Mooooove over milk, there’s a new kid in town and he’s from California

(Josh posting again)

In the same shopping trip that I discovered the chocolate Special K, I also discovered Almond Breeze (Almond Milk) from Blue Diamond. I bought the chocolate and plan varieties just to try them out.

A little history, I am a bit lactose intolerant. I'm not so intolerant that lactose makes me instantly sick, but too much makes me sleepy and gives me dragon's breath; my solution is to not have too much milk. If I am having a meat meal and want a coffee or tea, the question comes up, how does one have a meat meal with milk in my coffee? (mixing meat and dairy is a no-no, and I'm sure Rhonda covers this subject elsewhere in the site).

One solution is not to have milk with my coffee. The alternative is to purchase any number of non-dairy products. I think I have tried them all. The granddaddy of them all is an oil-based white lacquer that is used in airline kosher meals and catered dinners. It's disgusting and offers no nutritional value. It lightens the colour of the coffee while leaving a nice oil slick on the top of the coffee cup. There are plenty of people in cyber space who have had this stuff at their Uncle Hershel's wedding and left the shul with their tongue sliding around in their mouth for hours. Non-dairy ice cream of the same era had a similar effect. Old school.

I have tried rice milk and soy milk and each have their good and bad points. Both taste pleasant enough to drink regularly, put in cereal and cook with but the great equaliser being coffee and tea. The heat and or acidity of coffee and tea often causes soy and rice milk to curdle, they often do not change the colour of the beverage nor takes the edge off the beverage's expected bitterness. I give them an 8/10.

What gives almond milk a 10/10 is that is covers all of the elements mentioned above, is super yummy and can take the heat and acidity. A little research on the web revealed that a great proportion of Asian and African peoples have a higher percentage of lactose intolerance than those of Northern European extraction. Almond allergies are rare when compared to milk allergies. Almond milk delivers a wider spectrum of vitamins, minerals, protein and is low in fat.

I am not an MD, but it is good to know what is out there if the child we bring home has a problem with cow’s milk. At C$2.50 per litre, it is roughly the same price as organic milk, so it's not quite a luxury.

Food for thought!

(back to Rhonda)

I tried the milk on the weekend, and I have to say it's really quite good. I was a little skeptical about the almond chocolate milk, but it actually tasted the same, if not better, than 'regular' chocolate milk! There's only the tiniest hint of an almond taste, which actually enhanced the flavour a lot.

(Now I wonder how it would taste with the chocolate Special K. Hmmmm.)