Almond Milk vs. Skim Milk

Skim milk also has protein, almond milk has nearly none (one gram per cup IIRC). So it isn't that one is better nutritionally, but rather what is better for your personal goals? Not all people count carbs, sodium or sugar, and some people think the extra 50 or so calories are worth it.

I drink Silk's Unsweetened/Unflavored Soy Milk. It tastes pretty good (gotta get used to the taste change in my coffee, though) and it is definitely healthier in means of calories. When I compared my old milk (Reduced Fat, Lactose Free) to Silk, it had 100s of more calories and definitely more fat. The only difference is I was loosing 1g of protein, which was minor. I can definitely deal with that loss of a gram.

almond milk doesnt have protien, so you'll have to get that somewhere else. It does have more calcium (the silk brand, anyway) and makes it easier for me to meet my calcium goals.

I get my protien elsewhere. The taste is superb in coffee/cereal, I prefer the lightly sweetened, or "touch of honey" varieties.

If I was lactose intolerant/vegan, I'd choose plain soymilk for a milk sub that is more nutritionally complete.

Raw milk. All the milk goodness plus all the beneficial bacteria that gets killed during the pasteurization process.

I love the taste of almond milk, but it won't help my protein goal. My favorite is light soy milk, with all the protein and less calories than cow milk, but sadly, it's obscenely expensive around here. So back to skim milk I went.... Cheers!

I only drink milk in my coffee, but I have moved to the point I really enjoy the taste of almond milk. But, I make my own and think it is the most delicious. My stomach has issues with milk sometimes. Health difference I won't claim to know.
-Cup of almonds*
-1/2 gallon of water
-1/2 tsp of cinimmon
-1 to 2 tsp of vanilla depending on your taste
-3 dates (to sweeten without the use of processed sugar or artificial sweetener.) Makes is ever so lightly sweet, I don't like sweet.
1. Blend
2. Strain
3. Bottle I use an old Organic milk glass bottle.
4. Done

*some people say to soak the almonds over night in water with some salt, then rinse before start process to soften and extract more milk from them. I have a vitamix so i don't notice a difference, if you don't you may want to try this.

jstavix wrote: »

Our whole family has stopped drinking milk period for many reasons. We have also all became vegetarians as well. We are drinking almond breeze with honey in it and so far, so good. We use it in cereal etc. I have never been one to sit down and drink a glass of milk since I was a little kid so the switch was easy. I personally think it's what is good for you. Sure, it doesn't have protein but, it also doesn't have the gross things milk has either. Do some research on what the FDA allows in your milk! Kinda sickening!

Hence the reason I get raw milk from a farm up the street. I will never go back to store bought milk

donamari7 wrote: »

What is a macros target?

Macro ratio's is a better term. It's your percentage of macros, for example.: 45% carbs - 30% protein - 30% fat

I've never seen skim milk with added sugar, that's a myth.

If you understand dairy, you'd understand that milk, including skim, naturally has lactose, which is sugar.

I put almond milk in my morning smoothie. (It has a scoop of whey protein powder so I'm not bothered that the almond milk has little protein). But if I were to drink a glass of milk (which doesn't happen often), I would choose skim or 1% milk hands down.

Which is better for us? Depends on taste preferances, and your dietary goals.

If/when I drink milk, It's 3.5% or higher, or a 2% chocolate milk.
Skim milk seems pointless to me, and I don't care for almond milk.

ashleycde wrote: »

lemurcat12 wrote: »

I've never seen skim milk with added sugar, that's a myth.

Skim milk doesn't have added sugar, however it does contain more sugar than full-fat milks. Specifically lactose, a milk sugar.

That's a very different claim to the "they add stuff!" one I was addressing, but it's also misleading at best. All milk has lactose unless it is altered. If you compare the same number of calories of whole vs. skim (the whole being a much smaller amount, of course), you have more sugar in the skim, because a higher percentage of the calories in the skim is, obviously, from lactose in that one of the only other major contributors of calories (fat) has been removed. BUT if you compare equal amounts (say, 100 grams), there are identical amounts of sugar in both--5 grams, typically.

So again the claim that skim or low fat milk have ingredients or specifically sugar added that whole doesn't have is at best a myth (or simply a weird untruth people like to tell).

I quite like 1% and 2% dairy in particular (as well as full fat) and also find it a really good source of protein for the calories, so I think it deserves a defense. Obviously if one is lactose intolerant you would avoid lactose, but I see zero reason to.

uptownplum wrote: »

I don't think people who drink almond milk are "ignorant hipsters" as this article so delicately puts it, but the sentiment of the rest of the article is more or less the same. Almonds are such a wonderful food - why pulverize them to create "milk" (see: cloudy water)? I don't know, if people like it, that's fine with me, but I personally won't drink it for this reason. http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2014/07/lay-off-almond-milk-ignorant-hipsters

Heh, that's basically how I feel, although I accept that some people don't like or can't drink dairy or just like the almond stuff better (although I certainly do not--however, taste is a puzzling thing). ;-) The hype for store-bought almond milk from people who are otherwise all about "natural and unprocessed" is always the weirdest.