addicted #3: vanilla almond milk

i know i'm a little slow on the uptake here...but since i have been making a concerted effort to cut out dairy from my diet (remember this post?), i have even left behind my old friend, skim milk.  to replace it?  smooth, creamy, delicious almond milk (my flavor preference?  unsweetened vanilla).

i started experimenting with non-dairy beverages over the summer when i was making lots of smoothies.  i used rice milk a lot, but i found that i quickly got tired of the taste and the texture.  it was too watery and too sugary tasting to me, for some reason.  a friend of mine suggested i try almond milk (in fact, she was astonished that i hadn't tried it before).  and once i tasted it, i agreed...i couldn't believe what i was missing!

as an added bonus, the nutritional benefits of almond milk are plentiful.  a cup of almond milk gives you the same amount of calcium as 2% milk, which is important for anyone who is cutting dairy out (and thus, risks losing calcium).  additionally, almond milk is loaded with vitamin E: a one-cup serving can provide you with 50% of your daily value of the vitamin responsible for its power as an antioxidant.  and did you know that regular milk has a high sugar content?  i didn't (i hardly looked at the nutritional label on milk). almond milk has a significantly lower sugar content, and no saturated fat.

(nutritional information from livestrong.com)


so next time you're at the grocery store, don't leave without bringing home a carton of almond milk.  use it in your favorite cereal, add a splash to your coffee in the morning, pour a big cold glass full of it to dunk some chocolate chip cookies, use it in smoothies, anything!  they even make chocolate almond milk...and if that doesn't convince you, i don't know what will.