"Hey, Google, I'm interested in dairy free diets. whatcha got?"
"May I recommend cashew sour cream?"
"Ew, no. Just a diet that is dairy-free. That's the only requirement."
"Ok. How about shaved brazil nuts instead of parmesan?"
"Why would I do that?? Sounds bizarre. C'mon, Google, there are so many ways to eat that wouldn't involve dairy in the first place. What about diets like that?"
"So... you want soy ricotta, almond ricotta, or cashew ricotta?"
"......?"
There really is no way to ask a search engine to look for dairy-free diets that somehow does not invoke dairy in some way. Which. ok, I guess makes sense. But it indicates a fundamental problem not only with search engines, but also how we think of dairy. It's so ubiquitous, it's hard for westerners to even imagine a day without it, even if only a simulation.
Let's think about this differently: What are your favorite dishes? List everything you like, then put it in rough order. Now, put a check by those which actually involve dairy. Hopefully it's not everything!
Here are ten of my favorite foods that do not invoke the spectre of dairy, nor should they:
- Pad Thai
- Baked tofu with broccoli
- White bean soup with rosemary
- Hummus, falafel and pita
- Vegetable rice pilaf
- Vegetable fried rice
- Papadzules (and mock Papadzules)
- Tomato soup with crostini and herbs
- Chinese peanut noodles with garlic and greens
- Tofu bacon with toast and broiled tomato
- Zaru Soba
Gave you a bonus 11th there.
Maybe this post is more a thought experiment than anything. I just really think in order to consider eliminating something from the diet, you'll be more successful not trying to eat substitutes. This perpetuates dependence on the ingredient. One day you'll realize grated nuts on pasta kinda sucks, and just go back to using parmesan. It would be a lot more successful to make Lentil loaf and a salad (#12!) and just forget about cheese for a while. Do you agree?
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