Almond Milk versus Soy Milk

Listening to Dr. Ward Bond on TCT (a local station), I discovered there is a milk product that is made from almonds. According to Dr. Bond, almond milk is a great milk substitute for folks like me who don't tolerate lactose or who are vegans.

Although it took me a while to adjust to soy milk, I must say that now I really like the taste and actually prefer it over cow's milk. So I was very hesitant to try almond milk. First I saw no need for it because I was happy with my soy milk, but then when hearing of all of it's benefits, I thought I'd give it a try. But I just couldn't get past my thought of almond milk just sounding nasty- yuk! And even the description of it - ground almonds and water doesn't sound too appealing. But I guess neither does soybeans and water. Anyway, in addition, I really don't like almonds so I thought it was probably not a good choice for me.

Initially I sought to find it at my local health food store to no avail. They had rice milk (hate the stuff), soy milk and a couple of other milk substitutes. Then I tried the grocery stores but looked for it in the refrigerated area and couldn't find it. Later I found it at Meijer (a large grocery chain) in the health food areas (where they sell rice milk, diabetic candy, etc.).

Now for the real test. How would it taste on my cereal? Forget that it's good for me if I hate the taste. Well, I have to admit the first time I tasted it I said "not bad". But I still had a problem with the nutty after taste. It's also quite watery, much more watery then soy milk, it's about the same consistency as rice milk. But after some days of using it, I really liked and enjoyed the nuttiness of the milk.

So will I switch from soy milk to almond milk? Well, let me first say that almond milk is quite a little more expensive than soy milk. I paid close to $3 for only 32 oz. so I'll have too way out all the benefits before I decide. I did notice that on line you can purchase it from Blue Diamond for about $2.40 per case (I don't know if that's much cheaper when you consider shipping and handling). If the cost is an issue, note that some people actually make their own almond milk. The recipe is simple, one cup of ground almonds to two cups of distilled or boiled water, and is quite easy to make. You can also flavor the almond milk by adding honey, vanilla and/or cocoa. And you can buy a machine that can make the milk in a semi "professional" manner. I've also felt a lot better drinking almond milk. Although soy was much, much better than cows milk on my stomach, I believe that almond milk is even more digestable for me.

As you probably already know almonds are a very good source of Vitamin E, thus making almond milk also a good source of Vitamin E. Almond milk is naturally a good source of calcium, as well as Vitamins D & E, and it is rich in protein and those omega fatty acids that everyone is talking about. It is also lactose and cholesterol free. It was used quite a bit in medieval times because it does not require refrigeration and thus could be stored easily.