Substitute for milk

Ohad

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  1. Vegan
  2. Vegetarian
I decided to go vegan. However I couldnt find any substitutes for milk that are cheaper then milk . Do you have suggestions?
 
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There aren't really any.
However, most of the plant milks are organic.
Organic farming is something we vegans should support.
Organic cow's milk is about the same price as organic plant milk.
So that might just be enough justification for you to spend a little extra money on plant milk.

The other thing is that you don't have to drink any kind of milk. There is nothing in milk that is essential or unique.
However, I find it hard to eat enough protein every day without drinking 2 - 3 glasses of soymilk a day.

And I don't care how much cheaper cow's milk is. I'm not buying any. IMHO cow's milk is very bad for the cows, the environment, and my own personal health.
Ditching Dairy was my first step into the plant-based world.

There are also some other ways to make plant milk cheaper. Banana milk, Flax milk and hemp milk are pretty easy to make at home.
And if you are set on almond or soy - there are ways of making it at home. but if you were going to do that every week you might want to invest in a machine that makes it easier.

Oh, hey, did you see this?

 
I decided to go vegan. However I couldnt find any substitutes for milk that are cheaper then milk . Do you have suggestions?

What do you use milk for the most? as @Lou mentioned, banana milk is so simple if you are a cereal person and use it on cereal. Just spin up a banana in a whizzer with enough water to make it the consistency that you prefer.

In smoothies I use half water and half plant milk as I put water, still warm from the kettle, in first so that the frozen berries start to thaw. Then I add the peanut butter powder, ground flax, etc and banana and then the milk.

Rarely, actually never, do I drink a glass of milk. I prefer water or coffee or some wine with soda water added.

Baking, again rarely, or pancakes or mashed potatoes are the only other uses I have for milk.

Emma JC
 
For what? As a beverage? An oatmeal topper? To bake/cook with? You need to be more specific.

Cow milk hasn't been a beverage for me in almost 30 years. It's so gross 🤮 ... Back then there was soy and rice milk for cereal n stuff. Now there's like a million plant miles to choose from. Which one to choose is largely based on personal taste, and other times, for what purpose is needed. (Like you probably wouldn't want to use chocolate flavored milk for your mashed potatoes, as an example).
 
For what? As a beverage? An oatmeal topper? To bake/cook with? You need to be more specific.

Cow milk hasn't been a beverage for me in almost 30 years. It's so gross 🤮 ... Back then there was soy and rice milk for cereal n stuff. Now there's like a million plant miles to choose from. Which one to choose is largely based on personal taste, and other times, for what purpose is needed. (Like you probably wouldn't want to use chocolate flavored milk for your mashed potatoes, as an example).

I've earned a million plant miles this year. Now I get a free avocado.

Chocolate mashed potatoes. Yumm. ;)

Years ago I accidentally made vegan mac and cheese with vanilla-flavored soy milk. I haven't made that mistake again.
 
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For what? As a beverage? An oatmeal topper? To bake/cook with? You need to be more specific.

Cow milk hasn't been a beverage for me in almost 30 years. It's so gross 🤮 ... Back then there was soy and rice milk for cereal n stuff. Now there's like a million plant miles to choose from. Which one to choose is largely based on personal taste, and other times, for what purpose is needed. (Like you probably wouldn't want to use chocolate flavored milk for your mashed potatoes, as an example).

I think that the OP was only asking whether there is a store plant based milk that is cheaper than a dairy version. :)

Based on my shopping experience in both the UK and the continent, plain, unsweetened soya is the cheapest compared to other types. The more added ingredients, ( sugar, flavouring extracts ) the more expensive they are. I only ever buy plain soya milk and if needed, add sweetener etc.

The cheapest plant based milk that I've found in the US is Aldi's unsweetened soya milk. You can also find soya milk at the 99 ct store but it's still more expensive compared to Aldi.
I would imagine that dairy is however still cheaper due to the mass production.
 
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You can make your own. I usually make almond or cashew milk which keeps for approx. 5 days. :)

View attachment 1232

This. I regularly make my own at home. I've made almond milk, however I often make tahini milk, sometimes oat/rice milk. All of them are super easy, but Tahini milk is the easiest: fill blender with some water, add unhulled Tahini with a spoon (shake to dislodge while submerged), then blend. I make enough to last me for several days. With something like oats I just blend the oats up dry first, then add water and blend further.

Way cheaper than cow squirts (and better for you) :)
 
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For what? As a beverage? An oatmeal topper? To bake/cook with? You need to be more specific.

Cow milk hasn't been a beverage for me in almost 30 years. It's so gross 🤮 ... Back then there was soy and rice milk for cereal n stuff. Now there's like a million plant miles to choose from. Which one to choose is largely based on personal taste, and other times, for what purpose is needed. (Like you probably wouldn't want to use chocolate flavored milk for your mashed potatoes, as an example).
I eat cereal. That is the only reason I eat milk
 
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I eat cereal. That is the only reason I eat milk

Do you have a small bullet blender? if you do then I highly suggest what I mentioned above and that is making banana milk. So simple, takes a few seconds and so much healthier and cheaper and doesn't have a strong banana taste once the water is added.

Emma JC
 
I think that the OP was only asking whether there is a store plant based milk that is cheaper than a dairy version. :)

Based on my shopping experience in both the UK and the continent, plain, unsweetened soya is the cheapest compared to other types. The more added ingredients, ( sugar, flavouring extracts ) the more expensive they are. I only ever buy plain soya milk and if needed, add sweetener etc.

The cheapest plant based milk that I've found in the US is Aldi's unsweetened soya milk. You can also find soya milk at the 99 ct store but it's still more expensive compared to Aldi.
I would imagine that dairy is however still cheaper due to the mass production.

Its not just mass production. In the US, the UK and I think even in Canada the dairy industry is heavily subsidized and there are price controls. The price of milk is so low that dairy farmers sometimes find it more profitable to just dump the milk on the ground.
 
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I eat cereal. That is the only reason I eat milk
Then you literally can put any kind of plant milk on your cereal. When I first stopped drinking milk (and putting on my cereal) 30 yrs ago, I started with rice milk. It's a bit sweeter naturally than nut milks or other plant milks. But it's not as nutritious and eventually became too sweet for me (this coming from as a kid who used to put 2-3 spoonfuls of brown sugar on a bowl of Frosted Flakes for breakfast).

I haven't actually eaten "cereal" in years. I think it started when it started getting so expensive, then I realized you were just paying an outrageous amt of $$ for basically something with zero nutrition, so I stopped all of it. But when I did, I would use almond milk. Recently I started eating oatmeal (I'm 54) and now my go-to breakfast (when I have time) is oatmeal with chopped almonds, walnuts, and dates, 1 banana, a heaping spoonful of flax meal, frozen blueberries, topped with soy milk - recently changed from almond milk to add a different nutritional component since I was already eating the almonds.

It really comes down to personal preference with cereal. Just pick some up - there are soooo many to choose from, try it out and see what you like.

I really do like Emma's idea of making banana milk, though. I've never done it, but it sounds yummy.
 
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I'm really liking oat milk these days for my lattes. However, it would only be cheap to make it yourself.

Agree. Oat milk (I buy Oatly) is very pricy. However, they have the best oat cream ever. I sometimes treat myself to a small carton if I'm making
apple pie.
 
I really like frozen bananas either pureed or just eaten on their own. However, I don't think that it tastes anything like ice cream.:)

It can taste like ice cream if you add a bit of vanilla extract and whatever flavours you prefer:

Non-Dairy Ice Cream

Who knew that bananas were so versatile?? So versatile that on their own, just one ingredient, they can satisfy that desire for ice cream that many people have. The best part is that they also make a great base to make any flavour that you wish, even a banana split or a chocolate berry sundae or a cone with nut sprinkles....

BONUS: a use for the bananas that you didn't get to eat this week and they are starting to ripen more than you prefer - hurry, put them in the freezer (cut into 3 or 4 pieces first) in an airtight resealable bag and when that sweet tooth urge kicks in you are ready to make your non-dairy ice cream.

INGREDIENTS
  • frozen ripe bananas (3)
  • if you like your ice cream very plain you can stop there or carry on with any / all of the following:
  • 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla flavouring
  • 2 tablespoons cacao powder (or cocoa, your choice)
  • any frozen berries that you have available
  • 1 - 2 tablespoons peanut butter or equivalent peanut butter powder
  • a pinch of salt is very nice in all flavours
ASSEMBLY
  • place the frozen bananas in a food processor and process for 1 to 2 minutes before adding any other ingredients you wish to add and then continue to process for another minute
  • if you need a bit of moisture to help the frozen bananas get started, a 1/4 cup of plant based milk can be added
 
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