Heck, I grew up on whole milk (we even had farm milk for a couple years, where the cream is still sitting on top of the milk in the bottle when it’s delivered), and – like Ferret Herder said – it’s not really that big of a deal. I switched from whole milk to 2% without noticing a difference in taste (or consistency, etc.), but it did take a few years before I went to 1%, which is what I’ve been using for over a year. I refuse to take the final step to skim milk, though, because that doesn’t even look like milk anymore to me: it looks like milk-colored water. Blech.
I hardly ever drink milk, though – and when I do, it’s mixed with either cream soda or chocolate Quik powder. {grin} I used to drink milk like a fiend, but I think I was out of the habit by the time I graduated from college; these days I just use it for cooking. So if you drink milk regularly, you’ll probably notice more of a difference when you switch, but it’s still not that dramatic.
Wow, really? The cutoff is age 2? For some reason I thought it would be, like, 10 or something. Do you remember the reasoning behind this? I can’t remember it (maybe something to do with getting more calcium from whole milk?), I just remember the kids = whole milk part. Which I now know is wrong.
Umm…which of the breads are fatty? Because when I go by their nutrition calculations at http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/nutritionlist.aspx?CountryCode=USA&ID=breadfixin , the highest percent of fat I find is 19% - which is fairly high for bread, I admit, but it’s their monterey cheddar bread, which makes sense. Their deli-style roll does seem a little high to me - but still within healthy fat %, from what I can see. Or maybe I’m just looking at it wrong.
I think the additional choices are a good idea. Yes, the caramel sauce and the syrup the oranges are in are sugary, but you get the nutrition of the fruits, whereas fries are basically non-nutritive. The chocolate milk has more fat and calories than soda, but soda has no nutritional value whatsoever (unless you count the modicum of sodium), and the milk has protein, vitamins, etc. As for the stupid parents who are now going to think it’s okay to feed their kids fast food seven days a week, well, those parents are going to make bad choices for their kids regardless of what the fast food shops do.
I think it’s a great idea. Especially for those who feed their kids fast food often. However, we eat fast food so very rarely that l have no problem letting Charlie have the fries and the Coke. He may choose chocolate milk over the Coke, though given the choice, but then so would I.
It doesn’t change my mind unless I was going to feed kids that kind of stuff regularly. When I was a child going out to McDonalds or ordering a pizza was a treat. An occasional Happy Meal with nuggets, fries, and a soda isn’t going to harm anyone.
Aside from the vitamins is milk really any heathier than soda?
Marc
Well, there’s protein, too. Aside from the vitamins and protein, milk is no better than soda, but isn’t that like saying that aside from the vitamins and fiber, fruit is no better than candy?
Perhaps. Is your 2%/1% unhomogenized? If so, that would be kind of gross.
Side note: Is there any fat in skim milk? I’d think it’d be hard to make sure you got all of the fat out of it? And even if it is totally free of fat, do they still put it in the homogenization machine just for tradition’s sake?
Answering questions about McDonald’s caramel apples…
First, according to the McDonald’s website, the apples are kept white by an ascorbate, which is essentially vitamin C. This does give the apples an off taste that older kids might find weird, but it doesn’t hurt the apples.
Second, the caramel comes in a separate cup. I don’t give Aaron the caramel. He doesn’t need the sugar, and in the hands of a two-year-old, caramel is dangerous.
It’s because of the fat. You’re not supposed to give babies reduced fat anything because they need the fat to build…stuff. I think a lot of it has to do with the fat-protein layer that goes over your neurons, but I don’t really remember for sure. It’s okay to give kids of any age whole milk if that’s what the rest of you drink, but after 2 or so you don’t have to buy it especially for them if the rest of the family drinks 2%.
And as for the whole issue of whether milk is actually any healthier than soda, milk has all of the nutrient groups. Protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water–it’s all in there. After all, milk is complete nutritition for baby cows until they get old enough to eat solids. Soda has nothing but water and sugar and sodium. Milk has somewhat more calories, but it’s got miles more nutrition in those calories. Besides, soda is acidic, which can erode your teeth, and the colorants can discolor your teeth.
Also, while milk has more calories per ounce than soda, I think that a lot of the kids in fast food joints may well be drinking more than one serving of soda. After all, the milk doesn’t come with a free refill, but the sodas do.
