Soaked Oatmeal- My First Time Using Whey

Last week when I was at the dairy buying my raw milk I overheard a customer talking about whey- she had soaked her oats in it overnight, and said she had a yummy breakfast.  Here and there I have seen recipes with whey in them, so I asked the salesperson about it.

She showed me the whey, which was only $1/bottle!  I bought some, and last night at the last minute decided to soak my oatmeal.  (When you soak your grains it helps break down the phytates found in whole grains. Phytates prevent the absorption of various vitamins and minerals, so if you break them down, it makes a healthier food.)

I had already turned my computer off and didn't know the recipe, but I decided to wing it.  I took about 4 cups of oats, and then put about equal amounts of whey, covered it loosely, and let it soak overnight.

In the morning it looked like this:

Looked pretty good.  I just wasn't sure how much liquid to put in it on stove, so I decided to Google it. 

Gulp.  In all the recipes I found I was supposed to put a few tablespoons of whey, not CUPS full!  I also saw one blog where the writer was talking about her oatmeal disaster when she tried soaking her oats.  It made the oatmeal all pasty & gooey.  Great.  I decided to go forward anyway. 

I ended up adding about a cup & 1/2 more water, put it in a pot, and then let it simmer until most of the liquid was gone (about 7 minutes).  I dished it up, and served. 

Nobody suspected a thing.  I was nervous that it would taste all sour and they would hate it.  But they didn't even notice!  Grace mentioned something when she was almost done.  She said it tasted funny.  But I said it was fine.  I put cinnamon and stevia powder in mine, and it tasted just like normal.  

So I was counting this as a success... UNTIL...    Me to self:  "hmmmm.... my throat feels funny.  It feels kind of itchy.  Is it swelling?  Wow, behind my knees is really itchy today.  "  Then it dawned on me.  I AM ALLERGIC.  So from they very start they told me I was allergic to milk and needed to stick with raw milk.  I even stayed away from raw for about a month & 1/2.  I haven't felt anything out of the ordinary when I drink raw milk.  The only problems I've had is when I EAT CHEESE.  Hel-lo!  The whey is what is left over when they are making the cheese out at that dairy.  I looked it up & the two proteins in milk that cause allergies for people are casein and WHEY.

I Googled "allergy to whey", and found that you can be lactose intolerant where you body doesn't break down the lactose properly, or allergic to milk, where your body has an immune system response (like swelling, itching, etc).  Well, that's me.  What I'm reading, too, is that you need to cut out all dairy.  :(   (Maybe a reason to reconsider GAPS?)

Another reason I might have had such a reaction is because I used so much whey compared to what I was supposed to.  Maybe a blessing in disguise, because now I know I'm actually allergic, it not being just an "intolerance".  I wonder if Jimmy is having any sort of reactions at work.