Calcium without Dairy? Yes you can!

Can you get calcium without eating dairy foods? You certainly can! Here are some great ways to do it.

Check out fortified Orange Juice and Soy milk. 

Some contain as much calcium as a glass of fat-free milk, but be sure to read the label so you know how much you are getting.  Shake soy milk well before pouring:  the calcium added to it can settle to the bottom.

Go for “Green Calcium”

Yes, there is calcium in some vegetables, and your body can absorb the calcium in vegetables even better than it can calcium in milk.  The levels are not quite as high as in dairy foods. You would have to eat 1 ½ cups of cooked Kale, 2 ¼ cups of cooked broccoli, or 8 cups of cooked spinach to equal the calcium in a glass of fat-free milk. The best vegetable sources of calcium are collards, kale, broccoli, spinach, Bok choy, and almonds.

Eat more rhubarb

It takes a creative cook to figure out how to get more rhubarb into your diet, but it’s worth it.  A cup of cooked rhubarb has 348 milligrams of calcium, making it one of nature’s top sources of the mineral.  Only the stalks of the rhubarb plant are edible, and they are quite tart.  That’s why rhubarb is primarily paired with sweet fruits in breads, cakes, pies, and ice cream.

Nibble on dried figs

A Serving of 10 dried figs provides 269 milligrams of calcium, a wonderfully large amount.

Some tofu counts also

Tofu made with calcium sulfate (check for it on the ingredients label) supplies a respectable 204 milligrams
f calcium in a half cup serving.

Eat more Beans

Beans are an anti-aging super food, and here’s one more reason: They’re a good source of calcium.  A 1-cup serving of boiled white beans has a substantial 161 milligrams of calcium.

And have nuts and seeds too.

Calcium can be found in healthy amounts in Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, filberts, sesame seeds, Tahini (sesame seed paste), sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.  A good idea: Keep a canister of your favorite seeds on your kitchen table and add a teaspoon as a topping to cereals, vegetables, salads and soups. 

Here is a way to combine some greens, nuts and seeds:
Bok Choy Salad
½ Cup Butter
2 Tablespoons Sugar
½ cup Sesame Seeds     
2 (3 oz) Packages Ramen Noodles (uncooked, broken up.  Do not use seasoning pack)
1 (3oz ) package slices almonds
1 (2lb) bok choy
4 stalks green onions with tops
¾ Cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
¼ Cup Red wine vinegar
½ cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce

​Directions

1. In large pan melt butter and add sesame seeds, sugar, broken ramen noodles, almonds.
2. Brown and set aside to cool. After cooled, break up and set aside in small bowl.
3. Wash and chop bok choy (smaller is better) and green onions in large salad bowl.
4. Dressing
5. Mix vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce.
6. Just prior to serving the salad, (plan for this salad to be the last thing you pull together for the event), mix bok choy and ramen noodles mixture. Drizzle dressing over salad or pass dressing around in small bowl.