I find it best to stay away from Almond milk..

[Hal]

I recently added shreddies to my daily menu. At first i was using almond milk with them but quickly discovered that this was not for me. After nearing the end of my second carton of almond milk with my cereal i found that my peripheral veins were acting up and my heart was racing. With arms lowered, the veins in my hands would slowly swell up, and when i raised my arms they took a very long time to shrink back down. Also, subjectively, i did not feel as physically well as before i began using almond milk. Once i stopped using almond milk, my veins returned to what i have come to expect - quickly swelling up and shrinking, and my sense of well being returned. I think the difference is so stark because i normally strictly adhere to the McDougall plan. I am now using water with my shreddies. So, If you are not seeing the results you are hoping for, and you are using nut milk, you may want to eliminate this from your menu. I hope this helps.

[VeggieSue]

1) What are "shreddies"?

2) Dr. McDougall says not to drink our calories, and that includes things like non-dairy milk. We're to use a splash with our cereal or a bit in recipes, not to drink as a beverage.

3) What was *in* your box of almond milk? If it was just almonds and water, it was acceptable on this program. If it was loaded with salt, sugar, and a bunch of chemical additives, it was not.

[Hal]

Thanks VeggieSue. Shreddies are shredded wheat and malt, barley cereal with some additives. The almond milk in question has "filtered water, almonds, calcium carbonate, zinc gluconate, vitamin A palminate, B2, D2, B12, dipotassium phosphate, Sea salt, locust bean gum, Gellan gum, Ascorbic acid, Natural flavor. Contains almond" I guess that's why i had such a reaction. I won't be buying almond milk again unless it is made of "water and almonds". I guess no wonder it has a negative effect. Commercial oat-milk has similar additives plus added oil so that's out too. Hopefully this practice will change at some point.

[debknott]

I used to make my own almond milk, and it was quite good. You just blend together almonds and water; that's it! Then you put the blended outcome into a mesh nut bag (I got one for a few bucks from Amazon) and hand squeeze it hard until you get the almond milk out of the mixture. It's messy to make, but the final almond milk is very healthy and tasty. I don't remember the ratio of almonds to water, but you can look it up on the web.

[VeggieSue]

It's messy to make, but the final almond milk is very healthy and tasty.

Chef AJ makes one that's even easier to make - she uses almond butter (just almonds, no other ingredient) and water.
https://youtu.be/WhM7GauDP7k

3 cups water, 1 tablespoon raw almond butter

[debknott]

WOW!! That is the easiest thing to make ever! (Plus the video is a hoot.) I may go back to making my own almond milk. I will certainly try it, once I get some almond butter and run out of the almond milk I already have.

[JeffN]

On Almond Butter milk(s)

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=61619

The age old recipe you mention is 1 cup almonds, 3-4 cups water, blend for a few minutes, then strain through a cheesecloth or nut bag. This way, you filter out most of the calories and fat. You can also use a fine strainer instead of cheesecloth or a nut bag, which is much easier with little mess. For more flavor, use roasted almonds.

In Health
Jeff

[debknott]

So Jeff, you don't advise making almond milk from almond butter and water? Chef AJ says it's about 6 calories per cup. Is that just not correct?

[JeffN]

According to the USDA Database (standard reference)

https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/ ... /nutrients

I tbsp is 98 calories, making each tsp 33 calories with 26 of the calories coming from fat, which is 76% fat.

It is liquid calories, high in calories and high in fat.

I am even more concerned with the population we deal with, especially those who are trying to lose weight. If you read the journals and stories of many here, you will find it is these little things that set them off. That is how must slips start. Sure, you start with a cup having 1 tsp, but before you know it, its 3-4 cups a day with 1 tbsp in each one.

If it works for you, more power to you.

In Health
Jeff

[JeffN]

I am even more concerned with the population we deal with. If you read the journals and stories of many here, you will find it is these little things that set them off. That is how must slips start. Sure, you start with a cup having 1 tsp, but before you know it, its 3-4 cups a day with 1 tbsp in each one.

Small Indulgences & Slippery Slopes
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=9826

[debknott]

Thanks Jeff. I guess I'll have to check a carton of the stuff I buy at the store. It claims 30 calories per cup. I suppose the carton has to say how much fat is in there. I don't remember. I never drink it, just put it on my oatmeal.

Do you know the calorie count and fat percentage of homemade almond milk? That would be helpful to know.

[JeffN]

Thanks Jeff. I guess I'll have to check a carton of the stuff I buy at the store. It claims 30 calories per cup. I suppose the carton has to say how much fat is in there. I don't remember. I never drink it, just put it on my oatmeal.

Do you know the calorie count and fat percentage of homemade almond milk? That would be helpful to know.

With or without straining the almonds out?

The numbers I gave you are for the homemade almond milk, using almond butter based on the recipe veggie sue posted.

Remember, for those trying to lose weight, we do not recommend liquid calories, or high fat foods (as a percent of calories). For the regular problem, we only allow them in limited amounts. Personally, I would recommend making oat or rice milk.

In Health
Jeff

[debknott]

I always strain the nuts out.

[JeffN]

Well, you won’t like this answer ....

No one knows

You can go online and see all kinds of numbers from 30-100 per cup, but those are people guessing

The answer depends on several things but there is a fairly easy way that you can do a rough experiment yourself and get a fair estimate.

Measure your almonds before you make the milk. Then, after straining, measure the amount of almonds strained out. The difference is what is “most likely” in the milk. Enter the numbers in CRONoMeter

But again, for the record, If someone was to do this, I would recommend rice or oat milk.

In Health
Jeff

[PJK]

Oatly sells a low-fat oat milk with no added oil.

90 cal/cup. 1 g. fat/ cup. Tastes fine.

Ingredients: Oatmilk (water, oats). Contains 2% or less of: dipotassium phosphate, calcium carbonate, tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, dicalcium phosphate, riboflavin, vitamin A, vitamin D2, vitamin B12.

https://us.oatly.com/collections/produc ... at-oatmilk