Type of milk you drink regularily

[Bike Chick]

I love milk, always have, and I drinks lots of it.

Me too! My post-run/ride recovery drink is a glass of chocolate milk or a Carnation Instant Breakfast with skim milk.

[Tri Girl]

I chose "other"
I drink raw milk (not pasteurized, not homogenized).
I buy it from a local farmer. His farm is nice and the cows are pasture raised without hormones or antibiotics. I've never, ever gotten sick from it.

I've tried to get rid of as many processed foods as possible, and sadly- milk is a processed food (skim milk is, sadly, a *highly* processed food).

I LOVE milk. For a time, I tried to cut out all milk- but I just can't.

[malkin]

1%
We are lucky to have a local dairy. Any other brand was christened "ghetto milk" by DD.

Most of the milk here is consumed as yogurt, but since my yogurt quarts are a little less than a quart there is usually a splash of milk around in liquid form.

[GLC1968]

GLC, how do you process goat's milk properly? I hear pasteurization kills off most of the goodness, but I don't think I'd want to drink it straight out of the animal in case it's contaminated with something, you know?

And I'm glad to know that "goaty" is actually a term. Better than saying "farmy".

Basically, there are two main factors. Cleanliness and speed of cooling. The faster the milk is taken below 40F after milking, the fresher it remains. Cleanliness means keeping the goat, the equipment and even the barn clean. Except for a simple filtering - you are kind of drinking it straight out of the goat!

I believe I did a post about processing milk in my blog back when we first started. It's not that detailed, but it gives you an idea.

http://simplemetamorphosis.blogspot....n-freezer.html

Basically, for us the steps are:
1) clean the udder/teets and our hands
2) milk the goat and then cover the bucket (one errant fly or leaf off a tree could ruin the whole batch)
3) dip the teets (to avoid mastitis)
4) strain the milk (through a milk filter into sterile glass containers)
5) chill it (ice bath combined with freezer)
6) wash and sterilize the equipment for the next milking

And if you want it skimmed - that's a whole long list of additional things to do! It's actually a major pain which is why I taught myself to tolerate whole goats milk in my coffee and on my cereal. Laziness.

[shootingstar]

I've tried to get rid of as many processed foods as processed, and sadly- milk is a processed food (skim milk is, sadly, a *highly* processed food).

True, about skim milk. But at this point in life, I don't feel like switching to whole milk. Or I cut out something else that is regular out of my diet. Certainly I can taste the richness of whole milk...it is abit much for me.

I'm still trying to figure our moonfroggy's milk from ..pumpkin seed??

I have yet to consume goat milk or goat milk yogurt. But I love goat cheese compared to 10 years ago when I initially found it "strong".

[tctrek]

I don't really love milk, but I know I need it, so I drink skim milk, but I warm it up and put one of those International Coffee flavors in it, like Swiss Mocha or French Vanilla. That's yummy and great before bed to make me sleepy :-).

[badger]

wow, GLC, you're my hero! I would LOVE to take the plunge like you and get into a life more sustainable. My boyfriend and I often talk of having a plot of land and trying to live off it as much as we can.

Have you ever thought of making kefir with your milk? you can buy the grains, and have a constant supply of kefir that would be so amazingly healthy! I wish I lived near you so I can buy some milk off you and do that myself (or at the very least yogurt, I have a yogurt maker and use it regularly).



This thread actually inspired me to look into calcium supplements because as good as my vitamins are, it doesn't contain calcium or magnesium (hello, can anyone say "buy extra supplements, cha-ching"?)

I don't drink enough milk/soy or eat enough brocolli or molasses that I figured I should take some calcium supplements.

[bambu101]

I grew up on a dairy farm, and we drank raw, unpasteurized, unhomogenized milk for years. The milk would form a layer of cream on top, and you'd have to shake it up to mix it in with the rest of the milk. If one of my brothers accidentally left it sitting out on the counter all morning, it would not spoil.

I now drink 1% most of the time, and buy local milk from Jersey cows, which is much richer than Holstein milk. Skim Jersey milk is equivalent in taste and creaminess to 1 or 2% Holstein milk.

That's our milk lesson for today

[Atlas]

I don't drink any 'milk' straight up unless it's chocolate flavored. Mostly I drink soy milk, especially Organic Valley brand because I can look up what farm the beans came from. Sometimes I'll get almond milk if it's on sale.

[VeloVT]

Well, if it were up to me, I would keep skim milk in the fridge, and if it were up to my boyfriend, we'd keep 2% in the fridge, so we split the difference and buy 1%. Like many others, I rarely drink it by itself (although I will occasionally if I need a snack shortly before exercising), but I would say I probably consume 1-2 cups per day through adding it to tea, cereal, etc.

Although I don't keep it in the house, I love whole milk in coffee and it's usually my additive of choice at coffee shops if available. It softens the bitterness as much as half & half without the guilt factor.

[skhill]

It's whole milk, organic, plain pasteurized for me. But I rarely drink it straight-- it's on my cereal, in cooking, coffee, etc. If I could find a reasonably convenient (even if not legal) source for unpasteurized milk, I think I'd try it for a while.

Just a weird side-note, I dropped nearly 5 lbs in the first two weeks after switching from 2% to whole milk. Maybe it's coincidence, but I don't think so. Maybe I running too big a calorie (or fat) deficit on 2%, who knows?

[badger]

there's a farm about an hour away from Vancouver that lets you buy shares of a cow or a goat. I'd love to, but with me by myself I doubt I'll be able to consume a quart of goat's milk every week for $7/week. If my boyfriend were with me and he was into it, too, then I suppose it would make sense. They also sell organic raw butter and free range eggs.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I've gotten into making and drinking my own kefir, and I just love it!
I start with organic 2% milk, heat it to simmer, then cool to room temp, add the kefir enzyme powder, and let sit for about 24 hours. It's rather like yogurt you can pour, but to me is less sour tasting than yogurt.

Supposedly it's very nutritious. So yummy, I love it over my granola instead of milk, or poured over berries and fruit especially. It's refreshing and tangy to drink a cold glass- lots of calcium and easier to digest than plain milk- I read that it has less lactose or something. I don't have a lactose problem though- just love how kefir tastes.
I used to buy commercial bottles of kefir from the supermarket, but when they ran out i tried making my own with the powder- and found it to taste WAY better than the pre-made stuff. Doesn't take much effort. When made, I put it in the fridge in a half-gallon canning Ball jar with screw top.

[Catrin]

I've gotten into making and drinking my own kefir, and I just love it!
I start with organic 2% milk, heat it to simmer, then cool to room temp, add the kefir enzyme powder, and let sit for about 24 hours. It's rather like yogurt you can pour, but to me is less sour tasting than yogurt...

Hmmm, I love it as well, but stopped buying it due to the cost. I will have to try this out, thanks!

[Zippinalong]

I love milk. Oberweis milk is the best, especially whole. However, having to watch my cholesterol I had to give that up. So now I drink light soy. I love the taste and love the low cals and low fat. Only 2g's of sugar and get some protein too. I use it for my protein shakes too.