UUUUGH!!!

My husband has no guilt reflex. He can't have one,it doesn't seem to be a possibility for him. He has no weakness for puppies with their puppy eyes (or me with mine for that matter), and crying children do not fill him with a need to make them feel better (except for our son, and only when he's seriously hurt and I'm not around), and the sight of me crying, especially after he has said something especially well barbed, nothing; at least nothing that I can see anyway. It's like he's a fortress of steel or something. We had a fight (sort of) TWO DAYS AGO and he's still not deemed me worthy of his forgiveness, today he didn't say a word to me, besides what was necessary, and he's hardly looked at me. I f this keeps up, I feel like I might get depressed from being so upset for so long. I have a headache, a literal headache, from crinkling up my eyebrows because I'm so worried about it all.

So, what did I do about it all?

I ate cake. Well, I also finished a book that turned out to be sad, and happy all at once and that made me cry and then I ate some cake (a yummy strawberry shortcake/cheesecake thingy my mamaw made) but halfway through my cake my husband walked out the door (I swear as long as I've been in the living room today he has been walking out the damn front door to smoke on purpose, just so I have to look at him and feel guilty all over again) and him walking out the door made me upset, which, ofcourse made me cry. I hate being a human waterfaucet! I swear! I feel sad, I cry; really happy, I cry; mad, I cry! my emotions are connected to my freaking tear ducts! To make it all worse I can't talk and cry at the same time. I try and its unintelligeable, I croak, and no one can understand a single word. So therefore, I can't tell my husband what's wrong, I never win a fight, and I was a complete wuss in school because all somebody had to do was say one mean, hurtful thing and I became a water fountain (though there was one time I snapped and started yelling at two preppy girls, but that's another story).

So basically, I am a social introvert. My husband has to force me to join a conversation, even when I know the people we're talking to (though sometimes I don't talk for other reasons, like when I'm around my asshole brother-in-law who thinks he knows everything and whos favorite pastime is taking cracks at me and generally lowering my already low self-esteem into non-existence while my husband looks on because he thinks it doesn't bother me). I also don't do too well on in-class participation, and on presentations. Basically any form of public speaking with an audience of more that five or six i get nervous about. I guess you could say I have cronic uncureable stage fright, I even took classes, (let's just say that my public speaking professor probably now believes that there really are people who cannot be cured). I probably have about as much self-esteem as a mosquito. In fact, I was shocked, absolutely stunned, when my husband first told me that I was pretty. I had never, before then, thought of myself as even remotely pretty, except maybe when I was little and my mom told me. But when this amazing man told me, and even when he tells me now, that I am hot, I was blown away from the thought.

God. Its late. well goodnight dear readers, I'm off into the fray of marriage to see if I can possibly patch things up; wish me luck!

Bye bye!

Got Milk?

Today's subject is milk. Lactose-free milk, that is. There are several options out there for lactose intolerant sufferers, including lactose-free milk, as well as dairy-free varieties.

Lactose-free Milk

Lactose-free milk is cow's milk that has been treated with a lactase enzyme to break down the milk's sugars to make it easier to digest. Nutrition-wise, lactose free milk is the best choice because it has all the benifits of regular milk.

Non-dairy Milks

There is a wide variety of nondairy, plant-based milks on the market these include:
* Oat Milk
* Multigrain Milk
* Potato Milk
* Hemp Milk
As well as the more familiar:
* Soy Milk
* Almond Milk
* and Rice Milk

If taste is what you are after, then the Lactose-free milk is the way to go; but if you are lactose intolerant and vegan, or if you just want to try out something new, then, taste-wise, almond milk is the best to try (as long as you don't mind the taste of almonds). If it is nutritional value you seek, then soy is the best for your money, with plenty of protien, about 5-10 grams per 8 ounces, to almond milks 1 gram per 8 ounces (though I reccomend getting the flavored soy milk for drinking). A plus to plant based milks, no fat means no cholesterol.

As well as drinking, all lactose free milks can be substituted for regular milk in any recipe, cup for cup. I usually keep a half-gallon of each lactose-free and almond milk. The lactose free milk for drinking and the almond milk for smoothies and some cooking, thought I tend to use the lactose-free milk for family recipes.

For dairy products like cheese, yoghurt, sour cream and ice cream, there are non-dairy alternatives available, but for tastes sake, I reccomend just stocking up on a lactase suppliment that you take with each meal or just avoiding it all together (if possible).

Burrito Dogs: because you can never have too little creativity

Although I am lactose free, there is one dairy product that I absolutely CANNOT live without. Cheese. I can go without yogurt or regular milk, or even ice cream; but cheese, not on your life. So my husband and I were looking around for something to eat yesterday, we had some leftovers from the other day for burritos, and three leftover hotdogs, and inspiration struck me: instead of making the three hot dogs and a few burritos to share amongst ourselves, I thought to myself why not put the hotdogs inside the burritos? So we did. My husband was skeptical at first but the end result looked and tasted great!

*note: this is definitely something to eat with a salad or something else healthy because for obvious reasons, its not good for you.

What we did basically was assembled the burritos like normal (burrito size tortillas work best) with your fav. ingredients. I used refried beans, black beans, taco meat, and cheese (my husband had the same minus the black beans) and then drop the hot dog inside before you fold it. Then all you do is fry it up in a hot pan with some butter until both sides are golden brown and crispy, mmm.....

Smoothies: Fruity Fun toe the Rescue!

Living lactose-free, for me, is a series of give and take. There are things that are easier for me to give up than others. Yogurt and cheese are the two things that I still allow myself to eat, while ice cream on the other hand, as long as I have the ingredients to make these great smoothies (or a stash of Edy’s Fruit Bars™ or frozen grapes on hand) I can easily resist the temptation to have a scoop.

Basic Banana Smoothie

1 ripe banana

8-10 oz. almond
milk*

* If you don’t have, or don’t like, almond milk, use regular milk and plain yogurt for a thickener

Banana Berry Smoothie

1 ripe banana

8-10 oz. almond milk

1 Edy’s Fruit Bar™ either strawberry or wild berry**

** I usually get the variety box with strawberry, lime, and wild berry

Vitamin C Morning Wake-up

1 ripe banana

¼ c frozen orange juice concentrate

8-10 oz. almond milk

Tropical Sunrise

1 ripe banana

¼ oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

½ c fresh or frozen mango

8-10 oz. almond milk

POM Wonderful™ Berry-Banana Bliss

1 ripe banana

1 Edy’s Fruit Bar

¼ c POM Wonderful™ Pomegranate juice

1 6 oz. container plain Greek yogurt***

*** All these smoothies can be made with or without yogurt, I like greek because its thicker and has a nice tang

Banana ChocolatDream

1 ripe banana

2 T chocolate syrup

8-10 oz. almond milk

2 T peanut butter (optional)****

**** a warning to those who try peanut butter, although it makes a great smoothie, it is very hard to incorporate into the mix

Blend in a blender
(I use my magic bullet, it works especially well) until smooth

Smoothies are an almost regular part of my morning routine, but they also work well as an ice cream craving cure, especially if you use vanilla almond milk, then it has an almost milkshake feel.

Hello

Hi there,

I have started this blog as a way for myself and other lactose-intolerant sufferers to connect and share ways to enjoy our eating experience even if we have to skip out on the dairy.