Oh, Dairy.
Okay, y'all, hear me out for just a bit. I touched on this for maybe a couple sentences about a month ago. I'm not about to say, "when you're Paleo, you can't have dairy. And if you do try to consume dairy products, I will come around and be the hand-smacking fairy to keep you on the path of the cave people." I'm not going to tell you that consuming cow dairy is wrong or that you're tearing your insides up. Like I said in the same post:
For instance, I had a salad last night that I had to pick the cheese off of because it was pre-made. And someone else purchased it for me. And I don't like inconveniencing people or making things a hassle. Or being "that annoying girl on the weird diet." Nobody needs that kind of stress in their life. So I just picked as much of the cheese off as I could. But there was still some that was stuck in difficult places on other members of this little salad. So I ate the little bits that I couldn't remove "completely" and boom this morning, my fingers are stiff and swollen. Boo.
As strange as it may be, I seem to be able to tolerate a small amount of milk in my coffee at my "weekend sanctuary" (The Depot for you local peeps) that a treasured soul introduced me to this year. (Okay, not "introduced," just "shared the magic." I knew the place existed.) And the only reason why I take my latte with whole milk is because the only other option that they currently have is soy milk. And soy is the devil. So....."whole milk, please." Really though, they just need to have coconut milk listed as an option to save me from a tough decision. Then I would sing from the mountaintops. And drink more coffee. Because coffee drunk is the best drunk. Clearly.
Paleo looks different for every individual. Every body is different; therefore, every body needs to be fueled differently.If your body takes cow milk products and processes it just fine, without any adverse effects, while also not making you feel terrible, go for it. I'll add you to my list of dairy consumers that I stick my tongue out at. (Just kidding.) I just so happen to be one of those people that cannot tolerate it. For a while, I thought, "maybe I can have it every now and again" and maybe I can... but I just have to figure out what dairy products I can have without waking up feeling like a swollen tomato the next day.
For instance, I had a salad last night that I had to pick the cheese off of because it was pre-made. And someone else purchased it for me. And I don't like inconveniencing people or making things a hassle. Or being "that annoying girl on the weird diet." Nobody needs that kind of stress in their life. So I just picked as much of the cheese off as I could. But there was still some that was stuck in difficult places on other members of this little salad. So I ate the little bits that I couldn't remove "completely" and boom this morning, my fingers are stiff and swollen. Boo.
As strange as it may be, I seem to be able to tolerate a small amount of milk in my coffee at my "weekend sanctuary" (The Depot for you local peeps) that a treasured soul introduced me to this year. (Okay, not "introduced," just "shared the magic." I knew the place existed.) And the only reason why I take my latte with whole milk is because the only other option that they currently have is soy milk. And soy is the devil. So....."whole milk, please." Really though, they just need to have coconut milk listed as an option to save me from a tough decision. Then I would sing from the mountaintops. And drink more coffee. Because coffee drunk is the best drunk. Clearly.
Anyway. Dairy.
Since I don't tolerate cow milk products well, in the last year, I have started adding goat milk products in small quantities to see how my body can handle it. So far, so good. And I am one happy camper. Because YOGURT. (I still won't touch goat milk with a 10-foot pole and I don't see that changing for an extremely long time. Or ever. Probably ever.) When I realized that I wasn't waking up feeling like the poor little girl on Willy Wonka that turns into a blueberry after consuming goat yogurt, I wanted to really understand why my body took to goat milk better than cow milk. Here's why:
P.S. I've been playing with my Instant Pot again! Barbecued Pulled Chicken was on the menu one night last week and it was FANTASTIC!
Barbecued Pulled Chicken
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1-2 cups Danielle Walker's Barbecue Sauce (recipe here) (I made my own version of this, but here recipe is to die for)
3 lbs. chicken legs and thighs
1 cup chicken broth (I used my Bone Broth, recipe found at the end of this post)
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Add chicken pieces, chicken broth, and salt and pepper to your Instant Pot. Close and lock the lid. Press "Manual" and set cooking time to 25 minutes. When your Instant Pot dings, quickly let the pressure escape and remove the lid.
Drain the liquid from the pot; pour barbecue sauce overtop of the chicken. Close and lock the lid, once again. Press the "Sauté" button and let the chicken and sauce simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Once the timer dings, let the pressure escape and remove the lid.
Taking two forks, shred the chicken, removing the bones as necessary.
Serve over roasted sweet potatoes,* spaghetti squash, Paleo flatbread, whatever floats your boat.
*I washed sweet potatoes, wrapped them in foil, and placed them in my oven on the "Convect Roast" setting at 400 degrees and they cooked while my Instant Pot worked its magic They were both done at the same time and it was oh, so delicious!
Since I don't tolerate cow milk products well, in the last year, I have started adding goat milk products in small quantities to see how my body can handle it. So far, so good. And I am one happy camper. Because YOGURT. (I still won't touch goat milk with a 10-foot pole and I don't see that changing for an extremely long time. Or ever. Probably ever.) When I realized that I wasn't waking up feeling like the poor little girl on Willy Wonka that turns into a blueberry after consuming goat yogurt, I wanted to really understand why my body took to goat milk better than cow milk. Here's why:
- Goat milk is less allergenic. Goat and Cow's milk both carry a protein called "casein." Casein helps to supply things like amino acids and calcium. While this is good, consuming casein in high doses is not good. Cow milk contains high levels of casein, while goat milk contains about 89% less than cow milk. Making it easier for our bodies to process it.
- Goat milk is easier to digest. Goat milk has smaller fat molecules than cow milk and higher medium chain triglycerides (heyyyy, remember MCT Oil?!?). Because of the smaller fat molecules + higher MCTs, when goat milk "curdles" in your stomach, the curds are softer making digestion easier on your system.
- Goat milk Lactose Intolerance is rare. Goat milk naturally has less lactose than cow milk - meaning that there are less carbohydrates found in goats milk - making it easier, once again, to fully digest. Strangely though, goat milk only contains approximately 10% less lactose than cow milk. There are several studies that have been conducted on this and the findings are such that, since goat milk has less casein + smaller fat molecules + higher MCTs, the body is able to fully digest goat milk, leaving no trace in your system (unlike cow's milk).
- Goat milk acts more like human milk. This is really what sold me on the whole goat milk theory. If you think about it, humans are the only species that drink another mammal's milk. After infancy, we stop drinking momma's milk and move to cow milk. Since goat milk contains essential fatty acids (linoleic and arachidonic acid) and high levels of vitamins B-6, A, and Niacin. Since goat milk contains all of these rich nutrients, the potassium levels are higher, causing our bodies to alkalinize goat milk, whereas cow milk, which contains much lower potassium levels, reacts in high-acid levels, causing issues in the digestion process (too much acid + not enough alkaline is not good).
Now, that being said, take this with a grain of salt, if you will. Run the body test. If your body processes cow milk just fine - go for it! If not, you may want to look into goat milk products. If you are having issues with dairy though, you need to eliminate it completely from your diet for 30-60 days before trying another form of dairy to really be able to track your body's response.
Side note: If you have an autoimmune disease OR gluten sensitivity, you may want to read this article by The Paleo Mom to understand the possible link between gluten + dairy. It was very eye-opening for me, but made so much sense.
Side note: If you have an autoimmune disease OR gluten sensitivity, you may want to read this article by The Paleo Mom to understand the possible link between gluten + dairy. It was very eye-opening for me, but made so much sense.
Honestly, and especially if you have an autoimmune disease or related issues, the longer you remove dairy from your diet, the better. I kept away from it for over 3 years before I added goat milk products. My body was in a sad, sad shape - essentially having destroyed my own stomach lining and sending my body into World War III. Literally. It screamed "death to all bacteria, whether good or bad" and went. to. town. on my gut lining. I understand my body so much better than I did 5ish years ago when I started this whole "Paleo thing" because I trained myself to listen to what my body was saying in regards to the foods and supplements that I was putting in it. It takes time to get to know your body, but it really is worth it.
Happy dairy-hunting!
XOXO,
XOXO,
Heather
P.S. I've been playing with my Instant Pot again! Barbecued Pulled Chicken was on the menu one night last week and it was FANTASTIC!
Barbecued Pulled Chicken
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
1-2 cups Danielle Walker's Barbecue Sauce (recipe here) (I made my own version of this, but here recipe is to die for)
3 lbs. chicken legs and thighs
1 cup chicken broth (I used my Bone Broth, recipe found at the end of this post)
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Add chicken pieces, chicken broth, and salt and pepper to your Instant Pot. Close and lock the lid. Press "Manual" and set cooking time to 25 minutes. When your Instant Pot dings, quickly let the pressure escape and remove the lid.
Drain the liquid from the pot; pour barbecue sauce overtop of the chicken. Close and lock the lid, once again. Press the "Sauté" button and let the chicken and sauce simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Once the timer dings, let the pressure escape and remove the lid.
Taking two forks, shred the chicken, removing the bones as necessary.
Serve over roasted sweet potatoes,* spaghetti squash, Paleo flatbread, whatever floats your boat.
*I washed sweet potatoes, wrapped them in foil, and placed them in my oven on the "Convect Roast" setting at 400 degrees and they cooked while my Instant Pot worked its magic They were both done at the same time and it was oh, so delicious!
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