street Journal on December 29, 1989. A study from the FDA data showed that over half of all milk was laden with traces of pharmaceuticals yet nothing has been done to control this.

If that isn’t enough to turn you off from drinking Cow’s Milk, here is more information from Micheal Dye as quoted by Organic Baby:

In addition to the difference in the amount of protein in these two different types of milk, there are also major differences in the composition of this protein. The primary type of protein in cow’s milk is casein. Cow’s milk has 20 times as much casein as human milk, which makes the protein from cow’s milk difficult or impossible for humans to assimilate, according to Dr. John R. Christopher, N.D., M.H.

One of the biggest lies we have been told is that we need milk because of the high amount of calcium in cows milk.  In Dr. Robert Kadijan’s Letter to His Patients, he states:

And no doubt about it, milk is loaded with calcium.  But is it a good calcium source for humans?  I think not.  These are the reasons.  Excessive amounts of dairy products actually interfere with calcium absorption.  Secondly, the excess of protein that the milk provides is a major cause of the osteoporosis problem.  Dr.  Hegsted in England has been writing for years about the geographical distribution of osteoporosis.  It seems that the countries with the highest intake of dairy products are invariably the countries with the most osteoporosis.  He feels that milk is the cause of osteoporosis.

These are just a few of the facts about the dangers of Cow’s Milk and milk products.

Next week, we will talk about Non-Dairy Milks.

 

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Coconut Milk

Posted August 9, 2012 By Sandy

I LOVE Coconut Milk!  I use various forms of Coconuts and Coconut Milk is several different dishes.  My favorite way is to pour it over Gluten Free cereal and bananas!  No, wait! …. I think I like Coconut Milk better in smoothies …. maybe in the ice cream dish my husband makes ….

I guess I like Coconut Milk anyway I can have it!!

If you are a Coconut Milk lover too, you are going to love our featured post:

How to Use Coconut Milk:

Recipes, Tips, and Best Brands

Alisa Fleming ~ Coconut milk is a wonderful food and a truly amazing ingredient for anyone who is dairy-free or vegan. But, many people wonder how to use coconut milk? I recently posted about a great deal on Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk (I bought two orders right away!), and a reader asked this question. That very evening, a friend asked me how to use coconut milk when she spotted a few unpacked cans on my counter. I knew it was time to demystify the powers of coconut milk!

Types of Coconut Milk

First, the three basic types of coconut milk on the market:

Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk …

Light Canned Coconut Milk …

Coconut Milk Beverage …

READ FULL POST

This writer finishes her article with a list of sweet and savory dishes using coconut milk.  I think I will go try some now ….

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Baking Without Dairy or Eggs

Posted June 19, 2012 By Sandy

Cooking or Baking Without Dairy or Eggs can be a real challenge — if you don’t know the special tips offered here by Allyson Kramer, author of the  Manifest Vegan blog.

I found these tips and the wonderful recipe at the bottom of the post on the Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom blog.  Both authors and blogs are excellent resources for tips and recipes for Gluten Free Vegans!

How is it possible to bake or cook without dairy or eggs?

This is often the first concern of people who are thinking about eliminating dairy and eggs from their diets–especially those of us who are avid bakers. And even more so for those of us who are avid gluten-free bakers! Most baked goods recipes contain the obligatory stick of butter and several eggs. With gluten-free recipes in particular, you’ll often find a large amount of eggs called for because eggs balance out the lack of gluten —acting as a binder as well as making many baked goods rise. But eggs aren’t the only solution. In fact, it’s not the actual eggs, butter or milk that’s necessary to achieve great results in baking, but the qualities and chemistry of those ingredients that make a recipe work. Whether it be rising power, binding capabilities, adding fat to a recipe, or simply just thinning a batter, you can find these properties in many plant based foods—and they yield just as good results as their animal based counterparts. …

Dairy-Free, Egg-Free and Corn-Free Vanilla Pudding

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbs. Corn Free, Vegan Margarine, or other vegan margarine if corn is not an issue
  • 2/3 cup Gram/Chickpea Flour
  • 1/2 cup Tapioca Starch
  • Dash Sea Salt
  • 1 1/2 cups Almond Milk
  • 2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 3 tsp. corn free Vanilla Extract
  • 1 Vanilla Bean, split and scraped (discard pod, or reserve for other use)
  • Whipped Coconut Cream for topping

Directions

  1. Before you get started, be sure to have a few small bowls or dishes ready to pour the pudding into straight from the stovetop.
  2. In 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, melt the margarine until completely liquefied. Add in gram flour and stir until it clumps together, gently turn and break the mixture apart using a wooden spoon. Stir in the tapioca starch and then use a whisk to blend into crumbles. Let cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes over medium heat, or until the flours are lightly toasted. Add in the sugar and whisk together until well combined.
  3. Gradually whisk in almond milk, about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly until smooth, ensuring no lumps remain. This may take quite a bit of elbow grease, but it’s worth it to achieve a smooth pudding. Add in the remaining almond milk, vanilla extract, and scraped vanilla bean, whisking vigorously until all is combined. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until quite thick, about 3 minutes.
  4. Pour into dishes and let cool at room temp for about 30 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator to cool completely.
  5. Let chill for at least 4 hours before serving, best if chilled overnight. Garnish with whipped coconut cream.

If you are interested in more of Allyson Kramer recipes, check out her cookbook below:

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Vegan Gluten Free Substitutes

Posted May 21, 2012 By Sandy

I love Jules Shepard!  She makes wonderful flour mixes, has a great blog, and frequently shares fantastic tips with her fans (like me!).

Jules recently posted a couple blogs on Vegan Gluten Free Substitutes that I would like to share here:

Egg Free Vegan Baking

Tips:

  • One trick to transforming many recipes to egg-free is to choose the right pan. Many quick breads, muffins and cakes will not have the same structural integrity without real eggs, so cheat a little bit and give your recipe more support by using smaller pans or muffin tins.
  • In any given recipe calling for more than two eggs, reconsider if you really must try it egg free.
  • In recipes calling for 3 eggs or more, try not to use more than two recipes of the same substitute (e.g. replace 3 eggs in a recipe by using two recipes of egg substitute #1 plus one recipe of egg substitute # 6 – see below).
  • Keep the fat in your recipes to help stand in for the lack of eggs, especially in recipes calling for more than 2 eggs. Thus, in a recipe calling for 3 eggs and milk, use egg substitutes and milk like coconut or almond which have more fat and body than a milk like skim dairy or rice milk.

READ ALL HER EGG FREE TIPS AND RECIPES

Jules wrote another post on Gluten and Dairy Free Baking:

Gluten AND Dairy-Free Baking

A lot of us gluten-free bakers are also faced with the challenge of baking dairy-free. Lactose is the biggest culprit (did you know that 60% of the adult population is lactose intolerant? Did you know that number is much higher for the celiacs amongst us?!) Want to know more about dairy and why it might be bothering you? Read my post all about it! If you’re looking to bake dairy and lactose-free, I have a few recommendations for you.

READ FULL POST ON GLUTEN AND DAIRY FREE BAKING

Jules authors several cookbooks.  Check them out here:

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Vegan Butter

Posted March 21, 2012 By Sandy

Butter Substitute or Vegan Butter is fairly easy to find in the stores.  Personally, we use Earth Balance because I like the taste and because it does not use soy (trying to stay away from that as well).  So far, it works wonderful for use on toast, in some baking (where we can’t or don’t use coconut oil), …. and just an all around butter substitute.

Check out the article below for other options.

Vegan ButterVegan butter is better butter

Is the Paula Deen side of you wondering how you could ever get by without butter as a vegan? Have no fear — vegan butter not only exists, but it’s easy to find and delicious! You won’t miss the cruelty!

The most popular vegan butter on the market is made by Earth Balance. They have a long line of buttery products. Their buttery spread comes in tubs and sticks. There are several options with the buttery spreads: Original blend; Whipped (perfect for spreading on breads and muffins and the like); Soy Garden, made with the power of soy; Olive Oil blend; and Soy Free, for those avoiding soy. Earth Balance also makes buttery sticks, available in their Original blend, and Natural Vegetable Shortening sticks. You can learn about all of their products on their website. You can also find recipes and health facts for their products.

READ FULL ARTICLE

If you are adventurous or just interested in making your own Vegan Butter, I have written a Squidoo Lens:  Vegan Butter Recipe.  The article includes a recipe that my husband adapted for our personal use.  Please share with your friends if you find my Vegan Butter Recipe Lens helpful or informative.

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New Dairy Free Products

Posted March 20, 2012 By Sandy

The Expo West 2012 featured lots of New Dairy Free Product.  Following is a list of those products, put together by ‘Go Dairy Free’ website.

Expo West 2012: Best New Dairy-Free Products – Part 1

Expo West 2012: Best New Dairy-Free Products – Part 2

Expo West 2012: Best New Dairy-Free Products – Part 3

Great to see that the food industry is looking at alternative products such as Dairy Free food!

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Truth About Milk

Posted February 9, 2012 By Sandy

Since finding out I was casein intolerance, I have been interested in the different types of milk available.  Here is an excellent Squidoo lens on the good, bad and ugly about milk

Dairy Milk

Is cow’s milk an appropriate food for humans?

Many people still consume substantial amounts of dairy products and government policies still promote them, despite scientific evidence that questions their health benefits and indicates their potential health risks.

Cow’s milk is the number one allergic food in the country. It has been well documented as the cause in diarrhea, constipation, cramps, bloating, gas, gastrointestinal bleeding, iron-deficiency anemia, eczema, asthma, acne, fatigue, sinus and ear infections.

READ FULL ARTICLE

Personally, I prefer Coconut milk — the kind you find in the dairy case next to the cow’s milk.  My husband likes Hemp milk and coconut milk.  Sometimes we make our own milk from nuts.  What about you?

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