I've grown up drinking milk and using it in just about everything (cereal, coffee, tea, the list goes on), and never once thought anything was wrong with it. I grew up being told that milk "builds strong bones," and it was a staple in every elementary-high school lunch. Until recently, I had never imagined all of the nasty things that are put into the milk we drink.

A few months ago I made the switch to almond milk instead of my normal 1% milk. To be honest, I didn't like it, but I figured I was taking the healthy route instead of continuing to drink normal milk. I used it in coffee, cereal, and to make things like oatmeal (which was actually pretty tasty), and I had a hard time adjusting. I did however notice that my stomach aches had gone down, and my skin looked better (I've never had bad skin, just less breakouts). It also lasts for close to two months, while normal milk only lasts about 2 weeks if you're lucky. I drank the vanilla flavor, and repurchased it twice, but I really missed drinking actual milk.

After my second container of the almond milk, I went back to drinking Dean's 1%. Not only is milk about $3 cheaper (when you're on a budget it's hard spending almost $5 a carton on milk!), to me it just has a better taste. I did notice that I had more breakouts and my stomach did take a little to adjust back to the milk, but overall I didn't see much a difference.

I know most of the problems people have with real milk is the treatment of the cows and the preservatives that go into it, but what about other meat and dairy products? I'm definitely not a vegetarian or vegan, and I don't plan to be, but it's hard to make adjustments when there really is no need.

If you can drink almond milk and love it, more power to you. I still want to try the chocolate, as I've heard it's great, but the vanilla was a pass for me. The idea of it is great and I know there are people who have to drink it, but when given the choice I'd rather just stick to my 1%.