CANDY!

Okay guys! For candy, there are so many choices, but where to start? Well, first, don’t ignore the obvious. You’re pretty much okay with any clear candies ie: jolly ranchers, peppermint hard candy, anise hard candy, etc. If it’s clear, there usually are no milk products in there.

 

 

Also, summer candy is usually pretty safe. Look for cotton candy, button candy (the little dots on the white paper that you peel off), licorice, most mints, marshmallow candy (fake) ice cream cone candy, push up lipstick, gummy pears,etc.

 

Sometimes, you can find dark chocolate pieces that don't have milk products hiding in their ingredient list. Also, sometimes some brands of European candy are lactose free...you just have to check the labels.

Other choices are bubble gum and candy canes (at Christmas time).

 

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR!

LACTOSE (obviously)….but milk can hide under other names such as MILK FAT, WHEY, WHEY POWDER, MILK SOLIDS, WHEY SOLIDS, MILK CHOCOLATE, CASEIN…I’m sure there are others I’ve forgotten to mention.

There are some serious offenders, including Werther’s original, any kind of milk chocolate candy bars including (but not limited to) Mars Milky Way Bars, Snickers, M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

With Halloween coming up, it’s especially important to keep your children from getting into any candy that may harm them. CHECK LABELS!!! One can never be too prudent!

 

 

CHICKEN SOUP!

This is a great recipe for lactose free chicken soup. The bouillon I use (Telma) which may be hard to find in your area, but you can just google it and see where it’s sold.

RECIPE:

6 cups water
3 cubes Telma bouillon
Approx. 1 cup chopped carrots
Approx. 1 cup chopped celery                 
Approx. 1 cup pasta (any shape)
Few slices white onion (optional)
1 tblspn. Olive oil                  
                             

 

                          

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing you want to do is add the tablespoon of olive oil to the bottom of your pan. Then add the chopped carrots, celery and onion. Saute those vegetables until they just start to get soft. (about 5 minutes or so) Be careful with this step though, especially if you’re new to cooking. Make sure the burner is set to no higher than medium as the oil can burn and start smoking. No one wants burned soup, right? Next, add the 6 cups of water (plain) and the 3 bouillon cubes. You now want to let this cook until the bouillon cubes are dissolved. You may have to stir the soup at this point or later on to get them to dissolve. When the broth boils, you can skim off any grease that forms around the edges with a spoon. Next, add your pasta and leave the cover off! Stir the soup occasionally. After about 10 minutes of cooking, your pasta will be done. You want the pasta to be firm…not squishy and not hard. You can take one out on a spoon and taste it to make sure it’s right! Next, take soup off the heat and ladle into bowls. You can garnish with fresh parsley if you want.

All in all, this soup is a great lactose free soup that can be “doctored up” or down as you like. You can add different vegetables depending on the season. Some great choices are:

 

Spring:

Finely sliced cabbage
Leeks
Scallions

Summer:

Zucchini
Tomatoes
Mushrooms

Fall/Winter:

Turnip
Potatoes
Corn

You can also choose to add rice or potatoes instead of the pasta. Lastly, you can garnish the soup with your favorite lactose free cheese!

 

 

 

BROWN SUGAR BROWNIES!

This is a great recipe I’ve had since I was a child. They’re perfect for a cool autumn day!

Only make a single batch to start with. They don’t make that many, so you may need to bake subsequent batches. I’ve never made a double batch however, so I’m not sure how they’ll turn out!

 Recipe:

¼ cup shortening or vegetable oil (I use canola oil)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup all purpose flour (a.k.a. white flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped nuts (I omit the nuts, but you can also use coconut here…if using coconut, decrease vanilla to ½ teaspoon)

Heat oven to 350F.  Mix brown sugar, egg, vanilla, then stir in remaining ingredients. Spread in greased baking pan 8x8x2 inches. Bake for 25 minutes. Cut into 1 ¾ inch squares while warm. Yields about 1 ½ dozen.

 

These are fantastic! After you serve them, keep the rest away from the kids as they will eat them all!!!

 

ALMOND MILK!

One of the best kinds of "lactose free" milk to use on your cereal, in smoothies, etc. is ALMOND MILK! I've tried all different brands, but I love Silk Pure Almond Original Unsweetened milk.

 

 

This is great because you can use it in pancakes, smoothies, dairy free "milk" shakes, etc. You can even use this for cooking and can basically subsitute it for "real" milk.

CLIFF BARS!

One of the best organic LACTOSE FREE granola/ energy bars I've found are CLIFF BARS. They are manufactured by Clif Bar & Co. (www.clifbar.com) and sold at grocery stores such as WholeFoods.

The ingredient list is as follows: organic rolled oats, organic dried can syrup, organic sunflower oil, rice crisp (rice flour, barley malt extract, dried cane syrup, salt calcium carbonate), honey, natural flavors, organic barley flakes, organic rye flakes, oat bran, oat fiber, sea salt, inulin (chicory extract). ALLERGAN STATEMENT: MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF PEANUTS, TREE NUTS, WHEAT, AND SOY. 

If you'll notice here, there are NO traces of any milk products whatsoever! Breathe a sigh of relief! The best part is...they're delicious! Believe me...I've tried all sorts of brands, even some that taste like cardboard! And they're not terribly expensive at $2.99 for 10 bars (5 packages of 2 per package). They're great for camping, for the gym, for your desk at work, etc. I can't say enough about these bars! And no, I'm not getting paid to write this...I just genuinely love them and I've finally found a granola bar I can actually eat! Oh and BTW, they also make great energy bars!

Intro to LACTOSE DAIRY FREE!

Hi guys! This channel will be all about lactose and dairy free products! I chose to include both "lactose" and "dairy" free because some people can't differentiate between the two, so I think I'll reach a wider audience if I include both! Anyway, I've been lactose intolerant since I was about 5 years old (23 years ago) and it's really heard. Milk products are in everything from Italian salad dressing, to cookies, to bread, etc. Most foods pretty much have some form of lactose in them. The best bet when looking for dairy free food is to eat fruits, vegetables, etc. but that gets pretty boring. So, the purpose of this blog is to share foods, recipes, cooking techniques, etc. so that you can have CREATIVE food choices if you're lactose intolerant or just choose to be dairy free! If I can help just one person live a better life by cutting dairy products out of their lifestyle, then it will all be worth it! Enjoy!