Back in the day Scott and I drank a lot of milk. By a lot, I mean the two of us would polish off 3 gallons of milk in a week.
So yeah, a lot.
Both of us grew up in households where milk was served at dinner and sometimes at lunch. Pop or fruit juices (aside from oj) were not allowed at the table to have with meals. They were considered treats. A rule that seems to have gotten lost past our generation.
However several years ago as I started looking into food a bit more, I learned that milk wasn’t so great. Milk from factory-farmed cows were full of stuff you do not want to put in your body. We stopped drinking milk cold turkey and switched over to soy milk. We liked soy milk and stuck with that for many many years.
When we lived in Ohio, we had access to amazing grass-fed dairy from a local farm. We still didn’t switch over from soy milk completely though. Scott used half-and-half in his coffee and I used the cream to make butter. That was the extent of our milk intake. I still used soy milk or coconut milk for cooking and baking.
Moving to Fort Collins, finding soy milk proved challenging. Oh there’s soy milk here but the brand we like isn’t easy to find and when we did find some it was really expensive. A lot more than what we paid in Ohio.
Always keeping a budget in mind, I wasn’t fond of the increased price. Nor did I like the treasure hunt we had to do in order to find some.
This actually came at a great time. I had been considering ditching the soy milk anyway. As we move towards less processed foods and back to a more traditional unprocessed way of eating, soy milk doesn’t really fit with that philosophy. It has thickeners, sweeteners, and additives that I don’t really want to consume any longer.
Milk only has milk.
So we have dropped the soy milk and switched back to milk fully. We are able to get milk delivered to us each week fresh from a local dairy. The dairy raises and owns their own cattle along with growing and producing all the food that the cattle eat. The milk we get was just milked from the cow 24 hours prior.
I know that some people are not a supporter of dairy and I’m aware of studies that suggest dairy isn’t all that great. I also know that soy milk isn’t all that great either. I’ve done the research. We all need to do what is right for our families. For us, this is working right now and this is a choice that we are happy with.
I’m back to having a large glass of milk each night with my dinner. I never realized how much I missed milk. I look forward to that glass of milk each night with dinner. It’s bliss! We’re not quite up to where we used to be in terms of consumption. Only about half that. We get a gallon and a half of whole milk delivered to us each week.
I admit that I love having fresh milk delivered to my door!
Do you drink milk? Have you ever moved away from dairy only to reintroduce it back into your diet?
We drink a lot of milk in our house (our family of four goes through 4-5 gallons a week). I’ve gone through phases where I drink soy or coconut milk, but I always come back to real milk. It works for me and my fam.
Heidi, that is a lot of milk! You totally have us beat!
I love milk – I SO wish I could drink it, but my stomach just can’t handle it, even with Lactaid. I drink almond milk as a sub, when I choose to. I can still bake/cook with milk, just not drink it straight.
My kids go through a ton of milk – 3 gallons a week just the 2 of them!
Kim
Kim, that’s a bummer but at least these days there are other options available. I do feel it’s important for kids to have milk. I don’t know why though maybe just something ingrained from childhood.
Since I switched to a higher quality of milk B drinks more which is a good thing for her growing body. She said she can tell a difference in taste. It is worth it for her to drink it. She likes my almond milk too as each time I buy some it is gone before I get any!
Monica, Higher quality milk is definitely better! It has more nutrients and is digested a lot easier.
Ok, so you all drank a lot of milk. Ha, ha! We go through a gallon about every 2 weeks. Glad to hear that you all have welcomed it back. We both believe in drinking dairy from a nutritional science perspective, and fortunately we tolerate it without problem. The best milk write up I’ve ready is in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. There is a huge argument that it’s not natural to drink it and other cultures don’t. But that’s totally untrue and that book outlines those details. I’d love to try different milks as well, but only want them if I make them myself without the fillers. I’ll eventually try making my own fresh soy and almond milk, just haven’t tackled it yet.
Lori, Thank you so much for that book recommendation! I will definitely be purchasing that soon!
Milk is such a charged topic – so many misconceptions and half truths out there. And because of growth hormone being allowed in US milk, many Canadians also think it is allowed in our milk supply, but it’s not, and foreign milk is not allowed to be sold in Canada. Personally, I don’t drink it, but not because I feel it is evil – I just don’t really enjoy it. I will use it in baking, cooking, and on cereal, but I find no joy in drinking a glass of milk – dairy or otherwise. Do I think we need milk to have a healthy diet? No. Do I think it’s wrong to include it in your diet? No.
Marianne, milk is indeed a charged topic and it really just boils down (ha!) to what works for you and your body.
I can’t have milk since I’m lactose intolerant, and since I don’t serve it with dinner (we don’t do that in Latin America), I seldom keep any around.
But I do drink coconut milk and sometimes cook with almond milk. Having said that, if my body could handle it, I would definitely drink milk.
TG, I have read that people who are lactose intolerant can actually handle raw milk. Something about how the it’s easier on the digestive system and what not. Raw milk still makes me a bit nervous, maybe someday I’ll give it a try.