I could never be VEGAN...but I do understand that our bodies digest food differently than others. That's why I find it valuable to go dairy free every once in a while. Overall, I'm 80% dairy free, due to the reactions of my body. The other 20% is quality dairy - like greek yogurt, goat cheese, nacho dip and mozzarella shredded on a pizza!
You have to listen to your body and my body says no to dairy often. But often my taste buds say "gimme gimme" and yes they say it in a whiney toddler voice.
One food that my family loves is Chicken Alfredo. If you've ever looked at the ingredients in alfredo sauce, you've probably stood in the aisle for a few minutes scratching your head asking "Why is that in there?"
I am a huge proponent of cooking things at home - even if there's ingredients that don't always sit well with my stomach, it's still a better choice to cook it at home, rather than buy it store bought. Here's why...
As you can see in the list below, there are SO MANY ingredients that are processed and unnecessary verse the homemade version.
So say your stomach can take dairy and you want to try this out - GO FOR IT! Try to make it how you and your family would like it. But say you can't stomach dairy, here's a recipe that I found that works for my taste buds and my family was fooled to think I store bought!
Thank you to Kristen from "The Endless Meal" for giving this recipe to the world!
Why do I love this? First, all the ingredients (besides the head of cauliflower) I have in my pantry at all times. Secondly, it's so easy. I make it when I prep my other foods and then put it in the fridge until it's time to eat it. Finally, it's freezable. One of my meal prep tips is to make leftovers a meal - package your leftovers as if it's a Lean Cuisine when you put it in the freezer. And this stuff heats right up!
I also love it because my kids do. My husband does. I can throw together some chicken or pork with whatever veggies I have in the freezer and it makes a whole meal I can be proud of.
Finally, I can feel good about the ingredients. There's nothing in there that's super processed, used for "preserving", or that I can't pronounce. I know exactly what "good" each ingredient does for my body. I can feel good at the end of my meal - inside my soul and also inside my tummy.
If you try it, drop us a comment...we'd love to hear how you made it your own!
T&E