Lactose Free, not soy

Hi, my name is Michèle and I am lactose intolerant. I know, I know, it's the 21st century, how can I be intolerant of anything? I've heard the joke before.

Anyway, fact of the matter is: I have a love/hate relationship with dairy. I love it and it hates me (or my tummy at least). I won't bore/disgust you with with the details of my symptoms... suffice to say I prefer not putting myself in that situation, especially without Lactaid. It's not a cure-all, but it helps quite a bit. I'd rather deal with the "issues" than drink soy milk, though.

Firstly, soy is a PLANT, not something with udders, something that can be milked. So calling it "milk" is false.

Secondly, soy is NOT tasty. People keep telling me it needs getting used to, or it's an acquired taste. Well, milk shouldn't be. I was one of those kids that LOVED getting milk at snack time in elementary school. In high school and CEGEP (until I realized I was lactose intolerant) I would regularly buy milk or chocolate milk in the cafeteria, not because I needed to but because I wanted to. I never understood people who told me they hated milk and pitied those with lactose intolerance or an allergy to it. Now, here I am, unable to enjoy my favourite food group without popping pills first.

Have you ever noticed how many food items (on menus, let's say) contain dairy? I recently went to Montana's and was astounded by the number of entrees that relied heavily on cheese, cream or some other form of dairy. I'm lucky, I can eat most hard cheeses with my pills, but forget about creamy cheese or cream. It bothers me that my only alternative in mainstream restaurants is to have a vegetarian entree (or simply choose to not have one, which is probably best choice). And forget about a dessert and coffee.

Coffee. I love coffee, it has become a necessity in my life: not yet an addiction, but I do believe I'm on my way. The thing is, I'm okay with that. I'd be even more okay with that, if I could get lactose free milk more regularly. As it stands, I only know a handful of places that will offer lactose free over soy. None of these are Tim Horton's, Dunkin Donuts, or any such coffee place. I don't think they even offer soy milk there, but I'm not sure as I never asked.

I feel I have a better chance at places like Starbucks or Second Cup, although it's hit and miss there too. My pet peeve, though, is that when I ask about lactose free milk, I don't want to hear about soy milk. Had I wanted to know about soy milk, I would have asked about it. So far, in the downtown area, I only know of two places that will give me lactose free milk: the Starbucks in Chapters on St-Catherine (corner Stanley) and the Second Cup on McGill College (near Sherbrooke). There are at least 6 other Starbucks' and 4 other Second Cups on St-Catherine between Aylmer and Wood. There are most likely more, but I haven't frequented all of them.

There are other places in the city that do serve lactose free milk: Starbucks in the Chapters in the West Island (on St-John's) and the Second Cup in Fairview mall (also in the West Island). If anyone knows of any others, I'd love to know.