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Giving up milk.....how did you do it?

103 replies

titsintiers · 15/07/2021 07:47

I have always drank lots of milk in lots of mugs of tea and coffee throughout the day. I know it's not good for me but lockdown has lead to an increase in quantity.

For those of you who've given up, how did you manage? Do you drink substitutes? I like almond milk, but not as much and it's not great for the environment.

I like peppermint tea but all the fruit one's taste the same. Any recommendations for alternatives?

OP posts:
Eileen101 · 15/07/2021 09:19

Op, I've had 15 months of switching for non dairy products so if you want any other recommendations, I'm happy to help!

Greenrubber · 15/07/2021 09:19

There was also a thread a while back which suggested my cuppa from alpro it's very expensive but it does taste in tea like semi

PattyPan · 15/07/2021 09:21

I don’t like milk so I never had to give it up but I use Oatly. Oatly barista is good in hot drinks.
Green tea and rooibos are good without milk.

RampantIvy · 15/07/2021 09:22

@DinosaurDiana

My DD gave up dairy due to allergies. She likes the blue Oatly that you find in the fridge, not the one on the shelf.
How much do the fresh Oatly milks differ from the longlife ones?

DD uses Oatly, the barista version - the main reason being that when she was in halls the other students kept using her milk, and when she switched to Oatly they left it alone Grin

She now prefers it to dairy milk. I have had it in coffee and tea, and IMO it doesn't work with tea for me.

Lightningrain · 15/07/2021 09:23

I gave up milk as I realised it didn’t agree with me. My digestion and skin has been better since giving it up.

I don’t drink a lot of hot drinks but tend to have either black coffee or green tea. I like oat or almond milk in porridge/cereal.

Weirdly I’m still ok with yogurt but milk, cream or cheese seem to cause a reaction.

SwordPlay · 15/07/2021 09:28

Your taste buds can get used to pretty much anything... :-)

I've not drank milk for about a year now, I can't stand the taste of it anymore - in coffee or on its own. Almond, oat or cashew are really nice alternatives but frankly there's so much choice out there. You just have to test & try and find your favourite.

Give it a while and it'll become second nature AND you'll actually enjoy it xx

FindingMeno · 15/07/2021 09:33

I don't like the taste of cows milk any more.
Bleurgh.
You have to try a lot of alternatives to find the right one for you.
The right one for me is unsweetened alpro oat milk.
I never drank milk alone however, and I do eat real cheese.

RestingPandaFace · 15/07/2021 09:35

If you are worried about the calories you could switch to 2% or skimmed. Milk isn’t necessary but neither is it unhealthy unless you are intolerant or allergic.

DappledThings · 15/07/2021 10:27

I know it's not good for me
Says who?

MrsVeryTired · 15/07/2021 10:29

I like Oatly Semi (the one in the fridge). It tastes good in everything, IMO.

Dollpiglet · 15/07/2021 10:34

My DC have cmpa. First time around I switched to oatly. Second time around DC was allergic to oats so I just don't have milk because I hate all the other ones. I've tried hemp, pea, coconut, almond, cashew, hazulnut and they're all pretty vile.

HarrietHairbrush · 15/07/2021 10:36

Why is almond milk bad?
I also have lots of coffee during the day
Redbush tea is nice

norijunior · 15/07/2021 10:44

I tried loads when I was trying to give up dairy (didn't manage it!) and found cashew nut milk the best substitute.

namechangedForthus · 15/07/2021 10:49

I always thought cows milk was good for me and had no issues allergy wise with it

When I stopped it though I noticed a massive difference and I won’t ever go back . I feel a million times better with almond or oat milk.

Weirdly my IBS symptoms hugely improved, I have less infections (I was getting a lot of specific infection) and my skin which wasn’t awful is now fine plus a stubborn eczema patch cleared up
None of these things were big issues but I didn’t connect them in any way to milk
Had a slip up and had symptoms return so I know now to avoid

Muddlebubble · 15/07/2021 10:52

I had to give up dairy 2 years ago due to an intollarence, i drink oat milk.
You get used to it after a while

Itsprobablynotcominghome · 15/07/2021 10:58

Alpro Oat Milk No Sugar in tea/coffee. Maybe I’m weird but I’m used to that over cows milk.

Can’t imagine I’ll ever have dairy again. It’s the easiest thing to give up really, milk chocolate is the hardest part.

Cows milk needs a fucking price hike. I assume a lot of people don’t ditch it because it’s cheap as fuck.

toastantea · 15/07/2021 11:01

Cows milk needs a fucking price hike. I assume a lot of people don’t ditch it because it’s cheap as fuck.

Am I missing something here? Why are you angry at people who drink cows milk?

NannyR · 15/07/2021 11:10

From a nutritional point of view, I would say that cows milk is probably better for you than substituting with plant milks - soya milk has a similar amount of protein, but rice, oat, almond are mostly water with calcium, iodine and b12 added.

SchrodingersMat · 15/07/2021 11:15

Eh? Nothing wrong with milk, provided you can tolerate lactose there is no nutritional reason to cut it out.

titsintiers · 15/07/2021 11:30

I don't Lactose is good in large quantities. I also have some eczema that I think may be related.

I'm not saying it's bad for everyone but I think it's probably not doing me any favours.

OP posts:
cindarellasbelly · 15/07/2021 11:41

I drink lactose free milk, I'd give it a go first OP and see if that helps as at least you'll know what the culprit is.

I gave up milk for over a year as I was breastfeeding a child with CMPA and also worked with her to build up her tolerance. I think the main thing to recognise is, the 'substitutes' are flavoured water with additives. They're not 'milk'. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them, though they're obviously much more processed and some of them contain oil and all manner of weird things. But the ingredients and nutritional info is wildly different between types and makes, so its not just about finding the flavour you like most, but considering what its adding to/taking away from your diet.

One of the things that has frustrated me about the popularisation of veganism vs vegetarianism is for some reason the recent explosion of vegan foods have all been fake-meat or similar. Traditional diets that are vegetarian or vegan are naturally balanced: rice and beans gets you all your aminos, look at a standard Indian meal and you'll get everything you need. Food cultures that are traditionally vegetarian have meals that are balanced in the way a lot of vegan substitutes just aren't.

Straight swapping oat milk and soy cheese for milk and cheese will leave you a totally different amount of calcium, fat, vitamins, etc etc. Same with fake meat burgers and chips. So I don't think its going to make much difference if its just what you have in your tea, but I'd look at the labels.

DDs dietitian recommended oatly barista as being the 'closest' in terms of nutrition. It was the only one I could tolerate, for tea, cereal and coffees, and is definitely my recommendation.

NannyR · 15/07/2021 11:41

You could start by gradually reducing the amount you put in each time you make a cup.
I weaned myself off milky hot drinks a while ago and have found I prefer black coffee. I'm not keen on black tea, but I drink a lot of redbush and other herbal ones, especially spicy ones like cinnamon, ginger, chai. I'm really liking fennel tea at the moment. I prefer the Pukka brand teas over Twinings.

BiBabbles · 15/07/2021 11:46

I tried a variety, Alpro Soy was the one I used the most as I need the protein content and it worked well for many things in my life though I'm aware many don't find it good for hot drinks (I don't drink coffee or tea), but in the end I went back to dairy milk as it just had a better nutrition profile for me and I feel better with it.

Obviously with it causing issues for you, there are thankfully other options, though you could also test lactose-free milks as well to see what options work best for you.

Why is almond milk bad?

Almonds are pretty water intensive compared to other non-dairy options and the agricultural processes around them and the processing required to make milk has been questioned in efficency, ethics, and obviously allergy concerns too. I wouldn't say bad, just like I don't say dairy is bad, but I get why some avoid both of those.

Cows milk needs a fucking price hike. I assume a lot of people don’t ditch it because it’s cheap as fuck.

Interesting that you think that dairy milk should be more expensive rather than making other options more accessible or how we need more research into making better alternatives that have a closer nutrition profile to dairy milk which, alongside cost & access, is a significant barrier to others using it. We've plenty of low cal options, but that's not appropriate for everyone.

The big issue food tech wise is coming up with a sustainable option that deals with its current use in some populations and recommended with some medical conditions where dairy is a big part of some people's calorie consumption. We can't ditch something that can fill a wide range of nutritional needs for something that just looks or tastes like it. That's not the OP's issue, but let's not throw dairy-reliant people - which does include some adults - under the bus.

Shite like this comes across to me as wanting to punish people who view things differently or have different nutritional needs rather than wanting to make anything better.

username18702 · 15/07/2021 11:52

I am veggie/vegan and gave up milk in 2015 or thereabouts. I drink soya milk. I used it in tea and my porridge in the morning. I don't like Almond as I find it quite bitter. Oatley is nice in porridge but not so nice in tea. I use soya milk unsweetened. A nice one is Holland and Barret:
www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/holland-barrett-organic-soya-drink-unsweetened-60010995

You can buy in bulk, they often do discounts and you save if you have a subscription.

Itsprobablynotcominghome · 15/07/2021 12:02

@toastantea

Cows milk needs a fucking price hike. I assume a lot of people don’t ditch it because it’s cheap as fuck.

Am I missing something here? Why are you angry at people who drink cows milk?

I’m angry that the supermarkets keep the price of cows milk absurdly low. Making the farmers poorer, and presumably meaning short cuts and poorer standards ensue.

I’m happy for people to drink cows milk if they want, it’s a free world. But it should be priced accordingly to the process that goes in to it.