With June being National Dairy Month, it’s the perfect time to support your local dairy farmers and enjoy milk in any way you can! At Kreider Farms, we are truly a farm to fork dairy where we still grow and harvest our own feed on our combined 3,000 acres of farmland in Lancaster County. With a rich, local diet, our girls produce the freshest milk there is which we process and bottle right here on-site! Doing everything on our own farm, allows us to lock in freshness and get the good stuff out the door to you in the shortest time possible!

While there are an abundance of “dairy alternatives” out there, you still can’t beat the taste and benefits of real, farm fresh milk. Only real dairy products made with cow’s milk are a good source of all 9 essential nutrients including calcium, potassium and vitamin D while the other alternatives have to add in a long list of additives and preservatives in hopes of achieving the natural taste and texture of real milk.

Below, we’ve compiled some easy ways to incorporate real dairy into your diet this month:

You can simply drink milk by itself.

Every milk provider offers whole milk, 1%, 2% and fat free white milk. Some companies, like us, even offer lactose free milk options for those that may have a sensitivity or intolerance to regular milk. Drink it plain or add some flavor like chocolate or strawberry to make it fun for the kids!

Of course, everyone’s favorite form of dairy is ice cream.

Take the traditional approach and enjoy it in a cone or bowl or try one of the new and emerging styles of ice cream that have become popular in the recent years like rolled ice cream which originated in Thailand in the 2010s. The liquid base is poured onto a cold plate, frozen flat and rolled up.

Mix it up with a milkshake.

This one could be considered the ultimate tribute to dairy when milk and ice cream combine into everyone’s favorite summer treat.

Aside from the obvious, lots of other products come from cows’ milk.

Heavy cream, butter, cream cheese and cottage cheese are also great ways to get your daily dairy intake and are oftentimes used in recipes. Maybe you put cream cheese on your breakfast bagel or heavy cream in your morning coffee. Either way, consuming milk is the perfect way to start the day!

Incorporate dairy into your cooking.

Make your breakfast eggs light and fluffy by adding some milk or add them some flavor by sprinkling cheese on top. Make creamy mac and cheese, soups, bisques, hot chocolate and more with milk instead of water for a richer and creamier taste and texture or start your morning by blending some milk, berries and protein powder into a smoothie. There are an abundance of recipes to enjoy that use a variety of real dairy products, and allow you to enjoy the full health benefits of consuming real dairy products. Find more delicious recipes like the mac and cheese pictured here in some of our past blog posts.

Although June is National Dairy Month, it is important to consume real dairy products every day.

Milk contains lots of calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and vitamins and is also a great source of protein, which helps build muscle and keeps you feeling full. When you choose real dairy, you are not only benefiting yourself; you are benefiting the farmers and dairymen across the country that put the food on your table. These families work hard every day to milk the cows and harvest the crops that feed you.

Sometimes we forget that the food in our grocery stores doesn’t just appear there. This month be sure to choose real dairy products and thank a farmer!