Milk, Almond Milk, Lactose Free Milk... help!

BodyByButter

I drink regular skim milk with breakfast. But, I cook up four days worth of steel cut oats at a time and add a splash of almond milk to it when I warm it in the morning. I like it that way but never drink it straight.

holyfenix

I drank almond milk for a bit after being a milk drinker for life. Its good but has almost no protein in it. Sure its super low in calories but Milk doesn't have a ton and has anywhere from 8-12 grams of protein per glass depending on percentage. Again it just depends on your goals.

Charlottesometimes23

I drink lactose free skim UHT milk not because I'm lactose intolerant, but for the taste. The fact that the lactose has been broken down releases the glucose, and it has a rich, slightly sweet taste.

alfiedn

I use almond milk and coconut milk that I make myself. Homemade is easy if you have a blender, although you do need something to strain with (I've heard of people using old t-shirts, but I have a bag special for this purpose). I have never enjoyed cows milk and it goes bad in my house because no one uses it.

I much prefer the almond milk that I make. It's a bit silt filled and does separate and it tastes really nutty, which I love. I find it to be naturally sweet enough, but I've also always used unsweetened almond and soy milk prior to this. This is the milk I would use on cereal.

Coconut milk (home-made and sometimes otherwise) does have a fairly high fat content. I like this milk in smoothies, but I don't love to drink it and tend to use it less often and in more masked recipes (I love it with coconut butter and cantaloupe as a smoothie). This milk separates a lot and gets a very thick cream/fat layer on top as it sits.

I have used both of these milks as substitutes in baking and had the results turn out fine in my case.

One thing to watch out with these home-made is that they don't have the calcium additives that so many of the store bought brands have. So, if you are relying on milk for your calcium, I do not recommend using these. I do think that home made almond milk may have slightly more protein than store bought, but I really have no evidence to back that up. I just feel parts of the nut do get through. I cannot pretend it has as much as cows milk, however!

I use milk mostly for smoothies, overnight oats, and recipes. I don't often drink it straight, but will use it on granola and berries occasionally.

DancingMoosie

I have looked at most labels of the milk substitutes(almond, rice, ancient grain, coconut, hemp, soy) on the shelf at my grocery. It is disappointing that most have little to no protein. I have a hard time hitting my protein goal anyway, so taking it out of my milk is no good. I do not like cow milk, and have had lactose issues in the past. My usual is the Silk organic unsweetened soy milk (green box-80cal, 7g protein, 30%dv calcium) or sometimes the 8th continent original(80 cal, 8g protein, 30%dv calcium). Both can also be used in cooking, which is a bonus. I don't like to be stuck with vanilla flavored and then want to make some hamburger helper;)

healthygreek

I tried a lot of almond milks. My favorite is Blue Diamond unsweetened vanilla (Almond Breeze).
Of course there is only 1g of protein but 45% calcium

Francl27

I don't mind almond milk plain or in smoothies but I find it absolutely vile with cereal!

tavenne323

I put regular (not vanilla) almond milk in my cereal and just about everything else. If I'm baking something, I try to just get away with water. I don't like drinking the almond milk straight, but I do love coconut milk plain (not flavored).

Hollywood_Porky

I tried Silk Almond Milk Unsweetened Vanilla - gave me the worst gas I could've ever imagined. I was so glad to go back to Lactaid Whole Milk. No problems at all.

bunniesrus2014

I use almond milk when I want to just have a glass of milk but for everything else I use lactaid. They both have nutrients that are good - almond milk has more calcium. I never tried almond milk in anything like cereal because I don't know if I would like the combination.

savvyfantastic

If you aren't lactose intolerant and are looking for something with a diverse nutrient profile I would suggest sticking with milk. Other milks may have their place in terms of being lower calories (eg unsweetened almond milk) but nutritionally there isn't really a benefit. If it's a change of taste you're looking for, that will really be about finding the right brand for you- I think some brands of soy/almond milk taste like dirt water, but some I love.

I also note you have dismissed the comment re lactose free milk having a similar nutrient profile as regular milk as being a bad thing because you want something with 'lots of nutrients'- regular milk has a lot of nutrients, macro and micro. Where lactose (a sugar) is removed there may be some differences as far as the carbohydrate content but I think the poster MAY have broadly been referring to the macronutrient profile, which for some may not suit their individual macronutrient goals.

I can't have dairy because my entire body breaks out in eczema but if I could I would be all up in that. I used to source my dairy products from a local producer and the difference was noticeable. Perhaps that could be a starting place instead of changing the food source?

christinet2013

I was never much of a milk drinker to begin with, but I recently went dairy free to see of I could clear up some skin issues (acne in my late 20s - WTF?). It worked. If you have any issues (digestion or skin), it may be worth a try to go dairy free for a bit and see if it works for you. Its a common allergy and most people never figure it out - mainly because CHEESE, but milk affects you too. My favorites are by Almond Breeze. I use different varieties for different food combos and Ive enjoyed them all.

auntchellebelle

I bought Silk Soy Milk in the vanilla flavor. It is delicious! I can drink it without adding anything. I have never been a big milk drinker but this changed my mind.

neanderthin

Give goat milk a try.

HeidiCooksSupper

Hubby prefers unsweetened almond milk. I like unsweetened soy milk. Both are harder to find than the sweetened versions but Trader Joe's can be relied on to have them. We stopped with cow's milk because we each starting to react badly (GERD). This is common as people age. For awhile we were using Lactaid but even that was giving us discomfort but we still buy it for medicating our cat. Our fridge is crowded. Use what you like and doesn't give you a tummy ache but watch out for the added sugars in many of the soy-, almond-, etc. milks.

takumaku

Lactose-Free and Regular milk, my body does not like, so I stick with unsweetened Almond milk.

jessthep1rate

I don't see much of a reason to switch from cow's milk to anything else unless you're having a problem with the lactose or dairy in it. My boyfriend is allergic to dairy so I have gotten away from cow's milk since we started dating about 4 years ago. We used to use almond milk and soy milk somewhat interchangeably, but since I started to get more serious about nutrition, I dropped the almond milk because of its low protein content, and now we use soy only. There is also rice milk, flax milk, cashew milk, and all kinds of weird stuff... so far, almond and soy are the only ones that taste decent to me. :P

Also FYI, "lactose-free" milk is really just regular milk with lactase enzyme added to it... so it's really no different than just having regular milk and popping a Lactaid or similar supplement.

ETA: If you do wind up going the soy milk route, I have found that Whole Foods's 365 brand plain soy milk has the best flavor compared to Silk and other store brands, and most times is cheaper than Silk unless Silk is on sale.

Ulwaz

coconut milk by alpro is my fav

emkelsall

Charlottesometimes23 wrote: »

I drink lactose free skim UHT milk not because I'm lactose intolerant, but for the taste. The fact that the lactose has been broken down releases the glucose, and it has a rich, slightly sweet taste.

I am lactose intolerant. I had to add chocolate syrup to lactose free milk when I first started drinking it because it tasted so "wrong" because it was sweet. Now that I am used to it, I can drink it straight

kimny72

I live alone and got tired of the stupid milk being sour all of a sudden whenever I went to use it! So I switched to almond milk which I can get a solid 10+ days out of. I still sometimes get regular milk when I know I will use it up fast because I think it tastes better and has more protein.