Lent

I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic school for 12 years.  While currently I'm mostly just an Easter/Christmas Catholic I always go back to my roots when it comes to Lent.  There is just something about sacrificing for 40 days under God's watch that makes me really truly stick to it. 

This year I have opted for what might be the hardest Lent of all time, even harder than the year I gave up pizza or the year I gave up shopping. (I haven't tried wine yet, that's just out of the question, I still don't know how you give it up when you're pregnant!)

This year I'm giving up Dairy. There are mixed reasons behind it besides Lent but it's mostly because I eat cheese at least 3x a day (if not more) so it's really going to be a challenge to find a diet that fits since I don't eat a lot of meat and cheese is one of my go-to's for protein.  I also eat mexican food 2 times a week and I must have my sour cream, so yeah I have no idea what I'm going to do about that!?!

Here is a mini list of some things I can't eat.  I won't bore you with the whole list but you'll get the idea.  I pulled this from the Lactose Free Diet on Drugs.com.  I want to try to stick within the guidelines as much as possible. 

• Cream
• Butter
• Cream cheese
• Evaporated & condensed milk
• Hot chocolate mixes
• Ice cream
• Kefir cultured milk drink
• Malted milk
• Milk (Skim, 1%, 2%, whole)
• Processed and natural cheeses
• Reduced lactose milk
• Sherbet
• Sour cream
• Sweet acidophilus or lactobacillus milk
• Whey
• Yogurt with or without live cultures
• Chowders
• Cream soups
• Soup mixes with milk products
• Whipped cream
• White sauces & gravies

So do any of you out there celebrate Lent?  Are you giving anything up?  Do any of you have any advice for a Dairy/Lactose Free diet?   I would love to hear any suggestions!