While my almost thirteen-year-old son has consumed soy milk, almond milk and rice milk over the years, my fourteen-year-old would not dare go near the containers in the refrigerator.  I cannot blame him as I am the same way, avoiding them for my preferred skim milk.

Enter Zen Soy: The soy you enjoy! 

More specifically, Zen Soy has a line of soy puddings that have converted my older teen. He has enjoyed the vanilla, chocolate and the chocolate vanilla swirl. He was not too fond of the banana flavor. 

These soy puddings are certified vegan and USDA organic. ZenSoy Pudding is free of dairy (no eggs, lactose or casein), free of nuts and also gluten. The calories range from 100-130 per container.

They need to be kept refrigerated and have a stamp on the cardboard of the expiration date.  They do last a while as the packages we have expire in September and November of 2009.  ZenSoy only uses whole organic soybeans sustainably farmed here in the U.S.

My son describes the soy puddings as scoopable and tastes like melted chocolate and a bit sweeter than other brands.  The top seal for the puddings have their signature Panda on them with the foiled seal easy to pull off.  I tried the chocolate vanilla swirl and noticed a unique taste to the chocolate.

It is so surprising to see my teen prefer the Zen Soy over other snacks.  He wants to know where we can buy them since he finished the swirl flavor and has only one left of chocolate and vanilla. 

I sent a few chocolate and one vanilla along in my other son's lunchbag.  I mentioned this to his aide who had his classmates choose with their lunch.  One male student ate the entire chocolate serving, while two girls took their time and sort of liked their servings.

Ingredients in the vanilla soy pudding consist of:

Filtered Water, Certified Organic Whole Soybeans, Certified Organic Granulated Cane Juice, Certified Organic Corn Starch, Certified Organic Flavors, Natural Flavors, Flavors, Calcium Carbonate, Carrageenan, Locust Bean Gum, Sea Salt, Soy Lecithin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B12

My teen is savoring every spoonful since this is his last one of the swirl flavor.  I am thinking we may have to try chocolate soy milk one of these days.  Soy is no longer an alternative with milk and pudding, as is evidenced by so many in the autism community.

Another plus with ZenSoy is their active role in wildlife conservation.  They donate 5% of profits to international wildlife organizations so that giant pandas like Su-Lin will survive.  If you save 25 UPC codes from their products you can receive a ZenSoy Organic Cotton T-Shirt. 

Check out their product locator to find a store near you selling ZenSoy puddings.  I believe the soy puddings will be a good addition for summer camp lunches as well.

Bonnie is a freelance writer/editor that has many Autism Family Adventures and writes about Autism Spectrum Disorders