Life pro tip: If you are vegan and lactose intolerant get oat milk. Out of all the alternatives that one tastes the closest to the real thing by a country mile.
Idk, I never figured out the bags. Poked one with a straw, but when i set it down to get a cookie, it just like spurted milk, like a mortally wounded animal bleeding out.
My grandfather farmed both soy and oats, but I wasn't aware there was a drastic difference between the water consumed. Now I know. Sucks because I really think soy has the best texture and flavor, but I'm not that picky
Thanks for the encouragement! My main thing is I have celiac and severe lactose intolerance. I can drink that lactose free milk, but I prefer to drink plant milks. The one I've tried to avoid is almond milk, after my discord buddy explained how wasteful it is to produce them.
I have a hard time finding oat milk without added sugar, and I also find it expires much faster than almond milk. I get unsweetened oat milk if I think I’ll be able to go through it quickly enough otherwise I have to dump like more than 50% which feels like a waste in a different way.
I'm pretty neutral about oat milk. I have celiac disease, so I eat a lot of gluten free oats as a grain, and so I can taste more oatiness in oat milk. For instance, I eat a lot of Cheerios, which are primarily oats, and putting oat milk on top is not the perfect complement. Soy or rice milk balance flavor better imo.
Now, if I were to make a latte, then yeah oat milk all the way! But I don't really drink lattes, and I've never really drank much straight-up milk. It's mostly a cereal condiment for me. And half my family is Mexican, so if I'm going to drink a non-dairy beverage, it's probably going to be horchata which is pretty much rice, cinnamon, and sugar.
But I'm relieved to hear that almond milk is at least not as wasteful as regular dairy. That's no surprise though, given how horribly unethical and destructive the dairy industry is, at least where I live in the US.
Oh yeah almond milk REALLY is not an eco friendly option. Your buddy is right on that. It doesn't help that Almonds are usually grown in countries that are poorer, exploiting them and draining them (even more) of their water supply without paying them.
There's an entire metaphorical water mafia going on that effectively steals water from third world countries while using underpaid (and sometimes even slave) labor. Almonds are one of the things said water is used for.
Even from an animal rights perspective that's messed up because of human mistreatment.
I tried oat milk. While it tastes good, IMO it tastes nothing like milk. The closest description I could give for the taste being "cereal juice"
It's an interesting cooking ingredient though. Certainly has its own unique flavor. It's also a nice refresher drink.
My biggest gripe with oat milk is that it isn't as "filling" as the alternatives. It's a drink, not a food. So when I try to 1:1 use it as a substitute it can leave me feeling sick (example, my morning coffee which I load with milk to get me started)
TLDR: be mindful of the fact that it's VERY different from milk, even if oat milk tastes good.
I'd recommend not substituting 1:1. If you go easy on the oat milk to coffee ratio, you'll have a better experience. IMHO, oat doesn't alter the taste experience of coffee as much as the other stuff, which is my foremost reason for preferring it.
Oh I like lots of it. To a point I make my coffee stronger than most people just to counter how much I dilute it using milk. Think like a 50% water 50% milk ratio. Sometimes 70/30 if I feel like having it stronger.
The way I'd describe it is that, compared to other milk alternatives, it is the has the most body.
ie, think of it being closer to full-fat milk than to non-fat milk. You'll notice that the taste lingers in your mouth a bit longer. (body can refer to it lingering for various reasons, but in this case, I think it's fat content, like in milk?)
Another one with a body you might like is rice milk.