Breaking Up With Dairy (Goodbye Mac and Cheese)

Growing up, you would never find me denying a big, heaping bowl of mac and cheese — bonus points if it was the two-minute Kraft mac and cheese from the local grocery store. I would never say no to a pint of birthday cake ice cream, chicken and cheese quesadillas from Taco Bell and, most importantly, cheesy garlic bread.  

I never imagined how my life would flip upside down when I had to adopt a dairy-free diet due to health complications. Sophomore year of college proved to be a test that I struggled to pass as I faced the harsh reality of changing my lifestyle entirely.

Navigating this life-altering change was not easy. Suddenly, whenever someone mentioned eating out or a spontaneous late-night ice cream run, it was not an easy “yes” for me anymore. I had to care about the menu, ingredients and if they had viable alternatives for me. This often took a lot of restaurants off the table, and it was pretty discouraging. I knew there was no other way around it, though — I needed to learn how to adjust to my body’s new needs, yet still prioritize living my life to the fullest. 

Before my diet changed, you could never catch me cooking. I despised it; every time I tried, the kitchen would be covered in burning food, overcooked pasta and undercooked chicken. I would usually be frantically fanning the smoke detectors with anything I could find in a sad attempt to prevent them from going off. However, with this new diet, learning to cook quickly became a necessity. 

Many foods I could conveniently find at grocery stores or fast food chains often had a hidden dairy aspect, such as dressings, chips and the Dubai chocolate donut I was eyeing when I visited New York City over the summer. This prompted me to learn how to make my favorite foods, just without dairy. 

Thus began the never-ending hunt for plant-based alternatives to shredded cheese, Greek yogurt, butter and cream cheese. Shockingly, there is even cashew milk cream cheese. I did not know half of these things could be made without dairy, but it gave me more reassurance that, maybe, this was not going to be as hard as I thought. 

To make things even easier, as I delved into Instagram, TikTok and Google for recipes, I found an entire digital community dedicated to learning how to live a dairy-free lifestyle, voluntarily or not. I genuinely spent hours scrolling through endless recipes — my favorite being a dairy-free version of “Marry Me Pasta.” The things you can make with a can of coconut milk and dairy-free cheese are truly groundbreaking.

As I started cooking my own food, I began to fall in love not only with cooking, but with my new diet, too. I loved making meals for my roommates, discovering new flavor combinations and witnessing the genuine difference it made on my mental and physical health. A lot of my symptoms dramatically reduced in severity: the breakouts on my face slowly cleared, and the dizziness and nausea I felt every day became rarer. I became happier, more stress-free and learned the importance of tuning my lifestyle to serve my body’s specific needs. 

Looking back, this change was one of the best things I could have done for myself. Saying goodbye to my favorite foods opened a door that led to a much more personally fulfilling path. This journey proved to me that with the right support and outlook, you really can do anything you set your mind to. 

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• alternative diet
• dairy-free
• food