DH and I watched, "What the Health" and have decided to stop eating meat and fish. Our goal is to wean ourselves from dairy too, but my goodness cheese is addictive! However, I would like to at least get LO off of dairy milk and yogurt. For right now I can't start with soy milk because DH believes the soy/ estrogen milk. 
Can you recommend any dairy-free/ vegan milk your kids enjoy?
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
Our son (allergic to dairy) drinks Hemp milk! It's high in good fats, calcium, and vitamin D. The only area it really lacks that cow's milk has is protein, but there are plenty of other sources for that!
pomelo / 5524 posts
Can you do almond milk? Our neighbor raves about it. We unfortunately can't drink it due to LO's tree nut allergy.
pomelo / 5720 posts
Our kids like Almond milk and coconut yogurt. The downfall is that there is very little protein in either of those. I am allergic to dairy so I eat mostly vegan and just stay away from milk/milk substitutes because I don't like how they taste.
grapefruit / 4988 posts
We used to give DD hemp milk when she and I were both dairy/soy/nut free and I was trying to wean her from BFing. That said, I could only stand to drink the sweetened version and I never really liked it much. We currently use almond milk and coconut milk mostly (unsweetened).
That said, may I gently suggest that you do a bit more research before completely uprooting your family's diet? That documentary is pretty extreme.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
I'd definitely consult your doc in this decision, our daughter has a milk allergy that we are working with and our doc said soy milk over almond milk due to the protein in it. Dairy free is HARD, we are only a week in and it's crazy how things I assumed would be safe are not due to trace amounts of whey or dairy in them.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@LuLu Mom: Sorry to hear you are dealing with a milk allergy too. If you need anyone to talk to, I'm here. 
grapefruit / 4455 posts
I thought about this same thing but in the end just continued milk. I know they are more trying to sway people toward a vegan lifestyle (which I knew wouldn't happen but tried to drastically cut down) but I got tired fighting dh and both kids on it while also pregnant and tired. We did make some modifications though.. curious what others say.
grapefruit / 4455 posts
@LuLu Mom: sorry that's so tough! I had to be dairy free for about a year while recovering from an infection and it was hard.
cherry / 196 posts
coconut (provides fat that WCM might provide), almond, flax, hemp, cashew, Ripple (brand name) is a pea based milk that has more protein than nut based milks.
Honestly, milk doesn't have to be part of your kid's diet. A lot of vegans give mostly water as a beverage and make sure their kids are getting the nutrients elsewhere. Cow milk is a source of protein, fat, vitamin D, and calcium, so I'd make sure you have adequate sources of those things, regardless of whether they come from a milk substitute.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
LO would still get milk with breakfast at daycare and we don't plan to make modifications to the other foods he eats there. He eats peanut butter just fine, so Almond and Hemp are contenders. Neither DH nor I like coconut anything, but who knows maybe LO will.
@catlady: what part did you find extreme? 
let me guess! Seriously though, the parts that resonated with us was seeing again the condition the animals are kept in and the allowable traces of this and that in our foods by the FDA.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@LuLu Mom: dairy is in so much, that's why we are pretty much starting as vegetarians. I'm lucky my dad will clear out my freezer full of meat, but I am not ready to give up butter and cheese.
coffee bean / 40 posts
Welcome to the darkside! But seriously, congratulations in starting such a hard change! I've been vegan for going on 2 years, for ethical reasons as well, and going dairy free is hard since it manages to work it's way into everything, same with "natural flavoring" and gelatin. I think the biggest thing that helped me in the beginning was someone say that if animal ag wasn't so big they wouldn't need to find ways to use all the byproducts, so by cutting out meat/straight dairy it's hitting them where it hurts most and once that impact is noticed there won't be byproducts that have to be used and snuck in. It's all about doing as much as you can and not stressing about the rest because there is no such thing as a perfect vegan.
Anyway! To answer your question, DD is too young to drink nonbreastmilk, so I'm curious as to what everyone is doing there! For us, we were never really milk drinkers so the switch to an alternative was easy. We mostly use almond milk, unsweetened or chocolate for drinking or cereal, but I find soy milk is better to cook with.
Good luck on your adventure!
cantaloupe / 6131 posts
I would also suggest that you consult your doctor and research everything to make sure you're getting the right balance of nutrients. I was a near vegan for 2 years - not for any real reason other than I was poor and trying to maximize my budget with healthy whole foods - and even though I was eating what I thought was a very well rounded diet plus supplements, I ended up over time making myself incredibly sick. Granted, part of this was just my own body chemistry and my body just did better with SOME animal products (which was further confirmed during my TTC journey and pregnancies), but I had to introduce a lot of meat back into my diet to heal and it took like 2 more years to get me back on track.
Vegan MOFO usually happens in the fall (this year its October) and you can maybe give yourself some time to eat up your food stocks and then go for it in October and see how it goes. http://www.veganmofo.com/
I went from virtually vegan to trying the Vegan MOFO hardcore and it was SO HARD. I survived, but it was way too intense for me. I did almost vegan (like trace fish products, some eggs, some honey, but almost no dairy) and that was doable but straight up vegan was really hard.
honeydew / 7463 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: coconut milk really doesn't taste like coconut! I think it's pretty bland (I love coconut everything and got it once hoping it would be like creamy coconut and it's not).
pineapple / 12053 posts
we do almond (sometimes hemp) fully. i can't tolerate much lactose, so we switched to non-dairy milk about 6 years ago and i don't want to buy special milk for anyone.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@gingerbebe: thanks for turning me into vegan mofo! During my lunch break today I stocked up on Amy's everything in the freezer aisle until I wrap my head around what's I can cook.
@Mrs. Microscope: Ripple milk sounds like a winner too.
I guess the best thing to do is to compare the nutrient label of almond/ Ripple/ hemp/ coconut/ cow's milk and then do a little half & half until we are out of WCM. That's similar to how we moved LO from formula to WCM.
Thanks for the help.
pomegranate / 3350 posts
Silk nutmilk + protein. It is a mix of almond and cashew milk and pea protein. My LO is MSPI and it is a life saver for me! It has fat and protein content similar to cows milk. The vanilla flavor is delicious in coffee and regular is good as a milk substitute for pretty much everything. Even Breyers make "ice cream" out of almond milk with pea protein now. It's not in all grocery stores so you may need to shop around but it's worth it. A million times better than regular almond milk.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@skipra: Silknut + Protein, thank you! That one is very similar to Ripple, which won my initial nutrition label test.
clementine / 927 posts
What a bold choice for your family! We've been vegan for many years, so naturally I think you are making a great choice for many reasons.
We mostly use hemp milk when I am too rushed to make milk, but aim to make most of our own milk. Walnut milk, cashew milk, macadamia milk, and others are not time consuming. Plus you know exactly what's in your milk.
Best wishes on this new adventure!
pomelo / 5509 posts
@skipra: Whaaat I've never seen the Silk nut milk + protein. Did you find it at a regular grocery store? I've been debating trying Ripple but that one sounds like a really good option! LO has a dairy intolerance and I need something for myself that's more nutrient dense than plain almond milk.
cherry / 196 posts
Good luck with the switch! DD also gets WCM at daycare, and I give her a rotation of plant-based milks at home, so hopefully it'll be no big deal for your kiddos.
pomegranate / 3350 posts
@IRunForFun: yes but it's not in all stores. We're in MA and I find it in Stop & Shop. (And they always print out a $1 off coupon each time I but it which is awesome) Just shop around or maybe check on their website?
pomegranate / 3375 posts
The soy/estrogen thing is not a think. Many studies have shown this. It's phytoestrogen, which is also in a lot of other foods.
We are a vegan family. Kiddos went to water for hydration and food for nutrition. But, my baby was eating a ton of foods at 12 months, so I was ok with skipping milk.
Hemp milk is a great option. We supplement our LO with b12 and vit d, too.
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
We tried Rippled Unsweetened Original since that's all two Targets had. I gave it to LO with WCM and he drank it right up! I tried it plain and hope to find the Original in store soon since that is supposed to be a little sweeter. I came across this taste comparison after I bought the Unsweetened in case anyone is tempted to try it. http://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/smart-choices/what-is-pea-milk
@littlejoy: how do you provide the supplements?
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@T.H.O.U.: which flavor Ripple did you try? how did you like it?
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: the baby wasn't impressed but I am going to try to transition her to it some in her formula bottles. She had Original. Our target had almost all the varieties.
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