This evening marks the first week of my journey into the realms of no moo-lactate partaking. For those who don't know, last week my doc dropped a existential life change bomb on me, that I was allergic to dairy and it was most probably the cause of all my auto-immune misery.
Let me tell you, I have felt not at all well for most of my life, and this last year since getting the Long Covids has been a Herculean-level struggle. Just getting through the day was hard, and I like to go through days dangit!
So, imagine my brain wave activity as I was told the news, that if I wanted to feel better, I would need to omit some of my all time favorite foods from my diet, as it was causing my immune system to go all Defcon 75 on my hobbit-esque form.
Sigh.
Here's the thing, my friends, just one week in I feel so much better. It's like a veil of fog has been lifted off of my brain.
My joints and muscles aren't as achy, my sense of humor and witticisms are returning to me (how I have missed that part of my brain), and I am finding I don't want to hide because I lack the energy to deal with even the most simple parts of life. All that has occurred in just one week of leaving out the moo juice.
I know I am probably in the honeymoon stage and that eating this way will probably be a PITA at times, but you know what, I don't care. I love to whip up tasty comestibles in the kitchen and am a little bit of a mad scientist in regards to kitchen craft, so instead of pouting about my beloved butter being forever MIA, I am just going to find new ways to make things I love to nosh on.
That said, there have been some interesting moments beyond the kitchen in regards to my no more moo lactation food news.
Have you ever noticed there are two types of loved ones when it comes to your bad news? Like, most of the friends and family who found out I can't have dairy anymore were empathetic and yet excited because they are happy I have answers. You know, Hallmark end-story feelz themes.
Then there was my dad and my bestie.
My parents were the first to hear my dairy-free me news, as I had planned to go and visit them after my doc appointment since they live near the town where my doc's practice is. My mom was awesome, full of hugs and compassion. I love you Mom.
The first thing my dad said was, "Hey, you want some cheese curds? Oh wait you can't have them anymore MUH HA HAHA!"
My bestie took it a step further. He's a pretty hardcore gamer and keeps absolutely insane (at least to me) hours. So each morning I have had the absolute pleasure to wake up to a plethora of Tik Toks and Reelz from him. They used to be memes and comedy content. Not now, now I get all things dairy.
Like, minutes upon minutes of video recipes full of cheese, butter, cream cheese, cream, pizza, you name it. It's like a butter knife to my dairy-deprived soul.
I have taken to calling him Moo-cifer.
But you know what, I honestly am not that torn up about abstaining from dairy. At this point in my life I have had quite a bit of practice at giving up things in order to feel better. It's not really that much of a tribulation to go through discomfort when that perceived discomfort is actually the key to alleviating actual harm.
Plus, I have some extra butter around to throw at certain family members should they annoy me with their insolence.😉
And as most of the time, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's always dairy-free iPhone.