Is Milk Really That Good For You?

Milk is promoted as a perfect food, a great source of calcium and protein especially for growing bodies. On the other hand dairy is one of the most commonly recognized food allergens. So what's the big deal? Does milk really 'do a body good', or should you be removing it from your diet?

Let's look at the facts.

Milk really is a perfect food, for a baby cow. It is an energy dense, hormone delivery system that helps the calf grow quickly and builds its immune system.

You are not a baby cow.

When you drink milk or consume dairy products, you are receiving these same signals. These messages only confuse our bodies and can cause harm. 

Human breast milk is the best food for human babies, but at some point we all start eating solid food and stop relying on milk as our source of nutrition. 

Once weaned it doesn't make sense to continue sending the growth and hormone signals contained in milk, especially when these signals are intended for a different species.

You can't have a discussion about removing dairy and cow's milk from your diet without the inevitable question arising.

If you are not consuming dairy products, where do you get your calcium from?

Dairy is NOT the only good source of calcium.

A lot of time and money from the dairy association has gone into making you believe that your diet will be lacking in a crucial nutrient for health without milk and dairy products.

This simply is not true.

There are an abundance of other sources of calcium. And most of these sources contain calcium that is more bioavailable, or easier for your body to absorb, than the calcium found in dairy.

Meat and seafood sources include:

• Bone broth
• Sardines
• Shrimp
• Anchovys
• Oysters

Nut and seed sources include:

• Almonds
• Hazelnuts
• Walnuts

Vegetables:

• Kale
• Turnip Greens
• Mustard Greens
• Boiled Spinach
• Bok Choy
• Sea vegetables like Nori

You may be thinking: I'm not allergic to milk or dairy products, should I really stop eating them?

The best way to find out how dairy affects you is to eliminate it from your diet for a set amount of time. My favorite elimination diet? The Whole 30.You can learn more about it by clicking here or by visiting their website at: www.whole30.com

But I love milk! Now what?

Stay tuned for my absolute favorite dairy free milk recipe!!

Simple Paleo Chocolate Cake

In honor of reaching my day 30 (of my Whole30) I am sharing this delicious chocolate cake recipe with you. And yes, it's paleo!! My husband is not much of a dessert guy but he's always been a fan of chocolate cake drizzled with sweetened condensed milk and caramel sauce (otherwise known as a Better Than Sex Cake). Recently he asked if I could make one for him, so I scoured the internet and Pinterest, sure someone had attempted to make this style cake with paleo ingredients. I didn't find anything like it!! But I did find plenty of ideas for chocolate cake. While I was searching for a recipe, I realized that my brain can translate into paleo. I was reading recipes without a single compliant ingredient and "translating" to compliant ingredients. Here is the final cake we came up with. We couldn't make a poke cake style exactly, where the sauce soaks into holes you poke in the cake, so the sauce became a topping instead.

Paleo Chocolate Cake with Caramel Sauce

For the cake:
1 c. almond butter
2 large eggs
1/3 c. melted coconut oil
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. coconut palm sugar*
1/3 c. water*

For the caramel sauce:
1 can full fat coconut milk
1/3 c. coconut palm sugar

Preheat your oven to 350. Grease 9x9 pan well with oil of choice. (Coconut, olive...)

Pour can of coconut milk in sauce pan on medium low heat and add sugar for topping. When steam begins to lift turn heat down to low and allow to reduce up to an hour, stirring occasionally. When reduced to about half remove from heat and allow to cool.

Place all ingredients for cake in blender or food processor. I found it easiest to leave the almond butter out until all other ingredients were well mixed and slowly add it. When it is well mixed pour batter into your greased pan and spread out evenly. Place cake in oven and bake for about 30 minutes.

Serve cake with coconut milk topping and enjoy!!

Feel like making it feel a little fancier and  have time to plan ahead? Store an opened can of coconut milk in your fridge for a few days and it will turn into a whipped topping like consistency!


*You can also use maple syrup or honey, but if you use a liquid sweetener omit the extra water.