Consumption of added sugar is known to have several adverse impacts on our health, including weight gain and obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, kidney disease, cognitive decline, and some cancers. Sugar has also been linked to cavities, acne, accelerated cellular and skin aging, joint pain due to inflammation, and increased risk of depression and gout. Consuming too much sugar also causes an immediate spike in blood sugar, followed by an energy crash due to a sharp and rapid drop in blood sugar. 

Sugar vs. Whole Food Sweetener
Sugar: While all plants have natural sugars, the sugar that gets added to our foods originates in plants with especially high levels of sugar, including sugar cane, sugar beets, corn, coconuts, and maple trees. Sugar is extracted from the plant in its juice or sap, leaving behind the fiber and much, if not all of the nutrients. Sugar in the extracted juice or sap is then concentrated and refined into the forms we commonly add to food, including granulated sugar and maple syrup.

Other forms of added sugar include and are not limited to powdered sugar, raw sugar, evaporated cane juice, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, and fruit juice. 

Whole Food Sweetener: Any sweetener that's made from the whole sweet part of the plant, typically from the fruit. Like other sweeteners, the sugar in fruit is also concentrated, in this case by drying the fruit. Unlike other sweeteners, the sugar is not extracted from the fruit before concentrating and refining. Rather, the entire fruit is dried, then softened by soaking and blended into a smooth paste. The resulting sweetener retains all the fiber and nutrients. 

A benefit of using fruit pastes is that they are very sweet, yet their glycemic indices are significantly lower than sugar, meaning that they don't cause your blood sugar to spike to the extent that sugar does. That's because the fiber helps to regulate absorption of the natural sugars into the blood.

Another benefit of using fruit pastes is that they are rich in nutrients, including antioxidants.

Fruit pastes are very easy to make at home. Simply pack dried fruit into a container, fill to the top with water, place in a microwave oven and run on high for 2 minutes to soften, then blend in a high-speed blender until smooth. You can add vanilla if desired, 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, depending on the volume. If you're using  dried dates or cherries, be sure to check that all the pits have been removed before blending.

You can create a variety of sweet flavors simply by varying the fruit. Try using dates (Medjool or Deglet Noor), raisins, currants, or other dried fruits such as mangos, figs, apricots, peaches, plums, or cherries. Or mix it up. Use your imagination. 

Fruit pastes can be substituted for sugar and maple syrup in recipes in a 1:1 ratio. Note that baked goods tend to come out softer. The fruit paste thickens the batter, especially when substituting for maple syrup or honey, so you may need to add water to thin the batter to the desired consistency. 

I used currants to make the fruit paste shown in the lower center of this photo. I then used the currant paste in the parfait as well as to sweeten the vanilla cashew cream shown in the lower left. 

The end result? An amazingly sweet and healthy treat sweetened with whole fruit and no added sugar! ​

It’s February and hearts are all around us, reminding us of those we love, including boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, significant others, family, friends, and pets. Also ourselves. We give our hearts to those we love. But how well are we taking care of those hearts?
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coronary heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S., with 370,000 deaths annually, costing $108.9 billion per year. Someone in the U.S. has a heart attack every 43 seconds, and someone dies from a heart-related event every minute.1 And tell me this isn’t shocking: according to Michael Greger, MD, FACLM in his book “How Not to Die”, fatty streaks, which are the first sign of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries due to build-up of plaques of fatty material on the inner arterial walls), is found in nearly all American children by age 10!

Blood vessels are a key component of our circulatory system, and angiogenesis is the natural process in our bodies that grows blood vessels. Angiogenesis is a defense system in our bodies that needs to be balanced.

When angiogenesis is balanced, we have the right number of blood vessels. That keeps everything else is in balance, including other systems that are connected to the blood supply such as our heart, lungs, brain, and nerves, as well as the functioning of all our organs.

When there’s too little angiogenesis, you don’t have enough blood vessels, which causes ischemia, a restriction in the blood supply to tissues. Ischemia is associated with coronary heart disease, and results in a shortage of oxygen and glucose needed to keep tissue alive.

With cancer, excessive angiogenesis is an imbalance that results in the growth of way too many blood vessels as the cancer cells establish their own blood supply, which feeds the disease.

William Li and his colleagues discovered many inhibitors and mediators of angiogenesis in foods! These foods contain bioactives, which are antioxidants and help keep the angiogenesis balance in check.

Can we use food to treat cancer by inhibiting angiogenesis? YES! That’s the focus of Li’s research. According to Li: Foods are the chemotherapy that we take three times a day!

Angiogenesis-inhibiting foods prevent cancer cells from establishing their own blood supply, which helps us with cancer prevention and intervention. Many bioactives are very powerful mediators of healthy angiogenesis.
​
What kinds of foods are we talking about? Nutrient- and antioxidant-rich whole plant-based foods!

​Some common antioxidants include (and are not limited to):

• Beta-carotene. A precursor to vitamin A and found in orange vegetables and fruits such as carrots, yams, butternut squash, mango, and cantaloupe.
• Lycopene. A cousin to beta-carotene and found in red vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes, watermelon, and pink grapefruit.
• Vitamin C. Found in vegetables and fruits such as leafy green vegetables, peppers, tomatoes, citrus fruits, kiwi fruit, and papaya.
• Vitamin E. Found in beans, including soy beans, pinto beans, and chickpeas, as well as seeds and nuts.
• Selenium. A  mineral found in foods such as mushrooms, onions, whole grains, soy beans, seeds, and some nuts.
• Manganese. A mineral found in almost all whole plant-based foods. 
• Iron. A mineral found in beans and leafy green veggies, seaweed, coriander, peppers, mushrooms, cabbage, squash and other root vegetables, and most whole grains, nuts, seeds, and even fruits. Iron is absorbed from foods best when combined with vitamin C-rich foods (see above).
• Copper. A mineral found in beans, potatoes, mushrooms, radishes, leeks, chile peppers, seaweed, and most whole grains.

​Beta-carotene and lycopene are assisted by selenium and reside in our cell membranes, acting to shield the cell membranes from damage by free radicals. Vitamin C stays in the fluid between cells, patrolling for and neutralizing free radicals before they can get to the cells. I like to think of antioxidants as the “A-C-E” (Get it? Vitamins A, C, & E) up my sleeves for fighting free radicals. 

While we cannot completely eliminate free radicals from our bodies, we can control the balance of antioxidants and free radicals by consuming lots of brightly colored produce (fruits and vegetables) as well as beans and whole grains.

To learn more about free radicals and antioxidants, click here. And to learn about how antioxidants are measured, click here. 
​
 
Reference
William W. Li, Vincent W. Li, Michelle Hutnik, and Albert S. Chiou, Tumor Angiogenesis as a Target for Dietary Cancer Prevention, Journal of Oncology Volume 2012, Article ID 879623, 23 pages.

I had a great time camping over this past Memorial Day weekend and enjoyed all kinds of delicious, satisfying, and easy whole plant-based foods! Here are some tips and ideas to help make your next plant-based outing even easier. 
​
Versatile Foods to Have on Hand for Simple Meals and Snacks
Load the cooler with any left-over veggies in your fridge, including greens, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, and/or any other veggies. If you have time, cut them up in advance and bring them in Ziploc baggies. They can be eaten as snacks or used in salads or cooked with other foods. Also bring along some tofu, hummus, salsa, avocados, nuts, almond butter, and marinara sauce with whole-grain pasta.

And don't forget the fruit. Apples, oranges, strawberries, and kiwifruit travel well. Bananas do well if they are not crushed. Some fruit such as cantaloupe, watermelon, and mangos can be cut up and placed into Ziploc baggies for easy access. Also, don't forget the dark chocolate!

Foods that you can prepare in advance to cook with or have on hand for snacks include brown rice, beans, cooked whole-grain pasta, portobello mushrooms with marinade, boiled small potatoes, washed and cut greens. Bring these in 1-gallon Ziploc baggies.

Bring along some non-dairy milk in cartons that do not require refrigeration before opening. That way you can save space in the cooler. 

Equipment
Heat source. Many campgrounds have grills and/or electricity. You can also bring your own grill as well as a portable gas stove and/or electric burner along with charcoal or propane gas.  

Cookware and Utensils. It's a good idea to bring a skillet for sauteing or stir-frying and a pot for boiling water or warming up any sauces. Also a large spoon for stirring, a spatula, and tongs.

Easy Breakfast Idea
Prepare in advance a mixture of cereal, nuts, dried fruit, and seeds and bring it in a 1-gallon Ziploc baggie. Then add some fresh fruit and non-dairy milk. My favorite is a mixture of rolled oats, Kashi 7-Grain cereal, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, slivered almonds, and goji berries with fresh bananas, berries, and almond milk. 

Easy Lunch & Dinner Ideas
Grilled Portobello Mushroom Burgers. If you have access to a grill, bring some portobello mushrooms in a 1-gallon Ziploc bag with marinade (I like to use balsamic vinegar and red wine with a splash of soy sauce and maple syrup). Throw them on the grill, then serve on whole-grain bread or buns along with hummus, greens, tomato, and avocado. Yum!

Bean, Rice, & Veggie Bowl (or burrito/taco). Prepare some of the brown rice with black beans or pinto beans, avocados, salsa, and veggies. Brown some of the boiled potatoes on the grill or in a skillet and throw those in as well. Enjoy in a bowl, as tacos folded into corn tortillas, or rolled up as a burrito in a whole grain flour tortilla. 

Stir Fried Tofu & Veggies. Make a quick, easy stir fry with greens and/or other veggies and tofu and enjoy over brown rice. When I was camping this past weekend I made a stir fry with bok choi, broccoli, and tofu, and it was amazing! I combined some soy sauce, ginger, garlic, maple syrup, and cornstarch into a delicious and easy sauce to cook with the stir-fried veggies and tofu!

Pasta Primavera. Warm some marinara sauce in a pot or skillet and add any desired veggies such as peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, and/or greens. Cook until veggies begin to soften, then add the pre-cooked pasta and stir until heated through.

These are just a few ideas to help you on your next outing, whether it's camping for a few days or just a picnic. Bon Appetit!

It’s New Year’s Day, and for many, it’s a time to declare resolutions of change. We tend to save big changes for New Year’s Resolutions such as weight loss (or gain), better health, to stop smoking, to start a new relationship (or improve an existing relationship), to start a new job, to improve our finances, to get organized, to move, or to stop putting up with something we don’t like.
 
We often procrastinate and then put pressure on ourselves to make some major change on January 1. Except that we may not have a solid plan, or any plan at all for that matter, as to how we are actually going to make this major life change.
 
The reality is that major change and results don’t usually happen overnight. Major change typically requires making a series of smaller changes. For example, think of something as seemingly simple as moving from one apartment to another. You don’t just grab your stuff and go. There are many steps involved prior to making the actual move. First you have to find a new apartment in a location you like that fits your needs and budget. Then you fill out an application and wait for approval, upon which you pay the fees to move into the new apartment. You have to give notice to your current landlord, get all your utilities switched over, go through your things, get rid of those you no longer want or need, pack the things you are moving, line up a truck and help, move everything, and clean up your old apartment. And it’s even more complicated if you are selling and purchasing homes. Either way, there is a series of several small steps you have to do to end up with the final result, moving into a new apartment. In this case, once the final result is achieved, you’re done.
 
Personal changes such as improving health, weight loss, relationships, and finances are even more complicated. Why is that? Because these changes involve changing our habits. Those behaviors we do automatically, over and over again, without thinking. Those behaviors that over time created the problem we want to change.
 
If our goal is to lose weight, we have to eliminate all our habits that cause us to gain weight. And we have to create new habits that help us lose weight. The bigger the change, the more habits we likely have to change in order to achieve that big change.
 
You may have a whole series of little habits that contributed to your weight gain and you need to change. Maybe you add cream and/or sugar to your coffee, butter your white toast, grab a few pieces of candy every time you walk past the breakroom, use the creamy dressing on your healthy salad, get that mid-afternoon snack out of the vending machine, sit at your desk most of the day, then sit on the couch for the rest of the night with the fast food you grabbed on your way home because you’re hungry and tired, and don’t want to cook. If you suddenly eliminate all of these habits you will have a void to fill.
 
You can replace each of those habits with a healthier habit that promotes weight loss. Maybe you could drink your coffee black, have a piece of whole-grain toast with hummus, snack on fruit or veggies instead of the candy and vending machine snacks, and do a little meal planning and preparation to have healthier dinners at home. You may also go for a walk on your lunch break or when you get home.
 
Sounds easy, right? Well, it is, except that it’s going to be hard to change so many habits all at once. As creatures of habit, if we change up too many small things at once, it can take us too far out of our routines, making it hard to sustain all those changes.
 
Darren Hardy wrote a great book called “The Compound Effect”. His book is based on the principles that small, smart choices done consistently over time result in radical changes. And I mean small choices. Choices so small, so subtle, that change seems imperceptible. If you’re looking for a big change, you may even be thinking “Why even bother with small, imperceptible changes?”.
 
Here’s why. Small, manageable changes are much easier for us to do, which increases the likelihood that we will consistently continue with that change and turn it into a habit, so eventually we will do it automatically without thinking about it. It takes about 21 days of doing something consistently to turn it into a habit.
 
For example, if you replace the habit of grabbing a bag of chips to snack on after work with grabbing a bag of baby carrots instead, you will be saving yourself a few hundred calories per day. While eating baby carrots may not seem as exciting as eating chips during those first three weeks, just wait. You will find yourself actually wanting those baby carrots when you get home from work, and that’s what you will automatically grab.
 
You probably won’t see weight loss right away just from eating baby carrots instead of chips. But you may notice that you don’t eat as much during or after dinner because you filled up on the baby carrots before dinner. You may also notice that after having those baby carrots, a nice salad sounds good with dinner. You may begin to feel a little lighter and want to go for a walk in the evening. And those things may result in your clothes fitting a little looser, which may inspire you to make another small, manageable change that leads to other changes that eventually grow into new habits that result in sustainable weight loss.
 
That’s the compound effect. Little changes and the cumulative effects of those little changes add up over time to create big changes that are sustainable. The caveat is that you have to be patient. The major change does not happen overnight. It takes time. However, with seemingly little effort you eliminate the bad habits that created the problem you want to change and you create new habits that, because they become habits, virtually assure that the change you achieve will be permanent.
 
What is one small, seemingly imperceptible change you can make today that will start you on your path to the change you desire?
 
Happy New Year!

Diabesity refers to the link between obesity and diabetes. Obesity trends are on the rise and the odds of a diabetes diagnosis rise dramatically with increasing weight. Several studies show a significant increase in weight for meat- and dairy-eaters compared to sustainable weight loss for those on a vegan diet. So it’s no surprise that vegans weigh significantly less than non-vegans, despite the fact that vegan diets can be higher in calories overall.
 
It was observed in 1935 that diets high in carbohydrates (carbs) and low in fat resulted in significantly fewer deaths from diabetes than diets lower in carbs and higher in fat. The same trend was seen in World War I when animal food supplies were cut off from Scotland by German submarines. Another study around that time noted that insulin dosages were greatly reduced for diabetic patients placed on a high-carb diet, and in many cases (24%), the insulin was stopped altogether after 5 years. In a study in the late 1970s several diabetic men when placed on a high-carb, high-fiber, low-fat diet completely reversed their diabetes and were completely taken off insulin, after only 3 weeks!
 
On the other hand, in China, the traditionally more plant-based diet gave way to the introduction of western fast and convenience foods, meat, sugary foods, and soda. Fat consumption increased in China by 15% from 1991-2011 and diabetes doubled twice during that time. What this tells us is that there appears to be a link between diet, weight, and diabetes.
 
The association between fat and insulin resistance is widely accepted. Fat causes insulin resistance, which occurs when fat in the bloodstream builds up in the muscle, causing insulin to lose its ability to get glucose into the cells, and resulting in a build-up of glucose in the bloodstream (high blood sugar).
 
A high-fat diet increases levels of fat in the bloodstream and muscles, and is associated with decreased insulin sensitivity. Obesity has the same effect because excess fat that’s stuffed into fat cells literally spills over and back into the bloodstream and muscles. In fact, insulin sensitivity drops in as little as 2 hours on a low-carb diet as fat builds up in muscle tissue. Interestingly saturated fats cause insulin resistance whereas unsaturated fats improve insulin sensitivity.
 
The opposite happens as the amount of fat in our diet gets lower and lower – insulin works better and better. So we can decrease insulin resistance simply by decreasing the amount of fat in our diet and also by losing weight. Studies have found that fat stored in muscles is significantly lower in vegans than in omnivores (meat- and plant-eaters). A major finding in a study was that vegans are more insulin sensitive, have lower fasting blood glucose and lower insulin levels.
 
Maybe that’s because whole plant-based vegans eat mainly foods that are lower on the glycemic index (GI), which are digested more slowly and cause only a gradual rise in blood sugar. In this respect, the GI may be a helpful tool for preventing the intake of foods that raise blood glucose, which in turn can help prevent and manage diabetes.
 
However, consuming only low-GI foods doesn’t necessarily translate into good health. For example, diets that are low in carbs and high in meat and dairy (high protein and fat) are also low on the GI index. Problems with this approach include the link between high fat intake and insulin resistance as well as the known links between animal foods, cancer, and heart disease.
 
On the other hand, staying low on the GI by consuming higher-protein, low-GI carbohydrate-rich foods such as beans and whole grains can have a positive impact on insulin resistance as these foods are high in fiber, which slows digestion and thereby stabilizes blood sugar.

Halloween is back. That time of year that kids (and adults too) get completely amped up on sugar from all the candy. Candy at school. Candy on counter tops. Candy in offices. Everywhere you go, there are bowls with offerings of candy. And tonight, the kids are going to go door-to-door, to malls, or to Halloween parties to get even more candy.
 
I remember as kids we used to dress up in costume, grab a pillow case, and strap on our roller skates to go trick-or-treating (ok, now I’m dating myself) so that we could cover even more ground in less time. The goal was to completely fill our pillow cases up with candy. And we didn’t use our own standard-size pillow cases. Oh, no, we went for our parent’s king-size pillow cases!
 
When we got home, we emptied our pillow cases to survey our loot. Of course, Mom had to inspect and remove anything that looked suspicious. And we picked out and traded the things we didn’t like. Then we dove in and ate as much candy as possible, until we could eat no more. We woke up, hung over from sugar, and went straight to our candy. Breakfast of champions. We continued on this candy frenzy until it was all gone. And whoever finished first appealed to the others to share anything that was left, even the stuff we didn’t like.
 
I’m cringing as I write this, thinking about what I did to myself, especially knowing of the harmful effects of sugar.
 
Sugar offers no nutritional value, other than glucose, which our bodies need. However, we do not need to consume sugar to get glucose because we get plenty of glucose from eating whole plant-based foods, including fruit, veggies, whole grains, beans, and legumes. Plus when we consume whole plant-based foods we also get loads of vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatories.
 
Sugar (sucrose) is half glucose and half fructose. High levels of fructose in our bodies from sugar and other high fructose sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup and even agave nectar goes to our liver where it gets converted into fat and causes Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, the most common liver disorder in developed countries. 
 
Sugar is addictive. Opiates, which are natural painkillers, are released in our brain as soon as sugar touches our tongue. That in turn triggers our brain to release dopamine, a brain chemical that gives us the feeling of pleasure. And that makes us crave more sugar. 
 
We also crave sugar (and processed starches too) because sugary and processed foods cause our blood sugar to spike, and our insulin response is so efficient that it leaves our blood with less sugar (glucose) than before we ate the food. Our brain is fueled only by glucose and notices the drop in our blood glucose, so our brain makes us crave sugar. That’s why we often feel hungry right after eating foods high in sugar and/or processed starches.
 
And speaking of our insulin response, consuming a western diet that’s high in sugar and fat increases our risk of insulin resistance, a cause of Type 2 Diabetes. In other words, we have an insulin response to sugary and processed foods, but insulin can’t get glucose out of our blood and inside of our cells. Now we have a glut of sugar and insulin in our blood.
 
Sugar can lead to cancer. Extra insulin in our blood, along with insulin-like growth factor (IGF1), has been found to enhance cancer cell proliferation and may contribute to tumor progression. Sugar also contributes to obesity, a known risk factor for cancer.
 
And if you already have cancer, sugar essentially feeds tumor cells and fuels cancer growth. In fact, the uptake of sugar in cancer cells is up to 12 times that of normal cells. Also, sugar creates an acidic environment inside our bodies, and tumors thrive in acidic environments.

​​So here we are, it’s Halloween. What are you going to give all the little Trick-or-Treaters that come to your door tonight? How about Halloween toys, monsters, glo-sticks, and stickers? That’s what I do, and the kids LOVE it! I fill a huge bowl with a large variety of Halloween items and let each Trick-or-Treater pick out what they like. I love to watch them run to their parents yelling “look what I got!!! look what I got!!!”! 

Today all those things go on sale, so they’re cheap. For example, I saw that Michaels is offering 70% off all things Halloween today. Last year I shopped for Halloween toys on Halloween day and ended up buying loads more than I needed, and all for less than $10.00! So I’m heading out now to do my Halloween shopping.
 
Happy Halloween!

​While lemons and limes are very similar in many ways, it seems that other than guacamole, margaritas, and Thai food, most of the recipes and uses for a tart citrus fruit that I come across call for lemons or lemon juice. And if you have a sore throat, fresh-squeezed lemon juice along with honey in hot water is touted as the perfect elixir.
 
I love limes and typically substitute limes for lemons in any recipe that calls for lemons or lemon juice. To me, although the difference is subtle, limes have a slightly milder, sweeter, and less tart flavor that I just enjoy more than lemons.
 
And here’s the main reason I love limes so much. Limes don’t have any seeds. And that makes squeezing out the juice a heck of a lot quicker and easier because I don’t have to catch or pick out any seeds. Better yet, I don’t have to bite into any seeds that I missed when catching or picking out the seeds.
 
I got to wondering: are there any significant nutritional benefits to lemons that I’m missing out on by using limes almost exclusively? So I went to the USDA National Nutrient Database to find out. I compared the nutrients in one ounce each of lemon juice and lime juice, which is equivalent to two tablespoons. 

​Considering that limes have always tasted slightly sweeter to me, I was surprised to find that lemon juice has a more sugar than lime juice. One ounce of lemon juice has 0.77 milligrams (mg) of total sugar while an ounce of lime juice has only 0.52 mg of total sugar. That’s the difference of about 3/16 and 1/8 of a teaspoon of sugar (1 gram of sugar = ¼ teaspoon), which is really hardly worth mentioning. However, that does mean that technically, lemon juice is actually sweeter than lime juice, yet probably not noticeably.

​The nutrient profiles of both lemon and lime juice are very similar, with very small, almost negligible differences in the nutrients that are present. For example, an ounce of lime juice has twice the amount of calcium as an ounce of lemon juice, or put another way, has a whopping 200% more calcium. That sounds like a big difference. Yet there’s only 4 mg of calcium in an ounce of lime juice and 2 mg in an ounce of lemon juice. Compare those amounts to the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for calcium, 1,000 mg, and the difference between 2 and 4 mg becomes negligible.
 
Note that while choline is not a vitamin, it plays a similar role to folate and B-vitamins and is important for normal brain function.
 
Probably the most significant difference is in the amount of vitamin C, in which case one ounce of lime juice has 9.2 mg of vitamin C, a little over ¾ the amount of vitamin C in one ounce of lemon juice, which has 11.8 mg. At close to 10% of the RDA for vitamin C, that difference is only slightly more significant.
 
So I would say that based on these numbers, one is not significantly better than the other. I’m comfortable that I’m neither gaining nor losing any significant benefits by substituting limes for lemons, and will continue to enjoy my favorite, limes.

After reading last week’s post on the myth of dairy and calcium, you may have decided that it’s time to give up dairy. Maybe you are lactose intolerant. Maybe you are allergic to dairy. Maybe you have acne that you want to clear up. Maybe you want to reduce inflammation. Maybe you want to strengthen your bones (yes, that’s correct). May you just want to try something else.
 
So now what? You’re talking about giving up milk, cream, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and creamy sauces, right? How are you ever going to fill that huge dairy void? There are many great ways to do just that. Let’s talk about it.
 
Nondairy Milk. Nut milks (almond, cashew, walnut, hazelnut, etc.), oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, rice milk. These milks are delicious and can be found unsweetened, sweetened, with or without vanilla, and in some cases, chocolate-flavored. The unsweetened, non-vanilla varieties are great when substituting for milk in dishes that are not sweet. Any or all of the varieties are great over cereal, in smoothies, and even just to drink. Look for brands such as SILK, Westsoy. Or you can easily make a quart of your own delicious nut milk: just soak 1 cup of nuts overnight in water, drain and rinse the nuts, then blend in 3 cups of water until smooth and strain through cheesecloth.
 
Nondairy Cream. Coconut milk and coconut cream are rich and slightly sweet, making them a great alternative to cream. There are also almond, coconut, and soy “cream” products available, including several coffee creamers made from almond milk, coconut milk, or soy milk by brands such as SILK, So Delicious, and Califa Farms.
 
Nondairy Yogurt. Several stores carry nondairy yogurt typically made from almond, coconut, or soy milk. You will find varieties from many of the same brands mentioned above. These are great. However, beware that they typically have lots of added sugars.
 
Nondairy Ice Cream. Likewise several stores carry nondairy ice creams, which are also typically made from almond, coconut, or soy milk. These are delicious! However, while they don’t have dairy, they typically do have loads of added sugars. Alternatively there are many great sorbets, which are simply frozen puréed fruit. Stay away from sherbet because it typically includes milk products. Always check the ingredient list so you can be sure to skip anything with milk products.
 
Nondairy Cheeses. Along with health food stores, most major grocery stores and some farmer’s markets carry non-dairy cheeses made from soy, almonds, rice, or other ingredients. While these “cheeses” are made without animal-based products, be careful, as they can still be high in fat from oils. Daiya is one of the better manufacturers of nondairy cheese and offers a variety of flavors found in most stores. Be sure to read ingredient list as some have animal products in the form of casein (milk protein) or other milk products.
 
Tofu. Tofu is versatile and fairly tasteless, and is a great source of calcium. Tofu can be added to soups, stir fries, scrambles, etc., and it will take on the flavor of whatever it’s been added to. Tofu can easily be made into a “ricotta” for making lasagna or stuffed shells by combining ½ cup chopped parsley, 1 clove garlic, 1 pound lite firm silken tofu, ½ teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon in a food processor and processing until smooth and creamy.
 
Cashew Cream Sauces. There are several recipes on the internet for various cashew cream sauces that are heavenly. You can make almost any kind of cream sauce from cashews, including sweet cashew cream, cashew sour cream, cashew cream cheese, and cashew “cheese” sauces. Click on this link for a great cashew cream Alfredo sauce recipe.
 
Nutritional Yeast. Nutritional yeast comes in flakes or powders and can be added to or sprinkled over foods to add a cheesy, nutty taste with no cholesterol and virtually no fat. It’s much higher in protein than cheese and much lower in calories. Some nutritional yeasts are fortified with vitamin B12, an added bonus (more on vitamin B12 later). Here’s a link to my favorite “Not So Cheese” sauce that uses nutritional yeast.
There are a lot of local “cheeze” makers showing up at street fairs and farmers markets, especially in bigger cities. Those have been some of the best nondairy cheeses I’ve ever tasted. Check out any street fairs or farmers markets in your area. You never know what you might find in addition to the amazing fresh and local produce! And Whole Foods carries an amazing brand of vegan cream cheese called Kite Hill.
 
Now that you have a good idea of what kinds of non-dairy substitutions are available, you can either use them directly or as ingredients in foods that you cook. For example, you can pour almond milk directly over your morning cereal or you can use it as an ingredient in a “creamy” sauce. You can find many great recipes in cookbooks and online that use non-dairy ingredients. Or, you can simply alter your own favorite recipes.