
May 4-- dairy, day 1 (plain Greek yogurt, cheese)
Breakfast: lemon water (yes, I did that again), green tea, shake made from coconut milk (the thin kind from the carton), plain Greek yogurt, cashew butter, hemp protein powder, frozen strawberries, fresh strawberries, and kale. The yogurt gave the shake a tart flavor that was not entirely pleasant without sweetening. On the other hand, there was something more satisfying about it than our nut-milk shakes (the protein content, probably). If I were to do it again, I would use less yogurt-- there was probably at least 1/2 c. in each smoothie.
Lunch (at home after work, 2:30): aged cheddar cheese, hard-boiled egg, smoked trout, 3 strawberries, cashews. For some reason this seems like WAY too much food. Is dairy really that filling?
Shopping (Whole Foods): Lactaid 2% milk, prunes, roasted unsalted almonds, can coconut milk, travel-sized hand lotion, organic olive oil, lemonade, whole milk, unsweetened quinoa milk, NY strip steak, chicken breasts, brown eggs, smoked salmon, gooseberries ("golden berries"), bunch organic carrots, organic parsley, bunch organic red onions with stems, broccoli, basil, organic cilantro, mint, asparagus, 2 organic portobello mushrooms, organic shiitake mushrooms, organic celery hearts, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, baby heirloom tomatoes, organic ginger root, 3 avocados, organic garlic, berry granola. $132.
Dinner: plain Greek yogurt with mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries); eggs scrambled with kale and pea shoots. I really don't care for plain yogurt. I like it sweet. I was hoping I'd like it more, now that I am weaned off sugar, but I don't. But it is only one day. The eggs mixed with spring vegetables had a nice, fresh flavor.
Nobody had any immediate ill-effects of the fermented dairy products. This is good, because they are our favorites.
May 5-- dairy, day 2 (lactose-free milk)
Breakfast: lemon water (probably for the last time), green tea, shake made from Lactaid milk, hemp protein powder, canned coconut milk, frozen strawberries, fresh blueberries, fresh strawberries, and kale. The lactose-free milk tastes so sweet compared to all the various nut milks and such that we have been using. In general, lactose-free milk tastes sweeter than regular milk, I assume because the sugars are pre-digested into simpler ones that our tastebuds are more sensitive to.
Lunch: 2 fried eggs, smoked salmon, smoked trout, raspberries, gooseberries. I couldn't wait to eat this meal.

We still feel all right.
May 6-- dairy, day 3 (regular milk)
Breakfast: green tea, a tiny bit of shake made from whole milk, hemp protein powder, avocado, strawberries, and kale. We didn't quite have enough ingredients for the morning shakes, and then I gave most of mine to my kid, who had AP testing this morning and needed some extra breakfast. I also ate some carrot and celery sticks with cashew butter, as well as a small glass of additional whole milk.
Lunch (after work, 2:45-- brought home from the restaurant): grilled teriyaki chicken, 2 fried eggs, roasted nori seaweed, broccoli. This was my version of the "all-day breakfast," with substitutions. I ate this while reading/watching local news on the internet: while I was at work and my kid taking the AP exam, a shooter had been running around our county, shooting six people (and killing three) at two different shopping centers and a school. As of kid being released from school (early, after the exam) and my being released from work, this individual was still on the loose. Kid had blithely gone off to the movies with their friends. Fortunately, while I was eating my lunch, the police finally captured him. Oh, America.
Shopping (Co-op): frozen blueberries, spinach, shower gel, toothpaste, strawberries, maple almond butter (oops! meant to get regular almond butter. Will save this for later). $38.
Dinner: My focus for tonight was the Indian mint-cilantro chutney from Cooking Without a Net, which we ate atop quinoa and yellow split peas with vaguely Indian seasonings, with a side dish of roasted acorn squash sauteed with baby red onions. My chutney differed slightly from the recipe in that, while toasting the coconut, I forgot about it completely and burned it to tiny coconut charcoal. So I just left that out. The chutney didn't seem to suffer. Tasted on its own, it was wildly hot and intense, and I had my doubts about applying it to food in any quantity, but it mellowed tremendously once added to the split peas and quinoa. In fact, I kept adding a little bit more. The flavor is refreshing and complex, and I really loved it. With dinner, we had tall glasses of whole milk, for experimental purposes. I never simply drink a glass of milk, but it was pretty good.

All this milk-drinking did cause, ahem, a digestive slowdown for both of us that was notable. I personally have no plan to continue using much milk, except in baking, soups, etc., but my husband drinks a ton of the stuff and he may need to cut down.