Given raw milk’s importance as a health food it is important that you take progressive steps to include it in your diet successfully. It is not recommended to switch “cold-turkey” from processed store-bought milk to raw milk, especially if you have never had raw milk or if you have known dairy digestive issues.
Imagine you were not in shape for running and attempted to run a marathon right away. The after-effects could be quite discouraging, right? Just as cardiovascular exercise is good for your health, raw milk is good for you so long as you know how to incorporate it into your diet correctly. A few things to keep in mind:
1. 1-2 weeks before consumption of raw milk, include foods in your diet that contain probiotics (good bacteria) such as yogurt and kefir.
2. The milk from a grass-fed cow will be slightly more yellow from the beta-carotene and taste like the grass the cow is eating. Yes the milk will taste differently.
3. Keep the milk quality high. We do our best to ensure that your milk is packaged safely and kept cold. When leaving our farm it is recommended that you make arrangements to keep the milk from getting warm, especially if you are driving a longer distance. Coolers, ice and ice packs can help will help with this. Keep milk refrigerated to 34ºF at all times when it is not being actively utilized. Letting milk sit on a countertop or table during a long breakfast discussion is not a good idea for any kind of milk.
4. Make a gradual transition using BOTH the milk you were previously using and raw milk.
- Do not mix Raw milk and Processed milk into the same storage container. Instead use milk out of both containers to pour into your glass or bowl of cereal, etc. Or at most mix together what you are going to use for just that meal.
- Shake the milk containers, especially the raw milk container to be sure the cream is mixed in with the rest of the milk.
- Some people, especially children, may initially balk at consuming raw milk. Preparing the following transitional servings in a container they are familiar with, like a milk container they are familiar with from the store, should help overcome any apprehensiveness towards consuming raw milk.
For a smooth transition, here is a 10-day plan:
- DAY 1: 1-serving for the day of a tablespoon raw milk with the remainder of the milk being from your previous source. a. If a person weighs less than 100 lb consider just using 1 teaspoon.
- DAY 2: Multiple servings (2-4, one at each meal) of a tablespoon raw milk with the remainder of the milk being from your previous source.
- DAY 3: 1- serving for the day of 1/4 cup of raw milk with the remainder of the milk being from your previous source.
- DAY 4: Multiple servings (2-4, one at each meal) of a 1/4 cup raw milk with the remainder of the milk being from your previous source.
- DAY 5: 1-serving for the day of 1/2 cup raw milk with the remainder of the milk (>1/2 cup), being from your previous source.
- DAY 6: Multiple servings (2-4, one at each meal) of a 1/2 cup raw milk with the remainder (>1/2 cup) being from your previous source.
- DAY 7: 1- serving for the day of 3/4 cup raw milk with the remainder of the milk being from your previous source.
- DAY 8: Multiple servings (2-4, one at each meal) of a 3/4 raw milk with the remainder being from your previous source.
- DAY 9: 1 – serving for the day of 100% raw milk, and the rest of the servings 3/4 cup raw milk, 1/4 cup from previous source
- DAY 10: Multiple servings (2-4, one at each meal) of 100% raw milk. Hereafter your taste buds and digestive system should be able to handle multiple servings of 100% raw milk with or without food.