Kids, especially growing boys like mine, need their calcium and it is my job to make sure that they get enough of it. Both J and Little C have shot up several inches in the last few months and drinking milk is a surefire way to make sure that their active and growing bodies get the calcium they need. Kids who don't meet the dietary requirements for calcium can suffer from calcium deficiency, which makes them more likely to be smaller, thinner and weaker than their peers. Kids who are calcium deficient are also more prone to developing tooth decay and are more likely to get sick.
Luckily, my kids are both big milk drinkers. But as someone who strongly supports breastfeeding, it's kind of a thorn in my side that both my boys are now on formula. For kids older than one year old, the best alternative to breastmilk is fresh milk. That being said, I've been trying to shift them to fresh milk for quite some time.
Why fresh milk? Well, for one thing, it's easier to prepare. You just pour it in a glass and there you go! Did you know that the quality of formula milk fluctuates depending on how it's prepared? If you put in too much water, then it's too thin
(malabnaw). If you don't mix enough water, then it's too thick. With fresh milk, the quality is always the same because it's ready to drink.
Plus, compared to formula milk, fresh milk is as natural as milk can get. While it does undergo processes to lengthen its shelf life, it generally does not have any chemicals or added fortifications. In fresh milk, we have a natural source of nutrients like calcium, protein and carbohydrates that our kids' growing bodies need. Calcium helps in the development of strong bones and teeth, and the protein in milk helps in building muscles.
I love fresh milk. When I was younger, we were made to drink milk daily, but I hated the lumps in powdered milk, which made me hate milk. When I tried fresh milk for the first time, I fell in love with the taste and became a fresh milk drinker for life. Plus, the absence of lumps was a great bonus!
Last Saturday, some mom bloggers and I were invited to attend the launch of Jolly Cow Fresh Milk in Angelicum College. A series of activities were prepared to educate the students about the importance of drinking fresh milk every day. During the launch, the kids also talked about their dreams and what they needed to do to achieve those dreams. They learned about how having a strong and healthy body was a key factor in achieving their ambitions, and of course, drinking fresh milk can help with that.
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| The students try the milk samples |
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| Jolly Cow Fresh Milk Event Launch (L-R): Dream Wall, Goodie Bags, Wanlu Puppet Show and fresh milk samples |
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| The kids enjoyed the show from Wanlu and his puppets, even as they learned about calcium deficiency and the importance of drinking milk. |
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| Learning from the master: Wanlu teaches the kids how to make sock puppets and some basic tricks in making them talk. |
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| The kids were happy to show off their "hand"iwork! (Pardon the pun) |
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| Even the teachers were included in the activities, helping Wanlu by being human puppets! |
Fresh milk isn't just for little kids, mommies. Teenagers also reap the benefits of drinking fresh milk, by providing added nutrition which helps them cope with the growth spurts that come with puberty.
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| Angelicum's teens trying out Jolly Cow Fresh Milk |
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| And of course, in the age of selfies, the teens also take advantage of the photobooth. |
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| All the kids received personalized tumblers with a serving of Jolly Cow milk for them to try. The front of the tumbler has a picture of the child dressed as their "future self". |
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| I guess all the festivities made the kids a bit thirsty! |
The Jolly Cow team kindly sent the mommies home with goodie bags filled with samples for our little ones to try. I was glad to see that the included the non-fat variant of the fresh milk, which is for me. While moms still need their calcium, they can do without the added fat. :-)
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| There's full cream milk for my little ones and non-fat milk for happy frazzled me! There's also a condensada variant, which I'll use in making sweet treats for my boys. :-) |
The folks behind Jolly Cow pride themselves on providing good quality, yet affordable milk for their consumers. Jolly Cow Fresh Milk is sourced from Germany and New Zealand, which means that the milk passes rigorous quality standrads. It also contains 3.5% butterfat, which is a higher fat content compared to other brands and this extra butterfat is what gives Jolly Cow fresh milk the creamy taste that I love in milk.
Thanks to the Jolly Cow team for inviting me to the launch!
*Jolly Cow is exclusively produced for Fly Ace Corporation and is available in all leading supermarkets nationwide.
