recipes

So I know I talked about going dairy free a lot right after we found out Lucy was allergic to dairy, but I talked about it so much because I was freaking out and missing cheese.

Since then, I’ve experimented with this dairy free thing a whole lot, and I’ve learned so much, and I’ve found some amazing substitutes. And I honestly don’t mind it so much.

Granted, ever since Lucy started eating our table food, I’ve been able to sneak it back into my diet here and there, and I don’t miss it as much. But I still cook with dairy free products more often than not, and I still don’t eat cheese other than a slice or two of pizza once every couple of weeks or so.

I also don’t mind not eating as much dairy, because I could tell a huge difference in how I felt when I was dairy free. And I mean that in a good way. I just felt better. But I also am a firm believer in “eating in moderation.” I can’t cut one thing completely OUT … my brain just doesn’t work well that way. But if I know I can have it here and there, it’s a lot easier to do without.

Huh, I don’t know where THAT tangent came from, but there you have it.

ANYWAY, since she got sick, Lucy has been getting “ma-ma-ba-ba” [that’s what she calls my milks] a whole lot more than usual, and her reflux came back as bad as it ever was. So I went totally dairy-free again. But I still had to feed the family and it had to be good.

And one night, I made this …

It’s bowtie pasta in a cream sauce with peas and tuna. And can I just say … YUM.

I didn’t follow a recipe, and I didn’t measure as I went along, so bear with me … and please feel free to experiment with your flavors.

step 1: cook as much bowtie pasta as you’ll eat according to directions – add in 1/2 bag frozen peas about 3-4 minutes before the pasta is done

step 2: while the pasta is cooking, whisk together 1/4 cup of almond milk with 4 tablespoons of flour in a small saucepan until it’s creamy; whisk in 1 1/4 cup more of almond milk + 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast + a couple squeezes of lemon + salt and pepper to taste [feel free to add other spices here]

step 3: heat saucepan of milk mixture over medium heat for 5-8 minutes, or until it’s creamy [whisk often and don’t boil]

step 4: drain pasta and peas, put back in pasta pot, pour in as much cream as you want [I probably only used about 3/4 of it, but I only made enough pasta to feed 2 1/2 people ;) ]

step 5: stir in tuna [I used some pre-packaged StarKist lemon pepper tuna, because I was sick and hadn’t been to the grocery store, but you could use anything - fresh tuna, fresh salmon, grilled chicken, etc.]

step 6: put some on your fork and stick it in your mouf

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