Best Soy Milk?

[Tritty]

OK - so I had to switch my 17 mo old to soy milk. He is having a fit. Standing at the fridge crying milk. I give him a cup of soy milk - takes a sip and throws it at me. I've taken a drink, his dad and siblings have taken a drink and shown him it's yummy and he just doesn't care. I've tried the vanilla and chocolate. He'll drink a little of the chocolate, but won't touch the vanilla. I think he'd like it best if there were just a kind out there that tastes just like his beloved vitamin D....

Any suggestions? HELP!

[JennyC]

I don't know of any soy milk that tastes like cow milk, but my son loves Silk very vanilla. It's supposed to be specially fortified for children. My son did not even mind the transition. If all else fails you can try mixing the two for a while and gradually adding more soy milk.

[burdee]

Before I learned I had soy allergy, I loved Pacific "Ultra Soy" variety. I never drank it, but used it on my gluten free cereals. It has more protein and fat per serving than any other soy milks. This year my dairy addicted husband was diagnosed with dairy, egg and several other allergies. So I bought him a variety of soy milk brands, including Pacific Ultra Soy. He says that variety and brand tastes most like regular milk. He also likes the Trader Joe's brand of soy milk, but prefers Pacific Ultra Soy.

BURDEE

[celiac-mommy]

We also buy Silk, it's OK, the chocolate is MUCH better than the vanilla, but the vanilla is good on cereal. I haven't found a vanilla or plain soymilk that I can stomach on its own. Is is a whole dairy allergy or lactose intolerance. You could try Lactaid milk if it's not a dairy allergy--I'm 'told' it's pretty good...

[dandelionmom]

I only drink soy (made the switch about 5 years ago). I really like the plain Silk Soy milk. In my opinion, the light version tastes better.

My godson only likes it when you've mixed in strawberry mix.

[Tritty]

It's all dairy - so no milk products at all. It's an allergy - not an intolerance.

He HATES the vanilla. Likes the chocolate OK, but can only get him to drink and ounce or two at a time.

A friend of mine told me to put a shot of a fruit smoothie in there and mix it up - that's how she gets hers to drink regular milk. We'll see

I'll have to try the Pacific Ultra next.

I bought some that comes in a juice box - he LOVES juice boxes - and am going to try that approach too...

THanks for all of the suggestions!

[Nic]

My son is the same way with the soy milk. I put him on rice milk instead. He drinks the plain Westsoy Rice Milk but I make it into chocolate milk for him to drink. In his cereal he just uses it plain, I also cook with it. The vanilla version is good too, it is very subtle. Don't buy the Rice Dreams rice milk because it does contain some barley (I am assuming your child is celiac as well). We tried the almond milk once, he did not like it but I thought it was better than the rice and the soy (creamier). I think it is just a preference and maybe he doesn't prefer soy milk.

P.S. He will also drink the Zen/Soy chocolate soy milk that comes in little individual boxes like a juice box. I thought that would be great for school. I tried buy a half gallon of the stuff and he refused it. I think he just likes the box.

Nicole

[Piccolo]

Tritty,

I drink 8th Continent Soy. The chocolate is real rich and I like it better then anything else.

Vanilla rice milk is good for cooking and baking as well as on cereal.

Susan

[hathor]

I'm thinking I read somewhere that Rice Dreams has or is in the process of changing their formula so that it is gluten-free. Am I dreaming?

Anyway, if you can't find a soy milk that is acceptable, there are rice milks, as well as milks made from almonds & other things. My favorite is actually hemp milk.

[hathor]

Forget what I said about Rice Dreams. I just read this thread and found out that, while the packaging has changed, the formula has NOT:

Open Original Shared Link

[Tritty]

Thanks for the cereal idea! I got about 2 ounces in him that way this morning. And the fruit smoothie thing worked. I used bolthouse - no sugar added 100% juice smoothie - about 1/3 of that 2/3 of milk. He LOVES the blueberry

I also mixed the chocolate with half plain and he drank a whole cup. I guess it was just too rich for him. So we're getting there:) THanks for the help!

[celiac-mommy]

Thanks for the cereal idea! I got about 2 ounces in him that way this morning. And the fruit smoothie thing worked. I used bolthouse - no sugar added 100% juice smoothie - about 1/3 of that 2/3 of milk. He LOVES the blueberry

I also mixed the chocolate with half plain and he drank a whole cup. I guess it was just too rich for him. So we're getting there:) THanks for the help!

I just had a thought, is he boycotting all liquid or just the soy milk? Both my son and daughter HATE milk and refuse to drink it, even on cereal, but they do drink a lot of water, eat a lot of fruits and veggies so there's no issue on hydration. I totally understand if he's missing milk and you're looking for a replacement though. We just don't actually "need" milk (although I feel like I "need" it!)

[kbtoyssni]

I like the Pacific brand soymilk best. Although I agree that soymilk does not taste like milk so if you give it to him as a substitute, I can see why he won't drink it.

[Mickide]

I don't really like the vanilla personally and neither did my daughter when she was that age. I actually would give her the plain Silk, or soy infant formula just to get her the extra calories. Have you tried Almond Milk? I know he may be a bit young for nuts but some people don't worry about almonds.

[Mango04]

I just had a thought, is he boycotting all liquid or just the soy milk? Both my son and daughter HATE milk and refuse to drink it, even on cereal, but they do drink a lot of water, eat a lot of fruits and veggies so there's no issue on hydration. I totally understand if he's missing milk and you're looking for a replacement though. We just don't actually "need" milk (although I feel like I "need" it!)

ditto

I'm dairy-free, and would never just drink a glass of milk substitute. It's nice to have milk substitutes in cooking and baking, but they're not really needed as plain drinks. There might be a short adjustment period while your son gets all of the casein out of his system (right now he probably craves milk if he's allergic to it), but he will adjust eventually

[AmyTopolski]

A lot of people in my family can't drink cows milk. I remember using goats milk a lot. I could never get my girls to drink soy.

Amy

[ShayBraMom]

We have Silk Milk Soy "VERY Vanilla". They giot Vanilla and very Vanilla, the last one is the best and even I love it. That's all my son loves to drink. It's Gluten, Casein, egg, MSG, Wheat, Peanuts, Cholesterol and what not free. Maybe he just doesn't like the plain Vanilla, maybe you need to switch to silk soymilk VERY Vanilla, it's the one with a purple Lable. It's better then the regular Vanilla! My son also loves the chocolate one and the chocolate light!

[janelyb]

We've tried them all and all flavorings soy,rice,almond,hemp,potato,coconut..etc....my son just would NOT drink them. So we just didn't give them and now months later he tried the Silk chocolate soymilk and is ok with it. I think it is just a taste that is aquired and the old taste has to be forgotten.

I can tell you for myself I still can't drink a cup of alternative milk but I am fine with almond milk in cereal and baking.

I'd say just don't give him any milk subs for a few weeks and then give him small amounts to try.