No dairy, no soy- what milk tastes good?

[Just Another Jen]

Our 3 year old son has allergies- a lot of them. As a family we've adapted so I've not become a short order cook. He's allergic to wheat,dairy, apples, strawberries, grapes, pretty much all citrus. He has a "leaky gut" and just cannot digest them. So we now drink soy milk or did for the last 18 months. Turns out about that time DH started having digestive problems- big ones that no Dr could figure out. Until now- he stopped all soy- and he's better.

Now my problem is that although we like the taste of Rice Milk- it is so thin. It reminds me of water. My youngest actually asked me if I put water in his cereal last week!

So- is almond milk thicker? What about that potato milk powder I've seen?

 

Any ideas?

[Blessedfamily]

Dd1 had allergies and used rice milk then almond(she couldn't have soy and we found some rice milks had soy in them).

Dd2 was bf and Dr. thought she had allergies so I restricted my diet to rice products (including rice milk). Turns out she didn't have any allergies but developed a rice one from all the rice products we both ate.

 

That's my long winded way of saying I have walked down the path you're on. The rice milk was watery but I grew to like the taste. The almond milk that we used was darker but I never tasted it. DD1 didn't complain though because she was used to alternative milks. I think the hardest part is going from cow milk to alternatives.

 

HOWEVER, my kids had these situations very early. A three year old will be pickier, I think.

[Nestof3]

I like rice milk and almond milk. Perhaps you could mix the two.

 

Unsweetened chocolate almond milk is perfect for chocolate milkshakes -- blend 1 cup of it with a frozen banana. Yummy

[JFSinIL]

Back when my son with autism was on special diets we discovered how tasty CHOCOLATE rice milk can be!!!

[hsmamainva]

We drink rice milk here....but not the Rice Dream brand, if you have any potential gluten issues because the Rice Dream brand does contain gluten.

 

But my kids love it! The vanilla is the best..and the chocolate is good too!

[Just Another Jen]

Thanks for all your help. Maybe we'll have chocolate rice milk shakes later!

[Ellie]

Both dds are lactose intolerant. We didn't do any sort of milk replacement; we just ate food that didn't requre it. We hadn't really used milk as a beverage before I discovered dds' problems, either, so dds didn't miss it. (Milk cooked in something didn't seem to bother them.) No soy, no rice milk, nothing. We had hot cereals for breakfast, with pure maple syrup or molasses and a lactose-free margarine, or eggs, pancakes or french toast. Water or iced tea with meals. Dds were happy :-)

[kalanamak]

Dd1 had allergies and used rice milk then almond(.

 

FYI, the vanilla almond is perfect in baking sweets...like quick breads. I use the regular almond for mashed potatoes.

[Doran]

I have one daughter who must avoid dairy, but she does not like the taste of milk alternatives in plain form. So, she never drinks a glass of milk or eats a bowl of cereal anymore (so sad!). But, we use both rice and nut milks for baking, in smoothies, and for oatmeal, and both are fine. But, the almond milk is thicker and more opaque, so there's less of that watery image of rice milk.

 

A friend of mine, with no really special equipment, has been making her own nut milk. She gave me some Brazil nut milk (sweetened w/ a little agave nectar), and it was delicious. She simply blends the nuts with water, in a blender, until the nuts are pureed. Then she strains through a cheese cloth. She keeps the nutmeats for use in baked or raw goodies. What a win-win!

[Camy-7 boybarians 1 lady]

Rice milk, nut milks, or Dairy Free potato-based milk powder may be appealing choices for your situation.

[cillakat]

We use unsweetened Almond Breeze for a milk sub. I prefer it b/c is has no added sugar and it's important to me that they not be drinking empty calories.

 

Really they drink water most of the time though.....the unsweetened almond breeze is for oatmeal or cereal or the occasional drink. It works well in baking, making rice pudding, mashed potato etc.

 

I avoid the potato milk b/c it's dramatically higher in carbs with no additional benefits. I'd rather them get their carb cals from good foods like quinoa, millet, sweet potato, winter squash....tons of fruit, etc

 

Chocolate almond breeze is a huge treat once in a while.

 

We also make almond milk quite frequently....1 c blanched almonds to 4c water. blend high speed for two min, strain through *cloth*. return to blender, turn on blender, add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum slowly, while blending, to thicken.

 

:)

k

[Jean in Newcastle]

Another vote for almond milk. I use it in all my cooking (I don't find that it makes my cream sauce taste "almondy" or anything). It is great in cereal.

[HollyDay]

We use goats milk, almond, soy, or rice

[Mom0012]

We like darifree, which is probably the potato milk you are referring to. I think it is creamier than rice milk and it is better for cooking things like eggs and french toast with.

 

Lisa

[TrixieB]

I recently had to do the no dairy/soy thing. Here are the milks I like so far:

 

For cereal (both cold and hot): Pacific Foods hazelnut milk

For drinking: Chocolate Almond Breeze -- particularly tasty when heated to make cocoa!

 

I have a box of chocolate hemp milk in the pantry but haven't gotten around to trying it yet.

 

I don't care for rice milk, not even the chocolate variety.

[Needleroozer]

In addition to the recommendations you have received so far, I would suggest coconut milk. For cooking, it is wonderful, especially for baked goods. For an interesting drinking milk, I sometimes make a blend of coconut, rice, almond, and oat milks. I mix it in a huge jar, and keep it in the fridge. It is good for baking, too, but tastes wonderful for drinking, cereal, etc. I often add cinnamon, vanilla, and a bit of sweetener to make orchatta. This is wonderful with spicier meals.

[Lisa at Home]

It is also by far the most expensive.:D

 

If you haven't yet tried it, I would suggest trying it at least once. After that, if you just really love it, maybe you could mix it with the almod or rice milks to make them more creamy to mkae it last longer.

 

After the hemp milk, my daughter prefers unsweetened almond milk, but my son prefers rice milk.

 

My kids go through so much of these things that I just purchase theirs, but I make fresh almond milk for myself when I have some (on the rare occasion).

 

~Lisa

[Daisy]

We like unsweetened almond milk and coconut milk.

[Tutor]

The little boy I babysit can't have dairy, so his mom has been trying different alternatives and recently tried hemp milk. He really liked the vanilla. (I didn't try any, so I can't tell you how it tasted, but the consistency seemed close to that of rice milk.)

[Needleroozer]

It is also by far the most expensive.:D

 

If you haven't yet tried it, I would suggest trying it at least once. After that, if you just really love it, maybe you could mix it with the almod or rice milks to make them more creamy to mkae it last longer.

 

After the hemp milk, my daughter prefers unsweetened almond milk, but my son prefers rice milk.

 

My kids go through so much of these things that I just purchase theirs, but I make fresh almond milk for myself when I have some (on the rare occasion).

 

~Lisa

 

Where do you buy this? I haven't seen it at any of my local healthy stores.

[LisaNY]

Another vote for almond milk. I use it in all my cooking (I don't find that it makes my cream sauce taste "almondy" or anything). It is great in cereal.

 

Yes! I use Blue Diamond Almond Breeze unsweetened natural. As a matter of fact, I ran out of it a few weeks ago, and had to get 1% milk. I *much* prefer almond milk in my cereal.

[Susan in TN]

We use goat's milk (not sure if that's a no-no for dairy free, but it works for us), rice milk, and coconut milk.

[Lisa at Home]

But my Kroger grocery store carries it in their health food section, and all the whole food stores here carry it.

 

Aren't you on the west coast?

 

I thought only east coasters south of the Mason Dixon Line couldn't find things!:D

 

~Lisa

[Haiku]

We are vegan and my daughter is allergic to soy. We drink almond milk.

 

Almond Breeze has soy in it. So does the regular brand of Pacific almond milk, but the organic Pacific almond milk is soy-free. Almond Dream is also soy-free and it is B-12 fortified, but it tastes horrible.

 

Tara

[Needleroozer]

But my Kroger grocery store carries it in their health food section, and all the whole food stores here carry it.

 

Aren't you on the west coast?

 

I thought only east coasters south of the Mason Dixon Line couldn't find things!:D

 

~Lisa

 

I am sure I will be able to find it, but I hadn't heard of it till yesterday!:D

Thanks!