Good Bye Dairy

One of my new resolves is to cut out dairy.  I'm not trying to be a martyr, I just don't think it's good for much. 

Milk and I have never had a great relationship.  I will always remember our Year 1 excursion to the farm to taste milk straight from the cow, and even then I remember it tasting "wierd" in comparison to the milk we got delivered from the Milk-O at home.  And it's no wonder considering it's heated to all get-out & then has multiple icky things added to it so there really is no original goodness left in it.  People who drink it for calcium are kidding themselves - there's really none left in it to make it worthwhile.  Then of course you have to remember the rubbish that is fed to these poor animals, and how that eeks into the milk supply as well (just as with breastfeeding humans) - it makes me shudder to think what the population really is consuming.  My kids don't drink much milk but what they do, I really try to make sure it's organic, at least then I know the cows are not being fed a whole mess of chemicals, anti-biotics, etc.  Now, you can get raw milk but legally it's not allowed to be sold as a "drinking" milk, but just for "cosmetic" purposes.  My sister and her kids buy it and love it.  Me, I've always been a bit of a milk-a-phobe.  During high school I suffered from stress and after milky cereal in the morning, I would want to vomit.  I was also NEVER one of the kids who flocked to the hot milo at the church camp, because even a mouthful would make my tummy churn.  Thinking back on it, maybe my body struggled with lactose, and I know I used to put juice on my cereal instead of milk to try and avoid feeling sick each morning. 

I am soooooo sensitive to milk and its taste that I have basically always gone for the least milkiest milk there is - which is skim:  more water than milk!  I hardly ever had it but for cereal, smoothees, & in my tea/coffee but I still know there's no benefit in drinking skim milk, even organic!  So, it's not that hard for me to get rid of as I don't have cereal anymore, I only use water or coconut milk in my smoothees, and yes, I'm weaning off of milk in my tea/coffee.    Cheese was a different matter - I looooooooove cheese, but on the Candida diet you can only have mozzarella cheese (not sure why?) so that was the next thing to go.  I will allow myself a little mozzarella on my home-made pizzas occasionally but I really didn't struggle as much with this as I thought I would.  I love salads with a little parmesan grated into it but I've realised so long as I have nuts in there, I don't feel I miss out!

Hmm ..... what else, yoghurt - no big deal, never ate it much.  Oh yes, CREAM - having been on a grain free, sugar free diet for over a year, that was always my go-to for a treat.  I am definately not a fat-a-phobe so it never concerned me to worry about how many calories, how much fat blah, blah, blah.  Toasted macadamias, a blob of cream, a swirl of honey - HEAVEN!  But no more - I am going to perfect the art of cashew cream and will let you know what success I have.  Also, when you can add coconut cream to most recipes, I doubt it'll be missed much at all (except maybe potato bake!).

And butter.  Still to this day, even having been off bread for over a year, I fantisize about a freshly baked loaf of sourdough bread and a block of pure butter.  My eyes are rolling back in my head just thinking about it and I am making that sound that Homer Simpson makes when he drools over doughnuts.

*slap, slap* 

I'm OK now!

So, yes, I will always struggle with not being able to fulfill that fantasy, and I know if I bomb out on anything it will be the temptation of the bread, then the butter, and the two together.  But it is do-able!  I already use coconut oil in place of butter in recipes.  I usually only fry/saute in olive or coconut oil.  And I don't eat bread ....... but sometimes I wish I did, and I must remind myself of the long term benefits and remember  that I don't want to be back where I was.

So, the next closest thing to fulfill my sandwich fetish was discovering what I could have.  And here it is:  MY OWN PB & J!

   
I have discovered Socca (or Farinata) which is a southeastern French unleavened bread or pancake traditionally made from only 3 ingredients:  chickpea flour, water and oil.  It can be the gluten free and grain free's hero as it can really be made into all types of bread, pancakes, pizza bases, sweet, savoury, crackers, etc.  I found this recipe for a more sweetened version  at the fabulous Edible Perspective blog and although mine seemed a litle drier than hers, it was still great and very filling. 

Cinnamon, Coconut & Cranberry Socca

3/4 cup chickpea flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 T  xylitol
1 cup water
1.5 tsp cinnamon
2 T coconut oil
1/3 cup dried juice-sweetened cranberries
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Just mix it all up in a bowl and pour into a greased square cake tin (I used a 25cm one) and bake for around 35 mins till golden and cracking.

I didn't use all the water as I was worried at how runny the mixture was, but apparently that is normal, and it is quite amazing at the texture it produces - a dense cakey sort of bread - sweet, chewy and filling.  On top I had my unsweetened peanut butter and a sloppy spoonful of the "jam" I had also made from thawed Raspberries/Blackberries, orange juice, lemon juice and agave. I blended it & then microwaved on high & was hoping it would thicken but it didn't so I added some arrowroot starch and while it did thicken a little, it was really still a sauce rather than a jam.  No worries tho - it was still just what I needed to add a splash of sweetness to my yummy sandwich.

 I am looking forward to experimenting with these recipes a little more and especially creating a fried garlic socca to give me something else I yearn for:  a garlic pizza bread!