A Comparison Review of Vegan Cheeses in the Market

Cheese. It is the one thing that people say they miss most when they can no longer consume dairy. Thank god there are many scientists out there working hard to make a replacement that is comparable. One thing you will notice if you look closely is that the dairy-free cheese is often much healthier for you in that they do not usually contain the long-chain saturated fats that regular cheese has. Some people are choosing the vegan cheeses for health reasons even when they can digest cheese with no problem!

I found this article on the "Go Dairy Free" blog which does an analysis of all the substitute cheeses out there in the stores. Makes life a little easier!

http://www.godairyfree.org/Alisa-s-Blog/Alisa-s-Milk-Free-Blog/Vegan-Pizza-Cheese-Face-off-Teese-Sheese-Follow-Your-Heart-and-Cheezly.html

Organic Food Bar

When I'm afraid I'm going to be stuck without food to eat, whether that means at an event without food my stomach can handle or a day away from my house, I usually carry around something that will help me get by JUST in case. A few months ago, I came across this organic food bar at Whole Foods that is both lactose-free and gluten-free and full of ingredients that are extremely good for you. It is also cold-processed which I'm reading is very important in maintaining the product's nutrients and avoiding oil rancidity (which leads to free radicals in the body, therefore, an aging body).

My immediate reaction to the nutrition info was "Whoa, that's a lot of fat!" 12 grams....but after closer inspection, I saw that only 2 of those grams were saturated. The fat is coming from almond butter...which has a lot of good things to offer as far as nutrition goes.

So I was at the Saints baseball game last week and I was in one of those situations where I couldn't find something to eat, so I took this food bar out of my purse and had it for dinner. Hey, there may be 12 grams of fat, but I was FULL afterward...so full I didn't have dessert that night! (and I never skip dessert...) so in the end, I probably ended up eating less calories than normal.

For a food bar, this wasn't bad. It was sweet and having something for dinner that was sweet wasn't exactly ideal, but it was tasty enough with the strongest flavors being almond butter and raisins. There are several other flavors: original, vegan, chocolate chip, omega-3 flax, active greens, wild blueberry, cranberry, protein and several "raw vegan" versions. I've seen these at Whole Foods, most co-ops and Trader Joes. I have pasted the ingredients and nutritional information below. If you would like to visit the website, click here.

Ingredients: Organic Almond Butter, organic date paste, organic agave nectar, organic brown rice protein, organic bio sprouts - flax, organic raisins, organic bio sprouts - quinoa, organic sesame seeds

Nutritional Information:
Calories - 300
Total Fat - 12g (2g saturated)
Total Carbohydrates - 34g (20g sugars, 6g dietary fiber)
Protein - 14g
Sodium - 25mg (1% daily value)
Cholesterol - 0mg

Lactose in Medications and Supplements?!

A few weeks back, I was having some severe allergy symptoms after the cottonwood tree let go of all the cotton here in Minneapolis. I went and bought a box of Claritin since that is the allergy medication that everyone seems to use. I took a pill and waited. I was relieved to see my allergy symptoms go away, but horrified to see my lactose intolerance symptoms appear. How could this be? I hadn't ingested any dairy whatsoever....so I thought!

On the back of the box in the ingredient section, the FIRST ingredient in my generic Claritin pills from Target was LACTOSE!!! I was completely shocked! WHY would they decide to add lactose to a pill? So I made my way back to Target in search of an allergy pill that did not include lactose. You would not believe how hard it was to find one that was free of this "poison"! The only adult dosage with non-drowsy listed on the box was Alavert. I am happy I can now say I have a pill that not only works and leaves my digestive tract alone, but one that dissolves in your mouth as a mint!

If you are avoiding dairy, be sure to check the ingredients of all supplements and medications you take. It is in a lot of them! To date, I've seen it in probiotics, antacids, dietary supplements, etc.