My family is really going through the raw dairy these days. I got the idea for this post when we – yet again – ran out of any and all raw dairy a full 24 hours before the next farm delivery. I even added a whole extra gallon to our order at last pickup and here we are out once more!
Do I run to the store and pick up a half gallon of ultrapasteurized organic milk to tide us over?
No way! Organic Valley or Horizon organic milk from the store is horrible, health-robbing stuff. I would never buy it. It is way better to go without until you are able to get more milk fresh from the farm.
We haven’t always consumed as much as we are now. It’s just that my oldest is starting puberty and drinking about a quart a day – maybe even more?
My other two kids have all of a sudden gotten into drinking it as well. I’ve always had to pretty much force them to drink their milk in the past (you know the drill – drink your milk or no bike ride after dinner or whatever).
Now they are gulping it down and asking for more.
I know this seems like a lot, but at the moment, our family of five is easily going through 4 gallons of grassfed cow milk and 2 gallons of foraging goat milk.
Per week!
Oh, I almost forgot. Add a half gallon of raw milk yogurt to that.
And 1-3 quarts of raw cream (for raw ice cream of course). Who can live without ice cream? We do a lot of milkshakes at our house.
Plus one pound of raw butter.
That’s a lot of full fat dairy for a family of five. But then again, we don’t buy any sodas, boxed breakfast cereal, and other processed foods so even though the fresh dairy is expensive, it fits within the budget.
Just my opinion, but I would go from two cars to one or move to a smaller house if necessary to afford our raw dairy. You can’t put a price on health. It is more important than any possession.
“Health is the first wealth” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
In light of how much saturated fat my family is consuming, some of you might be thinking that we surely must be a family of large people.
As it turns out, none of us has a weight problem. It’s really true – eat your whole, unprocessed fats and don’t skimp! It really does help keep you trim!
How much raw dairy does your family consume? I want to know and I’m sure others would too!
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com
OK…..I know our family will be an oddity – but you asked.;-) We use 30 gallons per week for our family of 8. Every morning (except Sunday) when that 5 gallon pail of fresh milk comes in from the barn, I start a 3-4 gallon batch of cheese and usually some yogurt or kefir. We drink milk with most meals (usually 1.5 to 2 gallons per day) and have smoothies daily when it’s hot. Butter is usually made 3 times per week. One 3lb. block is for immediate use and 2 go in the freezer. I know this sounds like a lot of work (and it is!), but it’s seasonal and in a few months, I’ll be back to just 2 gallons per milking. Is obesity running rampant in my family? Nope! Good fats grow strong and healthy bodies!
We are also a family of 8, and when we used to get raw goat’s milk for free from friends in CA, we could easily go through a gallon per meal. Now that we’re living in New England and paying for our raw cow’s milk (still an amazing deal at less than $5/gal.) we’ve really had to restrain ourselves and I purchase 10 gallons every 2 weeks. We use it for drinking, homemade kefir and kefir cheese, viili yogurt, and whey for lactofermenting veggies. In the future, I’d like to arrange our grocery budget so that we’re able to purchase more milk. It’s definitely worth the investment!
See, Cindy, this is where I WANT to be! But, unfortunately, I am much more in line with Brittany. I can’t afford it. My family of 8 goes through a gallon a day and that is with us limiting it to breakfast and dinner. (We do water or tea for lunch.) We tried SO hard to do raw milk but it is just not in our budget, nor is owning a farm or land enough for our own cow. (Believe me, we’ve thought extensively about it.) My husband is a chef so we also use HUGE amounts of butter! We have switched completely to whole foods and gotten rid of all refined oils and that vanillin stuff, but just can’t fit the milk or grassfed meat/butter into our budget. It is extremely frustrating. We only have 1 vehicle and no debt and live in a house that can’t be downsized due to the amount of kids we have. I get frustrated that there isn’t more I can do. There is no more budget categories to pull from. Sigh.
I sadly have not been able to buy raw milk. It’s double the price of organic milk and it’s been a hard enough stretch on our budget just to switch to organic! Unfortunately even though I think the “you can’t put a price on health” idea is correct, sometimes even when you are living frugally/no extras/etc you still can’t afford the really good stuff. 🙁 We go through about 1-1.5 gallons of Organic Valley (we get the pasteurized NOT ultra-pasteurized) whole milk a week. Some day when my budget allows I will switch to raw milk….or maybe someday raw milk will be cheaper.
I believe, as with all organic, natural, and pastured foods, if we demand it, and buy nothing else, the prices will come down. Right now there just isn’t enough demand. I think most folks, especially families, are living by convenience, and the run-of-the-mill products at the local huge grocery outlet fit into that profile. It’s fast, easy, one-stop shopping, and I don’t think a lot of families take the time to seek out the “good” food. I tell anyone and everyone who will listen about the benefits of raw dairy, organic foods, and grass-fed and pastured animals. Sooner or later consumers will demand better food, and the stores will have no choice but to comply. Then we’ll see prices come down because competition for sales will be stiffer.
How Much Raw Milk Does Your Family Drink? – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/3D0rjwA #economics #econ
Thanks for sharing! I was beginning to wonder if we should cut back somehow! Is there such a thing as too much milk??? I pick up our limit of 9gal of milk and 2-3 quarts of cream, every other week. But our family of 5 is continually running out of milk 4days before the next drop off, forcing me to go buy the un-homogenized milk at Whole Foods (there’s no telling my 2year old to do without). I was trying to get by on 7gal every two weeks, like we did before going raw, but now we’re making kefir daily in addition to the 7gal. If I can’t make it last this time, I’ll have to sign my husband up for his own milk delivery! 🙂
I buy 3 gallons and try to make it last for two weeks. We could easily drink 3 a week! When we run out we either switch to coconut milk, almond milk or just do without!
There are 7 in our household and we go through 5-6 gallons a week. We’ve been making our own butter from our Jersey milk, but can barely keep up. We too seem to be drinking more and more. We were only using 3-4 a week, but it’s been upticking.
Right now my husband and I (I’m breastfeeding a 9 month old) drink about 1 1/2 gallons per week. We almost ALWAYS run out before the week is over. I just started making kefir again too…so I think I’ll be upping it to 2 gallons. The milk we get is soo yummy there are days that we could guzzle 2 glasses each at breakfast. We used to just get our raw milk at a regular dairy (meant to be pasteurized but still on pasture some of the time) for only $1.50 per gallon. I started getting a little worried about the safety of the milk, even though the farm was very clean, because they were still probably getting GMO grains. So we switched to an organic grassfed farm for $5 per gallon. Yeah, it’s more expensive, but from what I hear/read it’s WAY cheaper than other parts of the country!
I am in Washington state, and I pay $8. for a half gallon, and $10. for a whole gallon. And no, unfortunately, if they are out of whole gallons I do NOT get the gallon price for taking two half-gallons! I’ve asked! This particular farmer is just being certified by the local health department here to sell cream, and I’m almost afraid to find out how much they will charge for that, but you know what? I’ll still buy it!! I think it’s expensive, but we aren’t drinking that much right now. I have it mostly for making buttermilk, or creme fraiche. Between my husband and me, we maybe drink a half gallon between us per week. We don’t eat cold cereal anymore, and that’s one place the milk was getting used. I’ll put a little on my soaked oatmeal in the morning, but would prefer cream! I’m hoping to start making my own cultured butter, so the cream will be a must!
My infant drinks 4 gallons of raw goat milk in 2 weeks and we get raw cow milk every now and then. Depends on our bills. We also drink raw goat whey and will be starting on the farm’s yogurt soon.
We have our own cow. Although we have relatives who milk 4 days a week, we milk 3 days and my family of 7 drinks about 6 gallons a week. We’d drink more if we had it, but we share the cow so others can have raw milk, too. I do have one child that refuses to drink milk at all, so I make sure there is a lot of milk and cream in many recipes that I make, so he gets some benefits, too.