Cutting Back On Dairy

For a while now, I have been making a concerted effort to cut back on dairy products. They've never settled well with me, but it wasn't until my late 30's that I finally decided to do something about it. 

It hasn't been easy, mainly because I freakin' LOVE ice cream. How dare you - Trader Joes have such a good ice cream selection! 

In my journey to remove milk/dairy from my life, I have tried various alternative milk forms:

• Rice Milk - no freakin way. It tasted transparent.

• Soy Milk - Not my thing.

• Almond Milk - Ok, I'm down.

• Non-Sweetened Vanilla Almond Milk - Yes. I'm all about it.

But then came Oat Milk. My first experience with it was at Trader Joe's (yes, I see the theme as well). I sampled a smoothie they were giving out, and BOOM - I fell in love. Then, I sampled an oat milk latte at the 2018 SCA coffee event in Seattle, and I had finally found the milk alternative of my dreams. 

I rarely drink milk or alternative milk-based coffee drinks. My go-to drinks are pour-overs, an Americano, or a double shot of espresso. 

This decision to minimize - and possibly remove dairy has been more of a health choice in general. Not an easy one, though, if I'm honest.

So it was a pleasant surprise to come across this Oatly Barista Edition at my local grocery store. And I have to say; this is freakin' good. I am also impressed with how well it reacts to being steamed/poured. 

As this journey continues - I am interested in testing other oat milk and some of the newer (at least to me) forms of alternatives to dairy for coffee. 

Oh, and cheese - I have yet to find the perfect one when making homemade pizzas. I'm diggin the taste of Violife - but it's not melting as it claims on the packaging. 

So the search continues.