Thursday

Discovery of the Day: Soymilk

I know, I didn't invent soymilk, but I did drink it for the first time and survived.

I've bought soymilk off and on over the years for my son who, I believe, develops eczema when he consumes too much dairy. It's just a theory so I stop and start the soymilk as the mood strikes. But somehow I've never quite been able to make myself drink it.

I had this perception of myself as fairly open and sophisticated, food-wise, at least until recently. Soon after I started dating my boyfriend, we were discussing restaurant choices and he asked what I did and didn't like. Surprisingly, I think that was the first time in a long time that anyone had asked me. Of course I wanted to impress him with my open-mindedness, but as I heard the list the of things I either didn't like or was afraid to try coming out of my mouth, I was appalled. Organ meats, shellfish (except crab), any white fish (it's a texture thing), game, which to me means any meat other than beef, pork or chicken... and I've always been kind of afraid of soymilk.

I don't drink a lot of milk anyway, other than using it on breakfast cereal (rice milk works well for that), and giving up most cheese hasn't been a problem so far but I do have that little half&half problem. And even though I'm decaffeinating I'll probably still be drinking at least some decaf each morning. It's a ritual thing. I drink my coffee pretty strong (I am in the Seattle area -- can't help it) and my coffee just begs for something to lighten it to the proper color. And rice milk, similar in consistency to skim milk, just ain't tough enough for that task.

Enter the heartier -- dare I say almost creamy -- soymilk. It was time for me to face my fears.

I felt the need for a tall decaf drip at lunchtime yesterday so I went to my nearby Major Brand Name Coffeehouse (my favorite -- can't help it). On a whim, I asked them to put the soymilk in instead of h&h. I tentatively took that first sip, and you know what?

It didn't suck and I didn't spit it on the floor.

I believe that I can kill the last of the h&h I have at home tomorrow morning and make the switch to my new pal soymilk with a clear mind and a joyful heart.

Now I'm guessing that soymilk, rice milk, and probably the almond milk I'm going to try making soon are all pretty much carbs and fat, both of which are on the pointy end of my new food pyramid. So even though I have these new tools to employ in my dairy-free state, I will have to use them judiciously.

Yay, soymilk!

BTW, the barista told me that they see lots of customers switch to decaf, non-fat milk, and/or soymilk after the holidays. I told her I give them until March to surrender and resume their unhealthy ways. :)