My name is Carolyn Tanner-Cohen, I own and operate DELICIOUSDISH Cooking School. I have been teaching cooking classes for the last 15 years. DELICIOUSDISH Cooking School specializes in whole foods HOME cooking, meal planning, recipe development and healthy eating. I like to consider myself an expert in kitchen organization and set up. I am a recipe developer, menu planner and influencer. My true passion is in teaching people how to cook whether they are new to the kitchen, seasoned in the kitchen or simply want to learn how to cook using healthy whole foods. My original recipes are fool proof, user friendly and winners every time.
I am an Occupational Therapist by training. I left my practice to pursue my passion, cooking. I started cooking at a very young age, and I take great pride in planning both simple, everyday meals and menus you can entertain with. People say I have an informative and casual teaching style and have inspired people to become great cooks and enjoy being in the kitchen.
I am so excited to be part of the YOSO community because I feel like the community is a gathering of like-minded people. We all have the same philosophy and health goals!
We asked a few questions about her dairy-free lifestyle as part of this series, Living Dairy Free:
Why are you dairy-free?
I am dairy free because I believe that dairy causes a lot of inflammation and digestive issues. I become very bloated when I consume dairy and my body does not react well to dairy. I was feeling a lot of aches and pains, when I stoped dairy (and sugar), my body felt amazing! People often remark that they eat dairy for the calcium; there are plenty of vegan sources of calcium such as almonds, hemp, sesame seeds/tahini, kale, and broccoli just to name a few.
When I first stoped eating dairy I missed yogurt the most. One of my favourite things to make is my Grain-No-La, it is my original Grain-free granola, full of nuts, seeds, hemp, chia sweetened with pure maple syrup. I loved this granola over a great tasting unsweetened yogurt, so I started making my own coconut pro-biotic yogurt, which is delicious, except it takes a couple of days to ferment and has a short shelf life. That is when I started to use YOSO coconut yogurt. It tastes great, super healthy, and easy to find! Best of all…it frees up my time in the kitchen which I so desperately need to test recipes and teach cooking classes!
Top five favourite dairy-free products?
I have a disclaimer 
– I do not use a lot of dairy free products to replace dairy, mostly I change the dairy ingredient to something completely different. But here is the list and a couple are dairy-free replacements.
YOSO – of course YOSO, see above!
Califa Farms Almond Milk
The Chufa Co. Tigernut Ice cream and Tiger Nut mylk. – I’m not even such an ice cream person, but once you taste this stuff you will be hooked. I make Matcha Lattes with the Tiger Nut Mylk, so good!
Tahini – I know that Tahini is not a “dairy-free” product, but I use it in my cooking school and recipes to replace dairy in salad dressings, I add it to soups in place of sour cream.
Nutritional Yeast – I use this instead of parmesan cheese on top of quinoa or chickpea pasta, popcorn and home-made pestos.
Avocado – I mash avocado into so many recipes to get that creaminess in some dishes. Healthy fats and amazing flavour!
Favourite local spot to eat that accommodates dairy-free?
Ugh, this is tough, I’m always cooking! I love Trattoria Nervosa because I love the salads and they will always remove the cheese for me!
Favourite place to shop for groceries?
I love Lady York, City Fish and Qi Natural Foods, I am there every day!