I'll be watching this thread with interest! Thanks for posting, Bobby.
I am interested in exploring the options too. Not because I'm giving up cow's milk, but the fat/calorie savings is pretty big.

I am a little confused as to why you are concerned with hormones in your milk if you're buying organic?!?
There shouldn't be ANY!! Anyone with input on this one?

Deanna

True, but you never really know, and even if there aren't hormones in it, apparently "experts" say that we still weren't meant to consume it.... but we aren't "meant" to consume a lot of things that we do! The calorie savings blew my mind.... I couldn't believe that fat free milk had that many calories... or that almond milk had so many less! I can barely tell a difference when I use it on my organic flax cereal (which I'm enjoying.... who'd have thought I'd like a cereal that didn't have ANY sugar and didn't have cartoon character on the box?!).

The other advantages are that almond milk is actually cheaper than the organic milk I'd been buying and seems to last longer!

I'd like to suggest the book "Not Milk... NUT MILKS!" by Candia Lea Cole if you are interested in making your own nut milks (cost savings - and fresh always seems to be best). She has some really great "milks" in her book besides the run-of-the-mill almond milk.

Along with rice, there are other grain milks you can make (spelt, wheat, oats). Use a variety of nuts and even sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds for non-dairy milks.

You can also fortify your non-dairy "milk" products with things like mesquite meal, flaxmeal, chia seeds...which all have health benefits. Just two ounces of Chia seeds contain 600 mg of Calcium, compared with 120 mg for milk and they are high in other minerals (including Boron) helpful for bone health.

Oat milk, although pretty tasty, great on cereal, has more protein than rice milk, but doesn't work well in cooking/baking. Rice milk doesn't work well in cooking/baking either. Hemp milk has enough protein to work fairly well in cooking.

The protein content, and the type of protein, is where you may find you miss milk in cooking and baking. Milk proteins coagulate or precipate to form a solid clot or curd under certain circumstances. Some sauces may work well using a non-dairy milk substitute, some won't. To make pudding you will need to use a thickener like arrowroot, agar-agar or cornstarch. Almond Milk Pudding is actually very easy to make and you can find recipes on-line.

Milk, in bread and many baked goods, is a tenderizer, adds protein and contributes to crust color, and you may miss some of those attributes, but it depends on how much milk you are substituting in any given recipe and what it contributes to the recipe.

Look at the labels of the commercial non-dairy milks. Some of them are so loaded with ingredients to thicken and fortify it, and who knows what else, I'd tend to make my own.

There may also be a down-side - there are many allergens associated with the nut milks, and many people who may be sensitive to avenin protein found in oats should avoid oat milk.

If you are also avoiding butter, may I suggest coconut oil. It works not only in cooking and baking, but you can also use it as a bread-spread.

You will find lots of recipes for using nut/seed/grain milks if you visit raw food sites, or check out vegan recipes. Sometimes it's easier to use recipes designed for those ingredients, to get accustomed to them, then start incorporating it into your favorite recipes.

As a YUMMY non-dairy substitute for yogurt I have been fermenting coconut milk with real kefir grains, just like I make kefir with milk. I use coconut milk from reconstituted coconut milk powder. If you don't like the taste of coconut, this won't be a good substitute for you.

Be sure to share more of your personal experiences using non-dairy milk alternatives. I, for one, would be interested in hearing your real experiences....

-Grainlady

I have to cook completely dairy free as my daughter is allergic to dairy proteins and she always wants what we're having.

I don't use rice milk in anything as it doesn't seem to work as well due to low protein content/high carb, although this is what my daughter likes to drink on a regular basis. We use the enriched with calcium.

I use almond milk when I don't mind a bit of almond flavor - I can often taste the almond bit and I'm not a huge lover of that in everything. Often baked goods is where I use it or I use vanilla flavored Soy-milk if vanilla flavor helps the baked goods.

For things that I don't want the almond taste I use soy milk.

I've not done much creamy sauces or creamy soups so can't answer on those, but what I've tried so far the soy milk seems like a good general replacement in cooking.

Almond milk is ok in baked goods where some almond flavor doesn't hurt. Do not like it in general cooking or bread. It seems better for the sweeter stuff. I do use it when I make crepes - I use the Almond Vanilla flavor then as I don't mind the little bit of lamond flavor in those. I use the vanilla as I generally add some vanilla sugar in it anyways.

For whipped toppings I use the thick stuff off coconut milk.It is harder to do than whipping cream, but comes out good.

I've also experimented with using water instead of milk and in many recipes and that often works fine. It is also lighter in calories that way so I consider that a bonus.

Broth is another ingredient I use for a little richer feel without adding milk when appropriate. For mashed potatoes I'll use a vegan margarine and boil the potatos in chicken broth. Save the broth and add in for the right consistency.

Good for you! You'll feel great as soon as you give up dairy. The change is amazing - even if you don't think you're congested, your breathing will clear up considerably because dairy is mucus-forming. You'll feel it within a day or two. Are you also giving up cheese?

You might want to check out "The China Study" since you seem interested in the health perspective. It gives a lot of information on dairy and human consumption. The "experts" base it on the fact that we're the only species in the entire world that drinks milk past infancy and drinks other species milk. Not to mention the huge incidences of "lactose intolerance" and allergies, which is really the body's way of telling you not to eat something. Also the significantly higher incidences of cancer and other diseases in dairy-heavy nations compared to those who don't eat much, etc. It's a really interesting read.

To answer your question - I've successfully substituted nut or grain milk for everything. Just be careful with flavors - sometimes the "plain" has sugar in it and I've ruined a few savory dishes with that mistake. :P So look for unsweetened if you want a straight substitute for milk. If you have a good blender, you can experiment with making your own, which ends up being cheaper in many cases.

One thing to note is that the alternate milks are often thinner than dairy milk, so you might need to play with some thickeners. I like agar agar for custards and such. Also, instead of cream, I really like the Wildwood soy creamer. TJ's sells it under their label. It's nice and thick and no one I've served it to can tell it's not dairy. I haven't tried cooking with it yet but it's on my list.

I think that the substitute for milk in a recipe depends on the recipe - at least that's the way I approach it. I used to buy rice milk, but then I started mixing rice flour with water, or oat flour with water for oat milk. I really do not like soy milk, and it often curdles.

In desserts, you can sometimes substitute coconut milk, and you can make a cheesecake with tofu instead of dairy. My preferred solution to the problem is to choose dishes or a cuisine where dairy is not an ingredient. It's fairly rare to find dairy in Japanese food, for example, and some Middle Eastern cuisines have good dishes that are dairy free.

A friend of mine gave up dairy recently and in a short time lost his excess weight and gained energy.

As for the anthropological angle of dairy consumption - Europeans and Middle Eastern groups have been consuming dairy products for such a long time that they have evolved to become lactose tolerant - at least more so than some other groups. Still, it is not 100%, and I do agree that humans did not originally evolve to consume dairy products - that has come much more recently, which is why it is not total. I have trouble with milk, but I can tolerate some cheeses and cream. The odd thing is that I have slight allergies to wheat, corn, rice, soy, and oats, and these are foods that humans should have evolved to tolerate by now, since we are a long way from hunting meat and gathering fruits and vegetables.

I use stock to substitute for milk or cream when making soups and sauces, and so I will use a veloute sauce in place of bechamel, when possible.

Lars

Bobby, I frequently substitute almond milk for dairy milk when baking. Usually, in muffins, quick breads and pancakes. I've had good results with it. It's not the same results as with dairy, but the results aren't bad either... just different.

I've been meaning to try adding some coconut milk with the almond milk, to raise the fat level a bit. I think that might improve the results.

I have not tried almond milk in any cooking recipes. Just in baking. So I can't comment on that.

I made banana bread last week using chia seeds soaked in orange juice, to replace the oil and I was impressed with the results. I may also try adding those seeds to almond milk to see what the results are.

susytwo-

I have a note-to-self in my "Book of Odd Knowledge" (a small 3-ringed notebook where I write all kinds of odd things I may find handy at some point in my life). One teaspoon of chia seeds will replace one egg. The reference was to making brownies with a commercial mix: Use 3 t. whole chia seeds in brownie mix instead of 3 eggs. Bake 3-5 minutes less than mix directions.

You may also like using powdered coconut milk rather than cans of coconut milk. I purchase a 5# bag from Wilderness Family Naturals. You can then dilute it for different uses and make it as needed.

Two tablespoons of coconut milk powder = 10g fat. You could also add 1 T. of coconut oil (12g fat) or coconut cream concentrate (1 t.= 3g fat) for additional fat in almond milk.

For Desserts: 2/3 c. coconut milk powder with 2/3 c. hot water
For Cooking: 2/3 c. coconut milk powder with 1/4 c. hot water
For Beverages: 2/3 c. coconut milk powder with 1-1/4 c. hot water

-Grainlady

I just wanted to come back and say thanks to all of you for chiming in here. I did use it to make some homemade yeast waffles and I couldn't tell a difference.... also used it in mashed potatoes and they were fine... almond milk that is. I can't wait to try it in other stuff.... I can really only tell a difference when I drink it and it is similar to soy milk in taste.... I will update if I try any other milks.

Thanks again :o)