The healthiest and best dairy milk substitutes to make at home for children and adults and why to avoid commercial versions even if organic.
Milk allergy affects approximately 2-5% of children worldwide.
Many times “milk allergy” simply masquerades as “pasteurization allergy”, which means that when a switch is made from processed store milk to farm fresh unpasteurized milk, the “milk allergy” magically disappears!
Why is this?
Pasteurization denatures fragile milk proteins and renders them allergenic because digestive enzymes no longer work effectively on them.
It also destroys lactase, the enzyme necessary for digesting lactose, the naturally occurring sugar in milk.
A simple switch to fresh from the farm raw milk solves both of these problems.
Beware the Plant-Based Milk Scam
In those rare instances when a child is truly allergic to cow or goat milk – even the farm-fresh variety, figuring out which plant-based milk to try can be a bewildering experience for a concerned parent.
Soy milk, also called soya bean milk, is clearly not a good option as high amounts of isoflavones (plant estrogens) disrupt the hormonal development of young children.
Commercial rice milk is high in sugar and low in nutrition with little to no protein or fats to stabilize the blood sugar.
Even store-bought almond milk is not a good choice as it is also very low in protein and fat, high in sugar, and is not made from almonds that have been properly soaked/dehydrated first to eliminate anti-nutrients.
Besides all the issues with the ingredients themselves, the tetrapak packaging of these products is incredibly toxic.
To sterilize the container, boiling hot liquid is poured into the container that is lined with thin plastic before sealing.
While this results in a long shelf life, toxins leach into the product itself! In short, you are no doubt getting a hefty serving of petrochemicals with that plant-based milk.
The short answer is to never buy alternative milk from the store if you value your health.
Fortunately, making safe, healthy milk substitutes yourself is easy. Suggestions below!
Who Should Drink Non-Dairy Milk?
Before we go any further, an important point requires clarification.
Despite being healthy, all-natural, and homemade, the milk substitutes suggested below are ONLY for adults and children older than one year.
A baby younger than one that is not breastfed should be getting a homemade formula and if allergic to milk, homemade dairy-free baby formula is best.
Goat milk formula, sheep milk formula, or camel milk formula may be used instead if the allergy is only to cow’s milk.
One final point…never use these recipes to make plant-based or vegan baby formula.
Nutritious DIY Dairy Milk Substitutes
Below is a summation of the ones I recommend trying to see which recipe works best for your family!
Coconut Milk Beverage
This healthy coconut milk beverage is made with whole coconut milk so that it is high in good fats to stabilize blood sugar in a manner similar to full-fat dairy milk.
The base is ideally homemade coconut milk. However, if you must buy, I suggest this brand or this brand of commercial coconut milk.
Powdered coconut milk is also an option, but it is quite expensive per serving. This type of product also usually contains maltodextrin and sometimes digestion-irritating gums.
Cultured Rice Milk Recipe
This fermented rice milk recipe is lightly cultured and sweetened with raw honey.
If your child is allergic to coconut as well as dairy, traditional rice milk works well. Avoid the sugar-laden, nutritionless versions from the store packaged in toxic containers!
If you prefer nonfermented beverages, this wild rice milk recipe uses soaked rice instead of fermentation. This renders the rice digestible without the slightly sour taste typical of cultured foods.
Since wild rice is not technically a grain, substituting it for brown rice is suitable for those on a grain-free diet.
Sprouted Almond Milk
This easy recipe for sprouted almond milk is a huge step up from anything you can buy from the store.
If even more digestibility is needed, you can lightly culture the beverage into fermented almond milk. This additional step provides gut-balancing probiotics and even more enzymes.
Note that while this beverage is well tolerated by most people, those who are sensitive to oxalates would be better off picking one of the other alternative milks in this list.
Almonds even if sprouted or soaked are one of the highest foods in oxalic acid.
Sprouted Oat Milk
There are a couple of different ways to make healthy oat milk (never buy commercial oat milk!).
The first is this recipe for homemade oat milk using sprouted rolled oats.
The second method is this yummy beverage from soaked oat groats.
While you normally need to cook oats after soaking or sprouting if you will be consuming the entire grain, for purposes of beverage-making, the antinutrients are sufficiently deactivated with soaking or sprouting only.
The key point here is that the fibrous portion of the grain is discarded or composted when making oat milk at home.
While I have not seen causative research on this as of yet, anecdotal evidence from those with digestive disorders indicates that the effect on digestion is not disruptive or inflammatory such as would occur when eating uncooked or lightly toasted oats (even if sprouted or soaked overnight first).
References
Eat Fat, Lose Fat
Nourishing Traditions Cookbook
Why Almond Milk and Coconut Milk from the Store Should Be Avoided
There is no comparison in flavor with storebought and homemade almond milk. I’ve only made a one day soaked, strained version but I’d be keen to try the fermented kind. I like the coconut tonic too. Coconut milk also makes fabulous smoothies. A coconut milk and lime juice smoothie with a tiny hit of B maple syrup and ice cubes makes practically a dessert drink. Only healthy!
I love how the rice and almond milks are fermented, in attempt to imitate raw milk, not pasteurized! It’s great! Also some people maybe could tolerate raw goats milk, I heard.
Have you tried any of these substitutes without the sweetner?
Hi Tim, the coconut tonic is great with a pinch of stevia powder as mentioned in the post. There is a comment above by a lady who makes almond milk with no sweetener and her daughter loves it. I have not tried the other two with no sweetener, just the coconut tonic.
Thanks Sarah! I will give the coconut tonic a try (sans sweetner for sure).
Tim, have you ever tried agave as a sweetener. It has a low GI index (30-35). It is considered a carbohydrate for labeling purposes, but is actually a fiber that, when consumed, is absorbed in the lower intestine aids in digestion and stimulation of the growth and activity of the good micro flora in your body, due to the inulin it contains.
I’ve had problems with my blood sugar in the past and found this worked for me. Just thought I’d send the information your way in case it could help.
You might want to research agave. It’s essentially like high fructose corn syrup. Here are two interesting articles on the subject:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/02/Agave-A-Triumph-of-Marketing-over-Truth.aspx
The second article comes at it from a “Is-this-raw-food?” aspect, but if you can weed through all that, there are some valid points.
I make almond milk from raw nuts with the skin on & no sweetener and it is a little sweet and just a little more beige in colour but very nice.
I’ve been making lots of brazil nut milk of the chocolate variety lately. Damned good.
you have ot be careful with that one however as more then 2 brazil nuts a day will meet your selenlium requiment, more then that would be toxic. so beware!
Normally I soak the almonds in water/salt overnight; drain (rinse and drain again); blend in the blender with the ratio of 1 C almonds:4 C filtered water; and strain through unbleached muslin. We don’t add any flavoring or sweetener and dd likes it fine. Is this method okay? Is the ACV adding something or just making it last longer? I guess I’m trying to figure out the benefit of the acid and leaving out for 2 days vs just making it and refrigerating it. Also… is leaving the whole almonds in there (through the paste) making it a more complete protein or is straining it fine? I don’t think dd would like all of that ‘pulp’ mixed in her almond milk but we’ve never tried. We save and dehydrate the almond ‘mush’ left after straining it to use as almond meal in other recipes.
Thanks so much!
Beth, that sounds lovely. You would get a bit more nutrition/enzymes if you fermented like the recipe in the post, but you are certainly doing your daughter huge favors with your careful preparation of her almond milk.
Hi Sarah – I just finished the three-day process for almond milk. It turned out effervescent and sour tasting (but smells fine; just fermented). Knowing the nutritional benefits, I am determined to acquire the taste for it. What are your thoughts on helping my family adjust to the taste of the fermented almond milk from the store-bought, sweetened stuff? Are there any intermediate steps I can take to make it more palatable for them? I am working hard and making strides to kick the sugar habit for myself, my husband and our three year old.
Great news – I renamed it as “almond kefir” for my husband and as “creamy kombucha” for my kid – Everyone is happy.
Hi Beth!
How old was your dd when you began almond milk?
I’ll be starting it in the next couple of months for my 10 month old.
I would love to connect and ask you a few questions if possible!
Angie,
She didn’t start on almond milk until I learned how bad soy milk was… I think she was 6 or 7 years old by then (yikes!!).
Beth
Thanks for the reply, Beth! Never too late – that’s awesome you made the switch!
Thanks for the great milk alternatives. Question: For the almond milk how do you get skinless almonds? Normally I blanch the almond and then the skins slip off, is that OK or does that ruin the almonds for the soaking process??
Nourished Kitchen a post on how to make coconut mik at home. We are trying that soon!
Almonds are easy to sprout for a boost in nutrition. Soak 24 -48 hrs. in filtered water, with one change of water. At this point the skins usually slip right off. If not, blanch them for about 10 seconds and plunge into cold water to cool quickly. Slip off skins and blend up your milk with the other tasty additions mentioned above. We often strain through a nut bag for a super smooth milk. This technique is a raw vegan gem. Enjoy.
Thanks for posting this! My DD doesnt have any issues with milk but my husband does so this is helpful for him.