"I promise, you're not insane."

A nice comfort from the dietician I met with this morning. Although, she's not exactly on my favorite list after taking away diary again - probably indefinitely at this point. Then again, she was very straight forward about everything, nice, personable and seemed to understand just how frustrating this all is. Give her 10 extra points.

So, I'm back to 100% dairy free. Next on the list an endoscopy with biopsy and/or a colonoscopy with biopsy. We're hoping for the "or" scenario here, not the all of the above situation. I just warmed back up to the life with feta cheese - one of my all time favorites - and now it's gone again. Reminder: This is all far from easy for a self proclaimed comfort eater-foodie. I suppose it will be all better for me in the long run, a lot more fruits and vegetables and a lot less processed foods!

Now, to the next bit of news. The reason for the extra look at my insides is to check for celiacs disease. Apparently, blood tests are not completely accurate when it comes to testing for Celiacs - although it is the test used most often at first because it is the less invasive of the other options. My first test came up negative - as many of my other tests did as well - so we'll see how the next few go. In the meantime, I do know someone quite well that has had Celiacs her whole life and I look forward to help from her if need be. 

On the upside, I just started going to the gym regularly! I am sore, tired and generally slightly more upbeat since the recent jolt of endorphins. I am optimistic that this new healthy habit will contribute to feeling much better. 

Time to get ready for the rest of my day...another appointment, some grocery hunting - this of course refers to new items to scout out in the area and just how much of my take-home pay will go to fund my diet restriction life - and then starting a new project with my cookbooks and recipe files. I think it would be a good time to start marking recipes with a 'D' for Dairy Free and a 'G' for Gluten Free/Optional. Might as well make the transition as easy as possible. I already miss yogurt.

But this is life on earth, you just can't have everything.

[Alice]

Cabot Cheese

Lactose free? I'm not so sure. Either that or I'm actually allergic to more than just lactose. Now I know that my test came back normal but goodness gracious, I just can't handle the dairy. Or a large amount in one day? A week?

Even though my test came back normal the Doc said I probably just have a mild allergy. I don't see how that can be when I'm so sensitive! Another theory correlates with my timeline dealing with Mexico and possibly a little bacteria infection from that trip...who knows.
I can't seem to find anything on Cabot's website about 0g of Lactose per serving...but on their white, extra sharp cheddar that's what it says!

The ingredients list:

• Pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, annatto (if colored) 

...and usually it has some sort of Lactose free, 0g of lactose per serving...nothing!
I'll have to take a picture of the packaging I have so you won't think I'm totally insane, just making stuff up.

So far, adding a little dairy hasn't been so bad. I've put some shredded cheese on my chicken tortilla soup and veggie burritos - been mostly okay. I think it's time to build back up my tolerance, not sure if I'll ever be able to have a tall glass of milk and cookies but I'll deal.

I've added a slice of cheese or two to my sandwich, had some cream in my coffee and unfortunately it hasn't worked out so well. It took forever to get an appointment with a dietician but luckily on Tuesday I have one! Off to have some strawberries, yogurt and granola! No strawberries and cream for this lady.

...this is life on earth, you just can't have everything.