Are you having a hard time determining which foods are lactose free foods? With so many people being lactose intolerant today, the food manufacturers are changing or adding new foods for this growing population. Some people are simply allergic to milk and some actually have intolerance to lactose in the milk.

If you stop to think about all of the products in your local grocery store, in every department, how many do you think were made from milk or a by-product from milk? For argument sake, probably about half of the products have milk or a form of milk in them. This is a huge number and this doesn't just affect you when you are buying food for home, but when you go out to eat too.

Are you ready to find out some of the lactose free foods that you can eat? I am sure you are; it doesn't seem right that you can have milk as we have had milk on the table for centuries. However, if it negatively affects your body then the change is necessary for your health. The foods noted below are broken into several different categories.

Beverages

Soy milk
Rice milk/drink
Fruit juices/lemonade
Isomil
Lactofree

Breads/Starchy Foods

French bread
Graham crackers
Oatmeal
Rice/Rice cereals

Proteins

Eggs
Kosher hot dogs
Peanut butter, natural
Plain fish, meat and/or poultry
Tofu

Fats

Non-dairy creamers
Whipped topping

Sweets

Angel Food cake
Molasses

This list is just a small sampling as there are actually so many foods that you can eat; you just have to make some small changes. Remember that milk can hide in foods so you must read the label; dry milk powder, milk solids and whey all contain cow's milk. For some reason the name brands that most of can list right off the top of our heads don't offer lactose free foods if any at all.

This is slowly changing as the manufacturers are seeing the need for lactose free foods. There are some restaurants that offer lactose free items from their menu (you have to ask). The main concern when eating out is the possibility of cross-contamination. A few name drops are: A&W, Baja Fresh, Little Caesar's and Wendy's; these names were randomly chosen from an extensive list. If you have any concerns, call the restaurant ahead of time and ask.

And what if you don't want to rely on premade foods? As we all know, a home cooked meal is the best kind of meal ever. It is fresh, healthy and you know exactly what is in it. There are hundreds of recipes to make almost anything your tummy is craving for. You can make eye-opening breakfasts, energizing lunches and snacks and delicious dinners too.

Regardless if you have been diagnosed as lactose intolerant or just want to make a change in your diet for the better, you will discover that there are more is more to food than just milk. You may not have paid attention in the past, but now you will be finding more lactose free foods than ever before.