I'm Candi! I'm a stay at home reformed Christian Mom to 4 kids and a wife to a husband of 11 years. We homeschool 3 out of our 4 children and love every minute of it.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

I have a new love.....Almond MIlk. It's replacing my half 'n'half!


I have done a lot of research and tried to find something, anything that has nutritional value(but still tastes good) to replace my addiction for half n half. I have done it!! Almond milk. Seriously people. I had my doubts, I've tried everything and this hits the spot for dairy. But unlike Dairy this has an amazing amount of nutrient value. I'm not saying dairy doesn't have any nutrients but let's look at some facts about almonds milk


Nutrient Facts for almond milk

Health Benefits of Almond Milk
  • Almond milk is rich in Vitamin E, a known antioxidant, and thus, is believed to good for those undergoing detoxification programs.
  • Almond milk contains high levels of unsaturated fat and has been associated with lower risk of heart attack.
  • Almond milk has been found to contain little to no saturated fat and no cholesterol, making it extremely good for those suffering from high cholesterol problem.
  • Almond milk does not contain lactose. This makes it easily digestible and the perfect alternative for those suffering from lactose-intolerance.
  • Owing to the absence of saturated fats and presence of unsaturated fats, almond milk can be said to be good for those trying to lose weight.
Nutritional Facts about Almond Milk
  • Almond milk is rich in protein and omega fatty acids.
  • Almonds milk does not contain cholesterol and saturated fats
  • Almonds milk has high levels of vitamin E and unsaturated fats
  • Almond milk contains minerals such as zinc, magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron.
  • 8 oz (237ml) of almond milk contains 70 calories, 2gm protein, 10gm carbohydrates and 2.5 gm fat: 2.5g
  • Almond milk has zero fiber.

That's a lot of good stuff!!! I've done some research on which is better to do store bought or homemade.... it looks like some of the almond milks out there in stores have alot of sugar in them. Which i am trying to stay away from. So homemade it is! Here's how I did it.

  • 1 1/2 cups all natural or organic whole almonds.
  • enough water to cover the almonds.
  • put almonds in jar, cover with water, let sit over night.
  • next day, put almonds in blender with 3 cups purified water and blend.
  • strain, I used my reusable coffee filter to strain and a wooden spoon to make sure I got all of the milk out of the almond puree.
  • store in fridge.
  • I am going to save my pulp that was strained and put it in oatmeal, cakes, muffins. Whatever. If you have any ideas or recipes please give them to me.




4 comments:

Danielle said...

Very interesting. I think I will have to try this. Thank you for sharing and have a great weekend!

shanna said...

I thought fiber is something that was good to have when trying to loss weight...almond milk has 0? I' ll have to do some reseach to see if its something I could get into myself. Praying for you search on a new lifestyle. Don't we all need to do that, I know I do. Oh how does it taste in your coffee?

Candi said...

Shanna it's delicious in your coffee. I'm not drinking the almond milk thinking it will help me loose weight, but for the nutrition. It has way more nutrients than milk. I do not need all the fat and calories that I use that half n half has. So that's why I started looking for other things.

Rachel said...

About how many pounds is 1/1&1/2 C? I was looking at organic almonds at WF and they're pretty expensive. I was just reading your last blog - I totally agree on the diary, but if you buy as close to raw as you can get (and I hear there's a place in Phx that sells raw milk as well as a farm in QC), it's ok. I like rice milk because I can buy the organic form at Costco for 2.60 a half gallon, but if homemade almond milk is comprable for organic, I may try it. I use rice milk for baking/cooking and if the kids drink all their cow's milk and want more.