Just the thought of high-lactose foods like quiche, fettuccine alfredo, or pudding can cause feelings of yearning and dread if you have severe lactose intolerance. But you can still enjoy these tasty dishes, even when you don’t digest lactose well.
The trick is substituting lactose-free cow’s milk or nondairy beverages, such as soy, almond, or rice milk, for traditional milk, using lactose-free or soy alternatives for cheese, cream cheese, and yogurt, and adding olive oil or canola oil instead of butter if the trace amounts of lactose in butter still give you problems. Soy and almond milks work best in sauces because they have a thicker consistency and are more stable at higher temperatures compared to rice milk. Lactose-free cow’s milk should also work well in sauces.
The following recipes contain no lactose. Many people who are lactose intolerant can still enjoy some types of regular cheese, yogurt, or yogurt cheese that contain only small amounts of lactose. If this is the case for you, feel free to substitute cheese that you tolerate in place of soy cheese in the recipes below.
Spinach Quiche
Ingredients:
Olive Oil Wheat Crust
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons ice water (a teaspoon or two more, if needed)
Filling
1 1/4 cups plain almond or soy milk or lactose-free cow’s milk of your choice
2 large eggs (higher omega-3, if available)
1/2 cup egg substitute (substitute 2 large eggs, if desired)
1/2 medium sized sweet onion, finely chopped
6 slices crisp, cooked turkey bacon, crumbled (optional)
1 cup shredded soy cheese of choice (mozzarella or Jack flavors work well)
3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed then gently squeezed of excess water
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (add more, if desired)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large mixing bowl, combine whole-wheat flour, white flour, salt, and olive oil and beat on low until crumbly. Drizzle ice water over the top and beat on low just until dough forms.
- Squeeze dough into a ball and place in a deep pie plate coated with canola cooking spray. Use hands to spread dough evenly into bottom and sides of pie plate.
- In same mixing bowl used for the crust, combine almond or lactose-free milk, eggs, and egg substitute; set aside.
- In medium bowl, combine chopped onion, turkey bacon (if desired), soy cheese, and chopped spinach then pour into the prepared crust. Sprinkle nutmeg and black pepper over the top. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the top of the spinach mixture and bake until center of quiche is set (about 55 minutes).
Yield: 6 servings
Per serving: 256 calories, 16 g protein, 23 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 6 g monounsaturated fat, 3 g polyunsaturated fat, 75 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 228 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 38%. Omega-3 fatty acids: 0.4 g, Omega-6 fatty acids: 2 g
