Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Things I love: Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze

For YEARS I've been drinking skim milk.  Because for years, nutritionists and know-it-all's alike preached the health benefits of it.  Who doesn't love things that are fat-free?  And when you compare the stats on skim milk to whole fat buttermilk, skim wins by a watery landslide.

But when I started reading more about soy milk and almond milk, I became curious.

I've found a new love - especially for coffee and oatmeal.  It's UNSWEETENED Vanilla Almond Breeze.



The stats stack up like this:

That's ONE (1) point for a cup of this...and because it's thicker, I think it feels more indulgent than skim milk - but again, it still has the same point value!

Like I said, I use it in my coffee (my to-go cups hold two cups of coffee, one cup of this, and a few squirts of sugar-free syrup) every morning.  Here's my tip for coffee: heat up the "milk" first before mixing it with the coffee...it keeps your coffee hotter longer instead of cooling it down immediately.  Lukewarm coffee isn't my favorite.

The flavor is *slightly* nutty and there is a vanilla flavor (not sweet though)...but definitely not overpowering.  The color is definitely darker than skim milk and again, it's more opaque. 

I think it's available in the normal dry goods sections of stores, but I get mine in the refrigerated section - and the half gallon is typically good for about a month (according to the expiration date on the carton).  They suggest that you use the product within 7 days of opening, but by using over a cup a day, this isn't a huge issue for me.

There are other flavors that I'm aware of are pictured above - but they are more calories and the sweetened versions are definitely sweet.  My father picked up some regular sweetened almond milk and it was too sweet to mix into my coffee...then again, I'm not a huge fan of overly sweetened coffees.

Have any of you used low points options (other than milk) to lighten your coffee?

11 Comments:

Princess Dieter aka Mir said...

Love the stuff. Vanilla, original, chocolate. LOVE IT. I drink coconut milk and almond milk, and I gave up dairy milk. (It's true. Your skin does get better! I thought those "give up milk" folks were full of it. Acne cleared up.)

Anyway, I tried the new one, the coconut almond milk. Whoa, I like it. But I like coconut flavor.

Stuff's da bomb.

Lily Fluffbottom said...

I only drink chocolate almond milk. Its almost as good as the real thing, possibly better in some respects. But I don't feel like dying after drinking a lot, and more importantly, I don't drink a lot because its not exactly what I want.

Anonymous said...

I had the silk almond milk, but I will be shopping for this kind next trip! Sounds delicious. I think the coconut almond milk sounds ridiculous!

Lyn said...

I love it too! I use it on (low carb) oatmeal and in protein shakes, yummy! :)

christina said...

I love the unsweetenned vanilla - I buy the version that isnt initally refridgerated though thats in the cereal isle. I use it to bake too!

Anonymous said...

I haven't tried this yet, but I just put it on my grocery list. Thanks for sharing info on it.

Anonymous said...

I do use some in my coffee sometimes, but I don't think the protien trade-off is worth it. I drink 1/2% milk, with 90 cals for 1 cup and 8 g. protien. Almond milk has 1 g. protien and 40 cals per cup. Nice for something different, but if I don't get enough protien, my appetite is INSANE, so I stick mainly with milk. Enjoy your almond milk! :-) Deb

Spilling Ink said...

And now I want to cry because we don't have this stuff in Australia.
We're about two decades behind here Down Under so I guess we'll see this stuff in 2032, maybe. Why won't they make it easy for me?

Lily Fluffbottom said...

Almond milk is still delicious. So is smaller pant sizes. I have that now. I also mentioned you in a blog post, so you should check it. http://lilyfluffbottom.com/2012/02/06/half-marathon-training-week-4-and-internet-memes/

MizFit said...

my girl is lactose intolerant so we've been trying alll kinds of other milks.
love the almond breeze!!

kristi said...

I like Almond Breeze too! I prefer the unsweeted plain variety and I use it when making fruit smoothies with protein powder. Milk is my favorite beverage, so I don't see myself giving that up, but I stick with 1%. I also avoid soymilk due to the link between soy and thyroid issues. I'll have to give the vanilla flavor another shot!