When my oldest daughter, Abigail, was born, we discovered she was allergic to cow’s milk. Every time she consumed dairy, she developed eczema on her face, arms, and legs. Since she was two years old she has been drinking soy and rice milk, while the rest of the family continued with regular milk. I occasionally enjoy a soy latte, but soy milk was never a regular part of my own diet.
When Silk invited our family to take the “Least Challenging Challenge,” I thought it was an ideal chance to switch everyone to non-dairy milk for a week and see how it went. The challenge asked us to replace regular milk with Silk Pure Almond Vanilla and Silk Soy Vanilla Light for at least seven days. Abigail was hesitant at first: her favorite soy milk is Silk Very Vanilla, and the light version seemed like a small but significant change to her. As a ten-year-old who can be particular about favorite foods, I worried she might resist.
We also have a three-year-old son who drinks a lot of regular milk and usually refuses soy. Despite those concerns, I was eager to try the switch for its health benefits. Silk Pure Almond Vanilla has just 90 calories per serving and provides 50% more calcium than regular milk, plus half the recommended daily value of vitamin E. Silk Soy Vanilla Light contains 6 grams of soy protein per serving, is lactose- and dairy-free, low in saturated fat, and supplies 130 mg of ALA omega-3. It is sweetened with stevia, which keeps it to about 70 calories per serving.
Breakfast will be the biggest test, since the kids expect their preferred milk with cereal. Still, I’m optimistic they’ll be pleasantly surprised by the new flavors and that the switch will be easy to maintain for the week.
We’ll share updates on how the family adapts to the change.
Disclosure: This post is underwritten by the producers of Silk.