Coconut Milk VS Almond Milk

[icy02]

My family and I used to be strict raw milk drinkers, but after DS2 was born with a terrible milk sensitivity we have cut way back on our dairy. I have been off dairy for over 4 months now (due to exclusively bf'ing DS2) and have noticed that I am more than likely becoming deficient in calcium even with supplements. We have been drinking coconut milk the last 4 months as our "milk," but after some research have found that almond milk is much, much higher in calcium. While DH and DS1 eat yogurt almost everyday, I do not...

My question is for DS1 (now just 2) should I mix coconut milk with the almond milk half and half so he is getting all the good fats from the coconut milk and the calcium from the almond milk?

Also, if you do drink almond milk what is your favorite brand? I have the almond breeze and it is super yummy, but Costco sells Silk Almond Milk and it is a great price. I want to try it, but I am hesitant to buy such a large quantity when I haven't tasted it yet.

[Magelet]

personally, I'd probably stick with coconut milk for the most part (with some homemade almond milk if you like it), and eat lots of bone broth, whole (blended into dressing etc) anchovies, sesame seeds, etc for calcium.

[jadekat]

We mainly drink almond milk. The Silk brand tastes fine and is much cheaper than the Almond Breeze brand. I tried coconut milk with my kids and they weren't big fans. I only tried the orignial flavor though.

[icy02]

The So Delicious Brand Coconut Milk is what I buy. I get the vanilla flavor and my DS1 loves it. I think I will get the Silk Brand to try. Although the chocolate flavored Almond Breeze is like dessert, it is so yummy!

[provocativa]

fyi, check the amount of sugar in the milks.  silk tastes better because it has more sugar!  we tend to mix them, in ratios according to what is on sale.  vanilla helps the unsweetened milks taste better.  here the silk is the same price as almond breeze.  also, silk has a new coconut milk (with more sugar than the so brand).  i have some, but haven't tried it.  generally i keep unsweetened coconut and almond for cooking, and use both together.  for drinking i also mix them, sweetened, unsweetened, coconut and almond. 

as for the calcium deficiency, you may also need to up your absorbtion cofactors, like D3 and magnesium.  even though my cal/mag has d3, I need way more than is in it. 

[Adaline'sMama]

Im pretty confused about the So Delicious Coconut milk. On the package it clearly states "coconut milk drink". Why do they need to add "drink"? Is it like "juice drink", where they have to say "drink" because its not 100% juice?

I drink both Silk Almond milk and Silk Coconut milk. I mix them together because I think the coconut milk taste kind of oily, but the almond milk is a little too watery for me. I buy them at the same time and our them together in a bowl, mix them up, and return them to the containers they came in.

[icy02]

I have recently added a liquid vit D3 to my supplements since I just can't stomach CLO since my pregnancy. I was hoping that would also help with my PP hair loss. I hope with the calcium laden food and the supplements I can get my body back where it needs to be.

I am very sugar cautious and also mix So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk with Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk for the best health benefits and lowest sugar :) I haven't seen the Silk Coconut Milk in our stores but if it has more sugar I will most likely not buy it.

I think the reason the So Delicious Coconut milk is called  "beverage" because 1. it is not really 'milk' and 2. because it is watered down a lot more than the stuff in the cans. This is just my hypothesis.. Not sure if that is the real reason :)

[Arduinna]

Back when I drank almond milk, when I was vegan, I just made it at home. It's pretty easy and you control what is in it.

I personally couldn't drink the packaged vanilla milks by silk and rice dream because they were way too sweet to me.

[icy02]

So I did some research last night :) I actually got to the grocery store by myself (which was AMAZING :) Anyways... Both the Silk Almond and Coconut milk has 45% calcium compared to 30% Almond Breeze Almond Milk and 10% calcium in the So Delicious Coconut Milk. Neither of the Silk 'milks' have more than 7 gr of sugar (in the regular flavor) and while that is not as good as 0 gr ... I don't really mind. Guess you can't have it all. Based on my family's dietary needs I would say that Silk Brand packs in more nutrients and for us is a better product.

[flightgoddess]

Yes, they have to add 'drink' becuase So delicious is not 100% coconut milk (ther is added water and stuff). If you want 100%, then you get the canned stuff, which usually is super thick. Great for cooking and baking, but not so much when you want a 'milk' like replacement product.

[gilamama]

if the milks are fortified with calcium it may not be so absorbable.  but bone broth is an AMAZING source of calcium!   i would not think that boxed almond "juice" would be as beneficial.