Trying to find a nicer tasting non dairy alternative

jenniewb

Kirri wrote: »

I use Morrisons fresh soya milk which is currently on offer for about 68p ish - but I don't drink it on it's own only mixed in with things, ie protein shakes etc. But I can't taste any noticeable 'taste' like this (I didn't like milk anyway). It seems to work as well as milk did in cooking.

In what way will you be using it?

Thanks for all your replies everyone! Its good to know there are alternatives out there which may even taste different from each other despite being made from the same things, my hunt rebegins!


Well, I used to eat alot of dairy- I used to have a plain yogurt after the gym, have milk in about 3 cups of tea a day, had a cup of low calorie hot chocolate (which has skimmed milk powder) and ate an awful lot of quorn and sliced meats (which have milk solids in them). I had also just 'found' a type of rice cake made from soya (had lots of protein in it, normal rice cakes have little it any protein in)...it has milk in it!:mad: I think its hard as I actually do reallu like the taste of dairy and miss it alot. I still get cravings for it now.


Ideally I'd love something which would substitue everything I used to eat and drink, the tea, the low cal hot choclate, the quorn....but I just don't see anything out there. Instead I am trying to look for something to go in my tea! Small but very essential- am no longer functioning properly in the mornings as a result:rotfl:

itsallinthemind

jenniewb the only real milk i have is the lactofree once in the morning with my cuppa and i substitued everthing else. I simply can not palate the others in my cuppa! That tiny bit is fine with me though, but I have noticed if I have more, it takes a while for my body to recover. Have you tried just having it in your cuppa, whilst banishing it otherwise and allowing your body to catch up?

Kimitatsu

One word of warning however, both myself and my son are lactose intolerant and we find that soya is even worse! It gives me the most chronic IBS, didnt to begin with but I soon hit the threshold.

Try this website: www.dietaryneedsdirect.co.uk - it has lots of differing dairy alternatives, and lots of goods which are listed by allergen friendly type too. Its a bit expensive but it will give you an idea of what is out there and you can always try getting your local health food shop to get some in, if you find you like it.

paulwf

Firstly be prepared to give it a while...if you have been drinking cows milk every single day of your life (since you were 6 months or whenever) then soya probably will seem strange at first. After a while you just stop noticing the soya taste. Experiment with different types and brands, my OH likes Tesco soya milk (66p/litre) and I like Oatley.

When I gave up dairy (and I think this applies to lots of other vegans) at first I had strong cravings. Now cheese overloaded pizzas (Pizza Hut style) seem absolutely repulsive to me. I like soya cheese but can't see how anyone can eat something that's literally oozing cheese!

Try and look into alternatives such as Earl Grey tea which is served with lemon instead of milk and proper hot chocolate powder which can be made with hot water rather than the packet mixes which are full of junk. I'm always amazed on these boards about people going on about the price of milk all the time and how many 6 pint bottles they get through, my OH uses a bit on cereal but that's about it.

Check out Holland & Barrett especially the Redwoods and Frys ranges of dairy free meat alternatives which can replace most of your Quorn. Independent wholefood shops are also excellent for supplies, a small independent can have 10 times more dairy free choices than the largest supermarket. We use quite a lot of Scheeze (Bute Island Foods) as a cheese alternative and Vitalite is an excellent dairy free spread from Tescos.

elfen

Soya makes me physically sick, and I'm lactose/gluten intolerant, so I have goats milk, which is pretty goo.

jenniewb

itsallinthemind wrote: »

jenniewb the only real milk i have is the lactofree once in the morning with my cuppa and i substitued everthing else. I simply can not palate the others in my cuppa! That tiny bit is fine with me though, but I have noticed if I have more, it takes a while for my body to recover. Have you tried just having it in your cuppa, whilst banishing it otherwise and allowing your body to catch up?

Yes- I did this, I thought it did a great deal for my stomach (stopping me look so bloated) which has been my nemisis for the past 5 years (being asked if I am expecting all the time) so the reduced stomach is gold dust! I then heard that it may be the eczema (which has reduced but still exists) could be attributed to the milk rather then the lactose and I thought I may as well give it a try. I did actually like the lactose stuff so it it all turns out to be nothing I will Also I haven't gotten ri of all my stomach symptoms, they have some of them just reduced.

jenniewb

Kimitatsu wrote: »

One word of warning however, both myself and my son are lactose intolerant and we find that soya is even worse! It gives me the most chronic IBS, didnt to begin with but I soon hit the threshold.

Try this website: www.dietaryneedsdirect.co.uk - it has lots of differing dairy alternatives, and lots of goods which are listed by allergen friendly type too. Its a bit expensive but it will give you an idea of what is out there and you can always try getting your local health food shop to get some in, if you find you like it.

Ah! I was wondering if Soya has any effects on my digestion- I get wind when I eat the soya rice cakes but just put it down to the "contains milk" in the ingredience. I'd comment on the milk in my tea (currently soya milk) but I am yet to get through an entire cup in the morning!

Thanks for the link- very useful;)

jenniewb

elfen wrote: »

Soya makes me physically sick, and I'm lactose/gluten intolerant, so I have goats milk, which is pretty goo.

Does this go well in tea? (does it curdle?) and is the taste OK? have heard it cantaste quite bitter/sour compared to normal milk

jenniewb

paulwf wrote: »

Firstly be prepared to give it a while...if you have been drinking cows milk every single day of your life (since you were 6 months or whenever) then soya probably will seem strange at first. After a while you just stop noticing the soya taste. Experiment with different types and brands, my OH likes Tesco soya milk (66p/litre) and I like Oatley.

When I gave up dairy (and I think this applies to lots of other vegans) at first I had strong cravings. Now cheese overloaded pizzas (Pizza Hut style) seem absolutely repulsive to me. I like soya cheese but can't see how anyone can eat something that's literally oozing cheese!

Try and look into alternatives such as Earl Grey tea which is served with lemon instead of milk and proper hot chocolate powder which can be made with hot water rather than the packet mixes which are full of junk. I'm always amazed on these boards about people going on about the price of milk all the time and how many 6 pint bottles they get through, my OH uses a bit on cereal but that's about it.

Check out Holland & Barrett especially the Redwoods and Frys ranges of dairy free meat alternatives which can replace most of your Quorn. Independent wholefood shops are also excellent for supplies, a small independent can have 10 times more dairy free choices than the largest supermarket. We use quite a lot of Scheeze (Bute Island Foods) as a cheese alternative and Vitalite is an excellent dairy free spread from Tescos.

Thanks- I am glad I am not alone in my cheese cravings! I just keep reaching for plain yogurt when shopping...:( I am hoping they fade after a while.

I am trying Oatly next infact! I have the rest of the Soya Life to get through (about a week?) then onto something new. Rice milk or Alpro after this. Man its harder then trying to find a cure for my skin issues! (last month I posted a question on my skin and was trying every product going!) I am lucky I live in travelling distance to Wholefoods where I can pick up quite a few different types of wannabe-milk items, am just hoping I find something I can tollerate the taste of- hoping something will "click" in the next few weeks or days!

Didn't know Holland and Barratt did fake-meat products- am currently eating fish and chicken so would be nice to have some more options- will take a look tomorrow.

Beginning to feel a bit trapped though- I have 'issues' with food (long standing past eating disorder) and just don't eat carbs (its a head thing not an allergy I am aware of that) but do eat everything else ie fruit, veg, meat.
So no carbs, no dairy, (incl cheap meat, quorn, low calorie hot chocolate...) no soya....ummm know there are alternatives but this non dairy thing is way bigger then I ever imagined it would be!

Kimitatsu

Dairy is the hardest intolrance to cope with in our everyday diet to be honest because milk is used as a "filler" for all sorts of produce. Even simple things such as shop bought mayonnaise - the "light" version has cream in it :mad:

I have become an expert at reading labels and end up making a lot of our food just so that I KNOW what goes into it. If you have the time to make your own then that is the way I would go, replace the dairy aspect with non dairy alternatives weight for weight and they come out well. Because we are gluten intolerant then I use rice flour instead of wheat flour and potato starch as a thickener.

Oh and I STILL get cravings for a nice bit of mature cheddar now and then :rotfl: