It was just one of those days…

I woke up and trudged down to my kitchen. I saw a plethora of amazing cereals that would have been the perfect pick-me-up I needed to get my mind active and provide me with the sustenance and energy that I needed to open my laptop and get some serious work done.

But then I thought better of it; we had dairy milk in the fridge. I wanted to eat my cereal SO bad, but I knew there would be consequences if I coated my bowl full of healthy breakfast food with milk. I had experienced it before:

The gas

The bloating

The thought that would be running through my mind for hours: “Oh man, I should NOT have eaten that.”

So I did what any sane cereal loving person would do- I poured the bowl and turned the faucet to as cold as it could be and proceeded to eat my cereal with water.

No, it was not the same. But the cereal was beckoning to be eaten- and my stomach was growling threats of hunger. I left the house that day, semi-satisfied, and spent a good part of the morning wondering if I would ever be able to indulge in the easiest any-time meal again: cereal.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to pull it off for long. The cereal/water concoction was NOT cutting it. So later that evening, after work, I went to the grocery store to find a replacement breakfast food for my beloved cereal.

At that time in my life I had no idea I was lactose intolerant… I didn’t even know what it meant. For all I knew lactose intolerance could be a contagious flu that you could catch while taking public transportation. (It is not by the way.)

So I wasn’t even aware that there were dairy milk substitutes sitting right next to the dairy milk that I had learned to steer clear of.

I also had other issues with dairy milk. The thought of drinking a liquid from another species… well honestly? It grossed me out!

Walmart wasn’t very busy and if you have gotten to know me at all- online or in RL- you know that I am not necessarily a shy chica.

I went right up to one of the blue-vested associates and asked:

“I can’t drink milk because it hurts my tummy, but I love cereal. What would you suggest to replace cereal altogether because my water and cereal diet plan is not working for me.”

“Have you ever tried soy milk?”

“Ummm… what? Isn’t soy a plant? How can it make milk? Is this a joke? You obviously are mocking me or something… that’s not very nice.”

She motioned for me to follow her.

Little did I know this short, jolly woman of not many words would show me a whole new solution to a problem I didn’t even know I had.

“Most people who are lactose intolerant drink dairy milk substitutes… like soy milk.”

She pointed to the soymilk section and disappeared like some Phantom of the Opera scene.

8^th Continent Soymilk was not the first soy milk I ever tried. And maybe that is why I was still hesitant after trying another brand.

But I refused to give up.

I went back again and with each trip I bought a different kind of soymilk:

Fat free

Light

Chocolate

Every brand you could think of and every flavor they had in stock.

The day I tried 8^th Continent Soymilk, I knew I had found the match for me. It was like coming across the perfect profile on a dating site I never knew I had signed up for.

Ever since, not only have I been able to eat my cereal, but I have been able to enjoy it.

Thank you blue-vested jolly Walmart woman of not many words- you will never know you gave me the gift of cereal chowing back, and lots of other foods for that matter.

I’d like to think this is the moment my soy-venture began.