#SilkAlmond All Day Long

I'm not a milk drinker at all.  I've never been one. Nearly 3 years ago, Izzy was diagnosed as lactose intolerant and I made the switch to Silk.  I didn't even know it existed until then and now I'm never going back to regular milk.  Now, I'm not saying there isn't regular (cow) milk in the house - there is.  I just don't drink it and neither does Izzy. We prefer Silk.   

I like that Silk comes sweetened and unsweetened.  I also like how versatile it is.  I use it with my granola, in my coffee, and add it to recipes.   Silk has a variety of delicious recipes you can find on their facebook page.  

One breakfast favorite in our house is pancakes.  They are incredibly easy to make and it's easy to change up the ingredients if you are low on something or want to use something up.  Pancakes are a big hit with the family as well.  They want to eat them morning, noon, and night, so I can never go wrong with pancakes.  The other day, I wanted something sweet but healthy, so I created my own pancake mix with Silk and a brown banana I wanted to use.  

Ingredients:

3 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 c. Silk unsweetened 

0.5 c applesauce

1 smashed banana 

2 eggs

1 tbs raw sugar 

I thought the applesauce and banana would sweeten the mix enough, but I needed just a little more sweetness added to my pancake mixture, so I added in some raw sugar.  I am sure you can add any kind of sweetener you have on hand.  I just happened to have raw sugar sitting out on my counter, so that's what I used.  

Directions:

- mix up all ingredients above

- make pancakes as usual

Then serve with your favorite toppings.  Sometimes I use honey on my pancakes but most of the time I use pure maple syrup.  

For dinner the other night, I lighted up my homemade mac 'n cheese by adding in Silk.  I also had some ham in the refrigerator I needed to use, so I added that to the mac n' cheese as well.  End result:  absolutely delicious!  

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of Silk Almond Milk unsweetened 

1 box of your choice of pasta

1/4 stick of butter

1.5 cups of shredded cheese - you choose*

olive oil

*Every time I make homemade mac 'n cheese, I use a different combination of cheeses.  I like a variety of cheeses and I love the way different combinations change up a regular dish.  This past time I chose sharp cheddar, monterey jack and parmesan.  All of the cheese I use are blocks of cheese that I grate just before using.  But that's just me.  

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

- Boil pasta, drain.

- In a saucepan, melt butter, add in Silk and cheese.  Heat on low.  Watch closely and stir often.  

- Cut up ham into cubes, add a smidge of olive oil to a pan to heat up the ham.  I like it slightly browned.  

- Pour drained pasta into baking dish, add ham, pour melted cheese/Silk mixture on top.  Stir slightly.  

- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until cheese bubbles and browns a bit.  

FitFluential LLC compensated me for this Campaign.  All opinions are my own.