Sunday, August 3, 2008

Another one of THOSE blogs LOL

**DISCLAIMER** this is not a product endorsement, nor am I going to say this will work for you, only that it has worked for me greatly, more than I could've ever wished or hoped for, so don't take this blog as me endorsing the following product(s), brand(s), or methods I may or may not talk about. **END DISCLAIMER**

OK now that we have the legalese out of the way, let's get on with the blog!

Many of you know of my struggle to find lactose free cream cheese to make a lactose-free cheesecake (because I'm lactose intolerant). Simply put, my body does not produce the enzyme needed to break down and process lactic acid, which, simply put, is milk sugar. Thus the last month or two I've been on a strict Lactaid Milk and Cheese sort of milk-foods diet. For the first time ever I was able to eat cereal at work and NOT be in pain for hours afterward. I now will occasionally drink a cup of milk at work (I keep a quart at work in our cooler along with a pack of cheese slices that EVERYONE knows is mine and best keep their paws off of). This is a great thing for me as I know my body has suffered (especially the bones) as I have not been able to ingest the needed milk and dairy to produce the vitamins that my body needs. So now it's like a morning ritual: at least once a week, the moment I get into work, I make myself a grilled cheese sandwich with my own bread (I love the cinnamon raisin swirl Pepperidge Farm bread) and cheese. I'm sure I make people hungry, and I'm sorry, but I need to eat too! And it's not like I'm making something we don't sell (except for the bread lol).
So for a month or two I've been relatively happy, food-wise. But as my cheesecake craving kicked in, so did my anger of not being able to find stuff for those of us that are lactose intolerant. And a LOT of us are (except us white, northern european types - only 15% of us are LI, compared with something like 85% or more of african-americans - and sorry if I'm not PC lol). So, considering almost everyone in the US has a 50/50 shot of being LI, you'd THINK we'd be at least thought of in most dairy aisles. NOT TRUE. You will find a lot of soy stuff (which some people are allergic to soy so wtf), and if you're lucky, the Lactaid milk. What if we want cheesecake? Or God forbid, ice cream? (As a note, there IS Lactaid ice cream, good luck finding it though.)
So for the last month, I've been struggling to hunt down some cream cheese that TASTES like cream cheese but is lactic acid free, to no luck. So last week I gave up. I got the "pill" - and no not birth control rofl. I broke down and bought the Lactaid pill. It's simply the enzyme that people like myself don't have in pill form. You take it with your first bite (I simply take a small amount of water with me, eat a bite, take pill with a LITTLE water, and go back to eating) and another pill every 30-45 minutes if you're still eating something with milk in it. Well I tested it out that evening on a piece of cheesecake, though tiny as it was, twice as big as I can eat normally. Well, folks, all I had was one little stomach gurgle (which was gas I know lol). Can you imagine how happy I was? I was estatic! So now I've had an even bigger chunk - probably 2 square inches worth, which, while still small, is WAY more than I can eat by myself - by at least 4 times, probably 5 or 6. STILL, no pain. Of course there is one drawback... I don't take the little nibbles and enjoy every bite anymore! LMAO, that'll probably calm down after time, but right now I'm just so happy to be able to eat! I keep them in my purse now, as it's the ONE item that goes with me everywhere. This way if I'm upstairs, I can just go grab a couple pills and eat my heart out. Or if I'm at work, I don't have to worry about what I order for lunch if I don't have anything with me.
A whole new world has opened up for me, and for that, I am very grateful. I can't wait to taste the world that has been locked away from me for so long... chocolate mousse, sundaes, italian food (which I've had to be very restrictive about), etc.
So yes, I am a bragwart today. Sue me (not literally please)! I'm free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now if you will excuse me, I intend to go sit outside as my stomach processes the cheesecake. Thank you!
*poof* gone!

(as a note, hope you're laughing along with me!)

1 comment:

Enola said...

Lactaid is a wonder drug!

I was lactose intolerant until I got pregnant. My sister, also lactose intolerant, told me that her issues disappeared with pregnancy. So I tried it. I could eat anything I wanted while pregnant. Even after, my tolerance was up. I could eat some things, as long as I didn't overdue it. Now that I'm pregnant again - I have ice cream every night! Yum yum. So, anyway.....ever think about kids ;) Ha ha ha ha