Back to Almond "Milk" for...

I decided to go back to my "no lactose" experiment for at least a few days. Last night when I bought milk for us, I saw that they had almond milk/drink in the dairy section/refrigerator of the local supermarket. Tnuva, the large veteran dairy company in Israel now produces a whole range of non-dairy "milks." They are marketed as משקה mashkeh, "drink," rather than "milk." I believe that is because milk must come from an animal, not some vegetarian recipe.

I've experimented with drinking a number of different "milks," including goats milk, the past few months, and I prefer this almond concoction. In terms of product purity and simplicity, nothing beats the old cow milk, even though I prefer it with some sugar. I haven't tried the rice milk, since it's based on a very starchy grain, rather than a protein.

They do have the no sugar almond milk here, which isn't fresh and refrigerated, but I didn't like it. I found myself adding sugar to it, so there wasn't much point in using it. Also, I don't drink milk as a drink and don't add it to anything other than my morning coffee, so there is no need for me to grind/blend almonds or cashews to make a homemade drink or milk substitute. I've checked out lots of labels and discovered that the fresh "milks" in the refrigerator section of the stores have much less additives than the ones you'll find on the shelf.

Tnuva markets this almond drink as:

• rich in calcium
• low in salts
• low in fat
• enriched with vitamins
• no gluton
• no colesteral
• no preservatives
• no lactose

Israel has a large and profitable food export industry, so they must adhere to international standards. The labeling is pretty reliable. Actually I consider Israeli dairy and other products to be healthier than the equivalent American ones.  

There are two factors that make it easier to find non-dairy, no lactose products here in Israel. One is the Laws of Kashrut, which mandates strict supervision and labeling of all dairy products. And the other is the fact that a relatively high proportion of the Israeli population has trouble digesting lactose. 

Coconut vs Almond vs Soy vs Goat Milks: Conclusion

goat milk

goat milk

Have you been reading my alternative milk posts in total suspense? For the past month or more I've been trying out all sorts of anything but cow milks. Yes, I've had coconut cream and liquid, almond, goat and soy milks.

Let's start with the very worst flavor, according to my taste buds. That's the goat milk. It was so awful, that if that was the only alternative milk available, either I'd make do with a bigger waistline or give up coffee entirely. Even adding a bit of sugar didn't help at all.

soy milk

Continuing from bad to best, the next is soy milk. First of all it has terrible press mostly because of the fact that it is similar to estrogen. Well, at my age, and being female, adding a bit of estrogen isn't a major problem. And I very rarely eat tofu products, so I don't find it a real health issue. I didn't enjoy the flavor, though that improved with some sugar added. Now, since I'm trying to lose weight and keep it off, adding sugar is not a good idea. And when I compared nutritional data  of soy milk with almond milk, I found that they have the same calorie count. Adding sugar to the soy milk in coffee changes that.

coconut liquid

I also had tried coconut cream, which tasted good and was sweet enough not to need any sugar. But there are a few problems with it. It's hard to find in my neck of the woods. What I did find locally had all sorts of "E" additives, which aren't healthy. And the cream separates into a hard mass leaving a weak liquid. I froze the liquid, later using it in coffee. For some strange reason, the coconut taste/aftertaste stayed with me all day. It was rather annoying and made me suspicious of the health benefits. Some people claim it's great and others vehemently disagree.

almond milk

IMHO, according to my taste buds, the best "alternative milk" is the almond milk I bought in the local grocers, in the refrigerator section. It had a pleasant taste and didn't need any added sugar.

Yes, the almond milk does contain sugar, more than in the other milks I had tried. But other food experiments I've made of late show that my body needs/craves sugar early in the day. I recently switched my breakfast from a nice hearty omelet to a fruit and goat yogurt. And I've lost a few kilo since then.

A lot of friends have recommended making my own almond milk, daily, or a few times a week, but, sorry I'm not looking for more chores. Since when I'm home, at least, I can usually get almond milk, that's what I will buy for the time being.

I searched some large stores, health food and "natural" department in a large supermarket to see what else can be bought here. There wasn't much I would buy, and logistics are problematic. Convenience is also a major consideration, so I'll be buying the almond milk locally and will probably get my husband a liter bag of cow milk whenever possible. The bags are much less expensive than the containers.

I hope that my search has helped others. What do you think?

almond milk

Final Milk Experiment IMHO: Soy vs Almond vs Coconut vs Goat

In the past month or so, I've been experimenting with various non-cow milks. I was trying to cut down on the sugar in my coffee in order to lose weight. One thing I discovered very early on was that my stomach seemed flatter when avoided cow dairy products.

frozen cubes of

coconut liquid

During the past few years, especially as we were trying to cut expenses, my dairy eating was almost only the milk I put in my coffee. I've been having sesame paste, which is extremely healthy and inexpensive, with foods that most people would eat with some sort of cheese. My husband still eats cottage cheese. Besides that, our protein consists of organic eggs, from a producer here in Shiloh, chicken and sometimes beef or fish.




First I tried coconut cream. The container had been in my closet for a few months. I didn't need any sugar with it to enjoy the coffee. Then I realized that it had separated, leaving a fatty block of coconut cream and some liquid. I mixed the cream with a ripe mashed banana, a bit of vanilla and cinnamon. To that I added chocolate chips and left it in the refrigerator until serving it at a nice meal. It was a great success. And the liquid I froze as "ice cubes." One morning I had those in my coffee. The flavor was fine, and I didn't need sugar to make it palatable. But the "taste of coconut" stayed with me all day.

goat milk

almond milk

Next I tried almond milk, and I must admit that I really liked it. It was sweet and didn't need any added sugar. Of course that was most probably be because there is a lot of sugar in the "milk." I was told by someone that it's not a real milk and there aren't many almonds in it. She suggested I drink goat milk.

The person who suggested the goat milk claimed that "it's delicious." So, yes, my next experiment was that. And I must admit that it was the worst milk I had ever tasted. I was rather surprised, since I love plain goat yogurt and have it daily as part of my breakfast.

almond vs soy milk side by side

Yesterday I needed more milk and planned on getting almond milk, but the first store I went to only had soy. So I began to rationalize the advantage of buying soy milk. I know that there are many people who consider it a terrible health danger. I checked the Nutritional charts of soy and almond milks side by side. Both are marketed/produced by Tnuva, Israel's largest dairy company. Even if you don't understand Hebrew, you can see that many of the number matchup. I have no doubt that Tnuva did this on purpose, since they both have all sorts of vitamins added. Even the calorie count is the same. Soy and almond milks are the only two non-dairy protein based milks I could find in the refrigerator section of the store. I am not interested in trying the rice milk, because I try not to eat rice; it's a carbohydrate.

I sent the above photo to Instagram and facebook to ask advice. People weren't shy. Soy milk has many disadvantages, which was pointed out numerous times. Many people suggested almond milk made without sugar. It wasn't an option, though when I had it in my coffee, I didn't need sugar.  I also have a number of friends who make their own almond milk in a blender, but since I only need it for coffee, and I don't have a blender, nor am I interested in adding to my chores, that's not an option for me. No doubt you're curious about what I decided to buy. My facebook friends know already, and you can see the picture below.

soy plus sugar

Since being female, especially at my age, the "estrogen" in the soy isn't a real issue, and this is an "experiment," I bought the soy. This morning I poured it into my coffee. I did not like the taste at all. I even found myself adding a bit of sugar to make it palatable.

My conclusion is that I will buy almond milk whenever possible, and I'll check out coconut milks in other stores. The canned ones I saw all had those "E" additives which I don't want.

On the whole, this has been a very interesting experiment. I'm very grateful that it is very easy to buy a variety of milks here in Israel. I also wish to thank all of those who contributed their knowledge and opinions about the milks. Of course, taste is very subjective. Also, since, thank Gd bli eyin haraa, I don't have any medical condition forcing me to look for an alternative milk, I can be very flexible in how I "accessorize" my  morning coffee.

Your advice and opinions are still welcome, thanks.

Frozen Coconut Liquid in Coffee

You may remember my post about Easy to Make Non-Dairy Ice Cream. I had discovered that the coconut cream I had been using as a "non-dairy creamer" in my coffee had seriously separated. Part was solid enough to make "instant ice cream," but the rest was just a weak liquid. I froze the liquid in an icecube tray, later putting the cubes into a bag.

This morning I decided to try being non-cow-dairy for a few days, again. Last week I went back to eating cow dairy and found myself getting bloated. I wasn't uncomfortable, like many who are lactose intolerant. I just looked worse, all the extra pounds/kilograms in my stomach. Since I was all out of non-dairy milk, I remembered the cubes in the freezer and added them to my coffee.

Since the frozen coconut liquid's white color is deceptive, I ended up needing all the ice cubes for the three cups/mugs I drank. It added a sweet coconutty flavor to the coffee. It wasn't fantastic, but it certainly tasted a gazillion times better than the goat milk I had a couple of weeks ago. I still love natural goat yogurt, but the milk totally killed the coffee.

I've been warned off of soy milk because it mimics estrogen in the body, but I don't know if it's all that bad in small quantities for a woman of my age. I'm not interested in rice or oat milk, since they're both carbohydrates. So that leaves me with either almond or coconut milks.

Today I must go shopping for a non-dairy milk.