Monday, December 1, 2008

SILK MILK: SOY TO ENJOY

I go meatless. When peeps learn that little tidbit they often ask where my protein comes from. “All over the place,” is an honest and accurate answer. Lentils, soy, quinoa, beans and on. But I also eat veg alternatives, and I’ve recently had myself a lil' epiphany regarding such foods.

I love soymilk. I mean I really love it. Before pouring a glass I have to commit to myself that I’ll be satisfied with one glass. Then I’ll have to take that glass out of the kitchen and upstairs so that once I’ve finished it I don’t robotically reach for the fridge and refill.

“But it doesn’t taste like milk,” is a common complaint/comment I’ve encountered. Well you wanna know why? It’s not milk. It’s soy. If you expect veg alternatives to taste like “the real thing,” more often than not, you’re going to be disappointed.

Let’s take Smart Bacon, for instance. The first time I tried it, I expected it to be just like bacon, only not pork. Dummy. It wasn't bacon. So it wasn’t like bacon—no sizzle sounds, no chewy fat, no wrinkled silhouette—so I cursed and chucked it.

When I decided to give this facon another try I approached the experience differently. This time, I tasted the Smart Bacon for itself, not expecting it to have the precise taste or texture of the food it was imitating. And I liked it! Yes, there’s a bacon-y flavor to the stuff, but bacon it’s not. On it’s own, not being an “alternative” to anything, the facon is quite delish.

It’s like that with soymilk. Don’t drink it expecting it to taste like cow’s milk. It just isn’t. Buy some. Try some. Start with chocolate, if you’d like. And if you don’t enjoy it, I’d be happy to polish it off. Just please don’t hold me responsible for the joyful slurping sounds.

5 comments:

Andrea said...

One word...EEWWWW!

Ashley Thalman said...

i love that graphic and i love soy milk, especially chocolate.

whitneyingram said...

You'll never convert me, never. And you can't call it milk. Have you ever heard of a soy teet? I didn't think so.

Ashley Thalman said...

go whit, go whit. go wit.

cat+tadd=sam said...

And that's why I love The Whit. I don't mind Vanilla soy milk