Fluids

Comparing Milk Alternatives, esp. Almond milk and Soy milk

 February 6, 2011

The Healthy Frugal Shopper team has been experimenting with some 14 varieties of milk substitutes, especially as alternatives like almond milk, soy milk, and rice milk achieve wider acceptance.

We decided to evaluate all of these choices with health in mind – namely,

• calories per serving
• sugar per serving
• fat content per serving

The top-ranked products are:

Brand	Description	Calories (kcal)	Sugar (g)	Fat (g)
Blue Diamond	Vanilla, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze	40	0	3.5
Blue Diamond	Original, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze	40	0	3.0
Almond Dream	Original, Unsweetened, Enriched	50	0	3.5

Blue Diamond brand Vanilla, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze is available this week at both Henry’s and Whole Foods for $3.79 per 64 oz. container.

 

 

  

Blue Diamond brand Original, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze is available this week at Ralph’s for $2.50 per 64 oz. container – this is a great price!

 

 

 

The honorable mention goes to Tempt brand of Vanilla, Unsweetened hemp milk,with 70 calories per 8 ounce serving, no sugar, and 6.0 grams of “healthy” fats (Omega-3 and Omega-6). The lowest prices for Tempt brand Vanilla, Unsweetened hemp milk this week are at:

• $2.99 at Jimbo’s (32 oz.)
• $3.29 at Henry’s (32 oz.)
• $3.99 at Whole Foods (32 oz.)

 We also filtered the 14 choices into the following “preferred” lists –

• Almond milk
• Soy milk
• Other sources (using a base other than soy or almond)
• Vanilla flavor
• Avoid if possible

Almond milk

The three overall “preferred choices” (see above) are from the almond milk group, so those are still your first options. Nutritional info for the #1 ranked Vanilla, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze (Blue Diamond brand ) is shown below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As honorable mention, the Blue Diamond brand of Original Almond Breeze almond milk is another acceptable choice, with 60 calories per 8 ounce serving, 7 grams of sugar, and 2.5 grams of fat. This choice has slightly more calories per serving, but a lot more sugar.

Soy milk

The soy milk category was rated lower than almond milk, generally speaking, due to its higher calorie count (70 calories vs. 40-50 range for almond milk) and the existence of sugar (5 or 9 grams of sugar vs. three no-sugar almond milk choices). Soy milk does have more protein than almond milk – 6 grams vs. 1 gram in almond milk – and the Silk brand Vanilla Light is a nice choice for the vanilla taste.

Comparing the “preferred” almond and soy milks:

Brand	Description	Calories (kcal)	Sugar (g)	Fat (g)
Blue Diamond	Vanilla, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze	40	0	3.5
Blue Diamond	Original, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze	40	0	3.0
Almond Dream	Original, Unsweetened, Enriched	50	0	3.5
Silk (soy)	Vanilla, Light	70	5	1.5
WestSoy (soy)	Plain, Non-fat	70	9	0

Other sources (using a base other than soy or almond)

The Tempt brand of Vanilla, Unsweetened hemp milk, shown above, is the preferred choice outside of almond and soy-based products. The vitals are 70 calories per 8 ounce serving, no sugar, and 6.0 grams of “healthy” fats (Omega-3 and Omega-6), along with the vanilla flavor. This is a nice choice, esp. if you are eating a lean, protein-oriented diet and need some healthy fat intake.

The hazelnut and rice choices that we reviewed (see below) did not perform well in our evaluation due to much higher calorie counts and much higher sugar levels. There are new products being introduced into this category on a regular basis, so this is an area we will continue to monitor.

Vanilla flavor

Sometimes you just want a little pep in your milk substitute (or at least, we do!). Across the various source types (almond, soy, etc) we evaluated for the healthiest way to enjoy a little vanilla indulgence.

The Vanilla, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze (Blue Diamond brand) is the overall winner, with a mere 40 calories per 8 ounce serving, 0 grams sugar, and 3.5 grams of fat per serving. See above for availability and pricing, this particular flavor is not widely available (eg, not available at Ralphs).

The two honorable mention vanilla products are Tempt brand of Vanilla Unsweetened hemp milk, and Silk brand Vanilla Light soy milk.

Brand	Description	Calories (kcal)	Sugar (g)	Fat (g)
Blue Diamond	Vanilla, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze (almond)	40	0	3.5
Tempt	Vanilla, Unsweetened (hemp milk)	70	0	6.0
Silk	Vanilla, Light (soy milk)	70	5	1.5
Blue Diamond	Vanilla Almond Breeze (almond milk)	90	15	2.5
Silk	Vanilla PureAlmond (almond milk)	90	15	2.5

The lowest prices for Vanilla, Unsweetened, Almond Breeze (Blue Diamond brand) this week are at:

• $3.79 at Whole Foods (64. oz)
• $3.79 at Henry’s (64. oz)
• $4.15 at Jimbo’s (64. oz)

Avoid if possible

These products, from among those sampled, had the least-attractive nutritional profiles. They might be preferred in comparison to some dairy products, but in general you should be able to find a selection of healthier choices (like those listed above) available in most health food and grocery stores. Stating the obvious, the higher sugar content products contain more calories.

Brand	Description	Calories (kcal)	Sugar (g)	Fat (g)
Silk	Dark Chocolate, PureAlmond (almond)	120	22	3.0
Rice Dream	Vanilla, Classic (rice)	130	12	2.5
Soy Dream	Vanillla, Enriched (soy)	120	10	4.0
Pacific Natural	Original (hazelnut)	110	14	3.5