Almond Milk

If you don't want to go for lactose-free milk as your drink of choice, what are the alternatives?

Soy milk is the most common. Rice milk is second. Oat milk. Rice and Soy blends. Potato starch-based, even. And then there's almond milk.

I list commercial almond milks on the Nondairy Milk Alternatives - Other Beverages page in my Milk-Free Bookstore. They're not the most popular or most widely known.

I was floored, therefore, when I ran across two mentions of them today.

One was in Elizabeth Keyser's article in the New Canaan News-Review on a talk by Susan Rubin.

The holistic nutrition consultant is known as one of the "Two Angry Moms" of the documentary that followed Rubin's efforts to make school lunches healthier. The former dentist is the founder of Better School Food, a coalition that raises awareness about the connection between food and health.

Her position is pretty much against any processed, preservative or hormone-laden, non-natural food. So when asked about lactose-free milk, the answer she gave was mostly because it's standard milk.

The audience had a lot of questions for her. Someone asked what she thought about Lactaid, a milk-replacement product for those who are lactose-intolerant.

Rubin suggested trying almond milk instead. "Buy it or make your own in a blender, strain it and use the solids for baking."

Someone asked about soy milk.

"That's a touchy one," she said. She noted that soy is the second most widely grown crop in the United States, and it is a "powerful hormone cocktail." She added, "It pulls the thyroid out of synch."

"If you are on Synthroid," she said, "Rethink your soy consumption."

She feeds her children organic milk from grass-fed cows.

Since most of you are not going to make your own almond milk, what about buying it?

An article on FitSugar.com recommended Pacific Natural Foods' Almond Milk, which is probably the leading brand.

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).

You can check the Pacific Natural Foods Nut & Grain Beverages page, which lists Original and Vanilla Almond Milks; Unsweetened Original and Vanilla Almond Milks; Chocolate and Vanilla Lowfat Almond Milks; and Hazelnut Milk. All are Kosher Parve, Gluten Free, Wheat Free, Casein Free, Low Sodium, Vegan, and Yeast Free.