So, when reviewing my blog statistics I noticed I seemed to be getting a lot of hits on all of my nutrition posts. Therefore I have decided I will talk a little bit more about my nutrition. Every time I locate a good “find” (or in this case, something I have been using for a while), I’ll tell you all about it and why I love it so much. I’ll try and pick more obscure foods people may not have tried themselves or haven’t even heard of. Hopefully you find these little nutrition tidbits interesting.
The topic of today is almond milk. It’s kind of unusual if you aren’t vegetarian/vegan and have no problem with regular milk. I first heard about it when I was listening to one of Jillian Michael’s podcasts from when she had a radio show (I was kind of on the fence about Jillian until I started listening to her podcasts a few years ago. They’re really fantastic and you get a lot of good information. I highly recommend them to anyone interested in nutrition and fitness. They were available on iTunes last time I checked, but I can probably find the link if anyone’s interested).
Anyway, almond milk. Jillian talked about using it on the Biggest Loser for the contestants as a way to decrease the amount of lactose (sugar) in their diets and save on some calories (because their diets are obviously very strict). Intrigued, I decided to try it. I wasn’t sure what exactly it would look like or taste like, but I am not a fan of soy milk or of consuming soy in general so I figured I’d give it a try. It was a little weird at first because it’s fairly watery. It smells vaguely like almonds. I picked up a carton of Almond Breeze by Blue Diamond at my local grocery store. It comes in several flavors and you have the option of both sweetened and unsweetened in vanilla, chocolate and original. I always opt for unsweetened in vanilla or original (between 40 and 60 calories per cup!).
I don’t usually (but I have) drink almond milk straight. It doesn’t taste bad, it just doesn’t taste like milk. I love it in my coffee though. It’s creamy and has a sweetness too it. I also like it in cereal and I use it in my breakfast smoothies to cut down on calories and sugars. Here’s a rundown on the nutritional info.
Serving size 1 cup (240mL)
Calories 40
Fat 3g
Saturated 0.3g
Trans 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 180mg
Potassium 190mg
Carbohydrates 2g
Fibre 1g
Sugars 0g
Protein 1g
It also contains 20% your daily recommended intake of calcium (based on a 2000 calorie diet), 2% your iron, 15% vitamin E, 4% phosphorus and 8% magnesium.
And just for fun, let’s compare to regular 2% milk…
Calories 122
Fat 4.8g
Saturated 3.1g
Trans 0g
Cholesterol 20mg
Sodium 100mg
Potassium Not stated.
Carbohydrates 11.4g
Fibre 0g
Sugars 12.3
Protein 8g
It also contains 29% of your daily recommended intake of calcium, 0% of your iron, 9% vitamin A and 1% of vitamin C.
So, obviously with more calories you’re going to be expecting more carbs, protein and fat. There’s a good amount of protein in milk, but you’re talking about triple the calories in this case. I still drink regular milk and I will continue to drink regular milk, but this is a pretty appealing alternative if you’re talking a splash in your coffee or to help keep the calories lower in a smoothie (especially if you’re watching your carbs at all). You’re definitely getting some vitamins from almond milk you can’t get from regular milk and vice versa, so it’s a nice way of getting some variety in your diet.
And that’s my food tip for the day! Have a good night guys!
- N
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