So what Margarine do I use? Vitalite

Yup it's dairy free and has dairy free plastered all over it, sort of!

I think we started buying this one as Pure had gone up in price. Been using it for about a year now, so must like it.

I don't miss butter at all, was never a big butter eater before I found out.

So what Marg do you use?

Tesco Baked Beans & Vegetarian Sausages

I'm not a fan of real sausages and always eat the veggie ones wherever possible. Weird I know! Saw this and just had to try it with toast.

And the ingredients:

How it looked in the pot.

The end product on some Mothers Pride.

Quite hot steam steam steam!

This was okay as a quick snack. It's carbs city though! The sausages were nice and the beans, well just tasted like beans to me! I'd have it again for sure. Good comfort food.

May Contain Traces Of Milk

So how many times do I read this on food? All the time!

Do you ever eat food that many contain traces of milk?

I often do and most of the time I'm okay. I can only recall one time I was quite sick. Calamari from Lidl - nasty nasty tummy pains and all that. And I do love Calamari :-(

It's a chance I'm willing to take as I don't want to limit the things I eat. Let's face it, we are limited as it is! It certainly is the Russian Roulette of Lactose Intolerance!

Asda Iced Lemon Slices

A nice little treat and not from the Free From section! Yippee.

And the ingredients:

No milk whatsoever!!! And cheaper than anything from the Free From range too.

They look like this:

Fairly small. 3 bites and they are gone!

I think these are lovely. Unlike the Walnut & Coffee Slices these are light and fluffy. They aren't too sweet and they aren't too lemony! They are perfect. Yum Yum indeedy!

Ikea Dark Chocolate

Spotted this heavenly delight in Ikea last week! OMG I say OMG.

Ingredients:

May contain traces of milk protein. Yah I'm on to a winner as I can eat anything with MPs in it and logic must dictate that it's got no milk in it, otherwise it would say milk! Yah once again.

I've so far eaten 2 bars of this stuff. It's awesome and so tasty and smooth and melt in the mouth. I love it and will be going back to Ikea for more. Furniture what??

Sainsbury's Free From Coffee and Walnut Slices

Just had to try these when I saw them in a larger Sainsbury's!

Note that these are not only dairy free but also wheat and gluten.
Ingredients:

Isn't eggs dairy :-S Oh well this modern world confuses me!

How do they look? Tiny!

They tasted nice and the combo of coffee and walnuts really worked I think. My only complaint is that because they are wheat/gluten free, they are a wee bit stodgy. They are quite heavy and not very light and fluffy. In saying that, I would defo buy them again :-p

Home Made Macaroni and Cheese

My husband recently made a lovely Macaroni and Cheese. He used the cheapo pasta from Tesco (I think) and this cheese:

And the info we need:

Sorry it's slightly blurry! Basically it's got carbs, but of which sugar 0.0g! Yah. This is why it's vital that manufacturers break down the carbs or even let us know what the sugar content is. Some don't, so I cannot buy any cheeses that do have carbs as I've no idea of the sugar content! Could be nil, but they ain't telling us that!

I'm not quite sure how he made the sauce, but I do know he made it with soya milk ;-)

And the end result:

It was awesome, I probably ate too much, I no doubt put on a few pounds BUT I had no side effects, or any sickness. I was fine :-) It was delightful and it's amazing to think I can eat a real macaroni and cheese.

So there you have it, we can eat cheese :-)

Maynards Wine Gums

Yum yum I say!

And the ingredients:

Not the healthiest food I'll be posting on here, but nice nonetheless. Very sweet and an occasional treat methinks!

Tea and Coffee Machines

We have these combined Tea and Coffee machines at work. They provide all sorts of fancy coffees, white or black tea and hot water. I always used to take my own mug and tea bags in to work (don't ask!) and use the hot water in the machine. And every few days out of the week I'd be quite ill and display the symptoms of having taken lactose. So I had to stop using them as this wasn't on :-( I now take a flask of tea in with me and since then, never been ill!

So I reckon those times I was ill, the milk somehow must have been mixed in with the water? I'm not sure how that would have happened as the hot water pipe was separate from the main pipe - who knows?

I also noticed they have replaced the older machines with new machines that seem to have only one pipe! So glad I take my own tea in. Must look a right plonker! Tired of explaining to people why I have to bring it in! Do you find that people without dietary needs are often quite ignorant about these matters? It's frustrating trying to explain what lactose intolerance is!

I also never use these type of machines when I'm out and about. Better safe than ill!

Spicy Sweet & Sour Mug Shot

This is a quickie to make!

And the ingredients:

So what does it look like in a mug?

So not quite how it looks on the packet! Though I have to say that I do like this one, but be warned it is quite spicy. My tolerance to spicy is very low, basically before the days of knowing I was lactose intolerant I found a korma to be too spicy!!! So most people should be fine then :-p Give it slightly more than the 5 minutes for the noodles to taste soft and yummy. Would I have it again? Yeah.

Reading the ingredients

Do you always read the ingredients or do you quickly look at the 'Allergy Advice' section?

I always read the ingredients and don't really think it's a waste of time. I've spoken to people in the past and they never seem to read what's in the food they are buying! I think that's mad, but maybe they are lucky enough not to have any dietary needs! Also people may not have the time either, as we all lead busy lives these days!

Another reason I read the ingredients is I like to know what E Numbers and sweeteners are in my food as there are a good few I cannot take because they give me really bad headaches, probably even worse than the lactose headaches! I've noticed recently (probably last 5 months or so) some food manufactures seem to have stopped using Aspartame as a sweetener and using Sucralose instead. I hardly take sucralose, but have noticed no ill effects, unlike the horrible Aspartame and Acesulfame K.

Daelmans Coconut Cakes

I do like coconut and I do like cakes, but it's often hard to find ones that I can eat! Stumbled across these in Morrisons a few weeks back.

Don't look that much, do they?

Ingredients:

And what they look like out of the packet.

They certainly don't look anything special, but they taste amazing! Melt in the mouth! I highly recommend :-)

Birds Eye Vegetable Fingers

Even though I'm not a vegetarian, there are lots of vegetarian foodstuffs that I do like! Some I cannot eat though because of the lactose content! I noticed these while shopping in Asda (I think) and thought I'd give them a go.

Ingredients:

Easy enough to make, pop in the oven for about 20 minutes at 220.

The end product!

Hehe not the most attractive dinner I've ever had! But they were nice and tasty and will be having them again for sure! Had them with a side of chips.

Can I eat real cheese?

Do you like cheese?

If you do and have found out you are lactose intolerant, don't fear. No matter how severe your intolerance is, you will still be able to eat real cheese!

As lactose is a sugar, it's relatively easy to tell which cheeses you can eat.

So I'm idly going about my day to day life and boom! A life changing article (well almost). At first I wasn't sure about it at all. Apparently certain goat's cheeses contain no lactose (wasn't sure of the science bit) and my sort can eat them! No way. Happy days indeed. So I tried some feta. Seemed okay and after reading the nutritional information on the back, it dawned on me and my husband (joint effort). Carbohydrates nil of which sugar nil......... Lactose is a sugar so cheese which has no sugar has no lactose!!!!!!!!! It's been staring me in the face for all these years and so obvious really.

So there you have it, any cheese that has no sugar or no carbs, you can eat :-) Goat, cow or otherwise!

Now depending on how much lactose you can tolerate depends on what cheese you can eat! Myself, I've got a very low tolerance, a drop would set me off. So be warned if you are like me, you must always eat the cheeses that have no carbs or sugars, trace or 0.01g per 100g will set you off - as I've sadly found out :-( Funny that isn't it?

Ainsley Harriott - Sundried Tomato & Garlic Cous Cous

Had quite fancied trying this and this one is lactose free! AND easy to make!

Check out the ingredients:

How to make:
Empty the contents into a bowl.
Add 160mls of boiling water. I usually end up adding slightly more because our measuring jug sux!
Stir it and leave it alone for 5 mins. You can fluff the cous cous with a fork, but I don't normally bother.

So how does it look?

Might not look much bit it's very tasty!

I recommend :-)

Side Effects

So what are your side effects if you consume lactose by mistake?

I usually start to get a bad headache within 30 minutes and soon after that I start to feel dizzy, lightheaded and sick. Then comes the stomach cramps and the horrible gas. I also start to get quite agitated and grumpy - just ask my husband! Then for the next few days I've got bowel troubles (don't want to go into too much detail), gas and the cramps. It's not nice at all.

I know everyone is different and side effects will vary from person to person.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to this lactose free zone of t'interweb.

I'm hoping to share experiences, food talk and anything interesting related to this intolerance!

I'm lactose intolerant and proud! :-p