Not Milk. Not convinced.

Day 7 of my 14 day challenge. I had coffee and I had two vodka/soda waters with lime, but really the only slip up I had was Friday at lunch. We had a training at work on Thursday and Friday which meant group lunches. Thursday we went to Vapiano a pizza/pasta/salad place where they make your order in front of you. I always get the whole wheat pasta there so I knew the only challenge would be oil. Luckily the chef I walked up to was really willing to work with me and made a veggie pasta without oil. It was delicious. However on Friday we went to get Pho-DC. The waiter wasn't knowledgable on what was in the food so I ordered a salad and asked for the dressing on the side. When it arrived the dressing was on the side AND on the salad. I'm not a vocal diner so I just went about eating the salad, trying to avoid the soggy parts. This time I was not satisfied. But overall a good week. I enjoyed taking my lunch to work and found coworkers to join me for lunch in the break room.

blurry challenge approved taco salad

Saturday I attended a session on why we should exclude diary from our diets and some recipes and ideas for replacements. The main reasons they say we should avoid dairy are:

~ Human's bodies aren't made to process milk/lactose once weaned from breast milk
~ Historically cow's milk was a seasonal treat, not an everyday item
~ Historically cow's milk was unpasteurized and unhomogenized, which made it better for our bodies and recognizable by our bodies

She provided other cites from where diary has been linked to disease and that it may not be the best source of calcium.

Then we tried some recipes. First off was Lime Yogurt made from blended macadamia nuts, cashews, lime, and coconut water. It was delicious and kind of tasted like yogurt. Second was a Macadamia Ricotta made from water, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, onion powder, basil, and salt. We spread it on some whole wheat bread, it was also delicious, but didn't really taste like ricotta. Lastly was Hemp Milk, she blended hemp seeds, water, dates, and vanilla extract, again it was tasty, but has a distinct taste (that I have found out does not go well with coffee). We also tasted some pre-made Soy Milk, which was my least favorite of all of our samples.

Update: Some of the cites provided about dairy- Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Joel Fuhrman MD, Food and Our Bones by Annemarie Colbin, Mother Food by Hillary Jacobson, and Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman MD