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

Rusty asked, "So how would switching [to other forms] be of any benefit, price wise?" Buying ahead at current prices is the benefit. Forewarned is forearmed..... Think of it this way, if I buy $100 of powdered milk products at today's prices (something I normally use and it would be enough for a year) and it goes up 300%, I'll save a lot more on that purchase than if that same amount of money was in a savings account at today's interest rates over that same year. If dairy prices skyrocket for 6-months and then drop again over the next 6-months, I'm going to be able to use what I have in my home food storage, not change my buying habits or what I normally use, and my $125/month food budget won't take a hit - and that's my bottom-line. If nothing happens to the price of milk, I'm still good.... It's also easier to get accustomed to, or learn how to make and incorporate substitutes, before they are needed. I remember a few years ago on this message board during an ice or snow storm, people were posting us lists of food items they had on hand and were asking for help with what they could make to feed their families because they couldn't get out to go shopping and had to rely on what they had on hand. Those of us who practice home food storage do so to save money - first and foremost, be prepared for emergencies such as loss of income, natural disasters, interrupted food supplies, power outages, etc., and we are often good at finding options. I'm not going to wait until AFTER a disaster to prepare. -Grainlady

Almond bark so simple taste like chocolate. Place four squares in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute stir with fork. Continue microwaving and 2o second intervals until creamy. Caution do not over cook. Now dip any of your favorite foods in it. My personal favorite. Brown coconut in oven until chrispy. ( not black) One package of coconut to 4 squares of almond bark. Blend well. Spoon onto wax paper .place in freezer ten minutes. Sets up almond bark. Now enjoy. This is called hay stacks. 7.00 each in the store.

I don't believe in consuming dairy, and I avoid soy, so I use a lot of nut milk. It's easy and cheap to make your own. Just blend soaked almonds with water, though it works best with a high-speed blender. Or, even easier, blend a little almond butter with water and you get instant almond milk. If you make it yourself, it's even cheaper than dairy milk and so much better for you and the environment. Additionally, you still get the benefits of the live enzymes that the packaged pasturization destroys. Hemp milk is also great, and absolutely loaded with nutrition.