Help me choose a milk

[Sveninarxao]

I've been a vegetarian since the summer of '06, so almost two years now. I made the switch due to various reasons such as health and ethical.

Since my switch, I've read a lot about veganism, and all the information I have found interests me. Though I feel that I am not ready to make the change due to such things as my parents, I want to try and phase out dairy/eggs in easy ways.

I'm a hardcore milk drinker and have milk in my museli with hempseed and wheat germ every day. For lunch, I always have a dairy yogurt, and generally, I have another two glasses sometime else. I've read about both the health and ethical problems with cow's milk, and I'm interested in seeing what my mom thinks about switching to another milk.

Price nor taste isn't an issues for us(I've tried all of them and they're all fine to me), but protein is. For one thing, I'm a teenage male, and I also actively exercise daily with such things as strength training(thus my protein requirement is higher than average).

I looked at the two main alternatives available at my local grocery store: Soy and Almond milk. Both are very nutritious, but I'm having problems picking from them.

Soy has isoflavones, is often fortified with Vitamin D and calcium, and is also very high in protein. But it also has all that phytoestrogen stuff surrounding it, which I'm not too sure about.

Almond milk is low-calorie(not that it matters much to me), has tons of naturally occuring vitamins and minerals, and has a better taste than soy. But it is lacking in protein.

What do you guys reccomend?

[Veggily]

Why not use both? Sometimes soy, sometimes almond, the best of both worlds. :-)

[raefactor]

Yeah, why not both? Soy milk for drinking (tastes better and is thicker, imo), almond milk for museli? That way your options aren't limited and you don't get sick of one. If you go through that much milk you'll need more than one container a week anyways, so I'm sure you'd go through both before they expired.

Besides, I'm sure either one in excessive amounts would be bad for you. Split it up and you're less likely to get "side effects" and more likely to get more balanced nutrients. :)

[Libellula]

go for both. you can also try oat milk and hemp milk. I like rice milk, but it isn't very high protein, and i switch between that and soy milk pretty frequently.

[veggiesforlife]

But it also has all that phytoestrogen stuff surrounding it, which I'm not too sure about.

what's the deal with phytoestrogen? i haven't heard anything about it :-/

[Fromper]

what's the deal with phytoestrogen? i haven't heard anything about it :-/

If you listen to the dairy industry, it makes boys gay, or at least gives them man-boobs.

If you don't believe them, there's still a slim chance that there will be unknown side effects of drinking half a gallon of soy milk every day for a few decades. But nobody's really sure, because detailed research into the long term health impact hasn't been done yet. Compare that to dairy milk, where we already know for sure that drinking that much every day for a few decades is bad for you.

But the fact that the island (Okinawa) with the highest per capita soy consumption in the world also has the highest per capita life span is good enough for me. I just drink soy milk all the time and don't worry about it. Just make sure it's made from organic soy beans.

--Fromper
:juggle:

[Doktormartini]

Yeah use a wide variety so you don't get tired of the same ol' stuff all the time. Also, there is protein in lots of food your don't have to worry if your milk has a high amount or not.

[Lucious]

I don't drink soy milk, instead I opt for rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk and oat milk. Switch it around. And keep in mind, our society is obsessed with protein. We don't need as much protein as we think we do. Chances are you're consuming more protein than you need (from the amount of milk you say you drink) even if you are strength training.

The choice is ultimately yours. Try and see what you like, you might not like the taste of one or the other.

[cali]

hemp milk?

you kiddin' right?

[cakes]

Try them all for variety-I prefer the soy because it comes in chocolate and has a thicker consistency like milk. Almond milk seems ' thinner".

[Animosity]

I prefer the soy because it comes in chocolate and has a thicker consistency like milk.


Almond milk comes in chocolate too, It also comes in vanilla. It is a little thinner than soy though, So the chocolate is richer and more "milk like" when made from soy.

I like soy milk for making sauces and stuff because it's thicker, I use almond milk for straight drinking or with cereal and stuff because it's lower in calorie and too much soy milk makes me sick.

[Quinoa]

hemp milk?
you kiddin' right?
I don’t think so.
http://www.manitobaharvest.com/
You can also make raw hemp "milk" by grinding whole hempseeds and filtering the mixture through a sieve, or by blending hulled hempseeds. That is, if (food) hemp seed is available (and legal) where you live (seems like this differs a lot between countries). Even poppy seed "milk" is possible, I read it is a traditional food/drink for lent in Latvia (I think).

[bigdufstuff]

If you settle on a milk with less protein, why not supplement your diet with a vegan protein powder? Although there is a good a chance your body is already getting enough protein from other sources.

[nilrecurring]

I don’t think so.
http://www.manitobaharvest.com/
You can also make raw hemp "milk" by grinding whole hempseeds and filtering the mixture through a sieve, or by blending hulled hempseeds. That is, if (food) hemp seed is available (and legal) where you live (seems like this differs a lot between countries). Even poppy seed "milk" is possible, I read it is a traditional food/drink for lent in Latvia (I think).

Blending hulled hempseeds and then using a wire mesh coffee filter is the way to go. Get Nutiva hulled hempseeds from amazon.com, or anywhere, and mix 1/4 cup of those with every 2 cups water (1/2 cup with 4 cups water, and so on) in a blender, and don't worry about leaving it to blend for too long! I like to add a dash of salt and some raw agave nectar as well before I filter it. You have to stir it through the filter to get it to work, but it is worth it. (You also need to use a funnel to make sure it doesn't go everywhere after you filter it.)

A trick I like is to mix twice as many hempseeds as necessary in a certain amount of water, then add twice as much salt and agave as well. After you strain it you can add the other half of the water needed to thin the milk. That way you don't spend as much time straining.

Also, the hemp flavor is really strong, so if you want to mix this milk with rice milk or any other type of milk then that's a way to make it more drinkable. When I get home from work today I'm going to see if I can make a palatable hemp and oat blend.

[nilrecurring]

Still working on that hemp blend... making progress!

[VenomousX]

Hmm, I don't know if they have specific milk suggestions but you can try veganbodybuilder.com or veganbodybuilder.org for information. It seems more active-male "friendly" than most websites. Or you can just google something like vegan body building or active vegan. Good luck ^^

[Wednesday_12]

Rice milk is my favourite. Like others have said- switch between them. Variety is best for any diet.

[Lucious]

hemp milk?

you kiddin' right?


Nope. There's quite a few brands too. Potato milk exists also. You would be surprised how many milks there are out there.

[JennyJenn]

I had to try a couple different types of milk before i finally discovered that unsweetened almond milk is my favorite. I loved soy milk, but discovered that when i didn't have any my face didn't break out(maybe i'm allergic to it?). So i generally avoid soy milk. At first I was afraid I wasn't getting enough protein with going to the gym and working out and all. I found a vegan protein powder at a health food store. Some kind of rice protein. You can try that for protein if your concerned. Altho After taking a close look at the food i was eating I really didn't need the protein powders. Try taking a closer look at what your eating, You'll be surprised how much protein your actually getting.

[Pixelle]

I drink rice milk. You can get it with or without added protein.