Dare to Go Dairy Free?
As some of you know, if you follow me on Instagram, that I’m going dairy-free for the last 90 days of the year. This decision came about because of a challenge by Rachel Hollis, founder of The Chic Site and bestselling author of Girl, Wash Your Face.
The challenge is meant to encourage people to finish the year strong rather than letting it all slide until the beginning of the year then you have to climb back up just to the starting point before jump on our New Year Resolutions. Which always suck because we just came off a backslide with all that unhealthy food, not working out, exhaustion from decorating, cooking and wrapping, a pissy attitude because of all the crazy shoppers/drivers in the land, and that crappy gift you got from your sister-in-law (changing it up here because the MIL always get thrown under that well-known bus. ;) Our heads are barely above water by the time the new year starts. And we want to tackle a resolution…or more?! Are we crazy?! Yes, yes we are.
I jumped all over this #last90days challenge for that exact reason. I always hated the way I felt about myself going into the new year. I have felt all of those things (minus the part about the SIL-we stopped exchanging gifts a long time ago.) and frankly, I got sick of hating on myself.
Here’s the challenge. Every day:
Drink half your body weight in water.
Exercise/move your body for 30 minutes.
Get up an hour earlier than usual to do something for yourself.
Give up one food category you know isn’t good for you.
Write down 10 things you’re grateful for.
The food category I gave up is dairy. I’ve been meaning to do it for a while then just when I’ve been good, we go out for Mexican and I nosedive into a bowl of queso. When I have a lot of it in a short amount of time, I start to break out and the bowels don’t move like they used to. Sorry, we keep it real, here.
Let me tell you…it’s been hard! I love a good salad and guess what always comes on a good salad? Cheese! Feta, blue, gorgonzola, parmesan…they are like the cherry on top of the sundae. Try going out to eat and getting something that is dairy free. It’s damn near impossible. I’ve said “hold the cheese/butter” more times in the last 40 days than I have in the past 40 years. Which perhaps tells me that I need to stop going out to eat so much. Heh, heh…
But while I’m at home, I’ve got options! I’m here to share some substitutions that are really working for me and a recipe I tried last night that is curing my craving for queso. I KNOW! There is a goddess and her name is Cashew.
Have you heard of nut cheese? Okay, let me rephrase that because each one of you is going to revert to your 12 year old selves and giggle at nut cheese. Maybe not but I have boys and grew up with lots of guy friends. Nut cheese is worth at least three jokes.
Have you ever tried cheese that is made from nuts? Okay, not a ton better but that’s all I got. There is a section of many health food grocery stores that have all the vegan dairy choices. Mykonos brand cheese does okay (minus the mozzarella) and have learned to tolerate the Lisanatti brand of Almond Jalapeño Jack. But last night, I think I’m convinced that homemade is the way to go!
I have a recipe that I used from a friend of mine who offers her 21-Day Luminary Reset. I’ve always had it in the back of my mind to try but why would I when I was usually eating cheese?! Well, last night I really wanted nachos. My son was having some queso we bought at the store and it spurred me to get my Luminary Reset recipe book out and give the dairy free cheese a try.
YOU GUYS! It was soooo good. Was it so good because I haven’t had real cheese in 40 days? Maybe. Or maybe not. But regardless, it’s definitely healthier than real queso and you may not go back once you give this a try.
Cashew Queso (my variation)*
2 cups of raw cashews soaked in water for 1-2 hours
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 mini yellow sweet peppers
1 mini red sweet pepper
water for consistency (start with 1/4 cup)
sea salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a high powered blender (I love my Ninja Chef!) and watch all your queso dreams come true. Warm it up to use a dip for your favorite crunchies or drizzle it on some tortilla chips with all your favorite nacho toppings. Consider me your Dairy Godmother. ;)
*I added my Vital Proteins collagen peptides for added protein.
Here are some more recipes/blog posts I found that may help you keeping eating the cheese while you go dairy-free.
Cashew Cheese Sauce by Wallflower Kitchen
Cranberry Rosemary Crusted Cashew Cheese Log by Pure Ella
Nut-Free Nacho Cheese by Chatelaine, original recipe from Lauren Toyota’s book, Hot for Food Vegan Comfort Classics.
Other dairy-free products I’m using as substitutes:
Almond and coconut milk (been using these in place of milk for a while now-kids too!)
*there are a couple of affiliate links in this post…if 5,000 of you click these links and purchase these products, I will receive earnings the equivalent of a box of peanuts. I love peanuts. Thank you.