If you’ve tuned in the past couple days, you know I’ve been discussing dairy based on a perspective that is much different than the one most of us have been raised on since birth. If you need to get caught up, I highly recommend you check out my first post in this series: Should We Be Eating Dairy?
After contemplating this idea of a dairy-free world for the past few weeks and listening to comments and emails from readers, I decided to share my current position on the matter with the following:
I think as Americans, we are a society that does not know how to moderate and keep balance in our lives. We want it all right now and the magic potion for how to make that happen. The government, food industry, and other large corporations know this and are willing to feed you with information that you want to hear; eat lots of meat and dairy, eat low carb, try these artificial chemicals they taste just like the real thing, etc. We cling on to the quick fix praying that somehow this pill, diet, or new fortified food is going to make it all better. This is not making us any healthier. In fact, our health is literally failing in this country and what are our doctors telling us; “there’s a medication for that.”
All I am saying is that as a Nation we are doing something wrong and I’m convinced it spawns from the foods we are eating. SOMETHING needs to change!
Do I think we should all give up dairy 100%? No. But do I think we should be giving ourselves and our children cup after cup of dairy products day after day? No. I think we need and CAN find a better balance.
I believe we WERE meant to use animal proteins but not with the gluttony that most Americans consume it. I believe that it is okay to use some butter in baking or sprinkle a little cheese on your meal or to have some yogurt in the morning, but it’s just not like that. People use dairy and meat, sometimes with every meal. In my personal belief, we were not meant to eat like that.
I want for each and every one of us to learn to EAT AND EAT WELL. The first step is learning how to moderate. Meat and dairy products should be consumed like the icing on a cake: not too much, but just enough to add a little flavor here or a little something extra there. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are what we NEED to give our bodies on a daily basis in order to properly function and fight disease. We get the most nutrients from REAL, WHOLE FOODS and we’re just not eating enough of them!
I challenge you to take an inventory count of how many foods you consume daily that come from an animal or from a plant. I did this when I started reading the China Study and while I was not eating a lot of meat and getting lots of produce, animal products were used at just about every meal; eggs, cheese, butter, sour cream, yogurt, etc. The goal I have set for myself is to consume 1-2 (if any) animal products a day. To me, this is me doing my best to practice moderation. Will there be days I eat more? Of course. But again, those will be few and far between. I believe this will help you AND I continue a journey to optimal health.
With all that jazz, I wanted to end this week with a fantastic dessert recipe from Laury over at The Fitness Dish. I made it not vegan by using organic butter and regular chocolate chips. Why? 1. I had no luck finding vegan butter or chocolate chips and 2. I wanted to show you that I am still going to moderate!! Balance!!
These little guys are a healthier, whole version of a peanut butter cup and an absolutely genius idea for us peanut butter and chocolate lovers! My husband loves these little cups!! Hope you do too!!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Adapted from Laury at The Fitness Dish
makes 6-7 PB cups (this is half the full recipe Laury provided)
- 1/4 cup organic butter (DAIRY!!) OR Laury used a vegan butter brand: Earth Balance Butter
- 1/4 + 2 T crushed/finely ground Kashi Cinnamon Harvest or GOLean cereal or no HFCS or hydrogenated graham crackers (which I could not find!)
- 1/8 cup agave or pure maple syrup
- 1/4 +2 T Natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Laury used vegan chocolate chips, I did not)
- 1/8 cup almond or coconut milk (I used almond)
Directions:
In a saucepan, melt butter and add peanut butter, cereal, and agave or other sweetener. Stir well until melted. Pour in to lined muffin tins (~1/4″ thick). Place in freezer to set.
Meanwhile, add chocolate and milk to another saucepan and stir until melted. Pull cups out of freezer and pour chocolate over. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight or until set.
QUESTION: What is YOUR ultimate opinion?
I definitely agree with your stance on dairy. I check my consumption of it by going one or two weeks with very little of it, followed by a splurge week that includes adding a touch of heavy cream to stews, soups, and dishes. I LOVE cream and cheese, so I watch my intake carefully.
While I love diary, but I am a supporter of moderation and balance. It is very refreshing to see alternatives to sweets and everyday dishes. Thanks for sharing
Thank you so much for sharing the peanut butter cup recipe–I’m book-marking this one. What a neat idea.
While I’ve tried brief stints at veganism, feta cheese and my favorite yogurt pancakes always won out
I think we’re very much on the same page in terms of dietary position. I really do think moderation in everything is so important, yet so difficult to get. My nanna, God rest her soul, always advocated moderation when it comes to diet and to just be thankful for what food we have. I think when we’re thankful for food we eat more mindfully. That’s the case for me anyway
Hope you’re having a great weekend xxx
I like your approach to balance! I agree, so many of us are soooo far from any sort of balance… And, yes, animal products should only be a small part of our diet (if at all).
The peanut butter cups look really good!!!
While I don’t consume meat or dairy, I do occasionally consume seafood and eggs. My ultimate opinion though? I’m not against eating meat (I just wish people would choose humanely raised animals!) but I am completely against eating dairy. It’s natural to consume meat products but dairy? There’s nothing natural about it at all. If it were normal to drink another species milk then other animals would be doing it too but that’s not how it is. Human’s are the only species to steal milk from another animal and that bothers me.
Thanks for the great posts! I love that you took the time to shine a light on the dairy topic.
Very nice post! I totally agree with you too. I’m not a vegan but I’m pretty close ( strict vegetarian for 20+ yrs though ). Over the years I have limited my dairy to a bit of goat cheese or Greek Yogurt every now and then. I’ve noticed a big difference with my digestion thanks to this change…..Everything in moderation right?
Aloha
So glad your hubby likes the PB cups!!!
This is a great stance on dairy…a little bit is key. The over indulgence that we are told we need to do is the cause of allergies and all the health issues that come with too much!!!
As for right now…I’m going to continue to eat dairy. But I agree that we need to bring more balance to our diets. We need to be eating whole grains, veggies, fruits and nuts. I will continue to do that while still enjoying a cup of milk or a slice of cheese on my sandwich. However, I strongly believe in buying organic dairy products. This is so important to me! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas on this! I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
I feel like I really need to do my homework before coming to a conclusion.
I will say, there was a vegan bakery near my office and you cannot taste a difference. Those peanut butter cups of joy look simply amazing.
Putting the cereal in them is a good idea. I think graham crackers are often used, and this is definitely a way to better that AND bulk up on fiber. Nicely done…
I agree that it’s all about moderation – and for some people, definitions of moderation are different. Personally, I try to eat as wide a variety of whole food products as possible, and aim to balance quantities of animal products with quantities of non-animal products. I think it’s unfortunate that over the recent years, health care has focused so much on treatment using medication, rather than prevention with natural, healthy living and nutrition. If prevention had been the focus from the beginning, we wouldn’t see half of the health problems we do today, and governments wouldn’t be spending billions each year on prescription medications. I’ve commented the last couple of days about my thoughts on dairy specifically, but I think the issue, like you’ve discussed, is broader than that and we should reassess EVERYTHING we eat, not just cut out one type of food or another. Great post!
I haven’t read the China Study but how would you classify fish? I rarely eat any other animal protein besides fish (love salmon, shrimp, and tuna). I also eat lots of beans and lentils as sources of protein but I really rely on eggs and greek yogurt too.