Every person i've met who wants to go vegan or vegetarian has said that they have the hardest time with giving up dairy. I've never had cheese or any dairy products, but they're EVERYWHERE. People are literally getting addicted to cheese and want to quit. Cow’s milk is an unnatural food for humans to eat and over 70% of the world’s population are lactose intolerant.
Dairy is so bad for you despite the ''Got milk?'' agenda that's pushed on everybody all the time. In the US the FDA allows 750 million pus cells in every liter of milk, how disgusting is that? There's other ways to get calcium in your diet besides drinking a gross glass of cow secretions.
For instance, 1 tablespoon (9 grams) of poppy seeds pack 126 mg of calcium and in 3 tablespoons of chia there are 233 milligrams of calcium.
Of course, dark leafy greens, dried fruits and nuts and beans have plenty of calcium too so getting calcium on a plant-based or vegan diet isn't a problem.
So i recommend trying different vegan cheese substitutes and plant milks to replace dairy in your diet. And there are some nasty ones out there but don't give up if you get a bad one! Some people absolutely love one brand and hate the other, it just depends on your taste. Some swear that Follow Your Heart is the best and that Daiya is the devil and some like both (like me). Some only go for nutritional yeast or potato and carrot cheese (ABSOLUTELY NOT ME) So don't go off completely on what other people say. Taste test, try different recipes and see what you like. Even doing this once a week to start will make a difference.
My favorite brands are:
Miyokos: Probably the most popular right now in the vegan dairy substitute scene right now is Miyoko Schinner, she's changing the game. She has artisan vegan cheese wheels, the best butter ever, cream cheeses and cheese spreads.
JUST, Inc. (formerly Hampton Creek): They make awesome mayo in different flavors and salad dressings. They Just (see what i did there?😉) recently came out with the Just Egg, you've probably heard of it. I haven't got to try it yet cause it's so popular but i will soon.
Follow Your Heart, the Parmesan style shreds are delicious, the smoked Gouda and mozzarella slices are too. They also have really good vegan mayo.
Daiya: i love basically the Daiya products, especially the cheese shreds, boxed mac and cheese and jalapeño Havarti style block. They also have cheesecake and creamy salad dressings. They even have ready-made frozen vegan pizzas! My brother who's not vegan loves the meatless meat lovers!
Tofutti: They have the best plain cream cheese out there in my opinion, it's my favorite. They also have ice cream sandwiches.
For milk and yogurt:
Silk: Has been really popular for awhile, i don't really like soy milk but you should try it anyway. Almond milk is my favorite, there's is pretty good. They also have really good soy and almond yogurts in different flavors like blueberry and vanilla, soy yogurt is my favorite.
Califia Farms: They have different plant milks and cold brew coffee that's really good. They also have yogurt drinks.
Trader Joe's: They make my favorite Almond milk hands down. They also have coconut and soy milk. And have dairy free ice cream.
For Ice cream:
So Delicious: They make a really good Dipped cashew milk caramel ice cream bar, mocha almond fudge with almond milk and coconut ice cream bar covered with nuts. They have a lot of different ice cream flavors.
So try these out if you can find them and see if they work for you!
I also have Pinterest boards for recipes if you need ideas! Here