Bad And Boujee... Almond Milk Edition

Yep! You heard right. My kids drink almond milk.  No, they don't drink cow's milk; not anymore at least.  For those that know me, or know my wife or know both of us, I know what you are thinking.  You think that we are just so bourgeoisie that our kids are just too good for cow's milk.  Well, that may be partly true, but mostly it for their benefit.

 

In the Beginning...  

I have never been a fan of almond milk; it was too confusing.  When I think of milk I think of it coming from the teet of a cow.  But almonds don't have a teet; I didn't even imagine that moisture of any kind could even come from a nut, let alone a full gallon of milk.  This confusion is what kept me away from almond milk for years.  What made it worse was when I tasted it for the first time.  It actually had an almond taste, which messed me all the way up.  I threw out that carton of milk and went back to the store to purchase a full gallon of whole milk.

 

The Switch

So my kids were born; we get past the formula phase, and now we can switch to "real milk."  When we finished our last formula pod I gleefully put away the formula maker and poured two full bottles of milk. One week later, our kids were constipated and it was bad.  If you have ever seen you kid crying in an effort to push poop out, then you know that constipation is an issue and we needed to find a solution.  This is pretty much when took a trip to the internet and subsequently whole foods.  I spent like 30 minutes just in the milk section looking for a dairy-free milk that provided all of the nutritional benefits that "real milk" provided. 

In comes almond milk. We first tried Califia Farms Original Almond Milk.  The 48-ounce bottle cost $5 but and was a hit!  Contrary to me, the boys are not restricted by the concept of "real milk" they are only focused on how it tastes and how it makes them feel. They drank the bottle and wanted more. 

 

The Benefits of Almond Milk

We did see the immediate benefit of the almond milk in that the kids were way more into drinking it.   However, the true benefits are even more global.  

1. The almond milk we chose were had better nutritional benefits than cow's milk.  The Calcium in almond is 1.5x more than cow's milk.  It has Fiber.  It has less sugar. It has more protein. And the same amount of fat/calories.  So my kids will be healthier than me. 
2. The boys actually digest almond milk much better.  So I notice that they are less bloated after drinking it.  Initially, I didn't even know that my kids were bloated.  I just thought they had cute, round tummies.  After the switch, their tummies were not as puffy anymore and I think this made them happier people.  
3. We are now able to manage their constipation.  I realize that the kids had inherited their parents' digestive systems, which is not what I would consider normal.  So as their little bodies develop, we realize that this will change and with the almond milk we have giving ourselves some buffer for us to adapt. 

 

All in all... 

We loved making the switch.  The boys love the switch.  So I would recommend it to anyone that is dealing with issues with dairy.  I, however, will still not drink almond milk.  It just weirds me out.

Update: We switched from Califia Farms to the Whole Foods brand (365).  Its way more cost-effective.