This past year I was more than determined to shed the extra 12 lbs I still carried around since the birth of my daughter. After all, she is 3 years old now....
So, I decided to count calories, since nothing else seemed to be working. And that is how I came across the wonder that is almond milk.
This Blue Diamond Almond-Coconut blend alone is 1/2 the calories of your average skim milk. Do I recommend putting this in your coffee? Nah, wouldn't taste right. As far as cereal goes, I found it to be worth it. And I haven't looked at a cow since.
The taste is definitely dominated by the coconut milk. The texture too, I find, is thin like that of coconut or cows' milk. Although, there is a hint of almond at the end - an after-taste, if you will.
Now I started off with plain ol' almond milk first. Which I must say, certainly takes some adjusting to when you first make the switch. If you do try any of these, definitely get the sweetened first, then ween yourself off and get the unsweetened if you're looking to save calories. This product is great for those who are lactose-intolerant or allergic to soy or cow's milk. I may drink it with some Oreos, sure... but of course my taste buds are still use to cow's milk. It's not the same, but a great substitute still. I wish we had this when I was a youngster. I was allergic to cow's milk as a toddler, and then allergic to soy as a teen. My options were very limited back then, and I'm not even old! Now on top of soy and cow milk, there's goat's milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, Lactaid (lactose-free cow's milk!)... I'm sure I'm forgetting more...but it's unreal how many there are to choose from now!
This is great for cereal, even baking.... I recently made a banana protein shake with this and it was great. I like the unsweetened ones now, and I find that the coconut milk adds extra sweetness that wouldn't be there if it were just unsweetened almond milk.
There is a lot of talk among fitness communities about the added vitamins in this product. There's Vitamin A palmitate, D2, and calcium carbonate for starters. These are synthetic vitamins added to "enrich" products, but can be harmful if consumed in excessive amounts. Am I worried about having this in my bowl of cereal that i have maybe 4, 5 times a week? No, I'm not. But let's just say my kid still gets cow's milk.
Pros
- 1/2 the calories of cow's milk
- no sugar
- no cholesterol
- great for those w/ allergies to other milk varieties
- high in Omega 3 fatty acids
Cons
- not as tasty as cow milk
- added synthetic vitamins
- not safe for those w/ tree nut allergies
- low protein content
3 out of 5 stars
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