We have stopped the dairy altogether – apart from butter – for a while now and we are feeling so much better. We were having cream in coffee and occasional hard cheese, as well as some goats milk too. Richard ate quite a bit of Greek yoghurt. We both found that dairy produces similar symptoms to gluten – really strong cravings, difficulty in knowing when to stop eating, digestive upsets, bloating, etc. I know dairy is a ‘grey area’ in Paleo and is a contentious topic. Many eat high fat dairy and can tolerate it well, but for those with auto-immune issues dairy can be a trigger. Listening to some of the talks at Paleo f(x), dairy was consistently mentioned (along with gluten) as a problem. I guess the same RW rule goes for everything – cut it out for 30 days and see how you look, feel and perform.
Going back to black tea is fine and one of the things that I would like to do is explore the range of exotic teas available that are specifically not for drinking with milk. When you eliminate milk, obviously the more delicate, perfumed tea becomes more attractive and ordinary breakfast tea tastes quite harsh. There is a lovely old-fashioned tea shop in Hay on Wye and I have resolved to try all their wonderful teas.
With coffee, I can drink it black when out and about. I always think of this quote on cutting out dairy from Melissa and Dallas over at the excellent Whole 9: ‘It is not hard. Don’t you dare tell us this is hard. Giving up heroin is hard. Beating cancer is hard. Drinking your coffee black. Is. Not. Hard.’ I love that! I guess that puts it into perspective. The nicer the roast, the nicer it is to drink black so in a way it is a real test of the quality of coffee served.
For coffee at home, we have been experimenting with coffee creamers and after much internet scouring, finally found a recipe that works and tastes great from the excellent blog Following my nose. I reproduce the recipe below – thank you so much Patty! Make a batch of it up and store it in the fridge for a few days or more. It doesn’t separate as much as pure coconut milk and you don’t end up with bits floating around your cup. It will firm up in the fridge to a lovely mousse consistency.
Ingredients
1 can of coconut milk
1 or 2 eggs (we use 2)
Vanilla to taste – we have been using the upgraded vanilla that I brought back from Austin and use around half a teaspoon
2 tablespoons of coconut oil (melted)
Put the coconut milk, eggs and vanilla in a blender and mix thoroughly.
Add the melted coconut oil and blend for a couple of minutes.
Store in the fridge.
We did try this as a ‘cream’ for serving with fruit by blending 2 egg yokes, the cream only from a can of coconut milk, vanilla, coconut oil and a little lemon zest. In a separate bowl we whisked 3 egg whites until stiff and then gently folded them into the coconut mixture. Chill until firm and then use as a cream substitute on berries – delicious!