Soy Joy

I first tried soy milk a few years ago, and I thought it was horrible. I had no desire to drink it again, and I watched in disgust as my then-roommate guzzled box after individual box of both the chocolate and vanilla flavors. But, after again reading about the possible drawbacks of cow's milk in the book Skinny Bitch —the authors cite the presence of antibiotics and the waste generated by dairy cows, along with the interesting proposition that animal milk is really just intended for growing babies — I decided to give soy milk another try. 

And really, I was quite pleasantly surprised. I bought Westsoy Organic Soymilk, the vanilla-flavored kind, and it reminds me very much of a Gerber baby food pudding I used to eat when I first got braces (and, of course, when I was a baby). The texture of the milk is certainly different than cow's milk — it's somehow thinner, though I wouldn't call it watery. The taste, though, is quite a nice complement to my off-brand Honey Nut Cheerios. 

I also felt like I was doing something nice for the environment, as the milk wasn't refrigerated when I bought it and the product was organic. However, the Newsweek article I read today might've burst that bubble. They write, "Soy milk may be natural — but that doesn't mean it's good for the environment. The Amazon is being deforested to make space for widespread soybean agriculture, and most of today's soybeans are genetically modified." Alas! I was only trying to be healthy.

Although my soy experiment was not completely successful, I certainly did it with good intentions. I haven't run out of milk yet, and I'm not sure which kind I will buy when I do; but I'm glad to say that I can now appreciate soy milk for what it is. And not to preach, but I would recommend tasting once-disliked foods at least once again, just to see if your taste buds have changed. There's so many delicious foods out there — don't let one bad experience ruin a lifetime of eating.