It has been a big week in our house this week as my son is now completely weaned from the breast. Besides the emotionally scarred messy heap that this has left me in, it was a relatively painless process. Our son is now 18 months old and this was a decision that just seemed to work for us. With his breastmilk intake at an end, this has led us to look for alternatives to replace the calcium and vitamin D that he was getting from me. We had already made the decision that we would not use cow's milk as an alternative, mostly because of it's low magnesium content, rendering it an inadequate source of calcium (calcium and magnesium are required in balance to properly metabolize in the system - without magnesium, the calcium content is virtually wasted as it is mostly passed through the body unused). We had already introduced rice milk, almond milk, and soy milk to our son, mostly in recipes rather than as a drink. We are still trying to find the suitable alternative for him as most milks have been met with resistance (nothing like mother's milk, I guess!). I thought I would share the information that I have gathered about some non-dairy milks:
Soy milk: This is the most widely available non-dairy milk alternative making it one of the most easy to find and cost effective milks on the market. It has a good fat, fiber, and protein content while remaining free of cholesterol and saturated fat. Soy milk is also a good alternative for cooking as it remains stable at high temperatures. Soy milk naturally has a low calcium content so manufacturer's counter this by fortifying the milk with calcium carbonate.
Rice milk: This is becoming much more widely available and can now be found at most grocery stores. Much like soy milk, rice milk is also fortified with calcium, vitamin B3 and B12, and iron. Rice milk has a much weaker flavour than soy milk and therefore might be accepted more readily by babies. I also like using rice milk in recipes because it doesn't alter the flavour as soy milk does. Be sure to look for unsweetened varieties.
Almond milk: Almond milk has a nice, creamy texture and I love it in my morning coffee! Look for organic, unsweetened varieties. Although almonds are one of the healthiest foods you can eat and are high in calcium, many milks actually use a smaller amount of almonds than you might think. An alternative may be to make your own almond milk at home - grind 1/4 cup of almonds in a coffee grinder, mix with 1 cup water and blend for 2 to 3 minutes in a blender, strain the liquid using a sieve. This homemade almond milk is PACKED with nutrition.
Hemp milk: One of the newer dairy alternatives on the market, hemp milk is a highly nutritious alternative to cow's milk. It contains half your daily recommended allowance of calcium and is rich in omega-3s and potassium, vitamin A, D, E, and so on and so on.... Hemp milk is one of the more expensive options, but it's nutritional value is very high.
So as I said, the jury is still out on what we will use in the end. We'll probably end up rotating them all in and out of the house and focus on providing calcium-rich foods throughout the day (broccoli, almonds, fortified orange juice, tofu, and spinach are staples in our house!).
