If you've read this post, then you understand. I LOVE CEREAL. I have eaten cereal every single morning for the past fifteen years of my life, except for that year in college that I didn't have a mini fridge in my room. And I never made that mistake again. I eat cereal for a snack in the afternoon, for dinner when I don't feel like cooking, and even when I'm sick because its the only thing that sounds good. Its in my blood. Its ingrained into the tasty pleasure center of my brain. It makes me happy when I eat it. And now that I write this, I realize that I'm a little on the crazy-weird side of things right now...
For the past two weeks, I've been having some crazy (ie gross and extremely unpleasant) stomach issues. And what was my solution to this? Eat Raisin Bran. Yes folks, I even use cereal for medicinal purposes. And it even worked for a few days, but only until it made things much, much worse. After mulling over the situation and browsing for a few minutes over Web MD, Jeff sat me down and told me the nasty truth.
"Sweetie, I think you are lactose intolerant."
It hit me like an ugly stick - unavoidable and unmistakable. So to test this theory I have been foregoing my favorite beverage and my favorite breakfast food for the past couple of days, and dag nammit, I feel better. I'm going to wait until next week to try my hand at milk substitutes, but does anyone have any suggestions on what to try??
In the meantime, I ate my cereal dry this morning with my fingers. I just can't go without it!
Hugs,
Erin
17 comments
oneshotbeyond - I know tons of people who eat their cereal dry out of little zip-lock baggies in cubicles daily. It works well for types like cheerios, but for favorites such as Raisin Bran (which is mine). So sorry you are going through this!
Kelly Castillo - Hi friend,
Sorry to hear this. I have been allergic since a child and used to eat my cereal with water but now there are a ton of amazing substitutes! I love soy dream soy milk in vanilla and chocolate. Almond milk is decent too. Soysation ice cream really tastes like ice cream (flip even agrees). You probably won’t like soy cheese or almond cheese, it just tastes plain but I enjoy it. Round table Pizza makes a killer King Authors supreme and just get it without cheese. There is a pill that people who are lactose intolerant can take and they can eat and drink dairy
Susan Solo - *That should say lactase enzyme. Trying to be a smartypants after working all day is a bad idea for me. And three comments in a row is just weird, sorry about that!
Susan Solo - Oh and I meant to add that I have been a Lactaid milk girl for years. Fat-free extra calcium to be exact. It’s a little sweeter than regular milk (I guess since the lactose enzyme is broken down!), but I feel like that’s a little bonus.
Susan Solo - I was going to say I feel like I could have written that post, but someone else already said exactly that! Your post is me to a T. Wow, we should start a support group for lactose intolerant cereal-lovers! Who knew there were so many of us? L.I.C.L United!
Susan - I to love my cereal! Must say I have tried it all and my favorite is vanilla almond milk! So much better then the rest. To much soy can have negative side effects for women. I buy it at albertsons and they also sell it at vons. It is super yummy to bake with as it gives the treats a nice vanilla flavor.
Missy Joy - Oh, forgot to mention, also look into Digestive Advantage. It’s a daily pill, so you can just take it every day, where as Lactaid, you have to remember before you eat something with dairy. We’ve found it’s good for things like cheese, yogurt, etc. Not quite strong enough for a full glass of milk though, but it depends on how intolerant you are. Also, you may want to stash these little pills everywhere so you always have one…you never know when you’ll want some yummy ice cream or cheese fondue…we’ve got them in the glove box, purse, every nook and cranny
Missy Joy - Erin, try Pearl soy. It’s still creamy like milk, but isn’t so gritty like many soy milks tend to be. My hubby is now lactose intolerant too, but he uses it on his Raisin Bran every morning!
Stacy Cross - Soy milk is wonderful!!
Stephen Knuth - I am a soy guy too… Lets just install a Soy Milk waterfall system in san diego where we can scoop buckets full of it when we need it!! I think the city of Del Mar would be all about that right??
johncalvin - My wife uses Almond Milk (?) I think you can get it at Trader Joe’s or Safeway. It tastes a little funny to me, but she swears that she likes it better than milk. Just thought I would throw it out there for consideration. I hear that there are negative health affects from soy products. I dunno, again, just throwing it out there.
Andi Nicole Horstkotte - That sounds exactly like the story on my husband! He loves cereal and I finally had to give him the bad news. Well I see that a lot of people mentioned soymilk, if your like my husband, he will not touch soy milk at all! Soo you can try this one brand called Lactaid. Its got a cow picture on the carton
it taste just like milk. Which is why he likes it
Hope you find something that works for you!
Justin - OMG.. I totally feel your pain. I’ve been lactose intolerant for a long time now. Lactaid Ultra usually works if you take it before eating. I prefer the pills vs. the chewables (yuck!). Oh how I love my ice cream!
bekah - i’m lactose intolerant and also have a LOVE of cereal, you’re post could’ve been written by me. I started drinking Silk (soymilk) one suggestion, you can try the plain, but i didn’t like it AT ALL, try the vanilla Silk. it’s not uber vanilla-y (unless you get the ‘very vanilla’ one), and it tastes good in almost all cereals i’ve used it with (cheerios,mini wheats, raisin bran, fruit loops, oatmeal squares, cocoa pebbles, etc..) the first time you take a bite of cereal with it- it will seem strange to have a hint of vanilla slant on the cereal, but after a few bites, i got used to it and actually like it, and now I totally enjoy my cereal again. yum! (plain soymilk, is gross to me) i tried ricemilk a while ago, i liked the Silk vanilla best.
Brandon Setter - This is terrible news… I eat cereal as often as possible… but on the bright side you did take a beautiful photo of your cereal. I love that you guys always have a beautiful photo to see with your blog posts… sorry to hear the bad news… hang in here Erin!
Dave - My brother is lactose intolerant. He has to resort to soy milk on his cereal.
Mike Warren - My wife has the same issue, try RiceDream (she is also soy intolerant). Hope that helps.