How to set yourself up for success when you are new to dairy free
Over the years, not only have I been on several forms of an elimination diet, I have also worked with hundreds of moms going through the same thing. I’ve learned a lot, I see moms struggle, and I see moms thrive. Here’s what I’ve learned to help set yourself up for success from the start.
Don’t jump in and expect it to be easy if you don’t prepare yourself and your kitchen.
If you’re anything like me, you just want to dive in and get going. Or maybe you’re like my husband and many clients that I’ve worked with who need planning and spreadsheet for everything. No matter what your personality is, I can guarantee you that just a little bit of planning and preparation will go a long way. If you decide to dive into a new diet without thinking through what you currently have in your house vs. what you are going to want in your house to help you feel good and enjoy eating, you are setting yourself up for some hard (hungry) days.
Just take a minute to figure out at least a few days’ worth of meals and find some go-to easy foods to have on hand then you can hit the ground runnin’ and feelin’ good.
“If your kitchen isn’t set up to support your new diet and lifestyle it’s going to be much much harder than it needs to be.”
Set your expectations.
Trying to eat exactly the same as you are used to by simply finding dairy free substitutes is going to take up more of your time, cost more money, and will probably end up being disappointing and dissatisfying because the substitutes aren’t going to taste the same as the real thing. This is a new way of eating, it’s going to be different – it’s doesn’t mean it won’t be as good or it won’t be enjoyable, just different. If you expect it to be the same – you might feel let down or like there’s nothing you can it.
“Realize that this is going to be different. It doesn’t have to be different-bad. It’s just going to be different. We can make it different-good, we can even make it different-better.”
Expect to feel a bit out of whack – out of your “food groove” – for about the first two weeks.
You will probably start to feel more confident in about 4 weeks or so, promise! It’s not always a smooth transition, you may have some ups and downs, but overall, things should get easier. If you feel like every day is a hard day, you don’t know what to eat, you’re starving and driving yourself crazy because you can’t figure out your baby’s symptoms, you’re stressed out and anxious about food, that’s not how you need to live your life and that’s why I’m here to help. Sure, some days are going to be hard (because: life), but the goal is to have more good days than bad.
Depending on what your diet looks like now, you are probably going to want to shift towards more real, whole foods.
This will make things more simple by saving you time and money. Yes, it’s going to be a journey, and it can feel really hard and there is a lot to learn depending on where you are starting from. To read more about shifting to more PRODUCE, less PRODUCTS, take a look at this blog post.
Most important, back to the beginning:
Do what you can to set yourself to have easy access to food you can eat that is nourishing and satisfying.
Of course sometimes life gets in the way and you don’t meal plan or get to the grocery store, that’s ok. You will make it through those weeks. But learn how to set up rhythms and make it a priority to have food in the house that you can eat. This is not all on you – talk to your support system and explain how important it is for you to have food you can eat – and enjoy – in the house.
Setting up your kitchen and getting a support system involved is your foundation. Everything else like what kind of milk to use, what to eat for snacks, and what to make for dinners will come much more easily.
More Resources:
Download the Dairy Free Toolkit for a list of common dairy products and suggestions on swaps.
Check out this blog post for for info on choosing a milk alternative.
Check out this blog post for info on choosing a butter substitute.
Watch the full video below to hear more tips plus my favorite dairy free ice cream, milk, chocolate, and more.