Vegan Milks

I used to love a glass of milk. I know, many people cook with milk, many have it in their cereal, many hardly use it. I however, love a glass of milk. As a vegan, I've found things that fill that desire very easily. Everyone knows about soy milk, but they usually dismiss it as a possible beverage, rather using it to cream their coffee or in the above uses. For me it was a little different.

When I was a kid, all I drank was whole milk. I hated 2% and I wouldn't drink it. Around late high school I began realizing that maybe whole milk was a little too much for me, so I finally made the switch. At first I didn't like the 2% milk, but after a couple of we

eks, I got used to it. Eventually, I only liked 2% and hated whole milk and 1%. A few years later I made the same switch to 1% and the exact same thing I happened. I learned to prefer 1% and no longer enjoyed 2%. This happened again when I went to skim milk and again when I went to soy (this was before I went vegan). By the time I went vegan, I had already been past the taste of dairy milk and was

pursuing other milks. Now, while I still enjoy a glass of soy milk upon occasion, I greatly prefer some of the other milk options out there. And as a former milk junkie, here are my recommendations for the booby-juice lover in you:

So Delicious Coconut Milk

This stuff is frea

kin' awesome! It's got a subtle hint of coconut with the same thin consistency of skim milk or 1%. Once again, it's been a long time since I could stand the thickness of anything higher than 1%, so the thinness of this coconut milk is awesome. Additionally, the flavor is phenomenal and hits parts of your taste buds that dairy never even considered going near! This stuff is expensive, but if you can catch it on sale or are willing to splurge, it's totally worth it!

Rice Dream Enriched Rice Milk

This is a good staple that you can find in most natural food stores; at Earth Fare, Whole Foods or equivalent; and even at many grocery stores, including Wal-Mart (where it's very affordable in the cereal section in cardboard containers). This has the thinness that I like combined with a unique flavor that I truly enjoy. Give it a little bit of time to get used to the taste and eventually you'll find it as delicious as I do.

I know that these are obvious for many vegans, but I found myself needing to share with other milk drinkers these two products. Of course there's always soy milk, and I prefer Plain Silk brand for those who are interested or the Plain Kirkland brand from Costco. However, I try to limit my soy intake, and because I love Tempeh, I figure drinking rice and coconut milk is a good way to do that. Besides, rice and coconut milk rock.

Now if only I could find a healthy and cheap single malt scotch...