Dairy Substitutes

After reading "The China Study", which I highly recommend you read because it's extremely interesting, I thought I would share some dairy substitutes we use at our house. Having an allergy can be challenging, but you learn to get creative. You would be surprised at how many things have dairy in it so we always have to read the ingredients.

Soy products have hormones in them that children should not have on a regular basis. It also is a natural diuretic. We use rice cheese instead.  It doesn't melt as quickly as dairy cheese, but it is still tasty. Plus, there is no cholesterol in it. And it isn't oily like dairy cheese. LOVE it!

My son and I both hate the taste of soy milk so we use Almond milk. I also really like Rice milk (it is loaded with healthy vitamins) But Almond milk has a lower calorie option that I prefer. You can get 90, 60, or as low as 30. Though I prefer 60;)

For a little treat we LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this Almond milk

If we are making ice cream, we use coconut milk as a dairy substitute. Many stores sell dairy free ice cream, but you have to be careful because not all sorbets are dairy free. It always has a wrapper around the top that says dairy free. This same company also makes a dairy free yogurt which my son loves.

My kids favorite are these ice cream bars. This company also sells dairy free sour cream.

 So these are a few dairy free items we use at our house.

A must Read

I read "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease." completely worth reading. It has a whole knew way of treating heart disease with diet alone. I give the writing 3 stars because it was repetitive, but 5 stars to the information. Although I am not ready to become vegan, I do see why his diet is so success. My favorite quote from the book was by Dean Ornish:

"I don't understand why asking people to eat a well-balanced vegetarian diet is considered drastic, while it is medically conservative to cut people open."


Due to my son's allergy to milk, we have a no dairy diet already. It's easier to do it this way. I don't like the taste of red meat so we never eat it. So, my hang up is chicken, eggs, and no nuts except a few walnuts. So the almond milk we use is a no no. I am not ready to go vegan and 100% oil free, not sure if I ever will be. BUT I have tried some of the recipes in the back of the book.

I really liked this breakfast recipe because of how surprisingly tasty, easy, and filing it was. I was stuffed after eating it and stayed full until well into lunch time.

1. start with old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking oats) uncooked, either plain or topped with grape-nuts, Grainfield's Raisin Bran, or shredded wheat (with no sugar added).
2. Use oat, almond, or non fat soy milk. Apple juice, cider, and orange or grapefruit juice (include the sections are also delicious).
3. Top with raisins, sliced bananas, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or peaches.
4. If you don't have heart disease, add a few walnuts.

I was a little unsure of eating uncooked old fashioned oats like this, but I topped it off with shredded wheat, blueberries and strawberries, and almond milk and I was STUFFED. My children loved it too! Big plus, and my son said, "Few! I am full. There's no more room in my tummy. Except for a drink of water."

So there you have it people, hope you can get your hands on a copy and read it. It is very interesting and so far the recipes have been simple and tasty!

Finding Joy

I wanted to show you these 4th of July decorations I finished 2 days before the holiday;)  I framed the printable I made HERE.

I whipped up these from a Pick Your Plum deal. They sent me the wood and star and I painted them and added the hemp. Lurv it!

I just wanted to wish you a happy 4th of JULY! May your day be filled with good company, good food, and fireworks. God Bless the USA! I find joy in the simple things in life. For instance, I love watching fireworks. even better is watching my kids watch fireworks. Priceless.


















There is joy in receiving a package from Pick Your Plum because there is always a piece of candy for my little ones to share:) Our 4th of July package had a tasty laffy taffy;)

Reading a good book. Recently, I have been reading this one and LOVE it! So interesting. It's not about depression. It's about sugar sensitivity and how it can cause a multitude of problems, but also affects addictions (drug, alcohol, sugar, caffeine, work, etc).

My water bottle because I take it everywhere and always have a drink when I want one. I usually use Polar Bottle, but when I am in the car, camel back is best because then I can drink without tripping my head back, taking eyes off road, and the water bottle hitting the roof of the car.

I was at The Container Store and found the most glorious thing. Bags made out of old tires! It made me squeal with delight! I had to share because they are wonderful!

I only had my crappy camera phone, but look at how cool they are.

There was also these ones that were a little more like pots with handles.

whoopdwhoop.com  is my new favorite. It's a place to trade crafty goodness. I have gotten pictures, hair accessories, cards, and jewelry. I have been using up stashes of craft supplies to get my 'whoops' to trade;)
And those are a few things that have brought me pleasure today.

Book Wreath

What can you do with $2!?! Make a book wreath of course! I bought this book at Dollar Tree

I bought this wreath a Dollar Tree

I cut out a flower shapes from the book pages

I cut out circle things for some extra bling and hot glued a button on it.

I added some ribbon I had on hand and tied a bow on top.

Perfect!

READ THIS

I am not sure how many medical student's wives read my craft blog. I just want to tell all of them to read this book. I seriously love it and it will help you REALLY understand what your hubby will go through during residency. I have a copy for anyone who wants to borrow it.