Lactose free

laurenwheatley93
laurenwheatley93 Posts: 12 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

I've been told I need to go on a lactose free diet to determine if I am intolerant. The only issue is, EVERYTHING seems to have lactose in lol.

Does anyone have any recipes/meals/snacks that would be of any use please?

Thanks in advance

Replies

  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    Fairlife milk is cow's milk with the lactose filtered out. You can use it in recipes. That's all I got.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    Unsweetened almond milk is great for anything you would use regular milk for. It is really good once you try it. Most cheese doesn't bother me so I kept eating cheese. Ice cream is on my no eat list too.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Just eat fruits, veggies, meat, and grains for a few weeks. You'll need to check the ingredients on breads or other prepared foods but you should easily be able to skip most of that stuff for the 2-3 weeks needed to figure this out. I wouldn't even mess around with lactose free milks or milk substitutes at this point but that's up to you.
  • Caitlinbc
    Caitlinbc Posts: 1,914 Member
    They have Lactaid milk products and you can also take supplements to help reduce issues.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    How does everything have lactose in it? Whey protein and other dairy has lactose in it. Meat (inc fish), eggs, vegetables, fruit, grains, tubers (like potatoes and sweet potatoes), and legumes do not have lactose in them. I have no lactose issues, but on days I don't eat dairy I don't eat lactose.
  • cee134
    cee134 Posts: 33,711 Member
    I've been dairy free for a long time. Soy or almond milk, Fairlife if you want to spend the money. Margarine (trans fat free), alittle butter in your food normally won't affect anything. I don't mind fake cheese, but it really is not a good substitute due to it's taste. But there is a substitute for anything out there that has dairy these days, so it's not hard.

    Veggies and fruit are great for you an dairy free. (also take a calcium supplement if you aren't getting enough)

    Look up vegan recipes and adapt them as needed.
  • CorneliusPhoton
    CorneliusPhoton Posts: 965 Member
    Are you going lactose free to see if symptoms improve while you cut it out? Or are they going to do any more tests? The easiest thing to do, if you don't want a radical change to your diet, is to switch to lactose free milk (Lactaid is one brand, but there are others) and /or take lactase enzyme with all of your cheese or milk-containing meals. I buy lactase in bulk from Costco. Never giving up cheese. :)
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Cashew and almond milk are great milk alternatives. Silk makes some good non-dairy coffee creamers. Earth Balance is an excellent non-dairy butter. So Delicious makes yummy coconut milk ice creams. Anything labeled vegan will be non-dairy, so that might help you find alternative options for whatever products you are seeking.
  • laurenwheatley93
    laurenwheatley93 Posts: 12 Member
    Lactose free to see if my symptoms improve! The specialist has narrowed it down to lactose intolerance, colitis or gastrointestinal malabsorption (all quite different, I know.) so it's a case of trying until something works I guess. All the foods I enjoy have lactose in! I didn't necessarily say healthy hahahaha

  • tequila5000
    tequila5000 Posts: 128 Member
    As an experiment, just give up all dairy. Then think about how u feel. some people end up feeling very different---and I mean they feel better, lighter, healthier, after going dairy free.
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
    For how long? If it's a short test, it shouldn't be too hard to just avoid dairy. If it's long term, you may want to find substitutes or figure out what you can tolerate. Others have already suggested Lactaid or Fairlife lactose free milk, but Lactaid also sells cottage cheese and ice cream, and other brands sell lactose free yogurt and Kefir. Most Kraft brand cheeses say 0g of lactose on the package (usually on the back) as well. Then there's the nut or soy milk alternatives as well. Finally, a lot of dairy products are quite low in lactose and are well tolerated in moderate serving sizes by most lactose intolerant people, such as greek yogurt, hard cheeses, or butter.
  • HorrorGeekLiz
    HorrorGeekLiz Posts: 195 Member
    Since I recently found out I have a milk allergy, I understand how sneaky milk is in products and how hard it can be to avoid. Some products I have found milk in seemingly make no sense (I'm looking at you, beef bouillon).

    Basically, I just cut out as much processed foods as possible. Stick to meat, fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts. For butter, I like Earth Balance, but all margarine is dairy free (make sure nothing in the ingredients lists "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" to avoid trans fats).

    If you need dairy substitutes, anything vegan is acceptable. (Daiya is an excellent brand of vegan cheese. It's super expensive, so I only use it for a cheese emergency, but it's the only brand that melts properly that I have found.)

  • LPflaum
    LPflaum Posts: 174 Member
    I'm generally non-dairy b/c I'm lactose intolerant (i will eat mac and cheese in the comfort of my own home...), here's my substitution list:
    Milk -> Unsweetened Almond Milk (don't use the sweetened or flavored stuff, messes with recipes)
    Milk -> Chicken Stock (works in mashed potatoes and with other veggies)
    Butter -> Olive Oil, Veg Oil, Margarine, ghee (this last one is a godsend!)
    Coffee Creamer -> Almond Milk Creamer, Non-Dairy Creamer
    Cheese -> Give it up until you know, then the general rule is that if it doesn't melt, you can eat it (parm, asiago, etc)
    Ice Cream -> FroYo, I prefer frozen greek yogurt and the tasso greek yogurt bars, or sorbet

    In general, I eat a lot of grilled meats and veggies, curries made with coconut milk, pastas with red sauce or tossed with olive oil and fresh veggies, these days I'm mostly taking advantage of all the veggies in the store and eating veggies with grilled meats.

    If you want, PM me with a list of foods you like (but miss) and i'll see if i can dig up some substitutes for you. I have a rolodex full of non-dairy recipes.

    Also, be careful if you go out to eat. I find that most restaurants use butter to finish sauces. I also found milk in almost all of the FroYo at Menchies last week. If you tell them you're "non dairy", they can usually steer you toward things that won't have secret butter in them.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
    I've cut down dairy because of stomach issues. Too much diarrhea and stomach aches. Lowering my dairy intake has seem to help, though yesterday I had two violent stomach aches from eating cheese popcorn.

    Instead of butter, I use earth balance. Instead of regular milk, I use lactaid brand. I've given up cream cheese. Can eat yogurt and small amounts of regular cheese ok.

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