Food Allergies

I've been thinking lately about food allergies, and frankly, how grateful I am that I don't have any. I love bread. I love dairy products. It would be very challenging for me to give these things up. I know that it can be done, and that people with food allergies still find lots of great things to eat. But, there's a lot of adapting that has to be done, and it's challenging.

I've been especially thankful lately that I am lactose tolerant. I love dairy products, and I go through phases of really loving dairy products. Facts:

• There was a time during my high school years when my lunch consisted of one pint of Bluebell ice cream. (It was cheaper than getting a hot lunch, and it filled me up.)
• My sophomore year of college, there were weeks when I drank two gallons of milk (roughly 7.5 liters) of milk EACH WEEK. I was a milk-drinking monster.
• In the time between when I moved out of my flat after my sophomore year and when Eric and I got married, I moved into Eric's parents' house. Eric's mom wanted to be sure I had plenty of food that I liked available, and she asked me to name my five favorite foods. I told her, without even a thought, "Milk, chocolate milk, cottage cheese, yogurt and ice cream." Seriously.
• On the rare occasions when I go shopping, ice cream is always on my list. When Eric is going shopping and asks me if I can think of anything that we need, I almost always ask him to check the ice cream supply before going to the store.

So, I know that I'd adapt if I was suddenly lactose intolerant (especially because my dairy consumption is significantly lower than it once was), but it still wouldn't be pleasant.