These are Ella Grace's mama-approved favorite milk cartons that we usually pack w us on-the-go!
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1. For smaller little ones that might not quite be able to finish a larger carton yet, this half packet from Dutch Lady Malaysia is perfect! The added bonus is that they also have Frozen or Marvel designs.
2. We recently discovered this carton from Fernleaf Malaysia and Ella has been loving it! It's 100% milk from New Zealand (recombined and packaged in Malaysia) and it is the best value among all three but without compromising on nutrition. They are currently having a buy 3 get 1 free promotion so I've seen it as cheap as 4 cartons for RM4.75 at Jaya Grocer. (Dutch Lady is RM4.65 for 4 half cartons)
3. Lastly, a perennial favorite but not always in stock, Ella Grace's "red milk" from Organic Valley. Although they keep it in the fridge here, it is actually UHT treated like the others and doesn't require refrigeration. I usually pack this with her snack box for school. The only con of this is that it is consistently the priciest of all of them (recombined and packaged in the US) but Ben's Independent Grocer usually has it the cheapest at RM9.90.
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What does UHT mean and is it safe to feed my child this?
Yes! UHT just means that it's been pasteurized under high heat and is shelf stable. Although it does kill off a few nutrients, it is much safer for your little one to be consuming pasteurized milk and UHT cartons are a simple, convenient way to have a milk option on-the-go.
It is usually also transported in milk powder form then reconstituted before being heat treated and packaged into tetrapaks. This is why Fernleaf can offer 100% New Zealand milk without the New Zealand price. 😅
Please bear in mind that this is not a replacement of formula or breastmilk for little ones and should be treated like just a drink for those that have started weaning.
After 12m, contrary to popular belief, there is no requirement that children need to replace their formula or breastmilk w fresh or UHT milk. It is just another drink they can have but if your child is lactose intolerant or you just don't have a lot of milk, there are lots of other ways to get calcium and vit D into your diet too.
Always look for Full Cream milk as it contains the fats that little ones need for their brains to develop. There is also usually more additives and junk added to anything "low fat" so try to always stick w whole foods in their natural form as much as possible.
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To learn more about raising healthy happy little ones, come join my Food Wars! workshop and start a calm, confident, no begging, bribing, yelling or threatening food relationship for you and your family. ❤️
