The Lactose Intolerance Master List

If you were to go on the internet to try to find a comprehensive list of foods that a Lactose Intolerant person could or could not eat, you would search for hours without finding any information whatsoever. The frustrating fact is that lactose intolerance affects people in different ways and what foods bother me might be quite fine for my lactose intolerant neighbor.

For instance, I can eat most cheeses except for those that are very runny - like ricotta and cottage cheese.  I am also lucky enough to be able to tolerate small amounts of butter.  However, give me an ice cream cone or a butter-cream frosting made with regular milk, I'm doubled over in pain in minutes and in full-fledged agony seconds later.

One of my friends' husbands is lactose intolerant as well, and while he can't eat butter, milk or runny cheeses, he has no problem consuming whip cream.  Go figure!  I did a blog post (Click here to read) about a wonderful lactose-free yogurt I discovered and I was pleasantly pleased when the company posted my review on their Facebook page (click here if you want to see that facebook post!) along with my recipe for yogurt/zucchini pasta.  I was not surprised to see that they did warn lactose-intolerant readers to be wary of the fact that I included cheddar cheese in my recipe.

I can eat cheddar cheese, but some other lactose intolerant might not.  It's a puzzle that takes one bad experience to solve.

So I am starting a Master List of Foods For The Lactose Intolerant and maybe make some poor person's internet search a little easier.

Dairy Foods Acceptable for Lactose Intolerant People:

Most hard cheese, up to and sometimes including Mozzarella (as long as it is not milky)
Small amounts of butter
Sour cream if cooked into a Bundt cake
Lactose-free milk
Lactose-free yogurts (I recommend this brand)

Dairy Foods To Avoid Like The Plague If You Are Lactose Intolerant:

"Soft" cheeses like ricotta, cream cheese, cottage cheese etc
Large amounts of butter
Sour cream
All regular milks
All regular yogurts - cups or tubers
Heavy Cream - half & half, whipping
Butter milk
Cheese cakes
Butter cream frosting of any sort unless made with lactose-free milk
Cream cheese frosting
Sour cream-based veggie dips
Mousse  or puddings

Foods I'm Just Unsure Of:

Condensed milk - I can eat this when it's baked into Seven-Layer cookies
Brie cheese - I've had some successes


Feel free to leave me a comment and I'll add to any of the lists!

Lactose-Free Yogurts: A Joyous Discovery

I was walking down the dairy aisle of my local Whole Foods Market when I stumbled across the most amazing thing:

Lactose-free yogurts!!!  And they are even organic!  

I can not tell you the last time I had yogurt.... but I would put money on the fact that while I spooned it into my mouth,  I was wearing an Ally McBeal short skirt and a large blazer with shoulder pads.  Lactose-free items are starting to mainstream and I couldn't be happier or any more relieved.  One of my favorite recipes calls for a tub of plain yogurt and because of my lactose intolerance, I haven't been able to make it in years.  

I went to the Green Valley Organics website (click here to visit their site yourself) and found out that they also make Kefir drinks and lactose-free sour cream.  Their motto is No Lactose, No Worries.  

How marvelous is that!?!

But how did Green Valley Organics Lactose-Free Yogurt taste?  Like yogurt! 

And I am truly in yogurt heaven!

Zucchini with Yogurt and Fettuccine

Ingredients:

One box of dried fettuccine 

1 small container of plain Green Valley Organics Lactose-Free yogurt

4 large zucchinis 

small amount of olive oil

1 tsp of chopped garlic

1 tsp of dried basil

1/2 block of grated cheddar cheese

Cook fettuccine according to package

Using a vegetable peeler, peel zucchini into long strips and place into skillet, along with olive oil, garlic & basil

heat skillet and cook zucchini until warm and slightly limp (4-5 minutes)

drain pasta but return to pot

coat pasta with entire yogurt container

plate servings of pasta and sprinkle with grated cheese and healthy amount of zucchini mixture

Eat & Enjoy!