Proof that Ian didn't fall far from this nut tree is that he loves dairy products and wheat bread as much as I do. Janie and I are missing different dairy items too, but the milk issue has been on the forefront of solving. Ian would probably consume 1 gallon of cow milk per week if I let him. Non-cow milk just doesn't taste the same and it's been tricky to find a substitute that Ian will happily consume. The rundown of what we've tried is:
Purchased almond milk? Yes.
Homemade almond milk? No way.
Homemade rice milk - Heck no!
The problem with purchasing almond milk for him is that it's really expensive, per gallon it runs $6.30 (purchased cold in 1/2 gallon size) or $7.16 (for 4 shelf stable quarts). So, I had to get creative to figure out a compromise between Ian's taste buds and our grocery budget. Kirk helped out with this challenge and created a 50/50 blend of purchased almond milk (vanilla) and homemade rice milk. Rice milk is very cheap to make and I estimate that the price for a gallon of this combination is about the same as a gallon of conventional milk. The final product is creamy and not too sweet. It works well for pouring on cereal or drinking plain. For you chocolate (or strawberry) milk drinkers, it's the difference between ready made chocolate milk and making a glass at home. My heart sang for joy when Ian chugged it, smiled, and declared "it's good." Wooo hooo!
Packaging was the next issue. Both kids had decided out that mason jars = bad milk. After we knew we had a winner the kids went out to play while I disguised our concoction in the original almond milk container. They were none the wiser when it came time for cereal the next morning. It made the whole breakfast experience more peaceful to not fight over that. After all, we can always disagree about spoons or plates.....
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