The dairy section of the grocery store contains so much more than gallons of milk in plain opaque containers these days. Have you heard the conflict between dairy farmers and the producers of milk alternates such as soy milk, almond milk, and coconut milk? Do you consider soy milk and coconut milk to be nutritionally comparable to cow’s milk?
Let’s compare calories, protein, and fat content of cow’s milk versus common milk alternatives:
| Skim cow’s milk – 1 cup | 80 calories | 8 gram protein | 0 grams fat |
| Goat’s milk – 1 cup | 168 calories | 9 g protein | 10 g fat |
| Soy milk original – 1 cup | 110 calories | 8 g protein | 4.5 g fat |
| Coconut milk original – 1 cup | 80 calories | 0 g protein | 5 g fat |
| Almond milk original – 1 cup | 60 calories | 1 g protein | 2.5 g fat |
| Rice milk original – 1 cup | 120 calories | 1 g protein | 2.5 g fat |
| Hemp milk original – 1 cup | 100 calories | 2 g protein | 7 g fat |
| Cashew milk original – 1 cup | 60 calories | <1 g protein | 2.5 g fat |
Cow’s milk, goat’s milk, and soy milk all contain a similar amount of protein, while many others lack protein. Most milks, regardless of source, contain many vitamins and minerals, especially the vitamin D and calcium we expect to find in our dairy products.
With this nutrition information overload, you may be asking, “what should I be putting in my shopping cart for my family?” That is a good question! What do your taste buds prefer – let them decide. So many factors affect our shopping trips: cost, coupons, flavor, appearance of carton, food allergies, etc. Purchase your family’s favorite milk or milk alternate, but do stick to one that is low fat and without added sugars. If you pour a milk alternate with low protein like cashew milk over your cereal in the morning, be sure to include a source of protein with breakfast such as an egg or spoonful of peanut butter!
Don’t necessarily like plain milk? Mix any variety of low fat milk with fresh/frozen strawberries in a blender for a flavored milk without any added sugars!
References:
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/97308fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=50&offset=&sort=default&order=asc&qlookup=skim+milk&ds=&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=
https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/95fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=50&offset=&sort=default&order=asc&qlookup=goats+milk&ds=&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=
https://silk.com/products/original-soymilk
https://silk.com/products/original-coconutmilk
https://silk.com/products/original-almondmilk
https://silk.com/products/original-cashewmilk
