Milk alternatives... that arn't too expensive.

[K-ice]

So what is your favorite milk alternative and what do you use it for?

We are thinking of drinking less milk but I priced out some Almond Milk and it was was about twice as expensive per liter compared to cow's milk. So far this was at one store without a lot of selection, so Costco maybe has better prices but I am not buying a case until I know I like it.

We really only use it for morning lattes and cereal. Maybe a bit in cooking.

Just looking for some more options. Thanks

[Tass]

I know soy milk is far less energy-intensive to make than almond milk, but I can't say I know the price comparison off the top of my head. Rice milk may also be worth looking into. Almonds require tons of water to produce - seems intuitive that soy or rice would be cheaper.

[Zikoris]

I've only ever really drank soy milk regularly, because I went vegan way waaaaay before it was cool, and 20 years that was the only kind on milk alternative that they had in (some) grocery stores. Some health food stores carried almond milk, but it was rare and expensive. So that's what I drank an got used to. We're paying $9.89 for a case of three of the larger cartons, which lasts quite awhile. I mostly just have it in my cereal, and sometimes with baked goods or pastry-based meals like pot pie or pasties. I also use it to make muffins.

[snogirl]

I buy the Costco almond milk case for my smoothies. I like it.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

[Ecky]

My problem with most milk alternatives is that they're full of sugar. It's hard sometimes to find one that's unsweetened.

I usually buy Trader Joe's unsweetened soy milk. Goes great in coffee and cereal, and is around $2.50 for a half gallon. Silk, to me, has a weird taste.

[RayO]

When switching from cow’s milk I had the same experience as an above poster finding that many alternative milks are full of sugar. I like Ripple unsweetened pea milk. It is healthy for you and can be found at Jewel, Target and Whole Foods in the refrigerated section for about $4.

[Freedomin5]

It’s super super easy to make your own soy milk, as long as you have a good blender. You just need a cup of dried soy beans that have been soaked overnight and a pot of water. Boil, blend, and strain. The Okara (ground up soy bean) makes a good base for veggie burgers and veggie meat balls. It is quite time-consuming, but the resulting product is much more delicious than the store bought product, except for maybe the fresh soy milk that you can find at the local Asian grocery store.

[FLBiker]

We do supermarket brand unsweetened almondmilk for ~$2 per half gallon.  We used to do soy, but we read something about risks associated with consuming too much processed soy (tbh, I don't remember the details).  I don't pay too much attention, though, as it's mainly DW and DD who drink it.  I use it in cereal occasionally.

[Barbaebigode]

Someone gave my mother a soy milk maker. It's a glorified blender that also cooks (soaked) soy beans. You could make your own with a pot, a stick blender and a strainer. It's easy and super cheap. There are also recipes for oat milk that are very similar to the soy ones.

[Kl285528]

Someone posted an almond milk recipe here - https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/welcome-to-the-forum/shopping-at-aldi's/550/
on page 12, talking about buying almond flour and making your own - haven't tried it yet, but I'm hopeful!

[diffusate]

I've been drinking non-dairy milk for 20 years. At this point I'm totally sold on homemade hemp milk - a bit more expensive than other raw ingredients, but has the major benefit that it does not need to be strained. Just blend with some water and you're good to go. Extremely healthy with complete protein and healthy fats. I do about 80 grams of hemp seeds with a liter

[Rosy]

Actually, goat milk is a great alternative if you have access to it. I was born with a cow milk allergy so the doctor suggested goat milk.
My family actually traded for a goat (I'm old and we were living outside the city limits at the time:)

I never drank milk growing up and still don't, however, when I was pregnant I lived on yoghurt and ice cream and my son drinks milk by the bucket:)
But, I use a little half-and-half or vanilla ice cream in my coffee. However, I've noticed that overall I feel better when I don't use either one, but I am having a hard time going back to black coffee - wish I'd never started with the ice cream, tastes good, but is giving me grief.

Soy milk does not agree with me either and I don't like the taste of Almond milk, but I do use buttermilk in baking or substitute the milk in baking recipes with applesauce (works great).

The only one I found with no real effects is coconut milk - I like the taste and I can tolerate it, just using with my coffee only. I only discovered that a few years ago, but I have to go out of my way to buy it.
Thanks for reminding me, I may look into goat milk and coconut milk again, obviously the ole milk allergy is still rearing its ugly head.

[TrMama]

One of my kids is dairy intolerant so we've tried lots of these milk alternatives. I prefer to use soy milk, because it's nutritionally more similar to cows milk than the other non-dairy milks. I also like that it's cheaper than the other alternatives.

I've tried making my own almond milk. I don't have a super expensive blender so the results weren't great. It also wasn't any cheaper than just buying ready made almond milk.

However, if you don't want to drink milk you can just drop it without replacing it with anything. I've never really liked milk and only buy it for my kids as a source of protein and fat containing calories that I don't have to cook. I do still eat cheese and butter.

[ysette9]

We’ve tried just about every milk alternative under the sun. Mostly we just don’t use much of the stuff. The exceptions are baking and cereal. My kiddos occasionally drink 1/8 cup or so but aren’t that into it (I’ll blame the half of them that is Asian).

My absolutely hands-down favorite is Elmhurt Milked cashew milk. It is not cheap at all, but they manage to somehow incorporate all of the protein and fat in a way that makes a creamy milk with no emulsifiers. That is the only product I enjoy just drinking a plain like I drank cow’s milk as a kid. Their hazelnut milk is also spectacular in hot chocolate.

A distant second is trader joe’s coconut milk beverage. It comes in unsweetened. I feel like the natural fat in coconut makes for a better mouthfeel.

I find almond milk to too thin. Same with rice milk and oat milk. Soy milk can be quite good but usually makes me gassy. (TMI ;))

[neophyte]

It's super easy to make your own oat milk.  Soak. Blend. Strain.  Turns out I only like real milk though.

[ysette9]

It's super easy to make your own oat milk.  Soak. Blend. Strain.  Turns out I only like real milk though.

It is interesting to me how tastes change with time. I’ve been putting a little non-dairy plain coffee creamer in my tea now for a while when I had to stop even lactose-free half and half. I used a little real half and half last weekend when there was nothing else. It had been so long that I found myself a bit creeped out by the “cow milk!” flavor my tea now had.

[ketchup]

My GF likes almond milk, but she goes through about half a gallon per month, so the cost is pretty negligible.  I think it's $3 for half a gallon.

[TrMama]

I've been drinking non-dairy milk for 20 years. At this point I'm totally sold on homemade hemp milk - a bit more expensive than other raw ingredients, but has the major benefit that it does not need to be strained. Just blend with some water and you're good to go. Extremely healthy with complete protein and healthy fats. I do about 80 grams of hemp seeds with a liter

This is interesting and sounds worth exploring.  I've never shopped for hemp seeds.  Are they readily available at most grocery stores?

I've seen them at Superstore and Bulk Barn, so you shouldn't have a problem finding them here.

[GuitarStv]

What's your goal in drinking less milk?  Is there a particular reason you're cutting it out of your diet?

[Goldielocks]

I've been drinking non-dairy milk for 20 years. At this point I'm totally sold on homemade hemp milk - a bit more expensive than other raw ingredients, but has the major benefit that it does not need to be strained. Just blend with some water and you're good to go. Extremely healthy with complete protein and healthy fats. I do about 80 grams of hemp seeds with a liter

This is interesting and sounds worth exploring.  I've never shopped for hemp seeds.  Are they readily available at most grocery stores?

I have personally switched to eating vegan and I find the benefit of the store purchased varieties is the fact they supplement vitamins (B12 specifically) so I know my kids are getting enough...they are are still eating animal products maybe for 50% of their diet.  I also give them 1 supplement of B12 a week.

Try Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts.   Manitoba is NA largest producer, and this company in particular has a an awesome team.   I met them just at the time that they got their first Costco contract and were trying to rapidly scale up production.   Definitely a company worth supporting.

I don't know what the retail store prices are, but they are in Costco and a few of the major chains around here.  Likely amazon pricing is a little bit more costly than in the store.   A bag still tastes good a year after I bought it, but I don't think you can rely on a longer shelf life than that.

https://www.amazon.ca/Manitoba-Harvest-Hearts-Shelled-Natural/dp/B00DTGBKBA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542257426&sr=8-3&keywords=manitoba+hemp+hearts

[Ecky]

I too like the taste of hemp milk, but the cost, time to produce it, and the relatively worse nutritional balance than soy are why I don't regularly use it.

[YoungGranny]

I make my own almond milk. I typically get my almonds for ~4.50 a pound at Sam's Club. I just soak the almonds overnight, blend with water, and am good to go. I can usually get about 1.5 gallons out of a pound so it costs me $1.50 a half gallon. At my grocery store the cheapest I ever see it is $2 a half gallon so minor savings but it tastes so much better and I can control the ingredients.

[nessness]

The price difference between soy, almond, and coconut milk is negligible where I usually shop. I prefer unsweetened almond milk.

If you have Grocery Outlet where you live, they usually have good prices on milk alternatives, and sometimes "fancy" kinds like flax or hemp milk.

[FIRE@50]

We use Trader Joes almond milk and use it for anything that we used cow milk for in the past.

[JoJo]

I get ridiculed for this, but I put a little water on my breakfast cereal  (I'm not one that has a little cereal with my milk, but instead a little milk with my cereal).  Skim milk is so close to water it's not much of a stretch.  It's free and it doesn't go bad.

[genesismachine]

Almond milk is my main go-to. I really like Silk. Where I'm at, a half gallon is ~$2.50, which is in line with cow's milk for price. You can get unsweetened, sweetened, chocolate, etc... it's all the same price. One nice thing is that plant milks last forever in the fridge, so it'll pretty much never go bad before you finish it.

If you want something nutritionally equivalent/better than cow's milk, they started selling fortified soy milk with added protein+vitamins. I'm not sure on the price because I don't buy it, but I think it's only a little more than regular Silk.

There's hardly any almonds in almond milk, so the environmental impact from that/water consumption is negligible. Plus, no matter how you cut it, it is way better than cow's milk.

[Sailor Sam]

So what is your favorite milk alternative and what do you use it for?

I use Silk brand almond & coconut milk. Mostly for cooking, occasionally for cereal, and never for drinking straight. I pour a 2 Liter carton into 500mL jars, and freeze 3 of them.

Just curious, in a strictly just curious way; are you also shifting away from milk products, like cheese and butter? Because I have vegan cheese recommendations up the wazoo, and out the ass.

[Sailor Sam]

Just curious, in a strictly just curious way; are you also shifting away from milk products, like cheese and butter? Because I have vegan cheese recommendations up the wazoo, and out the ass.

Not sure about the OP but I am.  Have you found a good cheese sauce that's not based on cashews?  Don't get me wrong they are good but going through $20 containers of raw cashews gets pricey.

There are a few recipes using riced potatoes as the base matrix of the 'cheese', some carrots for the color, and nutritional yeast for the flavor. Just google 'vegan cheese no cashews', and you'll find some things to explore.

I've also found that Follow Your Heart shreds melt somewhat, and Daiya shreds melt better. However, melting either of them is not the same as melting real cheese. You have to relearn the technique. Plus, a container of shreds probably price out the same as using cashews.

All that being said, I just use cashews when I want cheese sauce. The cost doesn't matter overly, because the moments of cheese sauce indulgence is rare.

Final note, I've found that nooch sprinkled over <item> gives a good cheese flavour. You're still missing the creamy element of cheese sauce, so the technique obviously won't work for every occasion, but I've found it pretty versatile.

[Sailor Sam]

There are a few recipes using riced potatoes as the base matrix of the 'cheese', some carrots for the color, and nutritional yeast for the flavor. Just google 'vegan cheese no cashews', and you'll find some things to explore.

I've also found that Follow Your Heart shreds melt somewhat, and Daiya shreds melt better. However, melting either of them is not the same as melting real cheese. You have to relearn the technique. Plus, a container of shreds probably price out the same as using cashews.

All that being said, I just use cashews when I want cheese sauce. The cost doesn't matter overly, because the moments of cheese sauce indulgence is rare.

Final note, I've found that nooch sprinkled over <item> gives a good cheese flavour. You're still missing the creamy element of cheese sauce, so the technique obviously won't work for every occasion, but I've found it pretty versatile.

It sounds like I've had similar experiences.  It's hard to replace that artery clogging but tasty fat that's in cheese. 

I love nutritional yeast and use it regularly dry on top of things and it's good.  I'll probably just do what you are doing and use cashews when I'm making pizza or something where I want the best possible flavour.

Have you seen the boxed and frozen Daiya brand stuff that's suddenly popping up all over? I've tried a couple versions of the pizza, and its decent. Maybe not as good as artisinally hand crafted pizza oven pies, but it's frozen pizza I can eat. I glory in the convenient mediocrity!

And yes, cheese is deeply tasty. I love cheese! Cheese simply does not love me back, and tries to eject from whatever end is closest. It's ugly.

[Ecky]

Just curious, in a strictly just curious way; are you also shifting away from milk products, like cheese and butter? Because I have vegan cheese recommendations up the wazoo, and out the ass.

Not sure about the OP but I am.  Have you found a good cheese sauce that's not based on cashews?  Don't get me wrong they are good but going through $20 containers of raw cashews gets pricey.

I have an amazing recipe I'll share when I get home, if I can remember to. Check out Skye Michael Conroy's Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook, there are recipes for over a hundred different kinds of cheese there and they're all wonderful.

[noplaceliketheroad]

I use a Soyabella machine to make my own mylks. It is awesome and so much easier than blending/straining, and much healthier than store bought. I switch it up between almond, coconut, peanut, cashew, pistachio, or a combo. Peanut might be my favorite mylk, I buy 5 lb bags of raw shelled, then roast them myself first. Sometimes I'll add a few dates or maple syrup or vanilla or maca powder in the soyabella.

If I'm feeling really ambitious, I save the used pulp to make cookies.

Only problem is the mylk only lasts about 3 days before it goes bad. Not that it ever lasts that long in my house.

I'm currently traveling for work for the next 5+ months, and store bought mylks taste awful now...

[ElleFiji]

The daiya pizzas and I have a special relationship based on mutual trust and understanding.

There are a few brands that make fancy vegan cheese like blue cheese and old cheddar. It is not at all affordable and last passed my lips in May ( I miss you shreez cheddar).  Try to taste the fancy ones at a vegetarian food festival or something, so you know which ones to buy for a festive occasion.

[Sailor Sam]

Oh, spitfire! I just today saw daiya came out with an new product - cheese sauce. Its next to the mac & cheese, at least at my native grocery store.

You but your cute butts I snatched that bastard up. Seven bucks of pure fucking awesome. The box shows the sauce being put on broccoli, but I ducked it from the packet like a deeply gruntled infant at the teat. Lonf live the cheeze!

[ElleFiji]

Oh, spitfire! I just today saw daiya came out with an new product - cheese sauce. Its next to the mac & cheese, at least at my native grocery store.

You but your cute butts I snatched that bastard up. Seven bucks of pure fucking awesome. The box shows the sauce being put on broccoli, but I ducked it from the packet like a deeply gruntled infant at the teat. Lonf live the cheeze!

Does it taste like delicious salty cheese whiz? I bet it's good on spoons. Or potatoes. I will search a full price grocery store