Moms are cool

So because of some health things going on with Miss Ladybug, I'm off dairy for the next few weeks (possibly longer if this turns out to be the problem) as she is fully breastfed.  I also have Celiac Disease so I'm already off gluten. This leaves me feeling as though there is nothing I can eat other than carrots!

A couple days ago however, we went to visit my favorite Aunt.  Her daughter (my cousin) is vegan so we got the low-down on vegan milk, cheese, and butter.  I also got to sample a few milks :o)

Well today my mom and two of my siblings came over for our weekly picnic and they brought me a bunch of yummy treats including what my Aunt and Cousin were telling us about!  We had baked potatoes and I was able to have gluten/dairy free butter, cheese, and chili on mine and also have a glass of chocolate soy milk!

It was yummy :o)

So far here's what I tried and what I thought....

Coconut Milk (vanilla) - pretty good, a little on the watery side but nice flavor.  I didn't really notice the vanilla over the coconut; I'm thinking it's something I would miss more if it wasn't there.  I think this would be amazing over cereal with fresh fruit (and yes I got the idea from the carton).

Almond Milk (original) - yummy!  You can taste the almonds but it's a pleasant and light nutty taste.  I'd have this with anything I'd usually have with milk and alone too!

Almond Milk (vanilla) - Oh.  My.  Gosh.  Soo yummy!  Very sweet and rich.  I tried this over cereal with honey (like I usually do with cow's milk) and it was way too sweet.  So maybe over cereal w/out the honey or just by itself cause it's definitely good that way :o)

Soy Milk (chocolate) - Same as the vanilla almond milk!  Soo yummy and rich!  Tastes like dark chocolate and will help me stay away from the full-of-dairy-chocolate-ice-cream in my freezer

Vegan Cheese (cheddar) - I'm told by my Cousin that this is the best kind she's tried.  And in searching for a picture (that's right, all those colored bits of text are links to pictures; cool huh) I see it's won awards for being the best out there.  But I am a big fan of regular cheese.....maybe it just hasn't been long enough since I ate regular cheese (I've only been dairy-free for about 6 days).  The flavor was pretty ok for pretend cheese. And on the package it makes a point of letting you know that it melts and stretches so I of course I had to test that; but the texture of it melted is very slimy.  I think I will probably like it more later....

Dairy-free butter - this was really good.  I could tell it wasn't butter or even margarine but it still had a nice flavor; a little nutty but not in a bad way.  I'd be ok eating this plain on toast

Mum also brought me some almond cheese, granola, and vegan cream cheese.  I tried a bit of the cream cheese but am going to researve judgement until I can try it with something.

So Mum, you made my whole week!  I can only hope that Miss Ladybug will think I am as awesome as you are!

Moms are cool.  Or at least, mine is :o)