Alternatives to cow's milk?

Shropshire1959

I use Alpro unsweetened in my drinks (I like the taste) but dairy in my porridge. I tried cheaper soy milks but it looked curdled like sperm in a hot bath in my tea and coffee :blushing:

Bwhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

joan23_us

Hi,

I was wondering what milk product everyone buys (cow, goat, almond, coconut, bean, rice milk etc... these are ones I can think of right now), and if you use different "milk" for smoothies vs. other purposes? What are your reasons for using non-dairy milk products (allergies or otherwise)?

I tend to rotate between 1% and whole milk, just because I like both, but sometimes I need the "skinnier" milk when I want to cut some of the fat/calories out of my food... I tried drinking almond milk and didn't like it. I find coconut milk to be much more palatable. I'm also an occasional goat milk drinker (I grew up drinking it).

Milk is a great source of protein for me, along with other dairy and meat products. But how much protein do these dairy-free alternatives offer? Is it much less? Around the same? ...Dare I say, more? I've never actually compared, but it would be nice to know that I'm not compromising my protein intake by alternating between dairy and non-dairy "milk."

Once again, I don't have dairy intolerance, but for the sake of adventure and variety, thought I'd ask if anyone has any info on this.

Much appreciated! :flowerforyou:

i drink whatever milk on the fridge.... so long i fit the macros on my daily intake.... needless to say i only drink it with my coffee, i'd rather save my macros for a solid meal... but thats me...

Timelordlady85

I'm lactose intolerant so I drink Vanilla almond milk I think it tastes pretty good to me and only 90 calories a cup.

mzbek24

I have unsweetened Almond milk most of the time if I need to use milk, to avoid the gastric upsets I get after dairy.
It is also nice that its lower cal than most light dairy milks around, but there are just some times where it doesn't taste as good, eg. in a nice cup of English breakfast tea. Watery tasting white tea is a bit feral.

I'm planning to try rice milk to see if I like it better, and I saw at the supermarket there's also Oat milk and I think I saw Oat and Quinoa milk.

bpdsunnygyal

Rice/coconut milk from Provamel. Tastes better than same one from coconut dream but the second one is bit cheaper

_MG_

ValGogo

Unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk. That's it. I cannot abide soy milk.

My next experiment is making almond milk from scratch.

ValGogo

I drink Soy Silk. The "very vanilla" is my favorite and it comes in a purple and white box. Occasionally I get almond milk, but only for usage with certain cereals. Soy Silk has way more protein and vitamins and stuff than animal milk.

What's the consistency/texture of soy milk? Don't think i've ever had it. Is it grainy at all? You know that texture you get when you mix small particles of stuff with water to get a "milk product" - like rice milk? I don't like that graininess. It would be ok if I didn't drink it straight, I guess. Or if I drank the flavored variety.

To me, soy milk has a powdery aftertaste that is just unpleasant.

mzbek24

Is soy bad for you? I think I recall reading something about cancer once o.O

Ramen237

Ramen237

I use Alpro unsweetened in my drinks (I like the taste) but dairy in my porridge. I tried cheaper soy milks but it looked curdled like sperm in a hot bath in my tea and coffee :blushing:

I recently tried Almond milk and it was just too watery, tolerable in tea, vile in coffee and worse in porridge - horses for courses I guess!

That's a nice mental imagine....:laugh:

I almost always add milk to my tea, and it has to be real milk - anything else doesn't taste nearly as good to me... Chamomile tea with milk is yummy.

Ramen237

Thank you, everyone! I appreciate your comments, and will go through them again to write down new things I can try

Opinions vary from person to person, but now I have a bit more information to explore my options.

_John_

Coconut milk is my favorite if I have to forego real milk.

ThinLizzie0802

Almond milk- fewer calories per serving than skim milk. Because of how much skim milk my roommate drinks, we were going through gallons a week when I was using for shakes too. I also have started to develop the same allergy to dairy that my mother has. I don't like soy milk- the taste, the texture, and because I'm soy sensitive.

I prefer Simple Truth Plain or Silk Unsweetened

bcattoes

I drink mostly soy milk, Silk brand, usually 1/3 cup chocolate mixed w/ 2/3 cup unsweetened (the chocolate is just too chocolatey for my taste). But my husband prefers almond milk so we always have that in the house and I sometimes drink it.

I rarely eat cereal but on the rare occasion where I do, I use unsweetened soy milk.

bcattoes

Is soy bad for you? I think I recall reading something about cancer once o.O

You are unlikely to find any reputable science or medical resource saying soy is bad, but the internet abounds with non-science based nonsense on the ills of soy.

Strokingdiction

Alternatives to cow's milk:

1. Human milk
2. Goat milk
3. Dog milk
4. Cat milk
5. Mouse milk
6. Basically any mammal since they are known, even defined, by their ability to produce milk and consume it in all its delicious glory. Though developing a method to procure said lactate and getting in sufficient quantities to be useful is completely up to you.

If you don't want to take it from another animal, you can get a breast pump and start using it. Eventually, even without getting or ever having been pregnant, your body will produce the hormones to cause lactation. You can drink your own milk. It will take months of constant breast stimulation but it will happen. Men can even do it though they have to get some hormone injections first and regularly but if you're really interested in an alternative to cow's milk then this is small price to pay.

seltzermint555

In my house, we switch back and forth between unsweetened original almond milk and 1% and 2% dairy milk. My husband and I are both fine with 1% but the store nearest our home has convenient little containers of 2% for cheap so we wind up with that a lot. We use almond and dairy milk pretty interchangeably. We don't just DRINK much of either but we use it in our morning coffee, in cooking and sometimes baking. We don't do a whole lot of smoothies, maybe twice a month for a snack/dessert we'll blend fruit, milk and/or PB so either one works for that too.

I also like the sweetened vanilla almond milk. It's higher cals/sugar but nice once in awhile, even though it's not quite as versatile as the original unsweetened since I wouldn't use it in cooking savory things.

For us coconut milk is strictly for recipes, we get the thick kind from the Asian market.

I think soy milk is great in lattes and things like that but we just don't buy it - I'm not sure why. My husband likes a few brands and can't stand others, but I don't have any real opinion on that since most of my experiences with soy milk have been at coffeeshops. My ex used to buy Silk chocolate or vanilla and drink it but I thought it was nasty...then again that was years ago when my diet was much different than it is now.

I have not tried goat milk or rice milk to my knowledge.