So I’ve had a lot of people ask me for a grocery list of what I eat because as soon as I say I don’t eat dairy, people are like THEN WHAT IS FOOD EVEN WITHOUT DAIRY. And I'm here to tell you it’s really not as traumatizing as it sounds guys, I promise. 

Let me preface this with: I’m not a cook. I’m not a chef, I don’t enjoy recipes or intricate ingredients. If I have a photo-worthy meal at my house, it’s rare and most likely cooked by my husband. Cooking is not my thing. Really, that’s probably good news for a lot of you out there because if you love cooking then there are TONS of dairy-free/vegan recipes out there on Pinterest that you can experiment with. I, on the other hand, get anxiety if a recipe has more than four ingredients.

My main tip for grocery shopping is that if you are trying to cut out a food… don’t buy it. This really isn’t too hard of a concept. If you want to cut out dairy- don't have dairy in your house.

If you really feel like you need to wean off dairy (PUN INTENDED - GET IT BECAUSE IT’S ACTUALLY WEANING BECAUSE IT’S BREASTMILK LOL) then choose every other day to not eat dairy, and see which days you feel better. Your body will make the decision for you. The longer you go without dairy the more likely you are to not miss it.

With this being said - the hardest thing about changing your diet is the people that you are with on a day-to-day basis. I still remember the looks of horror the first time I turned down pizza in front of each one of my friends and coworkers. People look at you like you just slapped their grandma when you decline pizza. I STILL get those looks. But I made a decision, I’ve been confident in myself and my health and it’s MY choice, so I didn’t let the disapproval of others and peer pressure force me out of my new lifestyle.

This is why I love grocery shopping. I get to choose my own foods and pick my own meals and I get what I want because I can. Plus I get to eat whatever meat-free and dairy-free meal I feel like eating and I don’t have to deal with people staring at me like I’m eating my own hand.

So these are all pretty much my staples. Remember right now I’m only feeding one person. So each meal serves as dinner and then lunch for me the following day. Obviously you’ll have to add in a few meal ideas for lunches. Also, if you are a meat eater I would recommend chicken and lean beef that can also be incorporated into all these combos as well. If this looks like a pretty weak list to you, it’s probably because you eat more complex meals than me, and that’s TOTALLY okay.

I eat seven times a day. I eat oatmeal or a protein shake in the morning with a handful of berries, a granola bar at 9:30am at work, a snack (usually toast with almond butter or hummus) at 11:00am, my leftovers for lunch at 1:00pm, a snack when I get off work (usually a serving of chips and salsa or hummus and carrots), dinner at 6:30pm, and then apple slices or popcorn with nutritional yeast at night depending on if I want salty or sweet!

So that’s a little recap of my eating habits and my grocery must-haves. Also nutritional yeast, chia seeds, and flax seed powder are always in my pantry as well! 

What’s something you can’t live without in your pantry? 

Send me a copy of your grocery list and I can help you come up with healthy alternatives!