LogFAQs > #978784754

I was off dairy for 5+ years for health reasons and just reintroduced literally in the last month. For me not having cheese and sour cream was a bummer because I make a lot of tacos and burrito's. The vegan substitute cheeses are horrible. I have tried all the supposed best ones and they are all disgusting to me. Also a lot of vegan stuff relies heavily on soy and if you are avoiding soy being dairy free can be even more problematic.

Giving up milk even as a heavy milk drinker was pretty easy and I found some pretty good substitutes when it came to almond, oat, or other options. It depends on the brand and which flavors but I found a couple good ones. One chocolate version is plant based and made from "pea protein" and is delicious and taste just like chocolate cow milk. It is yummy.

I found some pretty good dairy free yogurts and other products. All in all outside cheese if you can stomach the sometimes absurd prices of the dairy free stuff there is some pretty good stuff out there. And even without substituting I just got used to not having any dairy. It really wasn't bad except when I made tacos and craved shredded cheese and sour cream.

For me meat is a different story. At one time during the last decade while I was dealing with this health issue I was gluten free, dairy free, soy free, and low fodmap. Going meat free would simply have left me with damn near nothing. I have a meat heavy diet because for the longest time it is all I could eat without causing major issues.

I simply depend too much on meat and also enjoy it too much to give up. Currently with my health issue I'm just gluten free, soy free and am really enjoying having dairy back in rotation to be be able to have some yogurt, cottage cheese, and when I made tacos, shredded cheese and sour cream.

If I had to I can go dairy free again though I would prefer not to but I will not give up meat. Side note even though this has nothing to do with being vegan I'm impressed by some gluten free versions of things that are indistinguishable from normal wheat made versions. They have done REALLY well in this area.