Nope that's not a typo, that says DAIRY! In January of 2011 I decided to give up gluten and dairy. I was strong for a few months and felt great for the most part. Here's the other part: it would be 2 am after a night of drinking and I think it's a great idea to order pizza or the caprese panini on the menu just looks to good to pass up or I have a headache and "must have" mac n cheese; yeah I have a lot of excuses. The problem is that I was about 98% dairy free (except for these situations that happened maybe once a month) and so when I would slip up, it would wreak havoc on my system (I'll spare you the details), but it was to the point of nearly blacking out in pain. So I decided let's be real, I am obviously not this super dairy free being and I need to find a balance. In a perfect world these 5 items I'm going to talk about would be the only dairy I consume, but surprise! I'm not perfect.So by eating these dairy options that my system can handle, it helps me to tolerate the ones I cannot when I slip up.
1. Greek Yogurt
I love the Fage! It's obviously zero fat AND low in calories and packed with protien. I always get the plain version and add either french vanilla stevia or agave nectar. The major downside to the greek yogurt revolution is that the flavored ones have about as much sugar as ice cream, so find creative ways to blend them with honey or fresh fruit when feeding them to the kiddos.
2. Siggi's Icelandic skyr style non fat yogurt
As I mentioned above, I never buy pre-flavored yogurt, until I discovered Siggi's (thank you Sandi)! Over at Siggi's they had the same issue with yogurt as I do, it's too sweet! They use fruit and a minimal amount of agave nectar in their flavored varieties, still only adding up to 9 gram of sugar per serving (totally within my rule limit). Like greek yogurt, Siggi's has a no fat, high protein, and low calorie content. The label also comes off easily to be recycled separately, if necessary. The only down side is that it can be expensive, so I typically only buy it when it's on sale.
3. Trader Joe's Lactose Free Coffee Creamer
This stuff is great! It comes in a big bottle and a very reasonable price. It's lactose free (which is what usually upsets stomachs), contains no artificial flavors or hydrogenated oils, and only has 4g of sugar. It's also great to make homemade ice cream with or use in baking recipes. I ALWAYS have a bottle of this in my fridge!
4. Kefir or Tart Frozen Yogurt
I really like the Kefir brand frozen yogurt because it contains probiotics and comes in a variety of flavors. However, it runs about $5 a pint and has 16g of sugar, kind of against the rules for me. Fresh and Easy's mango tart yogurt is much more cost effective, I think around $3 for 32 oz AND only has 11g of sugar. The downside is that they only have mango and plain flavors AND I may or may not eat the entire carton :)
5. Mild, Soft Cheeses
Cheeses like brie, ricotta, cream cheese, and sheep's milk cheese are all ok with my system in moderation. Cream cheese on a rice cake, ricotta in gluten free ravioli's, all good. However, the 2 baked bries on my birthday...not ok.
Always keep in mind that with any diet/food choices, it comes down to balance. Unfortunately, eating a brick of pepper jack cheese in a 12 hour period will never ever be a good idea.
Peace, love & lactose,
K. McGrubbin
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