Dairy Alternatives

I stopped drinking cow's milk because my husband didn't snore so much when he avoided dairy and it was so much easier if we drank the same milk and creamers.  When I made that decision I had no idea that I was embarking on an alternative milk  fiesta….

As with non-meat substitutes and non-wheat/gluten substitutes, there is not just one replacement.  There is a myriad of choices and an explosion of nut milks that come in a variety of calories and flavors; unsweetened, regular (sweetened) and vanilla.  There are also shelf stable and refrigerated versions of both.  Generally the refrigerated versions taste better than the shelf stable one, but having a few shelf stable ones handy is really nice...I hate running out of milk!

So far I have not found a single milk replacement that I would use for everything, some are better than others for different uses...and to be honest I'm relishing the variety!

Soy Milk 

This has a high protein content. The unsweetened version was my husband’s milk of choice when he was on a low carbohydrate diet.  This also seems to be the non-dairy standard in coffee shops and restaurants. Personally I hate soy milk, I can’t get used to the taste and it gives me gas.

Rice Milk

This milk has been a secondary choice to soy for quite a while, however it is a very watery milk and does not cream coffee very well.  It is also naturally sweet and not appropriate for cooking savory sauces.  It works fantastic in hot cocoa and oatmeal…and you don’t need to add any additional sweeteners. Rice milk sugars do not contain fructose, so this is a good milk to use when you want to use a natural sweetener.

Almond Milk

Now we’re talking!  In the last year or so I have seen more and more almond milk varieties on the shelves; it's not just in health food stores. I just love this in coffee or to make a vegan eggnog!  There is an unsweetened Vanilla version that has less than half the calories of skim milk..it is great with your morning granola or cereal.

Hemp Milk

Good for sauces and batters.
A friend used Hemp milk to make Yorkshire pudding and we couldn't tell the difference.

Coconut Milk

I'm not talking about canned coconut milk, I mean the refrigerated version in cartons. It tasted greate in breakfast granola.  I'm starting to use this more in vegan cheese sauces or as a replacement for cow's milk in baking.The So Delicious unsweetened version has 1 carbohydrate!!!!  I haven't used it to make ice cream (yet!), but there are some fantastic coconut ice creams that taste so good I cannot tell they are non-dairy! 

Cashew Milk

I've never seen commercial cashew milk, but it's the type I make when we run out of something to pour over cereals or add to morning coffee. You can easily make cashew milk if you have a blender; 1 cup cashews plus 4 cups of water, dash of salt, dribble of honey or stevia,  turn on the blender for a minute or two and voila la!  No need to sieve it, you can drink it right out of the blender...though I would recommend chilling it first and using a glass :-)

I get annoyed when people say that I could be calcium deficient if I don't drink cow's milk.  That is totally untrue!  In terms of equivalent serving sizes, there is more calcium in kale than cow's milk! A handful of almonds contains more calcium....and all the commercial non-dairy milks I have seen have been fortified with calcium.  What you should be comparing if the protein and sugar content - many non-dairy milks have less sugar, less fat and more protein!

Since becoming dairy-free I have seen a lot of articles about the bad effects of cow's milk, the most recent is this one http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Milk-Controversy---Is-Cows-Milk-Good-For-Us?&id=6179781  It wasn't the reason I changed, but I do think it is interesting to see the emerging research.