My Story

As a child I was never much of a milk drinker, but cheese was always a big thing in my family. My dad used to get the big bricks and we would slice them up as snacks. I'm also a big fan of ice cream and yogurt.

I was never officially diagnosed as a child, but I think my reluctance to drink milk kept the discovery from me for a while. By the time I was in high school, I was noticing all the tell-tale signs of lactose intolerance. They were mild, and despite my love of dairy products I never ate a lot in a day, so I left it be. By college, it was becoming enough of a problem that I had to start monitoring how much I had or take Lactaid pills (although I find the chewables more effective).

Now here it is in 2016, I'm in my 30s, and the symptoms have moved beyond standard lactose intolerance. I'll get stuffy/sneezy, headaches (dairy is also a migraine trigger for me), and itchy arms on top of the digestive problems. The only way I can have dairy foods now is to double up on Lactaid along with both Benedryl and Zyrtec. I haven't gotten tested yet, but I think my current reactions are pretty telling and have decided it's time to make the move to dairy-free.*

Not being a fan of milk, that isn't much of a loss for me. In the past I have subbed dairy-free milks in cooking and baking recipes without issue. However, we use a lot of cheese in my house, so I knew that would be a struggle. My boyfriend loves dairy more than me, and is reluctant to the change, and our room-mate is iffy too, so I am looking for new ways to cook and substitute where even these 2 won't notice!

Just a note for anyone following my blog or using my recipes: dairy-free is the only limitation I have right now. I try to stay away from soy, as my brother has the allergy and we are pretty similar, and after a long time of using soy milk I was noticing some stomach upsets. That being said, I do like and use tofu. Soy just may be present less than other substitutes. I do have gluten-free and vegan friends, although I myself am neither, so those recipes may pop up from time to time as well.


*In 2017 my physician confirmed it is indeed an allergy and intolerance