life after dairy | chocolate

What else to write about around Valentine’s Day but chocolate?!? (Fun fact: one of my most popular posts, also appropriate for this time of year is Because taxes. (And because chocolate.)

My love affair with chocolate started a long, long time ago, when milk chocolate got a hold on my heart. I gave it up once for almost two years, but then … why?!?

In the past 10 years, as I gradually transitioned to whole, SOLE foods and after seeing a documentary about the horrific fallout of the conventional chocolate industry, I have tried to stick to high-quality, dark, organic, fair trade, sustainably produced chocolate—and doing that will automatically reduce the amount you eat, both because it’s hard to find and also expensive!

And now that I’ve given up dairy—yikes.

take heart

Sigh. I have never drunk coffee for the caffeine—I love the flavor, especially when it’s milk with a little coffee in the mix. I like tea alright, but it isn’t coffee, is it?

Just as I was bemoaning the fact that giving up milk also meant giving up coffee (nope, not gonna happen, not gonna drink it black, not gonna drink it with alternative milk), a miracle occurred!

My new BFF Jessica from Cacao Tea Co. reached out and asked whether I’d like to try their cacao tea. That’s right, folks, tea made from cacao husks.

I tried it, and I think I might be slightly addicted already…. It definitely tastes lightly of chocolate, is a lovely golden tea color, and it actually has a mouth feel similar to coffee with milk—not like tea, which feels thin to me. It’s not bitter like hot chocolate, so I don’t need to sweeten it at all.

Even better: it’s made from cacao husks, so we’re doing the plant world equivalent of eating nose to tail, not wasting a thing.

Still better: the company sources its husks from farms that treat their workers ethically.

Win-win-win, I say.

I definitely recommend checking out the company’s website, digging around in the About and FAQ pages, and giving the tea a try!

And for those moments when tea is just not going to cut it, I’ve just recently discovered chocolate hummus…. Yeah. It’s kinda like the Nutella of the plant-based world, and my next goal is to make it myself to cut out some of the additives and added sugar.

make the connection

I’ve written a lot about transitioning away from foods by finding something healthful and delicious in its own right rather than looking for a pale substitute, which is often nutritionally inferior anyway. I’m happy to report, I’m finding my journey using this principle to move away from dairy delicious for the most part!

Leave a comment and let me know, what foods have you found to make you happy after giving up something you loved for the sake of your health?