Cheesecake can be on your menu for July 4th even if you are lactose intolerant. Researchers have found that lactose intolerant people can tolerate up to one serving of milk, yogurt, cheese or other dairy products in a sitting.

Last week, I wrote about this research and how it expands the eating opportunities for the estimated 50 million sufferers of lactose intolerance in the U.S. Lactose intolerance is the body’s inability to break down the natural sugar, lactose, found in dairy products. Read this article at http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art183601.asp.

Both the National Medical Association and a National Institutes of Health expert panel recommend that lactose intolerant individuals try to keep dairy foods in their diet. Studies show that many can tolerate up to one cup of milk or 12 grams of lactose.

How much you can handle varies from individual to individual. Eating dairy with some other food also increases its odds of being tolerated.

Yogurt (either regular or Greek) is one of your best dairy choices to try. Yogurt has 13 grams of lactose per serving but the live and active cultures help break down some of it, making it easier to digest. With Greek yogurt, most of the lactose is removed during the straining process.

Here’s a recipe with Greek or regular yogurt that you can add to your July 4 picnic menu.

New York Cheesecake recipe ingredients

Crust:
½ cup almond flour
½ cup pitted dates
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Water as needed

Filling:
1 cup farmer’s cheese or cottage cheese (low fat)
2 cups non-fat Greek yogurt or regular yogurt
2 tsp. lemon juice
3 T. honey or sweetener of choice
2-3 tsp. unflavored gelatin

Directions:

Place the almond flour, dates and vanilla in a food processor. Blend until combined. Add 1-2 T. water if needed to make the mixture stickier. Press the dough into a 7-8-inch pie pan, lightly sprayed or oiled. Place in the fridge.

For the filling, process the yogurt, cheese, lemon juice and sweetener in a food processor. Set aside while you prepare the gelatin. Place the gelatin in a small heat-proof mug or cup. Add 3-4 tsp. of water and stir until the gelatin softens.

Place the cup with gelatin in a skillet, filled with ½-inch of water. Heat the skillet with mug on the stove on medium heat. Stir the gelatin until it dissolves. Then, turn off the stove and remove the cup of gelatin from the skillet.

Add the gelatin solution to the filling mixture in the food processor. Blend until mixed.

Pour the filling in the crust-lined pie pan. Refrigerate for one hour to allow the cheesecake to set. Serve topped with berries.