Foods You're Allergic To - Alternative Options Part 1: Cow's Milk

No matter what your food allergies are there's most-likely an alternative replacement available for you. In part one of this series I'll provide you with some guidance to finding the perfect cow's milk alternative. Read below to learn more.

If you’ve recently found out that you’re allergic to cow's milk, then you’d be quick to discover that there are a wide variety of milk alternatives available...

Replacing Cow's Milk

Please note that The Food Allergy Way’s scope is food allergies, and therefore, the information provided in this post focuses on cow’s milk allergy specifically. The information provided below may be applicable to other milk related health concerns, such as lactose intolerance and milk protein intolerance, however, although not mentioned within this post. Prior to making any dietary changes that may impact your health, please make sure to consult with your physician about the best path forward for changing your diet.

No matter what your food allergies are there’s most-definitely an equally suitable alternative to the food, or foods, that make you sick. In this post, I’ll discuss one of the major dietary staples many consume on a daily basis: cow's milk (referred to as "milk" throughout this post for brevity). If you do not have a milk allergy, chances are you consume milk regularly. Whether you’re someone who enjoys milk and cookies, milk in your cereal, milk or cream in your coffee, or any of the other countless means of milk consumption, discovering that milk may be negatively impacting your health can be a tough pill to swallow. However, as I mentioned in my first post, there’s no better time to have food allergies than now. If you’ve recently discovered that you have a milk allergy you’re in luck! Milk is one of the easiest food allergens to replace. I’ll explain why below.

If you’ve recently found out that you’re allergic to milk, then you’d be quick to discover that there are a wide variety of milk alternatives available at your local grocer. Flooding the refrigerated section traditionally reserved for cow’s milk you’ll see an increasing variety of milk alternatives. Some of the milk alternatives you’ll find are made from foods that you would have never imagined being the primary ingredient in “milk”. For example, some of the more traditional milk alternatives are made from rice, coconut, and soy, while more recent alternatives tend to be nut based, and produced from almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts. Even more recently, however, milk alternatives such as oat milk have been introduced into the crowded milk alternative market, and have become wildly popular. Some milk alternatives, such as soy, almond, and oat milk, have gone mainstream and can easily be requested as a milk or cream substitute at your favorite coffee shop, and there are numerous non-dairy alternatives, such as yogurt and ice cream, that are made from these same base alternative ingredients.

From the vast number of milk alternatives available I’ve tried coconut, rice, soy, almond, macadamia nut, and oat milk; each are good in their own way, but oat milk is my current number one. Oat milk has been an absolute favorite of mine in recent months due to its creaminess, texture, and its compatibility with coffee and smoothies. I also use oat milk for cooking purposes where milk is required as an ingredient, for example, in pancakes or mashed potatoes. If I wasn’t allergic to soy, however, soy milk would probably be my milk alternative of choice, because it also has a creamy texture and is smooth, but is a better source of protein, something many of the other milk alternatives lack. Either way, you can’t go wrong with many of the alternatives available, because at this very moment, alternatives to cow’s milk have greatly improved, and are nothing like the milk alternatives of old.

So, when you begin seeking an alternative to cow’s milk make sure to choose an alternative that best suits your tastes and nutritional requirements. For example, I drink A LOT of coffee, so if a milk alternative doesn’t add the same level of creaminess as half-and-half, or at the very least 2% cow’s milk, then I’m most-likely not drinking it. I’m not too concerned with protein, because I make sure I have plenty in my diet, however, you may have different priorities than myself when it comes to favoring a particular alternative.

When seeking your ideal milk alternative you’ll need to be prepared to go through some trial and error, and you’ll most-likely come across a few that you absolutely do-not-like. So, to help kick-start your milk alternative taste-test adventure, and to make things a little easier for you, I've listed a few notable milk alternative brands and variations that you may want to consider below. They're not listed in any particular order, and I have not tried every single one listed below, but each milk alternative has been included in this post because they're extremely easy to find and provide a wide variety of base ingredients to accommodate for various dietary restrictions and needs. Click on the hyperlinks for each item below to explore what each brand has to offer:

• Silk: Soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, cashew and almond milk blend

• Califia: Oat milk, almond milk

• Oatly: Oat milk

• Chobani: Oat milk

• Ripple: Pea milk

• Milkademia: Macadamia nut milk

• Pacific: Soy milk, oat milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, almond milk

• West Soy: Soy milk

Please note that the above list is not comprehensive, and there are plenty of other milk alternatives available. I failed to mention hemp milk, for example, since I've never tried it, and have only come across it sporadically in local supermarkets; just because a milk alternative is not mentioned in this post does not mean that it won't end up being your favorite. Overall, go out there and try as many milk alternatives as you can until you find the perfect one for you. Who knows…you may come across a brand or base ingredient that you enjoy more than the ones I’ve mentioned in this post. Of course, if you come across a brand or base ingredient you feel is the absolute BEST alternative to cow’s milk, make sure to share your new found favorite in the community forum. I’m sure others would love to hear your story and how you discovered your favorite milk alternative.