I’ve started eating dairy free because it seems that little Cal gets the toots when I eat anything delicious.
He doesn’t just get the toots, but pretty painful tummy rumbles, so it is lactose free for me.
I actually was diagnosed as lactose intolerant when I was in my early twenties. Strange how it came about so late in life. I was working at Silver Peak, a local restaurant, in Reno when I discovered the “illness.” I call it an illness because it’s almost as bad as one… not being able to eat anything scrumptious anymore.
Anyway, I was working at Silver Peak when I began getting horrible stomach cramps, almost daily. I had no idea why my stomach was getting so upset. Embarrassingly, I also became very gassy. This is NOT appetizing when working at a restaurant. Or when working anywhere, really.
So the only thing I could do was request to work on the deck, which was outside and I could then somewhat conceal my problem. I was granted my request, but one day I was cramping so badly that one of my co-workers asked me what was wrong. Putting all feelings and emotions aside, I told him my symptoms.
“You’re probably sensitive to dairy.”
“No, I’ve eaten dairy my whole life. That’s not it.”
“What did you eat for lunch?”
“A sandwich, cheese-covered veggies….. and…. ice cream…………..Huh.”
“MmM hmm.”
So I went to the doctor a couple of days later, told her what I thought might be going on, and after a couple of tests it was confirmed that yes, I was indeed lactose intolerant.
“But why now?” I asked.
Apparently it is pretty common to become lactose intolerant in your twenties.
DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!
So I lived my life eating dairy sparingly. I absolutely did not cut it out of my diet, because that would be just plain silly. I just suffered the consequences later. In private. If I could.
Too much?
As the years have gone by, the sensitivity to dairy has lessened. It is only when I consume too much of something like ice cream or delicious melted cheese that I notice anything.
Where was I going with this???
Oh yeah. So Little Cal is sensitive to the stuff, and I no longer get to choose how lenient I want to be with consuming it as there is no playing around with my Little Man’s tummy.
But MY GOODNESS. Dairy is EVERYWHERE! I can’t eat ANYTHING! And it sucks.
I also learned the hard way what other gassy foods affect my digestive system. Did you know that raw veggies can give you rumbles in the jungle?
I didn’t! So since I couldn’t eat seemingly anything, I was snacking on some veggies and dressing one afternoon last week and good Lord. I will spare you the details…. but let’s just say… I didn’t even want to be around me.
After some research and talking with a gal pal who is also cutting dairy from her diet, I now do not eat dairy, raw veggies, anything tomato based, acidic fruits, and beans. All of these are common gassy foods, and if I can prevent any sort of tummy pain for my Little Man, and if I want to keep my husband and friends around, then I think it best to say adios… for now.
If you have any yummy breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas… (snacks too!) that do not include these items… please share! I am desperate! Oh, and hopefully these can be “quick to fix” ideas? You know, because I have two kids now, one who still eats every 1.5- 2 hours making it difficult to actually cook anything. 🙂
THANKS!
