FabFive, I saw where you were on KU asking about what almond milk to buy. Personally, if I'm going to buy almond milk, I prefer the Blue Diamond, No Sugar Added, as opposed to their "sugar free", which contains an artificial sweetener.

As an alternative, I thought you might like to try this. I absolutely LOVE The Rawtarian and she has some really good recipes. I love the fact that her recipes are split up between those that require a dehydrator, and those that do not. Not saying you have to go "raw/vegan", but still find her recipes to be fairly easy and tasty. 

Thanks for the input. I bought Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Original. I heard it tastes better than the Blue Diamond but I haven't even had a sip yet. They were out of a lot of stuff at Walmart. I really dislike that place! I don't plan on drinking it so much as using it for cereal for the kids. Do you bake with it? I was thinking of getting evaporated milk just for those few recipes I will not be giving up. What do you think? 

I want to use coconut milk, has anyone tried it?

Plus I was reading that coconut oil makes a great substitute for some butter too. 

I love coconut milk - I actually like it better than almond milk, although almond milk is not bad, either. For coconut milk, I use the So Delicious brand, and I use the unsweetened vs the "no sugar added", because that has a sweetener in it, like the almond milk. So Delicious is certified organic, too. Coconut milk, to me, is more like cow's milk, it is creamier and richer tasting.

As for coconut oil, please know that all oils are not created equal, ESPECIALLY as it relates to coconut oil. The one brand that you can get in the stores with the other oils (Luana brand??) is DISGUSTING!!! If you are going to use coconut oil, you have to buy Nutiva coconut oil. It is delicious! If you go to their website on Tuesdays, they always have a special; sometimes it is coconut oil, and sometimes it is chia seeds or hemp seeds and hemp oil, but either way, their Tuesday deals are a steal! And in answer to your original question, yes, you can use it like butter. Oh, and Nutiva has comething called coconut manna that has more fat and fiber in it than their oil, so that is what most people use for their butter replacement. 

Oh, and whatever you do, do NOT use Pacifica brand of almond milk, because it is just NASTY! 

Wow. Thanks for all the input. Clearly I need to read more about this because I have an whole undiscovered world out there!

Our goal is to do this right while our children are young so they don't go down the path we did, because changing it now is not going to be easy! 

I found the almond/coconut unsweetened milk.

Can't wait to try it later with a little honey and chocolate added.