Having lived with food intolerances since 2014, I'll have to say one of the things I've found most helpful when eating out, in the states or abroad, is a little card in my wallet, listing the foods I can't eat (and when going to countries that don't speak English, I have them translated to the appropriate language). When I travel abroad I typically bring a slew of them, and tell the waitstaff that they can bring it to the kitchen/chef if they need to (to make sure nothing gets lost in translation). Butter doesn't have lactose in it, and typically hard cheeses are pretty low lactose. I wonder if you're becoming dairy intolerant as in you're reacting to the proteins now? I know that some people can become lactose intolerant after stomach bugs for longer than one would think. I also found that in Europe, menus were better marked, and that people were MUCH more accommodating of food issues than here in the US. I found fantastic gluten/dairy free pizza in Scotland that was so good, I wanted Izzy to smuggle some of the cheese home with her. Here in the US we have Violife and Daiya which aren't bad (coconut milk based). I haven't tried any of the nut "cheeses" because, well, I can't have nuts. Good luck on your quest!
After some careful experimentation the last couple days, I think you're right: it's a dairy intolerance more than lactose. Disappointing but good to know. Thanks for the suggestions!
Definitely disappointing but good to know. An allergy card for restaurants would be good to have on hand in that case because it should eliminate cross contamination and open up food choices to egg and fish. Jon should be able to tell you how to eat those whole fish. That’s how they served them in Japan!
What a great idea. Buttter may not have lactose in it, but he's reacting to it. Go figure. We've found some people are completely clueless/never heard of any of it, and others are incredibly educted.
I've been vegan for 12 years and have traveled to Germany, France, South Korea, Singapore, Dubai, Bali, Barbados, Costa Rica, Bermuda, and Mexico during that time (whoa! did not think the list was going to be that long). My general experience is that there are more all-vegan places than omni places with vegan options, and I kind of wish it were the reverse. It would be nice to get to go everywhere. I've never posted a review on Happy Cow, so you're already ahead of me in vegan points! I don't find HC to be very helpful - it's clunky and I do better just googling and looking at the restaurant's website. Indian is definitely the way to go, and most of the time when they make it vegan all they're doing is using a different oil instead of ghee, so the taste is going to be exactly the same. Please post more about your vegan adventures! I love going to the supermarket in other countries - what interesting vegan stuff do they have there that we don't have in the US?
Thanks for weighing in, Mel! Great to hear from you. Yeah, Happy Cow is a bit clunky but I think I'll keep using it, at least for the short term. I just found vegan Caesar salad dressing at a grocery store yesterday (haven't tried it yet). When I can read labels, though, I'm mostly just looking for dairy free. If it happens to say vegan then I know it's dairy free so that's a shortcut. So I'm fine with having, say, mayonnaise - which vegans would not be.
We haven't done much cooking here yet (what do we do with a half size oven and a challenge finding the ingredients we want?), but when we do I'm sure we'll update. So far, there aren't a lot of the commercial name brand options for meat or chicken for example, and no whole foods type grocery.
I have been a pescatarian since high school, with exceptions for when I lived abroad in places that thought a vegetarian meal just meant poultry instead of beef. Welcome to our ranks! Indian food is among the very best options for folks like us, so I am so glad to hear you found a good spot!
At 18, I was diagnosed with migrains and gave meds I didn't like. It was then I found the migrains were mostly food related. Glad you are figuring it out.
Totally understand what you’re going through! Celiac, trying to be a good person and not eat meat but then struggle with anemia and vitamin deficiencies when I don’t (see celiac). Dairy triggers some issues. I found that whey protein bothers me more than casein. But I am deathly allergic to peanuts, lentils, cashews, and split peas - which are big features in vegan foods. Anyway, it’s an art. I’m so glad you’ve found some places you can trust! Thanks for the recommendations.
Having lived with food intolerances since 2014, I'll have to say one of the things I've found most helpful when eating out, in the states or abroad, is a little card in my wallet, listing the foods I can't eat (and when going to countries that don't speak English, I have them translated to the appropriate language). When I travel abroad I typically bring a slew of them, and tell the waitstaff that they can bring it to the kitchen/chef if they need to (to make sure nothing gets lost in translation). Butter doesn't have lactose in it, and typically hard cheeses are pretty low lactose. I wonder if you're becoming dairy intolerant as in you're reacting to the proteins now? I know that some people can become lactose intolerant after stomach bugs for longer than one would think. I also found that in Europe, menus were better marked, and that people were MUCH more accommodating of food issues than here in the US. I found fantastic gluten/dairy free pizza in Scotland that was so good, I wanted Izzy to smuggle some of the cheese home with her. Here in the US we have Violife and Daiya which aren't bad (coconut milk based). I haven't tried any of the nut "cheeses" because, well, I can't have nuts. Good luck on your quest!
After some careful experimentation the last couple days, I think you're right: it's a dairy intolerance more than lactose. Disappointing but good to know. Thanks for the suggestions!
Definitely disappointing but good to know. An allergy card for restaurants would be good to have on hand in that case because it should eliminate cross contamination and open up food choices to egg and fish. Jon should be able to tell you how to eat those whole fish. That’s how they served them in Japan!
What a great idea. Buttter may not have lactose in it, but he's reacting to it. Go figure. We've found some people are completely clueless/never heard of any of it, and others are incredibly educted.
I've been vegan for 12 years and have traveled to Germany, France, South Korea, Singapore, Dubai, Bali, Barbados, Costa Rica, Bermuda, and Mexico during that time (whoa! did not think the list was going to be that long). My general experience is that there are more all-vegan places than omni places with vegan options, and I kind of wish it were the reverse. It would be nice to get to go everywhere. I've never posted a review on Happy Cow, so you're already ahead of me in vegan points! I don't find HC to be very helpful - it's clunky and I do better just googling and looking at the restaurant's website. Indian is definitely the way to go, and most of the time when they make it vegan all they're doing is using a different oil instead of ghee, so the taste is going to be exactly the same. Please post more about your vegan adventures! I love going to the supermarket in other countries - what interesting vegan stuff do they have there that we don't have in the US?
Thanks for weighing in, Mel! Great to hear from you. Yeah, Happy Cow is a bit clunky but I think I'll keep using it, at least for the short term. I just found vegan Caesar salad dressing at a grocery store yesterday (haven't tried it yet). When I can read labels, though, I'm mostly just looking for dairy free. If it happens to say vegan then I know it's dairy free so that's a shortcut. So I'm fine with having, say, mayonnaise - which vegans would not be.
We haven't done much cooking here yet (what do we do with a half size oven and a challenge finding the ingredients we want?), but when we do I'm sure we'll update. So far, there aren't a lot of the commercial name brand options for meat or chicken for example, and no whole foods type grocery.
One more thing...is being sort of vegan like being sort of pregnant?
haha!
I have been a pescatarian since high school, with exceptions for when I lived abroad in places that thought a vegetarian meal just meant poultry instead of beef. Welcome to our ranks! Indian food is among the very best options for folks like us, so I am so glad to hear you found a good spot!
Thanks for the support, Moira!
YouTube has videos on how to eat a whole fish. It is not as easy as they make it look but you will get better with time.
The idea of learning how to eat from a YouTube video cracks me up. The world we live in . . .
Thank you, Nancy!
At 18, I was diagnosed with migrains and gave meds I didn't like. It was then I found the migrains were mostly food related. Glad you are figuring it out.
Totally understand what you’re going through! Celiac, trying to be a good person and not eat meat but then struggle with anemia and vitamin deficiencies when I don’t (see celiac). Dairy triggers some issues. I found that whey protein bothers me more than casein. But I am deathly allergic to peanuts, lentils, cashews, and split peas - which are big features in vegan foods. Anyway, it’s an art. I’m so glad you’ve found some places you can trust! Thanks for the recommendations.
That is one tough row to hoe! Good luck!