Miscellaneous
Cultured Cashew Spread – Healthier Alternative to Your Regular DipsDips, anyone? I bet everyone will raise their arms in a heartbeat, and I would understand. Because who doesn’t love to pump up their meal with some dips? The thing is, deliciously satisfying as they are, you know that you couldn’t be munching on dips regularly. And if possible, you should even pass on these treats for good. Letting go of some of your favourite food choices and looking for healthier alternatives are just some of the predicaments that you can’t avoid. So, it’s my mission here at Your Life is Non-Negotiable to give some options when it comes to switching around. And in this article, I am going to share about one healthier alternative to your regular dip – the cultured cashew spread.What Are Its Ingredients?Well, I know you will ask. Frankly speaking, I am confident to read the ingredients of Rawesome cultured cashew spread out loud – it has cashews, filtered water, chives, onion powder, organic enzyme culture, and sea salt. That's it. That's all. So Rawsome classifies themselves as raw vegan, no dairy, no soy, no GMO, no oils, probiotics, gluten-free. And I must say, their cultured cashew spread tastes delicious.What’s Wrong with Your Regular Cream Cheese?I have here with me Brand XYZ of your typical cream cheese product. They say no artificial flavours or colours. But unfortunately, there are a couple of things here that we have to talk about. So the first ingredient is modified milk. And basically what that means is that they've processed the milk. When they've been able to process the milk, sometimes they add a few chemicals in there. Sometimes they filter out the caseins and some of the proteins. Because when you remove these things, it allows for a little bit more shelf life. And because it's not really milk anymore and it's not really cream anymore, they have to call it modified milk. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's bad. It really depends on where the dairy is coming from. The dairy is the problem. Before they processed the milk, they have to get it from the cows, of course. So the question is what are they feeding the cows with? Most of the time, they feed the cows with a whole bunch of stuff, including corn, wheat, and soy. And as I’ve shared before, these three are probably the cheapest plants to grow and the easiest to modify. They also feed them to cattle because they're super cheap. So chances are they're feeding them these GMO products that are filled with pesticides. Corn, wheat, and soy will certainly bulk up the cattle and that means it's also going to bulk you up. Huge amounts of soy can dramatically play a role in messing up your estrogen levels. So, it's more a matter of what has been put into the cow that is producing this dairy. You're basically eating whatever the cow ate and whatever the cow was injected with – hormones, estrogens, antibiotics, which is usually not all that great or not all that healthy. Moreover, since the caseins and other proteins and beneficial things are removed, chances are the micronutrients are also disrupted while the dairy product is being processed. And of course, there are people who are intolerant to dairy. That is why this cultured cashew spread is a great alternative since it doesn’t contain dairy at all. Another ingredient that messes your regular dip is potassium sorbate, which is a widely used preservative found in food, drinks, and personal care products. Potassium sorbate plays an important role in prolonging the shelf life of the product. It is odorless and tasteless, but it can cause allergic and hypersensitivity reactions. And it also has the potential to cause a lot of inflammation in the body, especially if taken in lar