I am just learning!

[elliewelliesj]

:huh: Hi, I just joined today...was diagnosed as Lactose Intolerant last year, but was in denial!! Was a chocoholic you see!
I went to Africa in 2001 and brought back a parasite called Giardia...the doctors gave me a strong antibiotic. I thought that would be it, but my stomach problems continued and i kept getting the skin condition "impetigo" which drove me mad. A year and half later, after many frustrating trips to my GP who just told me i would get better and pumped me with more antibiotics for my skin, i visited a bowel specialist. He reckoned i still had the parasite! So yet more antibiotics... my stomach still wasnt right. So a breath test confirmed I was lactose intolerant.
I finally realise this is right, and that dairy free is the way to go for me. And when i have binged on chocolate, i get really ill and even got my impetigo back.
So am finally learning to live a sin free life! Sainsburys and Tescos products are helping me, but milk is in sooo many things. And going to a friend's house seems to cause panic "what shall i cook her"...i get embarrassed.
Plus I work on a cake stall at a market on fridays and saturdays so have only just learnt not to eat some of the product, or i am house bound the next day!
Am also allergic to the vegetable pepper!!! Just to add to the fun!
Any tips from anyone would be great.

[astra]

hi ellie!! i'm still learning about my new lifestyle without dairy since making the change last august - it's a whole new world (and potential minefield) out there!!!

what is it you would like to know? :)

[elliewelliesj]

Well, for one..need to learn not to binge every so often. its hard coz my parents still often cook desserts with dairy and i have to sit with something else... I guess would be easier living on my own! But cant afford to in London!
Also, am trying to retrain my tastebuds to enjoy the substitutes such as carob....

[astra]

hmm i guess i am lucky that i have chosen to be dairy free - not been forced to be. i still have to fight the urge for certain foods once in a while tho!

desserts eh. hmm have you tried provamel desserts? they are long life, and come in vanilla, caramel, chocolate, orchard fruits and fruits of the forest. i had a lot of these when i first chose to go vegan, they have a bit of a strange texture, something like blamange i *think* (been that long since i had that stuff!) and i've still got 4 vanilla ones in the fridge!! i ate too many of them and have gone off them for a while! lolz

provamel also do soya yogurts that are really nice! i found them a wee bit 'powdery' to start with, as i had to get used to the general soya taste as an aquired taste, am fully used to it now and enjoy them a lot :) to break my taste buds in gently (and to help get my healthy food portions in) i used to chop up a satsuma, a banana and apple or 3 fruits of whatever i had in at the time. that can make a really nice dessert, especially if you've had to go without at the main meal - with 3 kids and a hubs all eating meat, i sometimes just have the veggies and sauce and instead of a nut burger, i'll have the yog for my protein.

tesco do mango, lemon and raspberry sorbets - can definately recommend the mango one - i had it as a late night snack/treat last night!

also look out for the swedish glace ice creams - i love the vanilla one with some tinned fruit cocktail.

i hope these dessert suggestions help :)

carob *shudder* i remember trying it years ago, and hating it! i've not tried it recently however! there are lots of other chocolate substitutes on the market apparantly sainsbury and tesco do their own, but i've not managed to find some yet *sob*. after eights are vegan too! i now have enough will power to keep a box in the fridge and just munch on a few at a time!! when i was on dairy, i was like you, binging on chocolate just isn't good for any of us!! i have a really good vegan recipe for a chocolate cake. i'll go get a cuppa (mmm tea with soya milk tastes so good!) and i'll write it up in the recipe section for you :)

also, try some chocolate soya milk *drool* is really nice when it is really cold :)

best advice i can give tho, is that you need to think positive. focus on all the yummy food you *can* eat, not the stuff you can't. Find substitues for the stuff that you can't live without. I find that if i don't feel that i'm missing out, then i don't have to fight the urge to binge. says she that binged on bread last night. bread!!! no idea why :lol:

[Copper]

When I feel tempted to stray from dairy free I just remember how sick I will feel. I have had years of feeling so very sick as a child and I have only realised in the last couple of years why! I don't want to feel that ill again.

The hardest thing for me is life without cheese. I can tolerate lactose reduced milk which is a blessing as I thought soya milk was yuk. I then tried rice milk and everything tasted of ermmm rice. This made me think that maybe soya was not so bad :)

I have a very nice chocolate mousse recipe which I have sent to this site.

[Lan]

Hi Copper,

I totally agree with you about the cheese. I was a total cheese freak before being dairy intoerant.

I loved cheese so much, but now I have learned to love cheesly, and am now a total cheesly freak. I just wish that there were more hard cheese substitutes. Oh well.

Take care,

Lan :D