Do you dislike drinking store milk, are you worried that it contains the antibiotics that fed the cow, you don’t have the opportunity to buy farm products, or are you just allergic to lactose? Then milk replacers are your way out!
But, as is the case with any food, alternatives to milk are of high quality and low quality.
Good alternatives to milk
1. Homemade almond milk. It has already gained popularity among those who are fighting for a healthy lifestyle. Of course. Almond milk is also available in stores, but the best option is to make it yourself, at home. No store-bought product will be as organic, natural and fresh as what you make yourself.
Almond milk is made very easily. It is enough just to soak almonds for 8 hours in clean drinking water, and then grind it all in a blender. To make the milk even tastier and healthier, you can add something to your taste – for example, cinnamon or honey.
By the way, almond milk, among other benefits, has a very high absorption by the body.
2. Good quality coconut milk. It appeared on store shelves quite recently, but has already managed to fall in love with many gourmets and lovers of proper nutrition. Tasty, healthy and does not require additional processing, coconut milk is universal – you can cook with it both European and Asian delicacies, as well as drink it as an independent drink. If you are not allergic to coconuts, then this milk is undoubtedly your option.
If small jars of coconut milk seem expensive to you, you can buy coconut milk powder. It’s both cheaper and leaves you more creative. Coconut milk powder can be used as a thickener for sauces and doughs and is much healthier than regular milk powder.
3. Flaxseed milk. The alternative is not very common, but very, very useful. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to make flaxseed milk yourself, and finding it in stores, even in specialized ones, is sometimes even more difficult. But you can always order flaxseed milk powder online, which will also be rich in the essential Omega-3 substance, and at the same time will take up little space in your kitchen.
4. Homemade oat milk. If you can’t get your child to eat oatmeal for breakfast, simply cover their favorite cereal with oat milk. It contains all those nutrients that are found in oatmeal, it is well absorbed and quite pleasant to the taste, moreover, it has a minimum of calories.
Oat milk contains fiber, B vitamins and itself is an antioxidant. So it is useful to use it not only for children, but also for adults who care about their health.
Preparing oat milk is very simple, like almond milk – you just need to pour the flakes with clean drinking water for 10 hours, and then simply strain the resulting mass.
Not the best alternatives to milk
Purchased almond milk. Often, almond milk purchased from a nearby supermarket contains only 25% real almonds. In addition, it is prepared, in most cases, not in the best way – from non-sprouted, non-soaked powder from nuts, with thickeners, preservatives and flavor enhancers.
If you decide to buy almond milk, we advise you to carefully read the composition and try to purchase a product marked “organic”.
Low quality coconut milk. In addition to containing sweeteners, flavors, thickeners and flavor enhancers, low-quality coconut milk is sold in non-recyclable, environmentally friendly packaging. In addition, low quality coconut milk tastes much worse than natural milk. Therefore, we advise you not to be greedy and buy only a quality product. Here, the simpler the better principle does not work and can be harmful to your health (low quality coconut milk contains many allergens).
Purchased rice milk. It is often made from by-products and contains thickeners, flavor enhancers and flavorings. In addition, it may contain far from the most useful oils, and even impurities of heavy metals, if the raw materials for milk production were obtained from China.
Cashew milk also falls into the category of not the best alternatives to cow. It is made from nut powder and a large number of oils and thickeners are added to the composition.
But most the worst analogue of cow’s milk – soy milk… Non-organic soy milk is often on the market and it is very difficult to monitor its quality. And even if you are lucky and you have found natural soy milk, it is still far from the best solution. Soy milk is difficult for the body to digest, contains very few nutrients and a lot of thickeners.