Switching to Real Milk

A few months ago, I made the big switch to Real Milk a.k.a. raw milk. After knowing about the benefits of raw milk for a while, and after knowing some friends in Lexington who had gone this route, I finally found a trustworthy source that was accessible to both my budget and my shopping routine.

As a bonus, my quest for raw milk from grass fed cows has also given us access to grass fed beef, liver, pastured eggs, cream and butter. Down home locally grown goodness.

At first, some of the kids were suspicious about the taste and the differences in how it looked, the fact that cream was floating to the top, etc.

And face it, raw milk just tasted different than pasturized milk. Not worse, but definitely different. I think it tastes better, and so do lots of people.

I would like to share with you the strategies I used to get my family used to the differences in raw milk. As I've blogged before, I have the world's most picky eater in the person of my son, and I am happy to report that he'll even drink it straight up now. A side bonus is, I no longer worry so much about his nutritonal status. At least he's getting this.

At the beginning of our transition, I kept right on buying breakfast cereal even though I was aware of how bad it is for people to eat, and the kids started putting their raw milk on things like Honey Bunches of Oats. Baby steps. But at least they were getting the milk that way.

I also would make lots of chocolate milk at first, using agave nectar, vanilla, a pinch of salt and a spoon full of cocoa powder to make a chocolate syrup. Perhaps too much sugar, but at least they were getting the milk that way. (And the agave nectar was low glycemic). More baby steps.

I took the time to have numerous conversations with the kids about the food industry, the benefits of raw milk, grass fed, butter, all that stuff. Education helps.

And, I simply stopped buying the other stuff.

It's been a couple of months. According to my plan, we've graduated away from the chocolate milk and breakfast cereal phase of things and now it's just accepted around here as normal. Our breakfasts are much healthier too, and stick to our ribs much longer.

Bethany, who cannot tolerate commercially processed milk can drink raw milk just fine.

I feel like I'm constantly getting healthier and healthier, after spending the last two decades headed in the opposite direction while following all the "rules". Now, I'm happy to be a food renegade.

(I'm offering this post up as part of the Fight Back Fridays blog carnival.)

Comments

elizabeth said…
Glad to hear of this! Happy that you are finding food that works better for you and your family. What a blessing!
Anonymous said…
Hey, we take what we can get! What a smart way to transition your kids. I actually have the opposite problem. Both my boys were raised on raw milk, and when they get served a glass of pasteurized milk at family or friend's houses (or our own if we run out before our next pick up) they take one sip and get a sad sad look on their faces. They love milk, but will turn their nose up to pasteurized milk now.

Thanks for sharing this in Fight Back Fridays today.

Blessings & Peace,
KristenM
(AKA FoodRenegade)
Has said…
Alana can you explain a bit more about B's intolerance to pasteurized milk? I know lots of people, especially in my family, who seem to be "intolerant" to milk and they just either drink skim milk or stop drinking it completely.