Plant based diet

[Kay_Lee]

Hi I have been looking at a vegan diet, I’m only looking and researching yet as I am not really ready to make the jump. But what do people use instead of cows milk ? I tried almond milk but really didn’t like it. What do other people use ?

[Activity2004 Administrator]

I personally use soy milk here and there if the dates for the regular skim milk aren't good when I buy it in the stores.

[benwl]

In coffee I usually have soy milk or oat milk - I don't like almond either - but that's pretty much I only thing I use milk for now, with my morning porridge I just use water.

There's a few of us on this forum that follow a plant based or vegan diet if you have any other questions

[Zest]

Hi Kay_Lee ,

Welcome to the Healthy eating forum. I am just including a couple of links that you might find helpful in relation to your query.

The first is an article from Medline which includes some hopefully helpful information about a range of non-dairy products, plus nutritional info on those products:

Substitutes for dairy milk: Soy, almond, rice, and other options

medicalnewstoday.com/articl...

The second link is to NHS Choices 'Vegetarian & Vegan' information pages, as I noted that you are researching a vegan diet, and that you're not ready yet to make the jump - so I thought you might find the information helpful. You may have already seen it, or know quite a bit, so apologies if you didn't need that info.

nhs.uk/livewell/vegetarianh...

Hope you have a great week.

Zest

[Sadmia]

My daughter is vegetarian, she did it gradually after a lot of research, and to persuade me she was getting all the necessary nutrition. So I suggest a gradual change to your diet. Thee are a lot of different nut oat rice milks out there, and long life, in case you can only get to the suppliers occasionally you should find something you like.

[TheAwfulToad]

If you can find the genuine article I suggest Chinese style dou jiang; the soy milk you buy in supermarkets is watery, weird-tasting stuff in comparison.

[andyswarbs]

If you want milk in your tea, PG tips have brought out one designed for almond milk.

[BadHare]

Take a look at The Vegan Society's website for nutritional information & recipes: vegansociety.com/ & try sites such as the Food Monster for ideas to cook with foods you like: onegreenplanet.org/foodmons... There are hundreds of other websites, & if you look online, you may find social groups that are local to you. There are several in my area, & are good for guiding new folks around potential nutritional hiccoughs. Do try to avoid processed vegan junk foods, margarine, etc, as they're not healthy even though they're plant based.

It might be worth trying different brands of plant based milks to find one you prefer, or try making your own if you've a spare 10-15 minutes afew times a week, & a blender. Oat & coconut are probably easiest, & the addition of a little maple syrup improves the taste, but not the texture of commercial brands as a few contain thickening/texture agents such as locust bean & carrageen.

[Kay_Lee]

Thanks for replying everyone, I will investigate and try a few out

[Kay_Lee]

Was going to add I’m on day four of a vegetarian diet yey, small steps

[sebik]

Good start. Prior buying almond, soy or rice milk check the ingredients. Some of them are highly processed and contain a lot of sugar.

The brand Bonsoy is a bit more expensive, but tastes great and has a short list of ingredients without the stuff you can't pronounce. Often used in cafes in Australia.

Cheers