Alternative Milks 101

As I stated in an earlier post that talked about dairy, I am a supporter and fan of alternative milks. But I do have a few points to address.

First, there are many types of alternative milks, some of the most common being soy, rice, oatmeal, hemp, quinoa, and hazelnut. The least healthy and most common of these alternative milks is, hands down, our cherished soy. In general, you have to be cautious of the amount of soy products you consume because soy is very popular and has, thus, been genetically modified to increase its resistance and usually is produced with lots of pesticides to increase its yield.

However, cow’s milk and other cow’s milk products are super full of antibiotics (and puss…) and, alongside with eggs, are one of the foods with the highest number of harmful substances. Please try to buy organic eggs and cow’s milk products. Always.

Due to the harmful added ingredients in cow’s milk and soy products, I try to stay away from both (with the exception of greek yogurt, but that’s because its integral to my diet, and I buy it organic). Regardless, these cautions still leave the rest of the alternative milk rainbow from which to choose!

My only general caution about the other milks comes from the ingredients list. Many vanilla, chocolate, and even plain flavored alternative milks contain a LOT of added sugar. So just be sure to check what order it appears on the ingredients list (and hopefully doesn’t appear :P), and all will be well. 🙂

As far as my personal favorite, I am a huge fan of rice milk! This feeling may go back to my positive experiences of discovering the wonderful product during one of my first parent-free travels during the start of college with my best friend, but I like to think it’s because rice milk is God sent. (I’m sure it’s the latter.)

What about other alternative milk products? Like yogurt and ice cream? Well, they can be healthier than the original product, but a lot of the time they are full of added sugars to make up for the lack of fat, so just check for that. Also, I don’t like alternative yogurts. I just could never get used to them. (G even likes them…) I like the fresh, natural taste of greek yogurt (surprise, surprise). But, I do like alternative coconut milk ice creams. Coconut milk is naturally high in fats (good fats, as long as you don’t go crazy), and I’ve found a few good brands that carry coconut milk ice cream with a minimal amount of added cane sugar (just for a treat :)). Also, I use coconut milk a lot for baking in place or heavy cream. I’ve even heard coconut butter is quite a good butter substitute (never tried it).

Soon I’ll post a coconut milk brown rice pudding recipe that is TO DIE FOR. Did I mention it’s sweetened only with honey? NOM.

Happy Eating,

Ashley