Meatless Mondays and Milk

If you have known me for any amount of time, you know food is really important to me. Being in Hong Kong has made me look at what I eat more than ever. What I mean when I say this is that I am now more aware of the origin of the food that I eat. For example, tropical fruits such as bananas, pineapples, and coconuts are significantly less expensive here than in the United States. Why is that? Because they are grown in this region so the transportation costs are much lower. Another example of this is the inflated prices on foods grown in the U.S. and elsewhere.

One of the implications of this is the lack of dairy in my diet now. Because approximately 90% of the Asian population is lactose intolerant, it simply isn't practical to have a strong dairy industry here. As such, cheese and milk is imported, meaning a higher cost, which in turn means I am not buying it because I enjoy saving money.

I have read many articles about how cutting dairy out of your diet can make you feel more alert and lively as it contains a considerable amount of tryptophan, but never believed that I would be able to give it up. But here I have almost entirely done just that. This isn't to say that I don't miss it, I would love to sink my teeth into a cheese pizza or some cheese enchiladas. But I certainly do notice that I have more energy and am more alert than usual. I must say, although I may not swear off dairy entirely just yet, I will be taking this dairy restricted diet back home with me.

P.S. Stumbled upon this article. Interesting idea with meatless Mondays. Obviously I think any step in that direction is a good thing. What do you think?