I started out last year with the ambitious goal of making ALL our meals at home–from scratch Ambitious is an insufficient descriptor for this goal, as I was also writing a book, remodeling my house, and actually raising my daughters.  The goal was short-lived. I did, however, cook five of our seven meals a week from scratch for the entirety of 2022, and by the fall, I was burnt out.  It wasn’t so much the cooking as it was the planning, shopping, prepping, and thanklessness of it all. The more creative I got, the more work it was for everyone—nothing kills the vibe of a chill Sunday ..read more

Photo by NajlaCam on Unsplash I’ve started spending a few weekday mornings a week writing at my local Starbucks. At five o’clock in the morning, it’s just me and the baristas. They work the drive-thru line and I write. Around 7, people start to trickle in for pre-school frappuccinos with their kids or pre-work donuts with their mentors. Last week a middle-aged man and his wiser and older mentor sat at the table next to me. I smiled and greeted them and tried to get back to my story idea, but the frappuccino and the donut on the table across from me hijacked my thoughts. I pulled up the Starbuc ..read more

Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash Is making your own plant milk healthier than buying it? Maybe. But healthier wasn’t the main factor that turned me into the mom who makes her own oat milk. I mentioned in our recent post about plant milk that I started making my kids’ milk because there are just too many ingredients in most store-bought brands and it was too hard to isolate what was upsetting my daughter’s tummy.  Making milk at home gives you control over what goes into your kid’s body. You don’t need sweeteners or thickeners or preservatives. Making your own milk gives you the freedo ..read more

Photo by Louis Hansel on Unsplash Sometimes I wish I was the type of food writer who got to write about cups of creamy tomato soup served in big mugs and topped with grilled cheese that is equal parts with a gooey center and crispy edges. While the layers of texture and flavor in a vegan Lebanese moussaka make me just as excited, it feels like a harder sell in a society that glorified donuts for breakfast and quick-and-easy meals toddlers will love.  It feels like an uphill climb convincing the sleep-deprived and patience-tried mothers everywhere that the forethought it tak ..read more

Photo by abillion on Unsplash This post was written by Laura Freeland, The Plant Milk Project’s editor-in-chief, and researched by Nicole Queliz, our co-founder and resident dietitian.  Can I give my kid oat milk or soy milk instead of cow’s milk? There are plenty of reasons to give your kids plant-based milk alternatives: morality, food intolerance, the quest to avoid added hormones and antibiotic residue. We get it. We support it. And we want you to consider all the information before you swap dairy for a plant-based alternative. Plant milks—like oat milk, soy milk, or ca ..read more

Ok…so, what’s the deal with dairy? I am raising my family on an almost entirely* plant-based diet and Nicole is raising omnivores. Despite our differences, we agree animal products provide a lot of nutrition for burgeoning bodies. Until they are 18 months old, babies need 50% of their calories from fat. That’s like a cup of macadamia nuts a day, which by my estimate is roughly $9,406 in nuts per kid per year. Trying to get that much fat into a one-year-old without meat and dairy will require you to quit your day job and spend all day blending flax oil, avocado, and cashews into your baby’s ve ..read more

Photo by Kody Dahl on Unsplash When I first started The Plant Milk Project, I was on a mission to cook every meal at home. This was before I went back to work as a freelance copywriter. It was before my air conditioner flooded my house and we had to move in with my parents while we renovated. It was before potty training and daily swimming lessons. Despite all the very legit reasons I have to not eat at home this year, I’ve cooked more new recipes this year than I have in my 18 years of adult life. I have not, however, cooked every meal at home. That was a bit too ambitious. Whe ..read more

Around the time my kids turned one, my Google search history looked something like this: Should I give my kid cow’s milk? Is soy milk safe for toddlers? Is oat milk ok for babies? Can I give my baby almond milk? Should I make my oat milk? Do I have to give my kids cow’s milk when they turn one? Do my kids have to drink dairy formula until they are one?  Does formula give babies diarrhea? Does baby formula have antibiotics and hormones? Can I trust organic milk? Is homogenized milk bad? Because of my daughters’ (Vivienne and Margot) extreme prematurity, and Margot’s short bowel diagnosis ..read more

Should I be freaking out that my toddler is not eating? This was the question I asked myself daily for the last three weeks.  I’ve been joking about my kids’ hunger strike the few weeks they’ve been sick, but—truth be told — I was getting Britney-Spears-level weird about it after week one of their self-imposed liquid diet. When we went to her pulmonologist appointment last week, I was prepared to hear concerns about her weight loss. I texted Nicole (The Plant Milk Project’s resident dietitian) to ask if I should supplement with plant-based toddler formula. I debated throwing everyth ..read more

This week, I had a coffee date with a friend of mine and she re-focused me on the original mission of The Plant Milk Project. My dearest Nicole is a pediatric dietitian. She’s a certified nutrition support clinician; she specializes in feeding issues. She has over a decade of experience in dietetics and nutrition, and I love talking to her because she is always honest. She will tell you she chose NICU and pediatrics because adults are noncompliant, and it’s annoying. They come into the hospital with diseases they created, but they won’t stop eating the double bacon cheeseburgers with spe ..read more