Lactose and dairy free?

Farway

A friend is dairy intolerant, but she buys enzyme tablets from health shop, just in case whilst out she unknowingly has something with hidden dairy in it

Purplesky_2

You need to be certain of what you are talking about.

You can be allergic to the protein (And therefore need to be careful of whey, milk powder and cheese powder) or you can be allergic/intolerant of the sugar 'lactose', in which case, you may find that milk, cream and soft cheese are worse for you than say fermented products like yoghurt, hard cheese and butter (And not be SO bothered about whey).

I can have hard cheese 5/7 days in small amounts, soft cheese maybe once a week and yoghurt MAYBE 3 times a week, more like 1-2 times a week. But accidentally having a splash of cows milk and I'm sick for three days and running to the bathroom.

Cut everything out for a while. Try reintroducing things and bear in mind that it can take 3 days for symptoms to show.

I get longlife soya milk that is unsweetened. I thought I hated soya milk because I tried the bog standard ones and they have added sugar/sweeteners. It's better for cooking savoury meals with and I can always add a little sugar if it's needs it (like on cornflakes) after the fact. Bonus, I can buy in bulk and store it in a cupboard!

I would look at it like an opportunity to explore foods. Hot chocolate made with a warmed alternative milk mixed with melted 70% chocolate drops from Hotel Chocolat (Great for lactose/dairy free chocolate). Custard made from scratch each time with egg yolks, cornflour, sugar and vanilla extract.

Eggs benedict - although be careful with this outside the home!
Chilli con carne
Scrambled eggs and bacon (in fact most cooked breakfast stuff is fine)
Mexican (NOT enchiladas)
Most Chinese/Japanese/Indian/Thai food will work (very little in the way of dairy in the south asian cuisines),
Classic meat and potatoes fare (Roasts, pork chops, steak),
Pasta with veg finished with a drizzle of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon,
Homemade soup (If you buy premade, check it EVERY TIME)
Tomato-based pasta
Tuna/veggie pasta salad
Most BBQ stuff
Salads

All are options without modification, really.

Slight modifications required for:
Anything included mashed potatoes (Use an alternative milk or just some water to smooth it out) - Do not eat outside home, ask for roasted/boiled new potatoes to be substituted - sometimes the chips have milk powder in the coating to help make it crispy
Almost all desserts - seriously
Pizza
Cream based-sauces
Spaghetti carbonara
Salad dressings
Fish Pie
Smoothies
Stocks - Kallo is good, as is making your own
Lasagne
Bread based stuff
Anything battered (possibly - especially when out)
Pancakes

Send me a pm for more advice, if you like.