. . . especially if you're lactose intolerant and can't imagine life without Mac and Cheese.
I can eat pizza heaped with cheese and pack away a double bacon cheeseburger without so much as a gurgle from down below, but there's something in most Mac and Cheese that makes the extruder in my lower GI tract go to 11.
Homemade Mac and Cheese includes liquid milk in addition to cheese and it's most likely the culprit because it hasn't been acted upon by lactose-lovin' microbes. I found a savior while battling a bout of The Big D. Not certain I could make it to the nearest Walgreens and come home with a remedy before the next salvo, I desperately mulled over foods that might mop things up down there. Dry toast came to mind and as we only buy 100% whole wheat bread, I gave it a shot, allowing the toast to cool for 5 minutes to minimize the residual moisture. Within an hour of eating the toast as well as drinking enough water to quench the thirst of dehydration, all was quiet. Come the new day, I wasn't constipated nor, well, over-productive.
Two slices work best and doesn't put too big of a dent in the appetite. Every few spoonfuls, I munch on the toast spacing it out to last through the Mac and Cheese.
I'm guessing at the gastrointestinal magic at work but it probably has something to do with both the bulk forming properties of the fiber in whole wheat and the absorbancy of the toasted bread. Yes, there a few harmless dry, uh, toots, but that's it.
If you're in the same boat and find yourself pondering the pleasures but weighing the consequences, try it. Works for me, even better than Lactaid.
Your mileage, of course, may vary.
