I was barely over a year old when my parents realized I couldn't eat cow's milk.  In the 70s, this made for a pretty restrictive diet. I can remember many birthday parties and get-togethers where I ate bread and drank water.  So part of the deprivation was that I was a picky eater.  Still, growing up with a food sensitivity or true allergy isn't easy.

When I had children, I was saddened but not overly surprised to learn they both struggle with cow's milk.  A quick chemistry lesson: Cow's milk has some of the largest molecules or any kind of milk, making those harder to break down and digest.  Goat, sheep and buffalo all have smaller, more digestive-friendly make-ups, which is why we are a cow's-milk free household, not a milk-free one.

Our choice to not eat cow's milk comes with some significant costs: financially, cow's milk products are ubiquitous and thus the least expensive.  But more importantly, there's an emotional cost to not being able to have the same foods as everyone else.  If cow's milk didn't cause such digestive disruption and itchiness, I'd be all for letting my kids eat baked goods and ice cream.  Unfortunately, this just isn't an option.

That's where Whole Foods - the grocer - comes in.  For the past five years, Whole Foods has made our cow's milk-free diet not feel like a diet.  Over the next few weeks, I plan to post many options to cow's milk and wheat, another major food allergen.  Thankfully, Whole Foods has many delicious options to the standard American diet that will keep your family happy - and healthier. 

Thanks Whole Foods.