5 Reasons Why You Should Stop Buying Almond Milk

Last updated on March 16, 2021 at 11:29 am

You should stop buying almond milk in the supermarket! Seriously. And I’ll explain why.

I should probably say right upfront that I am almond milk addict. I make it every day, and it’s been years now.

So it was about time to list the 5 reasons why buying almond milk in the shop or online is no longer needed.

5 Reasons Why You Should Stop Buying Almond Milk

1: Low Almond Content

Have you checked the percentage of almonds in 1 liter of store bought almond milk? If you’re lucky you find 6%. It’s most common to see 3% to 4%.

That’s just not enough to enjoy a glass of milk just on it’s own. You’ll always have to mix it in cereal or in a hot beverage.

It’s juts not tempting to have a  glass of almond milk and cookies when you drink 96% water and the rest is almond and thickening agents.

2: Unwanted additional ingredients

Just like with most industrial products from the supermarket, you will find emulsifiers, thickening agents or any other E component in certain products.

The additional ingredients in plant milks such as almond milk, are generally thickeners like Carragean or Gellan Gum as well as sugar. Sometimes quite a lot of sugar if you don’t go for the unsweetened versions.

I am not saying they are good or bad, I just decided that I don’t what them in my milk. So I started to make almond milk.  It’s just too easy when you have a nut milk bag.

3: Too expensive

With an average of $3.50 per liter of almond milk, I don’t feel in the position to replace cows milk by plant based milk in the long run. Especially when you realize that on average you pay for 94% to 97% of water.

It’s a costly alternative and I think buying plant-based milk should not depend on your income. It should just be a choice that customers can make.

I won’t get into the topic of paying extra at the coffee shop just because I chose a different milk than cows milk. It’s a discussion for another time.

4: No control over nutrients

The best about almond milk is to benefit from the vast amount of nutrients you can get via nuts like almonds. There are so many dairy free alternatives to milk and you want to make sure you respect the soaking times of nuts.

In our Ultimate Guide to Nuts, we explain that almonds are loaded with Vitamin A, vitamin E, and manganese. The skin of a nut is quite dry and dense and the nutrients – which sit under the skin – can’t be released when the nut is not soaked.

Also, you decide what else goes in there. Personally I prefer using dates over maple syrup but that’s a personal choice.

 

 

5: Adding more trash

Buying one carton after the other, just adds more and more trash which we don’t need.

If you make your own almond milk, all you need (apart from almonds, dates or maple syrup) is a nut milk bag, a glass bottle and a funnel. And you will use that over and over again. Every day. You just want to ensure you always have a good stock of almonds at home.

How to Make Almond Milk

Now that you read 5 reasons to stop buying almond milk in the supermarket and make your own instead, let me give you my recipe.

This is my go-to daily almond milk recipe. The entire family loves it and the kids come running for it when they hear the blender.

The best is the little foam on top of the milk when it’s freshly made. 

I calculated the almond content in my recipe based on the left over almond pulp and I can safely say this recipe contains between 13% to 15% of almonds.

Oh dear! You’ll taste the difference – its’ just divine. Enjoy!

The Bottom Line

Be it economical reasons or practical ones like no longer carrying milk cartons, I believe we can increase the pleasure of eating and drinking by making it ourselves, showing our family and friends and get them excited too. Everyone appreciates something homemade so treat yourself and implement making plant-milk in your daily routine. It’s worth the 10 minutes effort, making this protein and vitamin rich drink.