Tasty Tuesdays - Mexican for the Lactose-Intolerant

Today is day 11 of NaBloPoMo and I wanted to do another "Tasty Tuesday" post about Mexican food.  I have a child (well not exactly a young child - he is 18) who is extremely lactose intolerant.  He is "can't eat anything that is even produced on a line where other products containing lactose are produced.  We only discovered this less than 2 years ago and had been dealing with for over 7 years.  So this really limits where we can eat at and what we can eat.

So I have had to get real creative in the kitchen.  When we first received the diagnosis, we asked to speak to a nutritionist but had the request denied.  Our gastro-intestinal doctor felt that handing us about 4 sheets of paper counted as nutritional counseling.  Now for someone who had never even had friend in person that had the diagnosis, it made things very challenging.  Many items either contain lactose (like certain brands of ramen noodles) or are produced on a line where other products are produced that contain lactose.  But labels frequently don't identify that fact.

Our family loves Mexican food, but with someone who is lactose-intolerant it is out.  So you can't imagine our excitement when we discovered a brand of cheese that is lactose-free because of the way it is made.  So this allowed us to increase some of the items we could fix.

     So for the last two months or so, I have tried preparing mexican food for our family.  Tortillas are safe.  I make homemade guacamole from avocadoes, green and/or red bell peppers, fresh tomatoes, red onions and I may or may not use cilantro (part of my family likes it and part of my family does not).  I cut open and scoop out the inside of the avocados (discarding the seed) and place it in my food processor with some lime juice.  I coarsely chop it.  Then I dice the rest of the ingredients and mix them together gently.  I typically add mesquite seasoning, chipolte seasoning and a small amount of chili powder to taste.  I have some in my family who can't take a tremendous amount of spice, so I go on the light side.  Add whatever is right for your taste.

I start a pot of rice (well I actually have either my son or my husband do this for me). We also put a pot of either black beans or white northern beans on to cook, adding some of the mexican seasonings to them.  Then I brown either ground beef or chicken in a fry pan.  Once it is browned, I add the same spices that I added to the guacamole - again to taste.  In the meantime, my children and husband dice tomatoes and onions, shred lettuce and cheese and prepare the table with the other items including the tortillas, taco sauce, salsa and sour cream.  When everything is ready I set up a station with the ingredients.  I then have each family member tell me what they want on their burito/taco.  I add those ingredients to their shell and wrap it for them.

Here is a picture of my husband's after he had made it picture perfect.

So there is our version of Mexican food.  I hope you enjoy!  What is your favorite food?