So, would you rather have a glass of milk or a glass of oat milk?
Don’t get me wrong, I love milk to the moon and back. Some of my earliest childhood memories stemmed from a glass of milk. Picture this: a young girl dashing to the kitchen before bedtime, her mother standing nearby, tapping her foot until she hears the pitter-patter of her daughter’s steps drawing closer to the kitchen. A smile appears once she takes a sip while the warmth of the milk engulfs the rooftops of her mouth.
“Mhmm, can I have more Ma?”
And fast forward to today: I am twenty-two years old, milk-less.
That’s right, milk-less.
Although I experienced a handful of positive memories from the gallon of milk in my fridge throughout my childhood, I’ve come to understand what milk means to my own body and health.
My acne began during my senior year of high school; alas, I was still a novice in skincare. I eventually began purchasing products to combat my acne through research online. But it wasn’t until last year I discovered the effects of milk on my skin.
In order to be sure if milk really made a difference to my skin, I reduced my milk consumption and tried varying milk alternatives along my milk-less journey over the course of a few months.
I began to see the results of my actions after two months and my acne breakouts have reduced significantly. While there may be additional factors that trigger my sporadic acne breakouts, I aimed to identify at least one aspect that may contribute, such as my consumption patterns. Reducing milk consumption might pose a challenge, but I found myself enthusiastic about the abundance of milk alternatives available on grocery store shelves.
Here’s a ranking of dairy alternatives from favorite to least favorite:
- Oat
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Oat milk is my daily go-to, from smoothies to iced coffees! Oat milk tends to be the creamiest of the bunch in my opinion, having subtle sweet nodes dancing on your tongue. Oat milk also has a long fridge life, making it worth your while if you’re slow in finishing your oat milk like me.
- Cashew
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Cashew milk has a subtle nutty flavor behind it, but a creamy alternative if you want something other than oats. I am a big nut fan, so I am partially biased in my love of cashew milk. In my experience, cashew milk has been challenging to find in markets that do not have a wide variety of dairy alternatives, but it’s definitely worth a try!
- Soy
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Soy milk has a unique flavor; it’s an acquired taste. I loved soy milk, but the soy milk spoiled at a faster pace than expected. I found myself reluctantly pouring the spoiled contents down the drain with a broken heart just one week later.
- Almond
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As mentioned earlier, I’m a major fan of nuts, but almond milk turned out to be a disappointment to my avid nut self. Almond milk had a subtle nutty flavor but was very watery. No creaminess to the liquid; I would not buy it again.
- Coconut
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Now, I was extremely excited about coconut milk since I love coconut-flavored foods such as ice cream or desserts! To my dismay, coconut milk encompassed a watery solution like almond milk. The dairy alternatives lacked the creaminess of oat milk. There were faint hints of coconut in the milk, but nothing that made it particularly distinctive.
I would like to add that I drink the “unsweetened” version of these dairy alternatives to watch my sugar consumption and prioritize my long-term health. Small actions like these spirals into a massive positive in the long run. Although I may not purchase a few of these alternatives again, I will happily add any of these to my smoothies! Ingredients such as fruit, peanut butter, and more tend to mask the milk’s flavor, so any dairy alternatives will work if you are trying to reduce your dairy intake like me! Don’t hesitate to try out different recipes as well, there is never only one correct answer.
I thoroughly enjoyed trying out different dairy alternatives and will continue my journey with pistachio milk next. Cheers to beginning my day with a Not-So Milky start!