If you’re someone trying to eliminate animal products from your diet or avoid dairy, you may find yourself occasionally missing some summertime staples – Janet Lee, raw food chef and Holistic Nutrition instructor at SWIHA is here to help you! With her creative kitchen skills and years of dedication to a raw, plant-based diet, she shared this recipe on #WellnessWednesday in a live video on SWIHA’s Facebook, which you can replay below!
Vegan Nacho ‘Cheese’
- 1 cup Brazil nuts, dry or 1 ½ cups sunflower seeds, soaked
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ - 1 cup water
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- Place all ingredients into the blender.
- Add water as needed to achieve desired consistency. Shoot for a creamy consistency. If thick or not blending well; liquid is needed – use lemon juice or water depending on flavor.
- If you like a bit of spice, add in some chopped jalapeno or cayenne pepper for a punch!
Reasons to Reduce or Eliminate Dairy from Your Diet
There are many different motivations for shifting towards a plant-based diet. Some may approach it from an ethical standpoint out of compassion for animals, while others choose to do so for their physical health. Here are some compelling reasons to give it a try:
- Dairy can cause inflammation that manifests as acne, skin redness or bloating.
- By replacing dairy with nut-based alternatives, you increase your fiber intake and aid your digest system.
- Eliminating or reduces dairy lessens the amount of saturated fats, sugar and salt in your diet.
- Dairy is not an essential part of a healthy diet—all of the vitamins and nutrients can be found in plant-based foods.
- Milk and milk products can be full of growth hormones and antibiotics that were given to the animal producing the milk, which then gets passed on and ingested by us.
- Dairy production has a substantial environmental footprint, affecting both air and water quality, the soil, and surrounding ecosystems.
Passionate About Healthy Living?
The term holistic translates as “the whole.” It is the heart of the mind-body-spirit connection. In addition to eating healthier whole foods, holistic nutrition helps you identify the triggers and outside influences that sabotage healthy eating. It underscores the way the nutritional value of the foods we eat completes the circuit that connects all aspects of our being. SWIHA’s various Holistic Nutrition Programs educate you in understanding how essential nutrition is to health outcomes.
If your passion is health and wellness, we are here to help you answer the call! Connect with our Admissions department by calling (480) 994-9244, emailing info@swiha.edu, or reaching out to us on Facebook.
Check Out These Great Graduates!
Alex Kurth Uses Her Passion for Health to Serve Others as a Wellness Coach
“SWIHA's program is evidence-based which means it's founded on principles backed by scientific studies and research. It was important to me that I joined a program that was holistic in nature -- meaning it looked at health as a whole, not just covering symptoms like the band-aid approach so commonly practiced in allopathic medicine,” explains Alex,”…I love seeing others improve their health so that they can, in turn, live their lives to the fullest. Every person I work with also influences their own circle of friends. In this way, my work is impacting many families and communities.”
Holistic Nutrition Coach Anthony Oliver Is Passionate About Inspiring & Educating Others
“The skills I learned at SWIHA support my work because the courses have given me a greater understanding of how the body, mind, and spirit of a person are affected by nutrition and other lifestyle factors. That knowledge helps me aid clients efficiently on their journey to greater well-being,” Anthony tells us, “…“I value myself much more than I did before because I know I have credentials now that make me marketable and I am more knowledgeable about holistic methods of healing.”
