Anyone in the process of switching kids from breast milk (BM)/formula to milk? 

I got a ton of questions about this so I wanted to address. I personally don’t do cows milk for a host of reasons. This can be a controversial topic as most of us were raised on cows milk but you have to realize that the milk we were given back then was significantly different than it is now. 

What’s the difference between grass-fed and organic. If it is labeled grass fed it came from cows exclusively fed grass, hay & forage. If it’s organic AND grass fed, most likely they are eating grass that is not sprayed with conventional pesticides but if they don’t have access to grass year round then they will get a grain feed which back in the day cows were not given grains! We never even had to think about this before! Unfortunately, cows are so confined that they often get sick & are given antibiotics preventatively. Those end up in our system. It makes me wonder if this is not part of the reason for the growing trend of early childhood puberty… I have so many parents reaching out for deodorant recommendations for their 7/8-year-olds. Resistance of antibiotics is NOT due to humans overusing it but the overuse in agriculture. 

Obviously, I am passionate about this and I don’t want to change your way of doing things. I just want to offer a different perspective. If you are going to buy cows milk, I prefer that it is raw milk from a local farm. If you can’t get raw, another option is to get organic and grass fed (not ultra-pasteurized) and preferably from a local farm. 

What do I do? Here is my nut/seed milk recipe and I make a variety to vary the nutritional content.  I love making my own plant based milks. The ratio I use is 3 cups filtered water to 1 cup nuts/seeds. Can do almond/walnut, macadamia, almond/cashew, coconut/hemp. Check out my highlight for how to do it. I promise it’s really easy as long as you have a blender and a nut milk bag. I also have my nut milk highlight on Instagram with my step by step directions. 🥛

Although soy is most similar in nutrient category to BM, I find it particularly difficult to buy organic. It’s typically ridden with additives; pesticides AND is a GMO product. 

The most important thing is providing your child with a well-balanced diet & enough healthy fats at a min until age 2. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until age 2 but obviously that’s not always feasible for everyone (me included though I’m hopeful when I I have my 4th I can breastfeed longer as my 3rd stopped wanting the breast at 9 months so I pumped and bottle fed for 7 more months).

Swipe to see nutritional facts of various milks 

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Here are some store bought plant based milks I like:

Three Trees Foods almond/pistachio/sesame

Good Mylk Co hemp/almond and they also have an oat option.

Malk Organics cashew/almond/pecan. They recently changed their ingredients so be mindful

Milk differences 

Soy milk 1 cup

4.3g fat

8g protein 

6% calcium 

Iron 8%

Vitamin B6 10%

Homemade almond milk 

11g fat 

5g protein 

Calcium 6%

Iron 4%

MALK ORGANICS UNSWEETENED ALMOND (1 CUP)

9g Fat 

4g Protein 

Calcium 2 % 

Iron 0% 

*Cashew has 6% iron 

WALNUT MILK (1 CUP)

52g fat

12g protein 

vitamin B6 20%

Calcium 7%

Iron 12%

BREAST MILK

11g fat

2.5g protein 

Calcium 7%

0.35mg/liter iron

RAW PASTURES RAW GRASS FED ORGANIC COWS MILK

8g fat

8g protein 

28% calcium

0% iron