I’m not a vegan. I’m not a vegetarian. I’m not even that much of a health nut. But I gotta say, I’m a big fan of soy. Edamame makes for a great snack. Prepared well, tofu is actually pretty tasty. And Silk Soy Milk is the most amazing liquid creation right after penicillin. I discovered soy milk out of necessity, enjoyed it by accident, and have become a proponent of it quite on purpose.
I’ve always been a milk fan. Sometimes a tall glass of ice cold milk hits just the right spot. While I was pregnant with my daughter I obsessively craved two things, baby powder (yes I was one of those) and milk. I wanted milk with everything. During my last trimester I would go through a gallon a day. I’m not joking or exaggerating at all. A full gallon. In one day. It was this and only this that kept me from ingesting copious amounts of talcum. After my daughter was born my system went into full lactose rejection. My doctors said that I wasn’t actually lactose intolerant just lactose under tolerant most likely caused by overexposure. For about a year after my girl was born I couldn’t handle milk. So at the recommendation of a friend I gave Silk Soy Milk a try.
It took ME some getting used to because I tried it expecting milk. Soy milk and milk: Very different entities. It’s sort of like grape juice and white grape juice are different. Same words in the name but different flavor all together. Once I wrapped my head around this I started to enjoy soy milk. The texture is about on par with whole milk. So if you are a 2% or lower drinker, it will feel a touch thick at first.
Eventually the lactose under-tolerance wore off but my enjoyment of soy milk hasn’t. I’ve now introduced it to my daughter. Chocolate milk in our house is actually chocolate soy milk (again Silk brand). It’s so much healthier and I feel less guilty about giving it to her. And last holiday season I discovered Silk Nog. It is flavored soy milk and an almost guilt free way to down egg nog this holiday season. So why give it a shot?
- Soy protein is ultra-healthy, better than whey protein.
- Soy milk, just like cow’s milk, is enhanced with Vitamins D & A.
- It is lactose and dairy free. For some people with sensitive tummies, digestive, or urinary tracts this is a definite plus.
- You can cook with it in just the same way you would milk.
- Its tastier then you think it is.
- Its the underdog of breakfast foods and we geeks are prone to r
- It comes in number of flavors like Nog, Chocolate, Vanilla, Pumpkin, Mint Chocolate, Very Vanilla, and Original. Very yummy and not nearly as unnerving as flavored cow’s milk. What? You may be cool with it but pumpkin flavored cow’s milk creeps me out.
You can get a coupon to try a half-gallon for yourself and make your own judgments.
We headed in the opposite direction. A vegetarian mom raising four kids, I used to be a major fan of soy products. Until I learned more about soy.
The soy in most of today’s foods is not the traditional fermented soy used for thousands of years in Asia with positive health benefits. I discovered that there are many potential negative long-term problems associated with consuming soy milk, soy burgers, soy snacks, basically all our favorite foods. http://www.naturalnews.com/022630.html
Still, I didn’t give it up until I developed a serious thyroid problem and one of my children reacted with chronic digestive problems.
The majority of soy (along with corn) grown in the U.S. is now from genetically modified seed http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/1440-how-to-avoid-gmos.html
(meaning it’s best to buy those two products in organic foods if you want to avoid GM ). Silk Soymilk was recently outed for misleading consumers on that issue.
http://www.cornucopia.org/2010/09/not-crying-over-spilt-soymilk/
And soy proteins are extracted by many producers with hexane. http://www.cornucopia.org/2010/11/dirty-little-secret-in-the-natural-foods-industry-toxic-chemical-use/
We went so far in the other direction that nine years ago we bought our first dairy cow. We drink fresh raw milk http://www.realmilk.com/rawmilkoverview.html
and find enormous health benefits. I can honestly say none of us have had the flu, even a bad cold ever since. The family members I thought were lactose intolerant are not because the enzymes in milk promoting digestion aren’t destroyed by pasteurization and homogenization. I know raw milk is a controversial stance but I wouldn’t go back to soy for anything. Besides, soybeans don’t have long eyelashes like our cows.
http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/a_cows_life
Cool post. I like soy milk too.
I’m totally lactose intolerant 🙁
For those that are, and can’t give up the milk (like me), soy milk is a great alternative, but you’re right, you have to get out of your mind that “it’s just like milk”…
However – there are other alternatives that let us intolerants actually drink the real stuff too. In the UK (not sure about elsewhere) you can buy a nearly lactase-free milk called “LactoFree”. You can also buy tablets of Lactase enzyme (it’s what we lack that makes us intolerant).
You can even buy some lactase that you drip into a bottle of normal milk – it splits the lactase into fructose and galactose – which are slightly sweeter than lactase, so you end up with sweet-but-digestively-inoffensive milk.
So really, there’s lots of options out there 🙂
None of which detract from the total coolness of soy-milk though 🙂
I also am a big fan of soymilk and rarely drink dairy anymore. I stopped drinking Silk though when they stopped using organic American grown soybeans and switched to non-organic Chinese beans and were rather deceptive about it. I also chose to cut down on how much I drink because I’m a recent cancer survivor with a family history of breast cancer and also have a thyroid condition. Instead I drink mostly almond milk now. It’s high in protein and dairy free so it works for most things.
Just curious, was this a spontaneous post or was it sponsored?
@blessedblogger- almond milk is ultra tasty too. I’m actually kind of up in the air about te organic movement myself. I shouldn’t admit that but it’s true. Technically anything made of carbon is “organic”. I mean I know what it is to organically grown I’m just not yet convinced that it’s benefits equal it’s cost. And nope totallly spontaneous post. I’m not nearly cool enough for sponsorship…yet 🙂 (and go you for kicking cancers arse!)
@Taryn (cool name btw. I like that name.) We have lactofree here but at least in my section of the country you have to go to specialty stores to get. It might be different on the coasts though. We also have lactaid – an OTC pill for lactose
intolerance.
Thanks for the comments! You guys rock.
Ok. This is the last time I leave a comment using my phone. Look at that ^^! It looks like my three year old helped me spell! Dang it!
Thanks for the great post in support of soymilk and Silk Jenn. Also, Chaos Coordinator sounds like a fun job.
Best,
Cathy at Silk