Milk Myths & Dairy replacements

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Recently, I started a raw cuisine cooking class in Tempe and wanted to share with you all what I have learned so far. The definition of "Raw" food is eating only gluten free, uncooked, unprocessed foods (so obviously no meat, fish, chicken, dairy, or eggs). I have never been a picky eater and will try anything, but I have always eaten dairy and haven't even considered giving it up, just like many of us. This class drew me in because I have always been interested in bettering my health but am a little intimidated when it comes to cooking. Mondays class we learned how to make different kinds of milk and the dangers of drinking milk from animals. The recipes ranged from cashew milk, almond milk, brazil nut milk, along with milk made from pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Today, we need to talk about WHY milk is bad for you and your bones. Not all milk, just milk coming from animals, specifically.

If you've been thinking about cutting down on dairy, or you're wondering if you're sensitive to it, read just some of the facts about why you might want to consider eliminating milk from your diet.

1. You might not be diagnosed as lactose intolerant, but an astonishing three-quarters of us actually lack the enzyme to properly digest cow's milk, and suffer digestively from the stuff.

2. Milk actually Makes You More Likely To Have Osteoporosis & Break Bones. On average, we absorb only 30 percent of the calcium found in milk, yogurt, and cheese; but we absorb twice the amount of calcium if we eat veggies like kale, broccoli, bok choy, spinach and lots of other plant-based foods that are really good for you in lots of ways.

3. Because dairy cows are kept on sex hormones or pregnant for their entire lives in order to lactate for humans year-round, when you consume dairy, you're also taking in a high amount of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. We know that an increased exposure to estrogen increases the risk of cancer, and dairy accounts for 60-80% of estrogens consumed by humans today.

4. Another study conducted on 7,500 men showed that those who drank more than two glasses of milk a day were twice as likely to develop Parkinson's disease as those who didn't. Yikes...

5. We are the only animals on the planet who take another animals milk and drink it for consumption. We are biologically designed to drink our own mother’s milk. Would you go and put your mouth to a cow’s nipple and start drinking it? It’s not a naturally occurring desire in my mind.

Below is the recipe to making your own milk:

Nut/Seed Milks:

1. To make raw dairy-free milk, any raw nut or seed can be used. (pecan, walnut, brazil,cashew,macadamia,pumpkin,sunflower, hemp, sesame, and pine)

2. 1 cup of nuts or seeds to 3 cups of water- Soak nuts/seeds over night, rinse and blend water and seeds/nuts in a high speed blender for 1 minute.

3. Pour mixture through a 'nut bag' (ranging from 2-8$)

4. Pour mixture through nut bag and strain by squeezing liquid out (make sure you have bowl underneath the bag while straining so the milk has something to empty into)

5. And you're done!

• Side note: The pulp can be used for crackers, burgers, and graham crackers. Store pulp in freezer unless using within 24 hours.

• For Flavored milk, you can add any of the following: Coconut nectar, dates, vanilla bean extract, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cacao powder, fresh or frozen fruit! (My advice would be to start with a small amount of flavoring and judge how strong you want it to be as you go)

One more recipe I wanted to share is how to make coconut milk!

Coconut Milk

1. Crack open a Young Thai coconut safely

2. With a spoon scrape out all the white coconut meat

3. Pour the coconut water and the 'meat' (white inside of coconut) into a blender making sure to pick out any wood pieces

4. Add one cup of regular water into blender

5. Mix for 45 seconds (There is no need for a nut bag to strain, you can just pour milk from blender to container)

6. Complete!

• Side note: I added dates (about three) and cacao power (1 tsp) and it was amazing! coconut milk is very sweet so try and add flavoring that will tone down sweetness.