Moooo - ve over milk - Now there's somthing healthier!

Milk, it does a body good! Mmmm MILK! Where's Your Mustache? Milk builds strong bones. Got MILK?

Those familiar comments and questions sound a bit familiar don't they? The milk producers have spent millions on advertising, and I might add, they have done an excellent job. I sure grew up truly believing that milk is good for you. If you couldn't finish everything on your plate, mom would tell you to at least 'finish your milk'! As a parent, you feel like you are doing the right thing, keeping a large gallon of milk in the refrigerator at all times. Even when the cost rises, it is still a priority to buy it! When a treat is served like brownies or cake or cookies, it is the first thing we want, a nice tall glass of MILK. I have to admit, I have loved it. Is it possible to be addicted? Well I could have been. I loved to drink it with everything. I KNEW I was going to have strong bones because I have regularly drunk milk by the gallon for, well, my whole life.

A year ago, I started doing some research and found that we don't need milk! What? I thought... what about all the years of doing the right thing and trying to take care of my kids, all the calcium we've been consuming, etc... I started getting mad at what I found! Studies have shown that in the United States, we consume more dairy milk than ANY other country, and yet we have the highest rate of osteoporosis - go figure! It is even suggested that milk has contributed specifically to the bone loss in the older generation. That didn't seem to be the worst part of my findings. Most dairys feed their cows high levels of hormones so they can artificially produce more milk. This overproduction oftentimes causes infections and sickness which requires medicine and antibiotics, and then they are fed grains and food with pesticides, all of which end up in the milk WE drink.

There's more... and it is disgusting to say the least - I encourage you to educate yourself on this so you can at least make a decision for you and your family. If you find you can't break away from your tall glass of milk and cookies, at least look at the benefits of consuming organic over all the others.

Better yet, for those of us who are feeling deprived after learning that milk is no longer an option for us after learning the facts, there is hope! Sprouted Almond "Mylk". I wasn't a true believer till I tried it. For the last year, I have been making my own. From raw, unpasteurized, almonds, that have been soaked overnight to 'sprout' so they can release essential enzymes, and then when blended with water, a little salt, sweetener and a little vanilla it makes wonderful, creamy... milk! The taste and feel is remarkably similar to my favorite glass of milk! The health benefits are through the roof! I even recently bought some at the store (it's expensive) to try the difference in taste. I found that they tasted the same, but my version wasn't quite as sweet as the one at the store. Unlike the store version, I know mine was fresh, I used 'sprouted' almonds, I used natural sweetener (agave nectar) and all natural, unprocessed, sea salt.

Check out my links on the benefits of sprouted almonds: http://www.alive2u.com/sprouted_almonds.htm

And my Sprouted Almond "Mylk" recipe: http://www.alive2u.com/recipes/smoothies.htm#Sprouted%20Almond%20Mylk

It was easy to convert, and NOW I know I'm serving a healthy alternative that I can live with long term, and I haven't missed cows milk at all.