Guest post by Adrienne from Whole New Mom
Milk alternatives are really filling up the grocery and health food store shelves. That’s due mostly to the many people (like some in my family) who have dairy allergies or who are lactose intolerant. And if you have someone in your family with food allergies, you know how finding (and affording) substitute foods can be really tricky.
Well, today I’m sharing how you can save a lot of money by making your own rice milk. Even if you don’t have someone in your home with a dairy allergy, this is a great tip for all of us who love to cook and bake. The next time you run out of milk while you are baking, just whip up a batch of this rice milk and you’ll be able to finish your recipe–no problem!
I figured this out one day while shopping at a health food store. While looking at the options in the “milk substitute aisle”, I noticed that the only ingredients listed on the boxes were–grain, water, and occasionally sweetener and flavoring. There just had to be a way to make this myself and save a lot of money.
So I went home, got out my blender, estimated the amount of rice and water I should use, added a dash of salt and a tablespoon of sweetener, and the rest is money-saving history!
Make Your Own Rice Milk or Milk Substitute
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked rice (I prefer to use brown organic for a more nutritious option. We buy it in bulk to save money.)
- 4 cups water (filtered, if possible)
- Dash salt (I recommend RealSalt)
- 1 Tablespoon sweetener (or to taste; optional)
- Additional flavoring (optional; vanilla for vanilla-flavored milk; to taste)
Method
1. Place all ingredients in blender.
2. Blend for four minutes in a regular blender, or two minutes in high-speed blender like a Vitamix.
3. Enjoy!
Tips:
- Use less or more rice, depending on how thin or thick you like your rice milk to be. Standard rice milk is thinner than regular cow’s milk.
- Filtered water is extremely important. You can read my post on Is Your Water Safe? to see more about water quality concerns.
- Add other flavorings like chocolate too. Makes a great alternative to chocolate milk.
- If you’ve been thinking about a Vitamix and someone in your family has an allergy to dairy, you won’t believe how much time and money this machine will save you. And clean up is a breeze!
- Prepare extra rice ahead of time, portion it conveniently (like one cup in each bag) into small plastic bags and secure with a Twixit Clip (you can use any kind of clip, but these clips are amazing. They last basically forever, and have a lifetime guarantee! Good-bye pesky twist-ties!) Just thaw out your rice whenever you need rice milk, and if you have a Vitamix, it can handle the rice frozen.
How much money can you save?
A 32-oz container of rice milk costs about $2.70 each (even at a good price on Amazon.com). Assuming that a typical family would use about 2 of these containers each week, I calculate your savings as:
Buying boxed rice milk:
If you bought two 32-oz. containers of rice milk at the store at $2.70 per week for 52 weeks, you’d be spending $275.08 per year on rice milk.
Making rice milk:
It takes 3.25 ounces of rice to make 64 ounces of rice milk. Our family purchases brown rice in bulk at $1 per pound, which comes out to a cost of $0.20 per week for rice milk or $10.40 per year for the rice needed for a year’s worth of rice milk.
Annual savings: $264.64.
And you save even more when you add in the savings in car use and gas by not making another trip to the store!
Want more money saving tips? You might want to check out my posts on:
- Homemade Coconut Milk
- Homemade Lemonade (with sugar-free option)
- Easy & Moisturizing Foaming Soap
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
Adrienne, of Whole New Mom, is a wife and homeschooling mother of two boys, one of whom has Asperger’s Syndrome and life-threatening food allergies. She has a passion to help others navigate the sea of information on the road to healthier lives. She specializes in frugal living and simplifying special diets. You can also find her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
How long will this keep in the refrigerator.
Hey! Great post, I will give your recipe a try 🙂 where do you get your rice from?
I had no idea I could make rice milk at home!! Thanks for helping our lactose intolerant family money!
Thank you for the great, simple recipe! My son is picky, so I tried a 1/2 batch with white rice. He loved it, and it is so easy and inexpensive! I will try to transition him over to brown rice, but he only has it with cereal, so doesn’t consume large amounts. For those who are unsure about a VitaMix, I can say that I bought mine used, with both wet and dry containers (because I like to grind flour), from an individual who was upgrading to a newer model that she planned to use only for smoothies. That was more than 15 years ago (I can remember that I had it before my son was born, and he is 15) I use it regularly and it is still going strong.
That’s IT?! You just saved me a ton of cash buying dairy substitutes. What kind of sweetener do you use? Sugar or honey?
What do you use as a sweetener (Sucanat? Stevia?)? Is the taste quite different if you use a white rice as opposed to a brown rice?
Hello there~ Just a quick question regarding the ‘sweetener’ used in this rice milk recipe. I’m not familiar (believe it or not) with any of the alternative sweeteners out there (Stevia? Truvia? I am completely clueless!) –what would YOU use in this recipe and if you use various types of ‘sweetener alternatives’ in other recipes, what makes you choose that specific one for that recipe? In other words, why not just use one specific kind always? I apologize if this is a loaded question, but since I am so in the dark regarding these sweetener substitutes, I really do feel lost. 🙁 …thanks so much and I appreciate your time and input. 🙂
Dana,
The sweeteners can be very confusing. I plan to write a post on these soon, but here are the basics:
Sugar is being linked to so many health issues, and I have had to stop eating sugar completely due to my own health problems. Anyway, I mainly use stevia in a pure form (extract) since it is really clean and super sweet. It is a bit tough to bake with, but you can get some good recipes and adjust to make it work. It can also leave a bitter taste, so sometimes I mix it w/ other sweeteners which really helps. For me, those would be xylitol or erythritol or vegetable glycerine (food grade). The brand of stevia that you use is really important too. NuNaturals is really nice and I have heard good things about Sweetleaf. I use their liquid stevias (really tasty!) but they are a bit pricey.
If you are able to eat sugar, I recommend sucanat as a healthy alternative. It is expensive, but doesn’t raise your blood sugar as much as regular sugar.
I do not recommend the Truvia b/c it has fillers that are processed and besides being pricey, they aren’t good for you.
I really hope that helps and I hope to have more info for you soon! It’s a murky topic, for sure.
if you have a child with an allergy, be careful about balancing their diet. if you choose to make your own rice milk, be sure to add extra fat and calcium in your child’s diet. it is very difficult to get enough calcium without dairy unless you use a calcium fortified milk substitute (which is better absorbed by their body) or some other calcium substitute. young children who are still growing are especially vulnerable to undernourishment. the fat is also important for brain development in young children.
Great tip about the fat. The calcium debate is a tough and complicated one. There is a lot in fish like sardines (the bones) and some veggies. Also, surprisingly, in sesame seeds. Coconut oil is also a great source of fat.
I just wanted to clarify to all of Crystal’s readers (and to mine as well), since I can’t reply to Rachael’s comment above about $500 for a Vitamix being a stretch) that I completely understand.
We have always lived on a really tight budget. I have a special needs son and we pay for all of his care out of pocket.
In fact, the year that we purchased our Vitamix, we were making only $32,000 and had one child. That was just after a year of making only $12,500. We were extremely frugal, lived with my inlaws for 2 years, and did the “beans and rice” and “rice and beans” thing.
Sometimes it takes money to save money. You save in one area and spend in another.
I really did not intend for this to be a Vitamix commercial. It never crossed my mind. I just wanted to share a super way to save money and it is made easier with this kitchen machine.
And if you think that getting one would be a help for your family’s health and budget, you can check sites like Craigslist and Ebay.
I would also again like to point out that the refurbished machines are “only” $379 and those are machines that typically are used by demonstrators of the blenders. That is the kind that we bought initially and we were thrilled. So don’t let the “$500” thought keep you from thinking about it.
We haven’t bought any of the following for 10 years:
– ice cream or sorbet
– nut butter
– rice milk
– coconut milk
– powdered sugar
– hummus
-bean dip
– coconut butter
And now I am working on more things to make so we can save even more.
So, enough. I just found it to be so freeing when I finally listened to my husband and saw all of the ways that I could save money, time and trips to the store by bringing things “in home.”
Hope that helps! And I really hope you all understand my heart. I hope to share how really anyone can try to eat healthier, spend less and do it without stressing you out :-).
Blessings,
~Adrienne
I think it’s important to note (to everyone feeling discouraged because you don’t have a VitaMix and can’t afford to buy one), that while a VitaMix can be a great help (and I love mine!), you can certainly live without one. We did for a number of years because there was no way it was in the budget and it was totally okay. Even now, if I hadn’t have been given a VitaMix as a gift, I highly doubt I would spend the money to buy it, as it is very expensive.
So, don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a VitaMix and can’t afford one, you can make rice milk without a VitaMix. It might take a bit more time, but it won’t cost you an arm and leg on a high-end appliance to do so!
Thanks, Crystal! Great perspective. Everything in balance. everything in its time and as it suits your family.
I recently read on Dr. Fuhrman’s site (of the Eat to Live Plan) that Vitamix was concerned about people feeling like they couldn’t access some of the healthiest recipes because they couldn’t afford a Vitamix. I believe there was an option to write in about why you wanted one, and why it was important to you, for a chance to get a reduced price. Might be worth looking into.
Also, military families can contact their local exchange to see if there will be Vitamix demonstration anytime soon. We only paid $300 something for ours, brand new, no tax. A huge savings compared to buying outright.
And there is always Swagbucks to save up gift cards to buy one on Amazon!
Thanks, Kristen! I also, in another comment! We love Swagbucks! Just wish you could get more than 5 of the same Amazon gift card each month b/c the $5 one is the best deal!
Wow ! I had no idea it was this simple to make rice milk. Thank you for the great post.
We have been drinking soy milk for years now, but the more I learn, the more I am interested in finding an alternative.
Can’t wait to try making my own rice milk !
Thanks so much for this post! I love my Vitamix, and I’m always looking for ways to use it even more.
My grandmother, my mother and now me have been making this “rice milk” for years for babies with upset stomachs. (I’m sure my grandmother learned it from her mother or grandmother.) I didn’t even know you could buy it in the stores! 🙂
What a hoot! Sounds like my “whole foods” son who says things regularly like, “What are Pop Tarts?” or “What’s a Snickers?” Yippee for weaning off of junk food :-).
My son is 14 months and has life-threatening allergies too. The doctor told me to wean him to soymilk with DHA for his brain. I’d love to make him rice milk and save a bunch of money, but any ideas for alternative sources of DHA? Also, any recommendations for a source for a good quality calcium/vitamin D supplement?
My “non expert” thoughts on DHA -krill oil or cod liver oil. I purchase cod liver by Twin Labs. It is really inexpensive and from what I can tell, high quality. Then I add stevia and a nice natural extract to it (like orange or something fruity or mint) and my kids like it! (I don’t tell them that I still can’t stomach it…..the fat is just too much for me). Here is a link to it: http://www.iherb.com/Twinlab-Norwegian-Cod-Liver-Oil-Unflavored-Flavor-12-fl-oz-355-ml/2417
For Calcium and Vit D, I would check out NOW Foods. It looks like you may want to do Cal/Mag and then add the Vitamin D. That’s basically what I do. Here is a link to a cal / mag option: http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Cal-Mag-Caps-240-Capsules/464
And a Vitamin D: http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Vitamin-D-3-1000-IU-90-Softgels/23506
They have a great 800# you can call for product info and also, iHerb offers $5 off your first order and free shipping over $40.
Hope that helps!
NOW is a great company and their support is amazing:
Are you still nursing him? If so, it would be better to alter your diet so you are not passing the allergens to him through your milk. Breastmilk has so many things that a growing toddler needs…things that no other milk (cow, fortified soy or otherwise) can give him.
It takes a big commitment to change your diet when nursing, but it’s only for a few months. He’ll be living with the allergies forever and breastfeeding for as long as possible will give him a much healthier start than other milk.
Also, the best source of Vitamin D is the sun. Soak up at least 15 minutes a day without sunscreen!
Sarah,
I completely missed that part of your comment. Forgive me, please! I went through all of this with my first – let me also encourage you to just alter your diet. My son’s physician at the time to not wean my son and certainly not to put him on soy milk, because children w/ allergies often develop allergies to soy as well. To this day, I thank God for that doctor, because just months later my son was allergic to soy.
Another woman in that dr’s practice had weaned her child and was reduced to making her own oat milk baby formula. It is SO much better to continue to nurse your baby and go off of the offending foods. It is hard work, but completely worth it. Your baby will get all the wonderful extras that God put in your milk for nourishment, and you will get all the other benefits of nursing (protects you from breast cancer, bonding w /your child, very helpful when your baby is sick and won’t eat, etc.). If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. We really went through a lot with this and I am happy to help other moms with this issue.
how long is this milk good for? I have never tried anything like this, but am trying to make healthier choices. My son loves chocolate milk, was wondering if I could make this and add chocolate flavoring and mix it up and leave in fridge for a while so we can just pour him a glass.
Of course, you can add chocolate flavoring. We do it all the time, but we use carob to avoid the caffeine.
It should keep the same amount of time that the other rice milks keep for. I haven’t bought it for so long that I don’t know! Plus, if you add sweeteners, it will keep a tad longer.
Sorry for the vague answer – maybe 4 days? If it spoils – you’ve lost very little money :-).
I have a vitamix (wonderful machine by the way) and I used to make my own soy milk but I had a hard time finding the soybeans anywhere and I’ve found that for the last few years that I can’t drink soy milk anymore.
I’ll give it a try with the other things you mentioned. It would be nice to make my own milk alternatives again.
Hope you like it! Glad there’s another Vitamix enthusiast here :-). Saving money sometimes necessitates an up front cost.
I don’t know what I’d without it. It isn’t just the money savings either. There are things I can make using the vitamix that could never find in any store plus the things I make are much healthier than what I could buy.
As a comment to the reader who asked about hormones in milk contributing to early puberty in children, I do believe that that is a contributing factor. I can’t find anything verifying it on the internet (after just a tad of research), but rather information linking the early onset of puberty to obesity.
Either way, who wants hormones in your milk? Or antibiotics?!
You are fantastic!!! I just had to stop drinking cow’s milk recently, and started buying almond milk, disappointed that it was $2.96 (after our Target employee discount) for a half gallon. I will be making this FOR SURE (after I get a new blender….)
Would it be similar for almond milk?
THANK YOU!
Yes, almond milk is quite similar. I will be posting on it at my blog soon, so feel free to drop by and subscribe. Hope to see you around :-)!
I tried this and it was pretty grainy. Is it supposed to be like that, or do I just need a better blender? I’ll have to look into a Vitamix for the future, they look really great.
Erin,
I know I sound like a Vitamix commercial, but they really are great & I would assume that your blender is the issue. I cannot believe the smooth rice milk (and oat milk, etc.) you get out of it, the amazing almond butter (and sunflower seed butter, etc [think Sunbutter and how expensive that stuff is] and homemade all fruit sorbets we make. It really is something. I mentioned earlier that I resisted my husband’s suggestion that we buy one for a long time.
We have saved SO much money since getting one. I really recommend that anyone thinking about eating more naturally and frugally should get one. There is free shipping through my site – just another way to save money :-).
Erin,
I would say that it is in fact the blender. I know that I sound like a commercial for a Vitamix, but they really are that great. I assume that there are some better blenders that work fine, however.
I resisted my husband’s suggestion that we buy a Vitamix for a few years – and I can only guess how much money we did not save as a result of that. I can be so fearful when it comes to spending a large sum of money. But really, trusting my husband’s judgment it always the way to go. Trust him and trust God.
If you end up deciding to get one, you can get free shipping through my site. Just go through my site or contact me through the site and you can get a free shipping code. I’d be happy to help you out.
Hope that helps!
I never thought to make my own… we have been buying coconut milk since it is half the price of cow’s milk (and I have found it on sale for less a few times too) and I can’t eat soy products…
Did you see the reference above to my post on Homemade Coconut Milk? It works great! There is a more “perfectionistic” way to make it, but this is the “too busy already” way :-): http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/make-your-own-coconut-milk/
I used to make rice milk all the time but it was ALWAYS super thick, almost as thick as pudding. I tried using less rice and adding more water and it would be the perfect consistency but after a day in the refrigerator it was like pudding again. What the heck am I doing wrong?!
Hmmm…pudding? I would just say that the solids can need to be mixed back in after it sits for a bit. I should have written that in the post – sorry that I missed that.
I used to have a pitcher with a stirrer built in, but it was hard to clean. I ended up just putting a large spoon into the pitcher that I kept my rice (or oat, etc.) milk in and then I’d stir it whenever I needed a fresh glass.
Did you use the same proportions that I shared?
Also, one other tip – if you end up with some thicker stuff at the bottom (or earlier), just add more water (filtered, of course) and you can either blend it again or stir it and you’ve saved even more money :-).
Hmmm…Thought I just replied, but it didn’t show up. If you see two, then you’ll know why…
Anyway, sometimes mine got thick on the bottom. Did you use the proportions that I shared? I used to have a self-stirring pitcher which was convenient, but it was not fun to clean. Now I just sometimes leave a large spoon (or other utensil) in the pitcher and stir it up before I use it. Then, if there is any thicker solids at the bottom, I just add more water and stir or blend again and use it up.
No waste:-).
I think, of course, that this might not be the best drunk straight, but for baking, it works just fine.
Hope that helps :-)!
I did use your proportions but later I thought about something… did you put hot cooked rice just out of the pan in the blender or did you let it cool first?
I’ve done it both ways. Typically I use cooled rice, but if I just cooked the rice I will use it warm. What kind or rice were you using? I know that different kinds of rice can have different results. Perhaps some of it is that I am willing to deal with it if it gets thick. I just thin it out with more filtered water.
I just poked around on the web a bit and it seems that this can be quite common – looks like the packaged versions are just pretty watered down. So try adjusting your rice amount down a bit or just adding water until it is the way that you like it :-).
I love using my Vitamix for alternative “milks.” We have dairy allergies in our family, so I have to have something for cooking and baking. We don’t really ever drink a glass of the milks I make, but we still need them sometimes. Making them up fresh allows me to make just what I need, so I never have to throw any away.
I like to make oat milk the best. It’s so easy since you don’t have to cook the oats first. I do keep cooked rice in 1/2 cup and 1 cup increments in my freezer, though.
Lately I’ve been making coconut milk with coconut cream concentrate from Tropical Traditions. It’s not as thick as unskimmed coconut milk made with shredded coconut. It’s also beyond easy.
Amy,
Not to say that you have to save even more money (and I do like Tropical Traditions), but did you check out my Homemade Coconut Milk post? I listed it at the bottom of the post, but maybe you missed it….:-). Here is the link again: http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/make-your-own-coconut-milk/
Do you have a sense of what this rice milk does do for you nutritionally? I mean, if I drink/give my kids milk for protein and calcium, then it seems nutritionally rice milk is not a substitute nutritionally speaking. Of course, if you don’t drink cows’ milk, it’s nice to have something to put on your cereal 🙂 I ask b/c I’ve been trying almond milk in place of dairy, not b/c we can’t do dairy, but because it seems to cut down on sinus related ilness when we don’t. I chose almond b/c of it being a source of calcium at least, and ’cause I had some good coupons.
Nutritionally, of course, this is completely different than drinking dairy. And I am not recommending that you substitute milk alternatives for good quality dairy products. However, like you mentioned, some people just don’t do well on them.
As I commented above, I think that there are a lot of reasons for this and a lot of people do very well on raw, high quality milk from pastured animals. I hadn’t heard of this until about 4 years ago, but it is really interesting to me and when I see the difference in the eggs from quality chickens (their color and taste is amazing!) I can’t believe what I used to eat :-).
You can drop by my site and subscribe – I will be sharing how to make almond milk soon (hint – hint :-))
Can you make a larger batch of rice milk and freeze some of it? Or is freezing the rice alone a better option? Thanks for sharing this!
You know, Holli, I have never tried to freeze rice milk, but you can, of course. I have frozen other non dairy milks (and dairy) so you’ll be fine.
I think it would, however, be more “freezer efficient” to store the grain and make the milk from there. In the summer, however, some stored ice cubes of frozen milk alternative would cool down hot drinks in a flash – hey, I just came up w/ another neat-o tip :-)!
That is a great tip!
Cool. Just a little tip. Those clips are great. I got a bag of what looks like very similar clip @ Ikea for just a few dollars.
One of my readers mentioned Ikea’s clips. We don’t have one by here, however. Are they stiff or flexible? The ones pictured are flexible so they are really easy to work with. They also come w/ a lifetime guarantee. I had a small pile of broken ones and the company replaced them for free :-)!
The ones I have are pretty flexible. I’ve never had one break.
Well, I should clarify that I own a TON of these, so the fact that some have broken is not an indication that they are low quality. And I have had them for maybe 12 years. The company was really surprised that I had broken ones.
So anyway, it was nice for me that they replaced them. 🙂 And Amazon has them in their 4 for 3 deal so you can get a bunch and get one package free, or something else free :-).
Ikea’s clips are twixit! brand! I had been given some Pampered Chef ones, which are twixit! and they cost almost a dollar a piece at one point.
Then we went to Ikea and saw what looked similar for around $3 for a bag of 30 and thought I’d try them. Granted, they do include lots of little ones, but these are perfect for small bags such as what you have pictured. Imagine my surprise when we got home and I looked on the inside in small print and realized they were EXACTLY the same thing. They all say twixit! Made in Sweden.
Ikea doesn’t sell these online and while you say you don’t have an Ikea near you, if you know someone who does, at that price it’s worth asking them to pick you up some and mail them.
You would be able to afford them for years without having to replace them.
I love mine and am constantly wondering where they all are because we’ve used them on so many things they just seem to “disappear”. Much handier than chip clips or twist-ties and they keep food tons fresher!
At first glance, I was excited about this. My husband uses rice or almond milk almost every day. But then, I crunched the numbers…
I pay $2.99 to $3.29 per half gallon (without coupons) for fortified rice milk or almond milk in the refrigerated section. Often, it’s on sale for $2.50 and sometimes I have coupons. That’s about 5 cents per ounce or (at most) $171.08 per year (assuming we use a half gallon per week).
The cost of the sweetener and filtering the water isn’t included in the calculations, but I could probably save at least $100 per year making my own, assuming it didn’t burn out the motor in my blender (which I think it would, as my blender is old).
A new Vitamix is around $500. It would take a long time to recoup that investment, since the blender we already have suits our needs. It would be a much better investment for a family that has a lot of allergies or loves green smoothies.
Hi Andrea.
You are really thorough :-)! I will say, however, that the savings with the Vitamix just start here. You can check out other ways to save a TON with it on my site:
1. Homemade Nut and Seed Butters: http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/homemade-nut-and-seed-butters/
2. Homemade Powdered Sugar: http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/how-to-make-powdered-sugar-powdered-sugar-substitute/
3. Homemade Coconut Butter: http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/make-your-own-coconut-butter/
4. And this Healthy Chocolate Pudding turned out amazing in it: http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/chocolate-carob-chia-pudding-dairy-free-sugar-free/
And that’s not all (do I sound like an infomercial here yet) – We make amazing sorbets in it all the time. I’ll be sharing that soon on my blog. I easily recouped the cost of the machine (it is only $379 for a reconditioned machine, by the way, and you can get free shipping if you go through me – through my site or contact me and I’ll get you a code you can use) in the first year.
And finally, before I get off my silly soap box again :-), I will tell all of you that I do not drink, nor do I recommend, Green Smoothies. Raw cruciferous veggies (like kale, and those often put in green smoothies) are really tough on some people’s digestion and they are also bad for your thyroid.
Hope that helps. I really encourage everyone thinking about eating more whole foods to look at a Vitamix. Their customer service is amazing too.
Convinced yet :-)?
To be honest, no. Our blender might get used once a month for a smoothie or a traditional milkshake. It takes us about two months to eat a 16-ounce jar of peanut butter. Other than that, we don’t eat the foods you listed. We don’t eat hummus, pesto or pureed soups, either, so I can’t see ever owning a Vitamix.
Hmmm..Well, it looks like your eating habits are quite a bit different than ours. Ours have changed a great deal over the years – I mean a great deal. And I will say that this blender is one of the things that helped us to get so much more healthy. We even make homemade ice cream & sorbets in it – and I’ll share that recipe soon w/ my readers. (I will say, I have never even eaten pesto).
Anyway, everyone is different, but I know that it has saved us literally tons of money and has made eating a healthier diet so much easier for us.
I understand where you are coming from, but please remember that for many readers on this site, a $500 investment in a blender, however good it is, will be out of reach. I make pesto all the time, but in the free food processor I inherited from my grandma 🙂
That’s also 52 non-recyclable tetra packs that don’t get thrown into the trash!
Those are recyclable in our town.
That’s great that they are recyclable, however, if you ever see a recycling video, the amount of energy and man power that goes into recycling is unbelievable. I watched one with my son about 2 months ago and I was exhausted just watching it.
I think one of the best ways to make an impact on the environment is to use less packaged food goods. Buy whole foods, in bulk, and learn to “make your own from scratch” as much as possible. Healthier for you – healthier for your wallet – and healthier for the environment.
Now I will step down from my small soap box :-). The above was all said in a kind, non-judgmental tone, in case you were wondering :).
I don’t disagree with you, but I wanted to point out that some communities are able to recycle those containers.
Oh sure :-). It’s amazing what they are able to recycle these days. It just takes so much man power to do it.
Yes! I love that. You wouldn’t believe how little trash our family produces. We used to just “top off” our neighbor’s trash bin (with permission :-)) because it didn’t make sense for us to purchase our own large plastic bin thingy.
And that’s less plastic to mess up the environment too (the plastic trash bin things, I mean.)
I think I replied to the wrong person….just in case, here goes again:
Yes! I love that. You wouldn’t believe how little trash our family produces. We used to just “top off” our neighbor’s trash bin (with permission 🙂 ) because it didn’t make sense for us to purchase our own large plastic bin thingy.
And that’s less plastic to mess up the environment too (the plastic trash bin things, I mean.)
“I think one of the best ways to make an impact on the environment is to use less packaged food goods. Buy whole foods, in bulk, and learn to “make your own from scratch” as much as possible. Healthier for you – healthier for your wallet – and healthier for the environment.”
That is so awesome! Love this mantra. I too don’t buy most packaged foods any more. The production costs and the waste generated make me very sad.
You say you “used” to use their trash bin. What do you use now? Since you live in city limits I can’t imagine you can have a burn permit, and a lot of the bulk items we get come in plastic and mylar bags (sometimes paper, but not for everything).
And what do you do about school papers? We go through a lot of paper here for schoolwork.
Well, they just moved. So it’s onto Plan B – or ask the new neighbors :-). We don’t have a burn permit. I use the large paper bags for paper recycling and we dump the bags in w/ the paper in the paper recycling bins. The plastic ones I use for garbage can liners.
School papers – we use the back side for scratch paper and then recycle it.
Recycling must be free where you live. Here’s it is included with the trash bill; you can’t choose one or the other. You have to pay for both.
We don’t have curbside pickup. We can either pay an independent contractor to take both or we can drive it to the town facility. It’s not free, it is paid for by our property taxes.
Brandy–I think you mentioned that you live next to your parents. You could share a trash bin with them to reduce costs for both of you. Republic gave me more recycling bins when I asked for them.
Oh, this sounds yummy. Maybe it’s just because it’s a beautiful fall day at our house, but I feel like this might taste good with a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon mixed in:)
Oh – that sounds great! Maybe I’ll go make some right now :-). It might be because it’s fall – or just because I’m hungry and you had a great idea “-).
I had a taste for this today as well :)! I created a Vanilla Spice smoothie this morning and thought about posting the recipe. At the time I figured it would only appeal to me, but apparently not:)! I guess I better go write that post . . .
I love this idea!
We have all kinds of non-dairy milks in our fridge. Rice milk is my favorite for making oatmeal. I look forward to trying this recipe!
I make other kinds of milk as well, but didn’t want to overwhelm Crystal’s readers. We make oat milk, and even (smile) millet milk. Why not? They’re all grains, right?
We also make nut milks and today, believe it or not, I have pumpkin seed milk in my fridge. Now I know that all of you are going to think that I’m a heath food nut case, but that’s OK. Pumpkin seeds are great when they’re prepared the right way and they are loaded with zinc.
Mine aren’t homemade…yet. I’m intrigued by the pumpkin seed milk–zinc is great for fending off colds.
Thanks for all the ideas!
I’ll be sharing about it on my blog soon. Hop on over and if you’re so inclined, you can subscribe and you won’t miss it!
Thank you! I am going to give this a try. My daughter is two and drinks milk by the gallons. I try to buy the organic or rice when it’s on sale but I still end up spending a lot of money on milk anyways.
I’m totally sticking my nose in your business, but I want to encourage you to be sure your daughter is still getting plenty of natural calcium if you cut way back on the cow milk in favor of rice milk. Two-year-olds (and all kids, really) need plenty of calcium from natural sources.
Thanks for posting this.
Thanks for this. We’ve been buying rice milk at our local Dillons store for our son and our daughter. Both are allergic to dairy. We try to go through it as slow as possible and stock up on it when it comes on sale or with coupons. However, this would be good if we run out or it get’s too expensive. Thanks!
“Filtered water is extremely important. You can read my post on Is Your Water Safe? to see more about water quality concerns. ”
Crystal, this link didn’t bring me to one of your posts…It had good info though.
Ahhh…Adrienne’s post:)
Perfect timing. I just noticed this morning that my local supermarket stopped carrying the organic gluten free vanilla rice milk I need for my son who is allergic to dairy. I am gonna try this with organic rice! Thanks!
That’s what we use! I never buy regular any longer, since I found out that they spray fumigation chemicals on regular rice when they store it.
I’m going to try this! Never had rice milk, it’s worth the trying! Thank you 🙂
You are welcome!
Couldn’t you just throw a few calcium tablets into the blender too to fortify it?
I was just going to ask: What about the calcium? Ricemilk and soymilk do not naturally contain significant calcium. The storebought options are fortified. The tums are a good alternative. Is there a nonflavored option?
Some of the store-bought versions have calcium and other vitamins added. Some do not.
I would be careful about how much to add – do the calculations on how much calcium you should add and then make sure to do your research on balancing the Ca with magnesium, D and/or K. Excess calcium gets stored where you don’t want it to (like I commented above ) – like in your arteries.
I’m almost a bit shocked to see how many concerned people there are about this not having calcium in it. Unless we are drinking raw milk from a goat, sheep or cow that has been grass fed, etc. We are drinking poisoned calcium that does not do the job anyways.
Brown rice and white rice do have calcium in it, but it is only 1-2% of your daily requirements, there is much better sources that you are more than likely already eating to get calcium your body can actually use better than milk.
We do not have to rely on diary products to get calcium. Our originally diet was seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables… The calcium from these are also better assimilated by our bodies and many have more calcium when compared cup to cup. For instance a cup of sesame seeds has 2,200 mg of calcium vs. a cup of milk at 280 mg.
Other sources for calcium:
All green leafy vegetables (moringa, turnip greens, dandelion greens, lamb’s quarters, nettle leaves, amaranth leaves, swiss chard and kale are some of the top sources), cabbage, bok choy, artichoke, avocado, okra, asparagus, carob, kelp, broccoli, butternut squash, dulse, figs, dates, prunes, rhubarb, potatoes, quinoa, blackberries, blackcurrants, grapefruit, mulberries, hazelnuts, oats, pistachios, wheat, pomegranate, prickly pears, beans (white, navy, pinto, great northern, black beans and chick peas are top ones) soy (choose fermented, non gmo, organic), blackstrap molasses (one serving is 20% of your DV), poppy seeds, chia seeds, celery, celery seeds, almonds, flax seed, brazil nuts, oats, walnuts, papaya, raisins, oranges, guava, cantaloupe, apricots, mango, strawberries (organic), kiwi, herbs such as savory (2132mg of calcium per 100g serving), thyme, dill, marjoram, rosemary, sage, sisymbrium, oregano, spearmint, parsley, chervil and dried basil…
And that is just some of the options!
People have bought into you have to have dairy to have calcium lie, with all the money for advertising that goes into the dairy industry it is no wonder why most think they have to have milk to have strong bones, etc. It is one BIG FAT lie. There are even studies showing pasteurized cow’s milk especially actually depletes vs. builds calcium in our bones.
And if you do want to include animal sources, there is still more than just dairy such as salmon, cod, mackerel, sardines, eggs, perch, pollock and herring.
If you are going to go the dairy route, choose raw sheep or goat milk, kefir, organic yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, goat or sheep cheeses or hard cheeses like parmigiano-reggiano (parmesan) or romano.
‘Test ALL things and hold firmly that which is good.’ ~1 Thessalonians 5:21
Great info, and I whole heartedly agree! 🙂
One additional bit of info that I would add is that, in our family’s path towards being more healthy, several practitioners have mentioned the synergistic relationship b/t Ca and magnesium. They need to be in balance. I have heard from several professionals that, in fact, Ca is quite high in our soil, while Mg is low and that this is really the thing that we are missing in our diets. I have read numerous articles on health issues related to Mg deficiencies (restless leg, nerve issues, etc.). Taking too much, however, can also be a problem, so be careful and don’t overdo it.
well said! totally agree.
What a wonderful comment! I agree:) Thank you for pointing this out.
You can also make your own soy milk. You can buy soy nuts in bulk, and get a soy milk maker to make your own. You can use that milk to make your own tofu as well.
Excellent article, Adrienne!
Yes, you can for sure do that. However, I am getting more and more concerned about soy. Especially non organic, since almost all soy is genetically modified now. It also has an estrogenic (hormone) effect (think how a lot of ladies us it in menopause to help their symptoms), so I am not keep about giving it to boys.
Thanks for the compliment.
We don’t drink soy milk, but Soy Dream milk does say it’s from non-modified soy (I babysat a little girl who drank it). I do know about the estrogenic effects of soy, but I’m sure many don’t.
When I speak to groups about food storage, there are those who do drink soy milk who are looking to save money on soy milk and also are looking for a long-term storage solution, and are surprised to find out that they can make their own.
My family loves cow’s milk, but buying milk on a regular basis is a luxury for us (as is buying groceries most of the time). We have stored both powdered milk and evaporated milk to use. I’d love to have a cow, but we live in the suburbs 🙂
Same suburban problem here. Except we live in a real “city” – just not a really large one. We aren’t even allowed to have chickens — yet :-).
We’re not zoned for chickens, either.
We just got chickens and they are the BEST!
You may be able to get away with one or two, name them and call them pets. Most of the problem with chickens is people say they are noisy- not so. We have 2 hens and they rarely make a sound, unless are very stressed or in danger.
I too, don’t give my family soy products for the estrogen. But, looks like I’ll have to invest in a Vitamix. I have problems digesting dairy, myself. Great article!
Sara, if you decide on the Vitamix (which I strongly recommend :-)), you can get free shipping through my site. If you’d rather call them you can use a code that I have to get the same deal. I have tons of uses for it on my site. I really love it. It has saved us TONS of money. My husband tried to get me to buy one for years. I finally did. Wish I’d listened to him sooner. I was worried about the price. Silly me. Listen to your husband :-).
I waited TOO long to get my Vitamix. The price scared me off. But they had a special at our local Navy Exchange one day, so I went for it! And I’m so, so glad I did. It’s worth every penny!
Basically if your soy is not in a fermented form, organic and non gmo, do not consume it.
What most studies do not want you to know is when they references places like China and Japan, that the soy they mainly consume is in fermented forms.
Such as: tempeh, miso, natto and soy sauce.
http://search.mercola.com/search/pages/Results.aspx?k=soy
http://www.naturalnews.com/soy.html
Another recipe for those that enjoy rice milk, is making horchata. It’s so simple and so good. Some recipes call for almonds as well as rice, however you can make it with just rice.
Originally horchata was not made with rice though, nor did it originate in Mexico, thought the rice version did 🙂
I soak the rice overnight instead of cooking it. This ferments the rice to make it easier to digest and also retains all goodness. Also I usually strain mine. The pulp can be reused in other recipes.
Great info! We had horchata at a nice little Mexican restaurant with my inlaws when we lived in Illinois. We never eat out, but they treated us every so often for tacos at that shop. It was very nice!
Glad to help!
Wow thats awesome. Never had rice milk but thats an amazing price difference. We love regular old cows milk over here. Is it only due to allergies that everyone seems to be switching over to rice and other milk alternatives? Is there something I don’t know about cows milk? 🙂
Mainly, in my “non expert” opinion, it is because of life threatening allergies (like those that my son has), or less severe allergies that others may have, or lactose intolerance (which can be quite debilitating in and of itself).
I think that the issue with cow’s milk primarily is due to what the food industry does to it by pasteurizing it, but the issue is more complicated than just that. For sure, lactose intolerance is mainly a problem due to the pasteurizing. My husband can’t tolerate regular milk at all and yet he can drink raw milk since it still has lactase in it. lactase is the enzyme that allows you to digest lactose. Pasteurized milk is heated so that the enzymes are destroyed.
Other milk allergies, in my opinion, seem to be due to other health issues all combining together to make a lot of problems. It’s too complex to deal with, with essentially I think it’s antibiotic use, toxins, heavy metals, and poor food quality.
Probably more than you wanted to read, but that is truly the condensed version :-). My son has a form of autism and we have been working on nutritional issues for a long time now, so I have done quite a bit of reading.
Let me know if you have any more questions!
I am not entirely educated on the subject of cows milk but I guess it’s the hormones they give the cows that is bad and the fact that they are kept in a tiny box their whole lives and over milked. I’ve heard that the fat in cows milk actually holds the most of the hormones so if you are drinking skim, there is less exposure. Again, I don’t have any references, this is just what I’ve read here and there.
I would agree with you to some point on the skim milk point, however (and I am no expert), skim pasteurized milk is pretty horrible for you as is. This is for sure not a mainstream idea, but I know so many people who drink raw milk and the data is starting to look pretty compelling to me. (Especially after seeing my husband drink a whole bunch of raw milk and not have any health issues from it – and he is REALLY sensitive).
There is a really interesting article that I just read today about how drinking raw milk cuts asthma risk by 41%. You can see the link to it on my Facebook page. I just shared it today so you will be able to find it easily : https://www.facebook.com/WholeNewMom. It is very interesting.
I get aged raw milk cheese(organic and 100% grassfed) from a local source and I have had no issues in digesting it. On the contrary, I could not tolerate processed cheese from the grocery store. I stopped drinking milk and eating cheese a year ago due to a lot of issues. We don’t get raw milk here so the cheese works great for me.
Not all cows are kept that way, and not all cows are given hormones. I’ve been to dairy farms where the cows are brought in to be milked. Also, not all cows are given hormones. Many milk labels are now labeled hormone-free, so check your labels.
When I lived in Switzerland, the cows were out in the fields all day. The milk in Europe is UHT milk, however (which you can find in a liter box like rice milk, almond milk, or soymilk). It is shelf-stable until opened. It has a vastly different taste than the Pasteurized, refrigerated milk in the U.S. Each area has its own laws regarding milk. You can buy UHT milk in the states as well; it is very expensive, however.
I think it pays to know the source of your food, support small companies/farmers and eat as local as possible.
I’ve been to several dairy farms and grew up around them. In good weather, the cows are outside eating grass and wandering around the pasture. They are walked into the milking parlor twice each day to be milked. Some farmers give hormones, some don’t. Probably not an excellent life, but a lot better than the factory farming that some companies use.
I had always bought milk that was labeled that the cows were not given hormones, and I didn’t mind paying extra for it. Eventually we discovered that my daughter could not tolerate milk at all, so she’s had only soy/rice products since she was about 4. I think it’s interesting that my children hit puberty way later than the other kids in their school… I wonder if the hormone free milk was the reason why.
My daughters were meat/dairy free in their early chidhoods during the 80’s, and they were healthier, not obese, and reached puberty later than their non vegan friends, and I always attibuted it to lower hormone and pesticide intake, along with ingesting more organic vegetables, grains, beans and fruit and being outside more. As adults in their 30’s and partakers of the SAD, they all struggle with weight issues and one has had problem pregnancies.
🙁
Thanks! My son has Williams Syndrome and he drinks a good amount of whole milk for the calories… Good info. Thanks again!
This is what the man who wrote The China study says about milk (how bad cow’s milk is for humans)
http://discovermagazine.com/2000/aug/featmilk/
Also Hallelujah Acres says that and cheese are the worst things you can put into your body
http://www.hacres.com
Another allergy to consider, which I rarely see mentioned regarding cow’s milk, is casein. I, personally, have no problem with lactose but have had a problem with the casein in milk and cheese all my life.
I have been making my own alternative “milks” for awhile now. My daughter has severe food allergies and cannot have dairy. I also noticed that she does not tolerate store-bought alternative milk well (she’ll break out in hives halfway through a carton). My rice/quinoa milk required a LOT more effort so I’ll give this recipe a try! Although my daughter doesn’t care for the taste as much, I usually whip up a batch of hemp milk when I am baking allergy-friendly recipes (http://writeonjana.com/2011/07/11/alternative-milk-experiment-2-raw-hemp-milk/).
Strange about the hives. I wonder if it’s a cross contamination issue or if she is allergic to one of their additives? Another reason to make your own, eh?
Exactly! We’re still not sure what both kids are allergic to, but ANYTHING homemade is easier to control!
I wonder if the milk alternatives she is using have carageenan . I used to think I was allergic to soy, but I finally realized I’m actually allergic to the carageenan.
I hate paying so much for rice milk and am eager to try this. One question: store bought rice milk has about 30% of your daily calcium needs in a cup. How does this version compare?
The only reason that rice milk would have that much calcium is if there is added calcium to it (for example, in the form of tricalcium phosphate). It makes much more financial sense to make the rice milk and then supplement with calcium in another form. Also, I am not a nutritionist, but there is a lot of information out there about taking calcium with either Vitamin D, or Vitamin K or Magnesium to insure proper absorption. Otherwise it can end up where you don’t want it (like in your arteries :-().
Hope that helps!
Wow, I will have to try this. We stopped drinking regular milk and have been on Rice Milk for a couple years and love that all the allergies went away with a few other health problems. Being able to make our own and save a ton of $$ would be very nice. Thanks for all these great tips!
Oh, I am so glad – you are going to be able to save so much money! Feels great, doesn’t it :-)!