Dole Whips - Not so Non-Dairy as we think !

[LSPoorEeyorick]

OK, my nosey loves, I'll give you the lowdown.

If you've had kids (that's you, trac) you've probably heard of it in the context that all babies are tested for it within the first 24 hours of life. It's required by law. And if you drink diet soda, you might know of it, too, since it's listed on every can.

Tom has phenylketonuria, commonly known as PKU. There is a specific amino acid (phenylalanine) that his body cannot process. It won't kill him if he eats high levels of protein, but we like his brain the way it is. He'll eat a tiny bit now and then (potatoes are his favorite, and there's a minor amount of protein in them, for instance) but as he's an adult it wouldn't affect him as much. But still, some.

That means that meat, dairy, soy, aspartame... all not edible by my beau. He subsides on veggies, fruit, some bread products, and 140 capsules a day of protein with the phe filtered out.

I was really freaked out at first. "How will I cook for you!? I make lasagna, I make cheesecake!" And he was very sweet about it-- he said he'd cook for me until I got the hang of it and then we'd cook together. I make an extra pot of tofu or tempeh or fish for myself, but otherwise since I met him I'm certainly eating more produce than I ever have in my life.