Lactose intolerance meet coconut milk

A few weeks back I started having some painful stomach aches. My tummy was in knots. I mean tossing and turning...won't settle down kind of knots. It was terrible.

I put on my detective hat and tried to pin point the culprit. I found that every time I had a bowl of my lovely homemade granola (which is the perfect anytime snack!!) my stomach became furious with me. It also started happening after I would eat cheese, but not as extreme as when I drank a cup of hot cocoa made with whole milk...but enough to raise a flag.

This is weird, because I've never had a problem with milk. I love milk. Well, at least I did until my body started rejecting it. Turns out, your body can lose the ability to tolerate lactose.

So I conducted a little experiment. I gave up dairy for a week to see if my tummy issues were solved. In place of milk, I made some homemade coconut milk and used that all week. I'm so glad I did this, because oh man is coconut milk delicious!!

(Yes...those are clean peanut butter jars....see my note about being a cheapskate!)

I didn't have any problems all week. It was glorious. I chided down on granola, but used the coconut milk...I made a delicious hot cinnamon flavored coconut milk beverage with cooked bananas and it was pure perfection.

After the week was over, I tried dairy again. Ouch. My poor tummy. Dairy is no longer a viable option for me. At first I was sad. I love cheese and yogurt and milk. These are the things I grew up with and it made me profoundly sad to think that if I wanted to eat them, I was going to have to suffer the consequences.  Is it really worth feeling like crap??  The answer is no.  I pouted for a couple of days, especially when my husband was eating the vanilla ice cream he requests I make him every week.

Then it hit me. Why do we drink cow's milk? It is kind of absurd. We are the only mammals who drink another mammals milk. Weird.  And it makes me sad to think that mommy cows have to give birth to a calf for their milk to arrive, but their calf is taken away from them right away so that us humans can take their milk. That's not very fair.  At least I don't think so.  Our bodies weren't designed to drink milk, so why should I try to force something that was never meant to be.

These are just my thoughts...drink your milk if you please, but I can't and it doesn't bother me anymore!

Want to try some coconut milk? It's so easy and so delicious! Sure you can buy it at the store, but if you make it, you know there's no yucky preservatives added. 

Homemade Coconut Milk

Boil 4 cups of water. Remove from heat. Add 1 1/2 - 2 cups (depending on your personal tastes..I'm a cheapskate, so I use the smallest amount!! He he) to the water and cover.

 

 

Allow it to sit and steep for 1-2 hours. Pour into blender, and mix for 1-2 minutes. Pour through a mesh strainer and then pour milk in airtight container (mason jars are great...or used peanut butter jars if you're like me...). Store in refrigerator for 3-5 days.

I hate wasting food, so here are a few things to do with the leftover pulp...make another less strong batch of milk (if you're a cheapskate Luke me!!), throw it in with some granola, make some granola bars, or dehydrate it and grind into coconut flour.

We played out in the snow today!  Hooray for living in Alaska!  Isn't my little snow angel a cutie pie!?  He absolutely loves being outdoors.