What non-dairy milk do you give to toddlers?
Posted by Saskia on Apr 02, 2009 · Member since Jan 2007 · 1976 posts
An omni friend asked me recently what type of non-dairy milk is safe to give her toddler.
Is there a brand or type of milk you recommend for toddlers?
Are there any helpful articles out there that speak to this?
I appreciate any advice you might have, as I am not a doctor or a mom.
YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THERE IS NOT TOO MUCH FIBER IN THE SOYMILK YOU ARE GIVING TO YOUR TODDLER.
This is actually very important. I used Edensoy Extra (plain) for all my kids since it is convenient and I can always have it on hand, plus it has the most protein of any of the brands.
my (non-veg*n government) midwife looked into it for me and she said that the only (nutritional) reason to give a child milk or soymilk is the calcium, so if as long as you've got that covered, your kid has what they need health-wise from milk. This applies from 12 months onward.
I use almod breeze. the soy milk have strogen so I prefer the almond.
I just bought this kind for my daughter to try to avoid the estrogen in the soy...then saw on the ingredient list that it does have the lecithin (estrogen) in it... went back to Silk for now.
Is there any woman here that has been drinking soy since they were toddlers? YB I think you said you did... did you have any troubles? Scared it will make my daughter start puberty earlier, or give her some other 'womens health issues'.
hey estefania_belle - i posted this link in the news and debate section but i think it would be helpful to you
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090324/hl_nm/us_cancer_breast
I use almod breeze. the soy milk have strogen so I prefer the almond.
I just bought this kind for my daughter to try to avoid the estrogen in the soy...then saw on the ingredient list that it does have the lecithin (estrogen) in it... went back to Silk for now.
Is there any woman here that has been drinking soy since they were toddlers? YB I think you said you did... did you have any troubles? Scared it will make my daughter start puberty earlier, or give her some other 'womens health issues'.
Plant phydo estrogen is not the same as human hormone estrogen. I suggest you do some reading on the subject.
i've read that girls who get soy in their diet from a young age have a 50% less chance of getting breast cancer...i don't know if that is true, but it made me feel better about giving it to my daughter! we have been buying 8th continent w/dha. she loves any kind of milk. we've done every kind of soy milk and rice milk...i'm afraid to give her almond milk, since i'm not sure if she is allergic...there is also oat milk and hemp milk...we haven't tried those yet,though...
My 2+ year old has been on soymilk without any problems; he's been super healthy and very happy to drink it (Silk Unsweetened to avoid excess sugar). When we first transitioned him to a "milk" product, I confess that I allowed myself to be guilted into dairy milk because of the ped's concern about him getting enough calcium. But after a few months I realized he was getting plenty of calcium from his veggies and soy yogurt, so we switched to soymilk. We have a very well-meaning ped, but she, like most mainstream peds, does not seem to fully grasp the importance of nutrition and the benefits of a veg diet. I have thought about the other non-dairy milks, but they just aren't in our budget.
My 2nd little guy is turning one next week, and I realized I was falling into that same dairy milk trap. That's why I got online today - to do a little reminder research about the fact that he does not need to have dairy milk to get all the nutrients he needs. So I'll be putting him on the Silk Unsweetened as well. And, as others have mentioned, our guys don't get "milk" all the time. It's just not a great idea to have anything in excess, right? We drink a lot of water around here. In fact, our toddler has been asking for ice water since he was able to talk.
My son refuses to drink all milk...except mine. I give him cheese, yogurt, tofu, broccoli, spinach, etc so I think he gets enough calcium so I don't much worry about it. He likes water, that is fine with me.
I saw that the last time I posted here was when my son was 6 months old...that was 6 MONTHS ago...WOW! He would only eat about a teaspoon of food a day at that time...things have sure changed.
He will east 3/4 of a vegan ruben sandwhich for dinner no problem. He will be a year old here in a couple of days. Last night he ate about a cup of vegetable barley soup, plus some tofu stirfry and noodles. He practically ate all my tofu!!!! I give him a whole mess load of tofu stirfry (with veggies and noodles) and next thing I know, he has eaten all of the tofu and green peppers and is working on the broccoli and carrots. So I pick out all the tofu on my own plate, next thing I know, I have no tofu left on my own plate either!!! And he will eat most of the veggies and all of the noodles too. He is 20lbs! How can a 20lb kid EAT so much!!!! I love tofu, but my son always eats it all... >:( >:( :-D
Anyway, back on subject, I am thinking of tryng different kinds of milk, like hemp milk, almond milk, etc. I think the trick is to find a milk that tastes like MY milk. Is there a milk that tastes like human milk?
I just re-read this thread....Lyle was 9 months at the time. He did get an iron test at a year-among other blood tests. The doc was worried because he is small ( dh took him for check up-not me!). They tested for everything-including cystic fibrosis-eeek! I was so worried and didn't get the results for over a month-but all is well. He is perfect, just as I knew he would be. We just make small babies.
His iron was actually on the high side of normal, with no supplementation what-so-ever!
Milks......I mix it up an use coconut milk, soy, rice, oat, almond, hemp (he doesn't like this one), etc.....he loves them all! I give him EFAs in his food and other food supplements (brewers yeast, nut yeast, wheat germ, etc...) so I think any of them will be fine. He only gets about 1/2 cup per day of non-mommy milk. As soon as its in front of him, he guzzles it till its gone. I think he likes the coconut the best. I am still nursing him 3-4 times per day as well.
We make our own nut/rice milk when we aren't being lazy. It's probably just as healthy if not more so than the store bought stuff because you know exactly what is going into it. It is actually SUPER easy to make. Here's our recipe (it's not rocket science, I don't even bother measuring anymore).
Nut Rice Milk
2/3 cup cooked brown rice (can use white too)
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
1/2 tsp sea salt (or regular)
1/2 cup cashew nuts -raw is best (or almonds, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds- but it will be a bit green)
1 to 2 tblsp maple syrup/honey/rice syrup/etc.
4 cups (or more) of boiling water
Put it all in the blender on high till it looks smooth and milky (don't put the top fully on or the hot water will make it burst). I slow the blender down and add more water til it's full. Then pour it through a fine strainer (I use an old tea strainer from our broken teapot.) Pour it into bottles and chill. This makes just under 2 liters depending on how much you water it down.
Lasts at least 5 days in the refrigerator.
It's such an easy recipe! We keep little bits of frozen leftover rice in the freezer and pull some out when we are ready to make it. We also keep the nuts in the freezer so they last forever and their nutrients are preserved.
Enjoy!
I'll post this to the recipe site.
:) ************************************************************************************
BTW. If your rice milk goes sour. Don't throw it out! Make this sour milk cake. It's awsome.
Sour Soy/Nut/Rice Milk Spice Cake
INGREDIENTS
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups whole spelt/wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg/allspice
• 1 tsp ginger (fresh is best)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 banana or 1/2 cup applesauce or pear sauce
• 1 cup sour nut/rice milk
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch baking pan.
2. Mix sugar, flour, soda, salt, and spices. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk and oil. Mix until combined, then add nuts.
3. Pour into a 9x9 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes.
Variation: Add more spices and pour the cake mix over fruit like apples, peaches, or pears and bake. Yum!
I just made that milk! Its still hot....and is actually delicious as a hot beverage!
In the Vitamix it didn't even need to be strained. Smooth as vegan silk!
Thanks so much.....I will report back after it has chilled!
My son love love loves almond milk
My son love love loves almond milk
Both of mine do too. I noticed that the Blue Diamond kind we have been buying is very high in sugar and also only has one gram of protein. I sometimes mix the unsweetened kind in with other milks so its not so sugary. But why so little protein? The only ones with a decent amount are hemp and soy.
I need to give making my own a whack again!
We tried the hemp but, it wasn't a big hit. I haven't tried Blue Diamond yet. I always by Almond Breeze Original. I wanna try the chocolate though.
The last time I bought chocolate Hemp milk it was disgusting, imo.
I wonder if the protein content would be more if I made my own almond milk?
I just looked at my bottle and Blue Diamond actually makes Almond Breeze, so we are drinking the same thing!
:)
Have you tried oat milk? I saw that at WF the other day and wondered what it would be like.
I have! Its pretty good. My cheapy store usually has the maple brown sugar kind on sale for 99 so I usually get that. I'm sure that one is loaded with sugar too.
My boys just don't like the unsweetened milks. Sometimes I get them anyway and end up adding some agave to it.
I can't remember the protein content of that and I don't have any right now. I am going to check next time I see it...thanks for reminding me about that!
Oat milk is another milk that would probably be pretty easy to make.
I tried making rice milk but, I think I should try another recipe because mine came out odd.
I admit I usually buy my vegan milks from the store. I prefer silk, almond breeze, hazelnut milk, coconut milk, and rice dream. But I do have a soyquick soymilk maker. Which if you are interested in buy a soy milk / nut milk/ whatever milk maker. Thats the one for you! Mine was about 180 dollars with free shipping. Only reason I'm not still using it is the cord is lost and I need to find a replacement :)
I happen to agree with Tweety though about the not needing milk thing.
Pages