Got milk?

Being lactose intolerant sucks. I discovered about two years ago that I had a sensitivity to dairy. I wasn't able to enjoy my ice cream and cold glass of milk as much. Not surprising, as many adults are unable to process dairy. However, now I am unable to ingest dairy at all without paying for it shortly thereafter. Apparently gastrointestinal funny business runs in my paternal family. My grandmother and uncle are both lactose sensitive/intolerant, my grandmother has ulcerative colitis and my uncle has Celiac. I guess I should count my blessings that this is the only problem I've encountered thus far... 

Nonetheless, I'm going to allow myself to whine a bit more. No more hot fudgy brownies or warm cookies and milk... There goes all the ice cream  and frozen yogurts I loved to indulge in. Semifreddo's I made that were rich and creamy and just too decadent for words... The cheeses that I loved with my wine (oh delicious baked brie and raspberry drizzle).. and on my bacon cheese burgers. Real, homemade whipped cream... And cream based sauces on pastas topped with shaved parmesan...Oh the horror! I never realized how much milk and dairy were incorported into how much of what I cook and eat until I had to be aware of how much I wasn't having.

So the search for milk alternatives began...  At first I could handle Lactaid, the lactose-free, cow milk. Not anymore... I must say, this has been a trial and error that I have not enjoyed. I think I've finally found a winner, though. Silk's Pure Coconut milk. Soy milk tasted funny to me and almond milk was too almondy (If that makes sense) I'm still getting used to the texture of the coconut milk, but the flavor is ok. I also bought some chocolate, dairy-free, coconut milk ice cream recently... It wasn't too bad!

In the grand scheme of things, it could be way worse. I don't really need the extra fats and calories from "real dairy" anyway. I have a white dress to fit into soon anyway. Since Brian and I started a new pseudo diet, its not been too hard to observe my restrictions. But the wedding festivities might prove to be a much harder challenge...



Gasp! Crawfish ettouffee has heavy cream in it too... My digestive system will just have to forgive me, I am NOT giving that up!