If you're lactose intolerant or vegan, then you obviously steer clear of cow's milk. It's great that there are a few milk alternatives out there, but if you've ever tried them, you know they're not perfect. There's soy milk which tastes a lot like regular milk, but some people don't want to drink it because they're concerned about the health risks of eating too much soy. There's also rice milk, but it's kind of thin and watery, and has a grainy aftertaste.
Then there's almond milk, which is by far my favorite. Have you ever tried it? It's made by soaking almonds in water, and then they're ground into a liquid. Since these nuts have a soft texture, mild flavor and light coloring (when skinned), the liquid looks and tastes like sweet milk, making it a great substitute.
Interested in seeing the nutritional info? Then read more
One cup has only 2.5 g of fat and zero saturated fat so it's great if you're watching your cholesterol. It doesn't have a ton of protein, but it does have 30 percent of your daily calcium. Plus it only has 90 calories, which is less than soy milk (110), cow's milk (102), and rice milk (130).
This Lowfat Vanilla Almond Milk from Pacific Natural Foods tastes like a creamy vanilla milkshake (I'm not kidding). They also make Chocolate Almond Milk for even more of a treat. If you want more of plain taste, you can just buy the Original or Unsweetened flavors.
Fit's Tips: Almond milk is delicious if you drink it alone or in your cereal, but you can also substitute it for cow's milk in your recipes.
Michael Stars
Nuovegioie
Sessun
I love almond milk. It's really great if you're watching your calories because the unsweetened kind has only 40 calories! It's nice for cereal, but I don't know about coffee as I don't drink it. I also wouldn't recommend drinking the unsweetened kind on its own -- it doesn't taste bad, but it's a bit bland tasting.
1I've never tried almond milk but I'd love to try it. I love milk and I occasionally buy soy milk since I really need to cut down on animal fats and anything that has cholesterol in it. I bet almond milk would be a good substitute!
2almond milk is really good. i think homemade tastes even better, though. to make your own almond milk, soak 1 cup of raw almonds for at least 8 hours and blend with 4 cups of water, then pour the mixture through a strainer. blend again, adding a little bit of vanilla or sweetener if you like, then strain once more. it will last in the fridge for a few days.
3chocolate almond milk is amazing
4Love almond milk and use it in my smoothies.
5I am lactose intolerant and drink almond milk with cereal. Eating a lot of soy isn't good for you and someone told me they hated the taste of rice milk so this was the perfect option!
6almond milk = love.
i personally enjoy the unsweetened kind, even by itself. i've never been a big fan of cow's milk, so anything tastes better than that!!
7I am going to try this instead of soy milk this week!
8almond milk is amazing
9the chocolate is off the hook
i started drinking it because i'm lactose intollerant
it tastes so good that my husband (a big milk drinker) is always stealing my stash
I'm so excited! I just recently discovered I am lactose intolerant and I tried soy milk but I thought it was disgusting and I wasted $5 because I won't drink it anymore! I will definitely try this!
10where can you get this? whole foods or the regular super market?
11Not a fan...
12i make almond milk fro scratch sometimes for a change, but this stuff isn't even close to as good (with protein, fat, many vitamins etc) as the So Good Fat Free that i usually drink. this stuff might be better for mixed drinks or fancy coffees though because of the thickness.
13Mmmmmm ... sooooo good! When I was in Hong Kong, I had an Almond Milk shake at this famous cafe that only does dairy-related stuff every other day. Sooooooo gooood ...
14i've always wanted to try this.
15i agree almond milk is yummy for a change but there are a few things to note about it (i recently did a project comparing the nutritional info of cow, soy, rice and almond milks). The rankings are:
1)Soy and Cow milk Both of these contain very high levels of calcium and protein, as well as vitamin C and iron. While the soy milk is higher in fat, closer inspection reveals that it has much less saturated fat than 2% milk (4% DRV vs. 15% DRV). Individuals concerned about their fat intake could consume 1% or skim milk instead of 2% to avoid this. The caloric difference (20) is negligible and once again, varies brand-to brand. For example, So Good brand Trim has only 60 calories per cup, less than 1 cup of skim milk (80-90 Cals.)
Second Place goes to rice milk! Although it contains the same amount of calcium as soy and cow milk, it is lacking in protein, iron and vitamin C.
Coming in last is almond milk. Each cup contains 2/3 of the calcium of 1 cup of any other milk and is also low in protein and iron.
long post, i know, but i think it's worth it to know the full picture. Also, homemade almond milk wont have nearly as much calcium as store bought, as the store bought is calcium enriched.
16Apparently a lot of relatives on my mexican side are lactose intolerant. My aunt turned me on to the almond milk a couple weeks ago. Sooooo delicious. i definetly would rather have this than soy milk, and the rice milk in stores isn't as good as rice milk made at home.
anyone know what asile you can find these in at safeway, whole foods or tj's?
17I admit I'm partial toward horchata! Almond is tasty!
18Only after I got it home did I realize it only had 1 gram of protein per serving. Since I only use half that on my cereal, it's barely worth it.
19mmm looks delicious!
20i love using vanilla almond milk to make banana pancakes. delicious!
21I never had Almond soy milk before, I need to give it a try; I mostly have had the Vanilla...I want to try to chocolate though.
22will i be able to use it with my oatmeal? and how long does it usually last?
23Fortunately, almond milk is easy to make at home, so the health repercussions of drinking from those plastic-lined tetra-pak boxes can be avoided, as well as the environmental repercussions of that packaging, which is also not recyclable. As for the calcium, look at the label ingredients. You will see that most brands add calcium carbonate (eggshell calcium) to make the calcium quota 30%, so it's not much better than taking a cheap calcium pill. Homemade is definitely superior in taste and nutrition, although almonds still contain 1/4 the calcium of cow milk when made into almond milk at the concentration of 1 cup of almonds, soaked, to enough water to result in 4 cups almond milk. However, it should be noted, that 8 oz. of almond milk made this way, even though it contains 1/4 of the calcium of cow milk, contains slightly *more* calcium than the same quantity of human breast milk, according the USDA Nutrient Database, so almond milk's calcium content (as well as protein content) is more in keeping with human milk, than cow milk is. That's food for thought.
24I wonder if any of the supermarkets I'm near sell this stuff in the 'organic' section. Does anyone know for sure whether a certain company distributes almond milk? It sounds like something I'd like to try. . .
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