You can substitute regular milk if desired or any other milk. I used frozen mango chunks one time and no ice and fresh mango and ice another time and I liked the richer taste with using frozen and no ice. But either way tasted great. I also liked using a bit more cardamom than a lot of recipes I had found online, it really made the drink, so does the addition of the salt. You can also use any kind of yogurt, I happen to only buy Greek yogurt, so that is what I used and it made the drink pretty thick. If using regular yogurt omit the coconut water or use less water and less milk so its not too thin of a drink