Moo Cow, Don't Bother Me

I've been having some tummy troubles.  And not just while I'm training.  I've been trying to manage the symptoms with over the counter aids, but it's started to feel like some sort of arms race between my gut and my meds:  at some point I'm the one who loses out.

A couple of weeks ago I decided to track what I was eating and my symptoms and see if there were any patterns.  I bought an app called Food Allergy Detective, which monitors likely food offenders.  They suggest tracking for 4 weeks to have the best data, but after two a few things are clear (1) I eat some dairy with every meal and (2) dairy does seem to coincide with symptoms.

I've suspected for a while that dairy may be a problem.  When I would drink a whey-based protein shake the symptoms were at their worst.  But I've also tried lactose-free whey protein, and I still had trouble.  I've also tried taking lactaid with meals with large portions of dairy (hello, cottage cheese snack), and not had much improvement, so I worry it's more than just lactose that is the problem.

Here's the trouble though.  I love cheese.  On our second date (the one where Paul flew down to Australia for two weeks), we went on a wine tasting tour and spent more money on cheese than on wine.  We often point to that day as a definitive sign that we were meant to be.  In the past, when I've gone on diets, I have always found ways to maintain just a little bit of low-fat cheese to preserve my enjoyment of the meals.  In fact, I just can't bring myself to try to go dairy-free until after this election night pizza party tomorrow.

But dairy-free I will go.  I've got coconut cream for my coffee in the mornings, and several stir fries planned for dinners.  My goal is to do 2 weeks dairy-free and see if that addresses symptoms, then to try adding back in one item at a time to see if I can identify if it's all dairy or just lactose (hurray for lactose-free cheese!)

If you have favorite dairy-free recipes, I'm all ears.  I need something to keep my taste buds happy in the next two weeks, so please do share.