A lot of Americans are avoiding dairy these days. Either due to actual lactose intolerance, or because (like me) they feel better when they consume less dairy. It seems downright un-American to skip the dairy, and there's a multi-billion-dollar dairy lobby out there that seeks to enforce that feeling. (For example, by lobbying to get their products on the food pyramid, even though there is no nutritional need for dairy products.)
But enough of my soapbox. Long story short, I went almond milk shopping last week. Almonds are better for you than soy, not least because soy has estrogen-like properties. This is touted as making soy "great for women," but it really isn't. No one needs more estrogen, it's just going to mess you up. Almond milk also has more nutrients than rice milk, which is the next most-common dairy alternative.
Luckily in this day and age, even living in a rural area, I was able to find Silk unsweetened almond milk in the dairy case at my local Safeway. Of course, you can also make your own almond milk, but frankly I am too lazy to do that.
The first thing I did when I got it home was pour some into a glass and take a sip. The taste was smooth and mild, with a slight almond flavor. I was impressed at the texture, which was thick but not gross. I added some cinnamon (it took some work to get it blended) and basically made a glass of knock-off horchata which was 100 percent delicious.
Aside from using it in coffee and on cereal, can you substitute almond milk for dairy milk? You can, but you might not want to. I tried using almond milk to mix ranch dressing (using the packets of powdered seasoning). It came out far too liquid-y the first time. The second time I cut the amount of almond milk in half and it turned out well.
In baked goods, almond milk tends to give a too-dry, tougher product. It also will not work in instant pudding, which will not set with almond milk. (You can still mix it up and freeze it into pudding pops, though.)
Image courtesy Flickr/TriathleteFood
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