Almond Milk - Review

🥛Almond milk review

🥛Non-dairy milks (although they’re not technically a ‘milk’) have really taken off in the last few years with almond milk being one of the original dairy substitutes. So why would you swap from dairy to a non-dairy milk such as almond milk? Let me take you through some pros and cons…

Pros
🥛For those who are genuinely lactose intolerant, have a cow’s milk protein or soy allergy, almond milks hit the spot. Also, if you follow a plant-based or vegan lifestyle, they provides a suitable alternative.
🥛 It pairs well with desserts and you can get lots of almond milk in barista editions (not compared here) which makes for a lovely nutty flavoured coffee. Heating and mixing properties vary from brand to brand so it is a bit of trial and error.
🥛If you drink a lot of coffee (like me) I find that this is a way I can drink my milky coffee without adding quite as many calories to my diet.
🥛Mostly available in UHT version, they do keep for a long time so they’re handy to have in case of emergencies.

Cons
🥛It’s expensive. Although I’ve not listed prices here on the image, almond milk is often between $3.50 & $4.00 / per L. Dairy milk is anywhere from $1.60 (Dairy farmers) to $3.40 (Mungalli Creek Organic) per L.
🥛You don’t get many almonds! Most almond milks actually contain very little almonds – from the brands I’ve listed here you’ll get anywhere between 2.5% to 3.8% almonds in the product. So you are mostly paying for water! If you want more almonds in there I suggest you start making your own, it’s cheaper too.
🥛Unless fortified, it is very low in calcium. You will see in the image the Australia’s Own contains no added calcium. You need to be mindful of this if you’re using this as a dairy replacement, especially for certain groups of the population (children and the elderly) whose calcium needs are particularly important.
🥛They are low in protein! Unless you get a fortified version (So Good high protein which contains soy protein) it contains nearly no protein, whereas dairy milk will contain approx. 3.4g/100mL.
🥛It does contain a lot of emulsifiers, flavours and gums. Not that they’re particularly harmful but it does bump it into the ultra-processed food category.

Pros & Cons
🥛It contains very little calories; protein, carbs and fat. Full fat dairy milk contains approx. 3.4g fat and 62 Cal per 100mL. So, if you’re looking to drop some of your energy intake this might be a simple swap. However, this isn’t the case for active kids (who don’t have any allergy/intolerance) who would be better off getting the energy from a full fat dairy milk. I’m not here to tell you which you should have – I think it is important to be educated on your choices and know exactly what you’re getting! I personally have dairy and almond milk every day for different things – balance!

Brands

I’ve compared 6 common supermarket brands.

As you can see, the So Good High Protein is highest in protein as it has been fortified with soy protein - obviously not suitable for those with a soy allergy, but for everyone else, fine. It does have a flavour that I personally don’t particularly enjoy.

The Vitasoy Prebiotic brand has added chicory root fibre - a prebiotic fibre which is great for gut health. So this might be good if you’re looking to boost your fibre intake.

The So Good Original has added sugar (cane sugar) - 3.4g/100mL which is nearly a teaspoon per 100mL. Dairy milk also has sugar, but it isn’t added sugar. Lactose is the milk sugar inherent in dairy products and not something you need to be overly concerned about in terms of ‘sugars’ in your diet. Added sugars are something we want to try and keep to a minimum.

Australia’s Own Organic - great for those who want to have an organic product but it has no added calcium. It also has some added sugar in the form of organic agave syrup -which is still a sugar.

The Coles brand almond milk and So Good Unsweetened are pretty well on par nutritionally with the exception of the lower calcium in the Coles brand compared to all others listed here (apart from Australia’s Own).

I personally use the Vitasoy Prebiotic Almond milk or So Good’s Unsweetened Cashew Milk for my morning porridge, and then particular barista almond milks for my coffee.

🥛Like this review? Want me to review something else? Drop me a comment, I’d love to hear from you!