Some of us are born with a problem called lactose intolerance, which means that the body displays a negative reaction to the sugar lactose, found in milk and other dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. Because the body lacks the enzymes to break it down, it has to be eliminated.

Those who are lactose intolerant often find out after repeatedly eating dairy products and suffering the ill effects, which diarrhea, abdominal cramping, nausea, bloating and gas. It can occur anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours after eating a dairy product.

This can eliminate a lot of foods from your dietary list. It also means reading a lot of food labels to see what contains any form of dairy and what does not. For children, this can mean watching their friends enjoy pizza and knowing that they can’t have any or they will suffer its effects.

Healthy Delicious Dinners

Children still can enjoy some of the same foods that their friends eat, but without the lactose sugar that can make them sick. It takes a bit of creative thinking, but it will be beneficial to your child and the entire family.

Members of the family need to watch what they buy when there is a lactose intolerant child in the house. Any dairy products need to be clearly labeled so the child doesn’t eat them. This is also an opportunity to get your child involved in cooking. You are not only having fun, but showing them how to create meals that they love that won’t make them sick.

If your children have been diagnosed, here are some ways that they can still enjoy delicious meals.

Lactose-Free Dinner Meals

* Macaroni and cheese – Instead of using regular milk to make the cheese sauce, try plain soy milk. Instead of cheese, there is a product on the market called nutritional yeast. It has a nutty flavor and is the consistency of a powder, and can be used as a kind of thickener for sauces. It can also be added to cheese substitutes for better flavor.

* Pizza – You can make your own pizza dough for the crust. Add pizza sauce to your dough. For a cheese-less topping, create a cheese sauce using soy milk and nutritional yeast and then cover the pizza sauce. Add your favorite toppings and bake.

* Lasagna – Your cheese sauce will come in handy again. There is also dairy-free ricotta cheese to add as a filler between the layers. In addition to pasta sauce, add meat and/or vegetables to the layers of the lasagna.

Just because your children can’t eat dairy, doesn’t mean that they can’t eat delicious foods.