Which is the most sustainable plant-based milk? + benefits + oat milk recipe

I am not sure who came up with a plant-based milk alternative, but in my opinion, it is rivaling the invention of sliced bread. And that we can all find our favourite based on your dietary requirements and tastes is absolutely wonderful!

There as simply so many types of plant-based milk one can choose from like oat milk, hazelnut milk, almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, coconut milk, mixed nut milk, pea milk, peanut milk, hemp milk, cashew milk, the list seems to be endless, which gives so much variety and options.

Also, it has many benefits from, like it being cruelty-free, lactose-free, environmentally and eco-friendly and does not include the negatives of cow milk which are: often contains antibiotics, puss, artery-clogging saturated fat, hormones and is a cruelty-filled business (where female cows get raped by humans and their newborn calves are stolen, male calves are killed soon after for their ,veal meat, and female calves are having a hard short life). It is already 2020 and we do not need to support these types of massive, cruelty-filled businesses. Cow milk is breast milk. It belongs to their babies, just as human breast milk belongs to human babies.

DID YOU KNOW?

- around 65% of all people in the world have some type of lactose-intolerance.
- dairy consumption is linked to increased rates of acne (it stimulates the release of insulin and IGF-1)
- that the countries with the highest consumption of dairy are also the countries with the highest rates    of osteoporosis.
- Henry Ford was an advocate for soy-milk and opened up a soy-milk plant in his Michigan research    center in 1934.
- cows live naturally 22 years but the demand of giving birth and pumping their milk is extremely        harsh on their body and they are often sent for slaughter (to become hamburgers and similar) at the      age of 4.
- animal agriculture is responsible for 83% of total global agricultural land but it only produces 18%    of the world's calories and is a leading force in deforestation of rainforest and killing of many              native animals and species and an extreme burden on drinking water as well as cows release                methane into the air
- livestock is responsible for about 14,5% of global greenhouse gas emissions (according to FAO).

BENEFITS OF PLANT-BASED MILK: 

- they do not contain cholesterol
- cruelty-free
- environmentally friendly
- good for lactose sensitive and lactose intolerant people
- does not contribute to inflammation
- does not contain hormones or antibiotics
- they have a healthy combination of mono and polyunsaturated fats

WHICH PLANT-BASED MILK IS MOST SUSTAINABLE,  ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECO-FRIENDLY?

When reading into this topic there where many factors considered, from deforestation, water use, pesticides use, transport, methane, storage of carbon and re-forestation.
Based on the information I was able to find, any swap from cow milk to plant-based milk is a good ethical and environmental swap. Personally, to me, the ones that stood out the most were organic oats and nut-based milk which are the best options one can choose in my personal opinion. Organic oats are crops that are easy to grow and do not contribute to deforestation nor pollution of nature with pesticides. Nut-based milk could replace croplands and promote re-planting trees, carbon is stored in the trees as well, they produce oxygen, help to protect us from erosion and flooding, and also not as many pesticides are needed compared to other crops.

PLANT-BASED OAT MILK RECIPE: 

Oat milk is a wonderful plant-based milk option, as it is gentle on the environment, affordable (even in the organic version which I recommend if you can afford it), you do not need a top of the range blender which is often the case with nut milk and is one of the easiest plant-based milk recipes to make and simply, oh, so yummy.

Ingredients:

1 cup of rolled oats (your favourite kind as taste plays a role in the finished product)
4 cups of drinking water
pinch of salt

Optional: 1-2 dates for sweetness (or 1-2 teaspoons of syrup or sugar), vanilla extract,
                  cocoa, cinnamon

Directions: 

Place all your ingredients in your blender and blend for about 30 seconds if your oats are more soft or 45-if your oats are more hard and thick (as over blending can make your oat milk a little ,slimy, tasting).

Taste if you like the taste and amend amounts and ingredients to suit your preferences.

Now sieve it through a very fine mesh, coffee cafetiere or cloth (not with a too high thread count or it will take ages).
I use my 30p recyclable mesh bag from Sainsbury (it is sold as a reusable bag for your fruits and vegetables) or trough an old cloth (like a t-shirt) or a coffee cafetiere, depending on what you have at home. An old t-shirt works the best in my opinion. Double or triple strain for best results.

Transfer into your container and refrigerate.

Enjoy.




NOTES:

Plant-based milk can separate, I recommend double or triple straining them for best results, shaking them before each use or adding lecithin or xanthan gum (0.4%  of the volume) to combat it.

It holds well up to 5 days in the fridge providing you store it air-tight with a lid. You can freeze it as well, just remember that it expands, so never fully fill your freezer bottles.

The leftover pulp can be mixed into your breakfast oats, crumble, granola or kept frozen for when needed.

Nowadays I store my oat-milk in upcycled pickle jars as they are the easiest to clean and easy to stack.

This milk is low in calories and is only about 19 calories per half a cup.

If possible, try to purchase your oats organic from a bulk-free shop or packaged in a recycled paper bag. But if that is not an option, then plastic packaged oats is much better from the ethical and environmental point as well, of course. :)