We have all been raised on cow’s milk, except for a small percentage of us who learned that we had a food sensitivity or allergy to dairy products as an infant. There is a lot of information now that tells us that we are impairing our health when we consume cow’s milk that has been processed. So what are the healthy alternatives to cow’s milk?

The first and most important thing to know is that you must pay attention to the brand to ensure that you maintain the quality of the food product when choosing alternatives to cow’s milk.

My favorite is coconut milk. Coconut water is fine as a light milk. Coconut milk is much more like cow’s milk in that it has a comparable texture and consistency, smoothness, and the taste is pleasant. You can cook with coconut milk and you can use it in many recipes as a substitute for any other type of milk. Coconut milk is great for your skin, your endocrine system, and for fatty metabolism. It’s exceedingly healthy and it tastes great!

Rice milk is another choice that is thinner, yet neutral for so many people that it will meet with the approval of mother and doctor. Rice milk can be used to replace anything that calls for cow’s milk. It’s excellent in cereal, with oatmeal, in Smoothies, in sauces, in any recipe that requires a white liquid… There are very few individuals who have an allergy to brown rice, so rice milk makes perfect sense for infants, children, and adults.

Soy milk is a good solution, especially now that several companies are making it in gallon containers that can easily be refrigerated and stored. Soy milk used to sour very quickly when we made it from scratch, so this is a plus for people on the go who expect soy milk to come in a form that compares to cow’s milk.

Nut milks are wonderful and make a very healthy alternative to cow’s milk. Cashew milk is my personal favorite. Almond milk is incredible. You can make your own or purchase almond milk in the Whole Foods Markets.

Seed milks are great and supply EFAs in addition to other nutrients. You are going to need to make your own from fresh organic seeds. They will have a different texture and consistency than what you are used to, yet they will suffice as substitutes for the usual white liquid for the most part, especially when you desire the extra flavor they impart to anything you combine them with in a recipe.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 13th, 2010 at 4:00 pm and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.