don't cry. pour a small-seeming serving of any pasta noodle you'd like in a deep microwave-safe bowl, just barely cover the noodles with water, microwave for roughly 2 minutes 30 seconds, stir, microwave for 2 more minutes, carefully drain the pasta water from the pasta, liberally mix shredded non-mozzarella cheese into the hot noodles, and pour small amounts of milk in (maaaybe a school milk carton's worth or two at most) to taste and to make it creamier, okay?

Having food allergies is a disability. I will not budge from this.

For 24 years of my life, despite having to be bottle fed specific formula as a baby because I had a massive near-death allergic reaction to breast milk, my mom decided it was okay to feed me cows milk and tell me nothing. I had seizures as a toddler, constant diarrhea my whole life, and I needed to use the bathroom withing 15-20 minutes if I ate anything, and not once did my parents tell me I was allergic to milk. They assumed I'd "grow out of it". At 12 I started getting hives reactions doctors couldn't explain. And 12 years later after taking a fucking allergy test after insisting and requesting it myself because the doctor claimed it was "just IBS", I learned I had a dairy allergy. And my mother let me know she fucking knew.

To this day, if I eat anything that has milk or has made contact with a milk ingredient of any animal, it's excruciating pain and agony. It makes me want to die. This means I can't eat out at most restaurants unless the entire menu is milk ingredient free. I can't eat any of the foods listed as irritating to people with IBS because I've fucked up my stomach and intestinal tract for 24 years. The "may contain" section listing milk is a gamble. And if a restaurants fries are cooked in the same oil as their milk-based breadded chicken strips ... I can't eat fries.

Literally, this makes my life, and the lives of those around me, my friends and chosen family, more difficult because it's so EASY for them to just pick a place to eat, and go, but I have to spend an hour looking at the menu, at the ingredients list, and even look up how things are cooked before I can go. This limits me to one or two dishes at places if I'm lucky. Sometimes, if it's a split-second decision, I don't eat.

I'm tired of people treating everything shy of nut allergies as something just inconvenient. Like it's "just an allergy". No it's fucking detrimental. I need people to understand that pain isn't "inconvenient", it's fucking pain.

And for the millionth damn time: no, I'm not lactose fucking intolerant. Lactaids don't work. It's a dairy allergy. There's a fucking difference.

I used to have bad back pain & stiff joints for years (overdid meds like Motrin, big mistake, really damages gut health) but no pain since I changed my diet - basically gave up foods that cause inflammation: wheat/grains, dairy, red meat. I was in such bad shape w back/stomach pain I had no choice. Rather be pain-free & I learned to enjoy new food. Just thought I'd share tho you might not need such a drastic change - might be worth getting tested for gluten intolerance tho. Feel better soon!

interesting!!! i was a vegetarian for 8 years, though no longer, but i still have no real clue how to cook most meat so i eat it pretty rarely, and i’m lactose intolerant so my dairy intake is pretty minimal as i can only have sheep/goat. i basically eat like a vegan 70% of the time naturally. 

but i do eat a lot of grains though---i was actually floating the idea that i would try cutting out gluten for a couple of weeks, largely just to see how it feels. maybe i’ll give that a try, although i do desperately love bread and pasta. 

this is all interesting! i do get a bit achey now and then, but my doctor told me it’s because i have a really small frame/bones and i’m really flexible, so my joints just move around more than others, which leads to strain. but anything to cut down on inflammation, tbh. thanks for the tips!!!