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

I've never been a huge fan of milk in general but I like using almond milk for when I want cereal and such. One of the greatest benefits I've found about it is that it has a much longer shelf life than cow's milk, as in you can open it, leave it in your fridge and it will still be fine a couple of months later. That's great for me since I don't use it that often and it's more expensive.

I love dairy (although I don't really drink milk often and also prefer my coffee black). The rundown by britishbroccoli looks right to me. The reason some people prefer almond milk (and may even claim it's healthier) is because they are opposed to dairy or have lactose problems, and I guess some like to save the calories. For me, lowfat dairy is a fabulous source of protein for the calories, so that's not an issue (I like whole too, but don't prefer the taste in most of the dairy I eat, so more often go for the macros and calorie savings of the lower fat versions).

auntchellebelle wrote: »

I was thinking about switching to skim milk for cereal to save calories. I may give the soy milk a try. I don't like my milk to be watery

You probably won't like soy milk then. I find it watery. We drink almond milk around here. The husband swells like a balloon with soy milk. Not tofu or soy ice cream, just the milk.

I switched from skim milk to unsweetened almond milk. Half the calories. I don't drink it plain, but I do have it with chocolate syrup or cereal.

goddessofawesome wrote: »

I drink raw milk from a nearby farm. Hands down the best milk I have ever had. We always go around milking time and the last batch I got was from the cows that were currently being milked (it was still warm!). I make homemade yogurt with it and also just tried my hand at cottage cheese which came out really good. Next up: butter and I might try to make regular cheese this winter.

I want to do all this. I may try it next year. I buy from a farm, but don't actually go out there to get it, which you apparently have to do to get it raw.

I love unsweetened vanilla almond milk. I drink it plain and bake with it. Tastes good to me and low calorie.

lemurcat12 wrote: »

goddessofawesome wrote: »

I drink raw milk from a nearby farm. Hands down the best milk I have ever had. We always go around milking time and the last batch I got was from the cows that were currently being milked (it was still warm!). I make homemade yogurt with it and also just tried my hand at cottage cheese which came out really good. Next up: butter and I might try to make regular cheese this winter.

I want to do all this. I may try it next year. I buy from a farm, but don't actually go out there to get it, which you apparently have to do to get it raw.

It really is the best milk. There is a store in town that sells raw milk. For $10/gallon! I'm not sure I'd trust the freshness of it either. I get mine for $4/gallon and like I said, we go around milking time so I know it's fresh.

I like the Silk sweetened vanilla almond milk, but I love the dark chocolate almond milk by Silk!

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.

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.

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

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).

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.