I have a dirty little secret ... I start my day off with a nice, steaming mug of crap. That's right, ladies and gentleman, every morning I pour myself a cup of wonderful coffee and ruin it with Coffee-mate Sugar Free French Vanilla Creamer. Then, I even pour the stuff on my oatmeal!
As much as I like the taste of it, I am finally willing to admit that there are no redeeming nutritional qualities in my creamer of choice, so I'm in the market for a new one. At a friend's suggestion, I bought a carton of Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze today.
Almond Breeze is a non-dairy beverage made from real almonds. Weight loss articles love it as a low calorie option to milk. I was hesitant because I'm so concerned with calcium (and it's hard to reach my daily goal, let me tell you!), but once I saw that a cup of Almond Breeze provides 20% of the recommended daily calcium needs I decided to give it a go. It's lactose free, a benefit to me since I just choose to ignore (and may have outgrown) a diagnosis of lactose intolerance bestowed upon me in high school and it is cholesterol free as well. The calorie count is much better than my creamer and there are actual minerals to report in the Almond Breeze.
Side-by-side comparison of the French vanilla stuff (left) and Almond Breeze (right):
I'm not sure I'm going to use it to replace milk (I shoot for 2 cups a day now and Almond Breeze doesn't have near the protein of milk), but by adding it to my coffee and oatmeal instead of the French vanilla stuff, I can at least help my calcium intake each day.
I just tasted it and am pretty impressed. I was afraid it would be like rice milk - an abhorrent raping of one of my favorite carbs - and I would hate it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's not as thick as milk, but it's got a wonderful nutty taste to it that I imagine will be amazing on oatmeal!
Plus, it's pretty good straight! This might be the start of a beautiful friendship.
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