New. Thing. #4: Down. With. Dairy.

I recently started to play with my diet a little bit to just see how it affects me. I would like to lean more towards a plant-based diet. However, I will likely never be a person to say I am a vegetarian or vegan. I like all types of food, you see. On the other hand, I can recognize the benefits of limiting myself with regards to certain foods.

You are what you eat!

In my steps in moving towards a more plant-based diet, I decided dairy was the place to start. I started a few weeks ago by replacing my 2% milk in my smoothies each morning with almond milk. I tried both rice and almond milk, I just like almond milk better. I've been experimenting with different brands. Trader Joe's has the cheapest that I've found at $1.69 for 32 oz. I've been told Costco has almond milk you can buy in bulk and is pretty cheap.  I was skeptical about soy milk, but ended up trying it in coffee at a shop...not so bad! Actually gave it a nice nutty flavor! The only place I didn't cut out dairy was at work in my regular coffee, I continue to add a dash of half and half.

Trader Joe's and Almond Breeze almond milk.

Yes, I did blog the other day about CHEESE! I do not think dairy is BAD, I don't think any food is BAD, I just think many things can be bad when we eat too much of them. That is what I was finding with myself and dairy products. I do continue to eat some cheese on things but I have drastically cut back on cheese. I even tried Coconut Bliss chocolate ice cream! Pretty good! Tasted like a Mounds Bar!

I will note that last night, I did make pizza. I also indulged in a regular latte today to see how I felt after. How did I feel? Bloated. I think that sticking with cutting out a lot of dairy will be good for me. I've been focused on trying to include more foods that I have probably not been eating enough of. I've been including leafy greens in my smoothies in the morning, namely spinach. My smoothies only consist of fresh/frozen fruit and almond milk so I am getting doses of vegetables and fruit immediately in the morning. A good way to start each morning! I have also been wanting to go to Costco and purchase a new veggie burger I had tried and really enjoyed!

Spinach!

Less dairy is my new challenge to having a more plant-based diet!

Have you ever noticed that certain foods have become too much of a regular thing in your diet? Did you eliminate them? How did you feel afterwards?