Got Milk?

 I don’t like milk. I never have and I never will…

My mom (affectionately known as “Mama”) will tell you that from the time I was born I wouldn’t drink it (no breasts, no bottles, nothing). Growing up my paternal grandmother, Grandma Tess, would send me newspaper clippings on why milk was so important for youngsters (calcium, vitamin D, blah, blah, blah). Well, all the newspaper clippings in the world couldn’t convince me to like – let alone stomach – a glass of milk. I used to cringe at my friends as they chugged the stuff during lunch, washing their PB&J sandwiches down. Yuck.

Now you should know that I can have milk in things like cereal, but tell me to drink it after all the Lucky Charms are gone and that’ll trigger my gag reflex.

When I was in college I discovered soy milk. But I really only enjoyed the chocolate flavor. I would drink a glass here and there but nothing habitual. If I was feeling particularly healthy during a grocery store trip, I may have purchased it, but it wasn’t a staple that I had to have on hand all of the time.

During my PAN orientation meeting, seasoned vegans kept mentioning almond milk, the vanilla flavor in particular. So during my first vegan grocery store trip, I decided to pick some up.

I had a small taste of the milk substitute over the weekend and surprisingly enough I enjoyed it. This morning I couldn’t get enough.

I had a bowl of Trader Joe's Multigrain O’s topped with a healthy pour of vanilla almond milk. After devouring the cereal, I picked up my bowl, tipped the lip, and drank all of the extra goodness. I nearly had vanilla almond milk dripping off of my chin (either I was a rookie at the bowl tipping technique or I could hardly contain my desire for the vanilla almond milk – probably a combination of the two).

So finally, I found a milk substitute that I can not only stomach, but enjoy.

One thing is for sure, this vegan challenge has encouraged me to try things I never would have tried before and that can’t be so bad after all...