Calories in almond milk in UK and US?

[Avicenna]

Hi,

It seems that the UNsweetened almond milk in the UK should have about 75 calories per cup (American-size cup), but the US posters talk about it having 40 calories per cup. (The way I have figured this is that the carton for Eco-mil unsweetened almond milk says it has 30 calories per 100 grams, and I'm assuming a density of about 1 mL/gram, similar to water). It doesn't seem to have any significant additives.

Is it true that almond milk in the UK just has more calories?

[Violet_Dream]

No clue. The Blue Diamond Almond Milk I buy is the unsweetened vanilla and it's only 40 calories per cup.

the stuff.

[Kissa]

I have noticed that too.

[SoHappy]

I would be interested in a comparison of the ingredients that go into the makeup of each almond milk, and to know the percentage of those ingredients in the finished product. I expect that's where the difference lies.

A weaker *solution* of almond milk would have fewer calories but could still be given a perfect texture/thickness/mouth feel with the addition of a thickener, plus whatever else would be needed to give it the perfect finish and flavor, etc.

[Avicenna]

Ingredients: Water, Almond* (7%), Tapioca Starch*, Natural Almond Flavouring*. (*Organically grown).

How does this compare?

I guess we could thin it out and mix glucomannan in it.... anyway, it is too expensive to drink entire cups at once so I guess this isn't a bad thing...

[KeirasMom]

Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

INGREDIENTS: ALMONDMILK (FILTERED WATER, ALMONDS), CALCIUM CARBONATE, TAPIOCA STARCH, NATURAL VANILLA FLAVOR WITH OTHER NATURAL FLAVORS, SEA SALT, POTASSIUM CITRATE, CARRAGEENAN, SUNFLOWER LECITHIN, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D2 AND D-ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL (NATURAL VITAMIN E).

Looks to me like it's thinned out, then lecithin added to thicken it back up.

[SoHappy]

Could you both also post the nutritional numbers.. let's see where those calories are coming from, the % of vitamins in each, etc. That will also add some to the story here.

[mykidsteacher]

I buy the Silk Unsweetened Almond milk here in the US and it has 35 cals/cup (sometimes get the blue diamond, but hey, 5 cals is 5 cals. LOL).

No clue on the UK version though.

[Avicenna]

Originally Posted by SoHappy

Could you both also post the nutritional numbers.. let's see where those calories are coming from, the % of vitamins in each, etc. That will also add some to the story here.

Nutritional Information

Values per 100g
Energy 30 calories
Protein 0.9g
Carbohydrates 1.5g
of which sugars 0.1g
Fat 2.1g
of which saturates 0.2g
and monounsaturates 1.4g
and polyunsaturates 0.5g
and cholesterol 0.0g
Fibre 0.8g
Sodium 0.1g

(I'd post the link but it links to buying the product)

[Avicenna]

Originally Posted by KeirasMom

Looks to me like it's thinned out, then lecithin added to thicken it back up.

I guess adding glucomannan it is then!

[KeirasMom]

I'm trying to attach the nutritional information - fingers crossed.

[SoHappy]

First of all, we have to increase the UK measure to the size of a US measure and then compare them. This is what we come up with, based on the labels, which are probably *rounded* just slightly, but.....

You can see that the UK product still contains more natural nut fat and carbohydrate, including the nut sugar. I think these sources of increased calories have been skimmed from the nut milk here, giving a lower calorie product to the consumer.

US almond milk: 240g measure vs. UK almond milk: 240g measure

3g fat vs. 5g fat
2g carb vs. 3.6 carb
0g sugars vs. 1g sugars
1g protein vs. .9g protein

40 calories vs. 64 cals or so

[Kissa]

Darn it.

[Avicenna]

Ours sounds like it might be tastier though! (More fat, sugars, carbs...)

[mykidsteacher]

And yours has a lot less additives than ours. Which I'd gladly take for a few more cals.

[soon]

Isnt the tapioca starch the thickener?

[SoHappy]

Originally Posted by mykidsteacher

And yours has a lot less additives than ours. Which I'd gladly take for a few more cals.

I don't consider any of the listed ingredients to be *additives* in the sense of them being strange chemicals with no nutritional value, intended to inhibit mold, etc.

The tapioca starch and carrageenan (from seaweed) are simple thickeners, in the same group of ingredients as the others that we normally use to thicken.. xanthan and guar gums, glucomannan, corn starch, flour, etc. We don't use carrageenan as much here as is done in Asia, but it's just another thickener.

The vanilla and related flavorings, the same as flavorings we use in our own cooking. I seem to be reaching for the vanilla extract regularly.

And the sea salt. Another normal ingredient.

Are you thinking of the enrichment of the milk with the vitamins and minerals? They have added vitamins A, D, & E, and some calcium and potassium. Not as good or complete as a daily multi-tab, but it does bring watery almond milk up a little more in line with the nutritional value of cow's milk. I sort of feel OK about them enriching the almond milk. Otherwise, it's just water that had chopped almonds soaking in it.

The sunflower lecithin is, basically, the sunflower oil, source of some very healthy fatty acids, and sold in health food stores. It's used because it gives a richness and good smooth mouth feel to ingredients, but mostly it's just a good supplement in capsule form for adding the good fatty acids to your diet.

I'm pretty OK with any of these ingredients, many of which can kill us if we consume too much of them, but pretty innocuous and helpful in their trace amounts.

But, all of this being said, and just of my opinion, there are folks who make their own almond milk, and with pounds of almonds being priced well at places like Sam's Club, etc., I'll bet it wouldn't be too hard to make our own pure product here! Maybe that would lower the calories even more. I've read about it online...

[SoHappy]

Found this online. Sounds interesting.....

Fresh, homemade almond milk is a easy to make from scratch. This homemade almond milk recipe is a completely raw food recipe, a real raw treat! Use your homemade almond milk in smoothies, soups and other raw food dishes. If you like homemade almond milk, you might also want to try a homemade cashew milk recipe or another dairy substitute.
Ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds
water for soaking nuts
3 cups water
2 dates (optional)
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

Preparation:
Soak the almonds in water overnight or for at least 6 hours.

Drain the water from the almonds and discard. Blend the 3 cups of water, almonds and dates until well blended and almost smooth.

Strain the blended almond mixture using a cheesecloth or other strainer.

Homemade raw almond milk will keep well in the refrigerator for three or four days.

[SoHappy]

Originally Posted by Avicenna

Ours sounds like it might be tastier though! (More fat, sugars, carbs...)

It might be. Or maybe it just would taste different.

If you don't have as many calories in it in the first place, it does make for a very good ingredient in low calorie shakes, puddings, sauces, etc. for Down Days, where every calorie counts! And that's why I use it. But only on DDs.

On UDs, I usually use whole milk or cream!

[mykidsteacher]

Oh Pat, I wasn't saying anything in there is bad, like as in preservatives or artificial colorings and such. Just that I have a mild sunflower allergy, and it seems every milk sub has sunflower lecithin in it. I drink it anyway, because I have no alternative, and thankfully my allergy is mild, so I don't *feel* any effects of it. It would just be simpler for folks like me to avoid stuff we need to avoid if there were fewer ingredients in products.

So totally a selfish reason.

And I'm way to busy/lazy to make my own. If I were bothered outwardly by the sunflower, or if it were more severe, I wouldn't have a choice. Until my doc says otherwise, I'm going with the 'it's only a little and so it's not a problem' theory. Although the instructions you posted seem pretty easy.

[SoHappy]

Originally Posted by mykidsteacher

Oh Pat, I wasn't saying anything in there is bad, like as in preservatives or artificial colorings and such. Just that I have a mild sunflower allergy, and it seems every milk sub has sunflower lecithin in it. I drink it anyway, because I have no alternative, and thankfully my allergy is mild, so I don't *feel* any effects of it. It would just be simpler for folks like me to avoid stuff we need to avoid if there were fewer ingredients in products.

So totally a selfish reason.

And I'm way to busy/lazy to make my own. If I were bothered outwardly by the sunflower, or if it were more severe, I wouldn't have a choice. Until my doc says otherwise, I'm going with the 'it's only a little and so it's not a problem' theory. Although the instructions you posted seem pretty easy.

Well, wouldn't you know! Even though the normal soy lecithin has higher levels of some of the valuable fatty acids, many manufacturers are trying to get away from it because of the incidents of soy allergies and folks avoiding soy because of thyroid issues, eschewing its photoestrogens, etc.

So they make the switch to sunflower for health and... Well... Rats!

Well, maybe sometime you can try the homemade almond milk as a fun kitchen project at your house and see what you think.

[Kissa]

Nothing's perfect.