The shape of things...

Yesterday I finally made the switch to lactose free yogurt and it was a revelation to find out that I could eat without getting a stomachache. I mixed it in a big bowl with muesli, slices of banana, dried cranberries, chia seeds and hemp seeds, and ate it without any problems. It was such a success that I had another bowl of it for dessert after dinner with the same result. In the morning, before I had gone to the grocery store, I had eaten a cheese sandwich and got a stomachache and didn't know if it was because of the gluten or the lactose, but that seems to be clear now.

 

I not only get a stomachache, but also the other gastro-intestinal discomforts that I am too delicate to describe here. I must really be sensitive to lactose because I react to it when a little bit of it is in other prepared foods, so I will always have to read the labels. At least the mystery is solved now and it was done so easily. I should have tried a lactose free product much sooner, but I always worried about the taste. I needed not to have done that at all, because the yogurt tastes just fine and I can't wait to try the milk.

 

Now at least I know what I am: a lactose free vegetarian. I can base my whole diet around that fact and add the super foods and supplements that I need and want. I can't tell you what a relief that is. I have been poking around in the dark so long when it comes to my diet and I suspected lactose intolerance or a milk allergy for some time. There was, however, so much ado about gluten that I had started to suspect it also, so I was unsure.

 

I am still unsure about soya beans and other legumes, so I am going to give them a wide berth for a while and try them again at some later time. I want to enjoy having no gastro-intestinal problems first. There are enough other foods to eat, so it isn't like I am deprived or under any kind of pressure.

 

I bought a new and expensive dried dog food for Tyke at the pet shop, but he will only eat it so far if I hand feed him. I don't mind doing this, because that is how I got him to eat his whole bowl full this evening. I hope he will start to eat it on his own, but the point is that he will eat healthy food and lose weight at the same time. Because he is such a finicky eater, I was buying him canned food and that was also pricey, so I am just as well off buying this dried food which is better for him. Gandhi got a new dried food also that is especially for senior cats and she likes it. She is always easier to please than Tyke.

 

That's the news on the dietary front for all of us, and as you can see, we are all well taken care of. I just wish that it didn't cost more money to eat more healthy. If you want to eat lots of pasta and meat, you are off cheaper than if you want to eat vegetables and fruits and nuts. It's a turned around world.