24 Tips to Try
Here are 24 simple and practical tips to help you with your dairy choices. Registered dietitians know that small changes can yield big results if we incorporate them into our daily routine. So let’s get started:
Start Strong
Make breakfast matter and start the day off right by including lowfat or fat-free dairy in the first meal of the day:
1. Blend lowfat strawberry milk with fresh banana slices for a morning fruit splash.
2. Sprinkle reduced-fat Cheddar cheese on scrambled eggs.
3. Layer granola, fresh fruit and lowfat or fat-free raspberry or vanilla yogurt for a yummy breakfast parfait.
4. If you drink coffee, enjoy a cappuccino or latte; ask for it with fat-free milk.
Work Smart
Fill your briefcase or desk drawer with grab-and-go lowfat and fat-free dairy foods.
5. Divide large bags of mini pretzels, popcorn, nuts or trail mix into single-serve portions in small plastic, resealable bags and add three to four dice-sized reduced-fat Cheddar or Mozzarella cheese cubes – perfect for lunch bags or mess-free noshing at work.
6. Take a “dip” break and get a serving of dairy by dunking cut up vegetables in melted reduced-fat cheese or fruit slices in lowfat or fat-free yogurt.
7. Get a fun grip on nutrition with lowfat single-serve milk in plastic bottles and different flavors – great for the car ride home.
8. Lowfat drinkable yogurt in a variety of flavors provides a healthy, pick-me-up mid-morning snack.
Family Dinners with Dairy
The family that eats dinner together eats healthier. Here are some easy ways to please the whole family with dairy foods:
9. Sprinkle dinnertime favorites like casseroles, soup, stews, or a baked potato with your favorite reduced-fat shredded cheese for added flavor.
10. Add lowfat or fat-free milk to marinara for a creamy red sauce – it’s a sure-to-please way to make pasta better and more nutritious.
11. For dessert, make chocolate or butterscotch pudding with fat-free or lowfat milk.
12. Add some spice to a cold night. Warm a cup of reduced-fat milk and mix with Chai tea or enjoy a mug of lowfat hot chocolate.
13. For a sweet ending to a long day, top angel food cake with lowfat or fat-free cherry or vanilla yogurt.
Dairy can help reduce your risk of disease
14. Eat yogurt with active cultures to help boost your immune system.
15. Include more potassium-rich dairy with fruit to help lower high blood pressure; best bets - cereal with milk and bananas or an orange juice tropical fruit yogurt smoothie.
Manage your weight with dairy
16. Switch to fat-free milk if you use whole or 2% and save 45 to 72 calories in every 8-ounce serving.
17. Eat three servings a day of lowfat milk, cheese, or yogurt, and along with a reduced-calorie diet and daily activity, you may lose weight faster.
Don’t give up dairy if you are lactose intolerant
People with lactose intolerance have trouble digesting the natural sugar in milk. Try any of the following to help manage your symptoms.
18. Drink milk and eat dairy foods with meals and snacks.
19. Drink and eat dairy products in smaller, more frequent servings.
20. Choose dairy foods that are more easily digested. These include whole and chocolate milk, aged or ripened cheeses like cheddar and Swiss, ice cream and ice milk.
21. Eat yogurt with active cultures. The bacterial cultures breakdown the milk sugar (lactose) in these products. The "good bacteria" found in yogurt also enhances your health.
22. Look for lactose-reduced products in your dairy case.
23. Take Lactaid® tablets or drops before consuming dairy products.
More fun
24. Impress your party guests with healthy appetizers. Layer cranberry or sun-dried tomato cheese with smoked turkey on whole grain crackers, or surprise them with Cheese and Apple Kabobs, alternating small slices of apples and reduced fat Cheddar cheese on skewers.