A Lenten Reflection and A Dairy Vacation

Your beverage choice is ...? 

Two Disclaimers: 

• My maternal grandfather was a dairy farmer. I believe he had just about the most honest, important job a person could have. 
• The most magical location in all of grocery shopping is the cheese aisle at Woodmans. My household is a proud owner of the Weyauwega Cheese cookbook purchased at Woodmans because we love cooking with that brand purchased at that store. So. Very. Much. 

And yet ... less milk and cheese is being consumed in our house these days and it's about to drop dramatically even more. 

Last month on a whim, I told myself I would just stop putting milk in my coffee for Lent. It was a silly, superficial thing. I've never been much for sacrificing things for Lent. It has never been a major part of my pre-Easter spiritual practices and in recent years as things religious have indeed become more important to me, it has become more important to take on things for Lent, such as Bible study and church attendance, instead of giving up something. So, no milk in the coffee was just a token thing. I have to say, though, it was surprisingly effective. What is the purpose of Lenten sacrifice? Reminder. Every time I taste the bitterness of that coffee, I remember my failed new year's resolution to give up coffee and I remember the ever so much more bitter sufferings of Jesus. Amazing how our Lord can take even the simplest things and use them for spiritual growth. 

As I have been making other changes in my diet, I've been swapping my almost-daily meat and cheese sandwiches for lunch in favor of vegetable choices. Dinners that usually found me pouring on the cheese: chili or taco nights, have me now enjoying the flavors of the actual entree. At first I missed the cheese, then I discovered that I really loved the extra energy I felt from not filling up on cheese. Of course, I'm not going all-out vegan. I can eat dairy-free most days now and then happily enjoy that Weyauwega-filled pizza Jamieson usually makes for us on Sunday nights. 

I've also noticed that the less dairy I consume, the less congested I feel. I've always had a near year-round night-time congestion that defies explanation. Lately, I just don't feel so stuffy, even with Spring finally starting to appear. Jamieson has long suspected that he breathes better when he keeps his dairy consumption to a minimum, too. 

And now for the kids. My kids LOVE cheese. Love. Love. Love. Little carnivores and cheeseheads every last one. Unfortunately, we are dealing with a nasty strain of the tummy bug with the little one right now. Thankfully, his appetite is as strong as ever, but his insides are not well. I took him to see the doctor this morning and her advice was basically that it would need to run its course, but as it did, we should avoid dairy for the next week. Dairy is, apparently, rough on young tummies, especially the thickness of protein-rich Greek yogurt. Her advice was to have just a bit of Activia yogurt and use almond milk for now. Also, she encouraged mixing in a bit of probiotic powder. So, we stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home to stock up on rice and almond milk. It's chilling in the fridge. I'll be serving it to all since I have a sneaking suspicion the germs won't stop with just one dear child. Once we are past this illness (when, oh, when??!!) I'm thinking that if almond milk is easier on the tummies of the kids and kinder to the waistlines of the grownups then maybe that's a change that could become permanent. Of course, we have some taste testing to do before we make any decisions. For now, we just want to get well!