I am turning to this forum for help. I think I've seen some almond milk discussions going on and I do believe here is where I've seen it, though I could be wrong.

My oldest daughter is returning from college this week. She can not drink dairy milk due to a digestive disorder. She still loves cereal and milk though and has been using Rice Dreams for this purpose while away in school. She says it doesn't exactly mimic "real" milk, but she's willing to slug it down every now and then.

Do you think that Almond milk might be a better and tastier substitute then the Rice Dreams? If yes, do you have any suggestions as to which I should purchase? What about the shelf life? What else have you used the Almond Milk for, if you don't mind my asking.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not certain on the almond milk as I've not been able to locate it either. Has she tried soy milk? It's a little bit thicker then regular milk but I had no problem switching from regular milk to soy. I use the vanilla flavored in cereal and find it really adds to the flavor of most cereals.

Hey Robin!

I know you know I'm not a vegetarian, but I had started a thread about almond milk in another section a few months back. Anyway...

When I read an article about how cow's milk actually requires so much calcium to process that it doesn't really provide your body with calcium, I switched to Almond Milk. I happened to be on South Beach, so I bought unsweetened Almond Breeze by Blue Diamond. I also tried unsweetened soy milk, but that was pretty horrendous to me.

I've only ever seen 2 brands of almond milk--Almond Breeze by Blue Diamond and Pacific Naturals organic almond milk. I've never tried the Pacific Naturals one because they don't have unsweetened, but we really like the Almond Breeze. I can't compare it to rice milk because I've never tried that (I chose the almond instead because it was much lower in calories, whereas the rice milk was about the same calories as regular milk).

Even my never-been-on-a-diet anti-health-food fiance uses the almond milk in his breakfast cereal. I have found it at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Bloom grocery stores. This site will tell you where you can find the Blue Diamond Almond Breeze near you:
http://productlocator.infores.com/pr...li?client=BDGR
You can choose sweetened or unsweetened, and if you think the original will be too "almondy," you can try the vanilla.

Did I babble enough? Can you tell I like the stuff?

I have heard that soy milk can also be problematic for people who have problems w/ dairy as it is not easily digstible. Almond milk from Pacific Naturals (organic) is great! My kids love it and I feel good giving it to them. It can be stored on the shelf for a while, though I'm not sure how long.

Yes, she's tried the soy milk and didn't care for it at all.

Jilly, thanks. I was uncertain where I'd seen the thread. I was just about to buy the almond milk at a big chain supermarket and stopped as I recalled seeing something about it at 3FC. Figured I had a few days to buy it and would ask here first. They had 2 brands. One was the Almond Breeze, can't recall the other. Thanks for answering. I'm excited for her. It sounds like she just might enjoy it.

Oops, one more question. Once it's opened, do you have any idea how long it will stay fresh in the fridge? Thanks once again.

Almond milk tends to stay fresh for 7-10 days. I've never seen it go bad but that is what it says on the packaging.

Also, it is really low calorie (30-40 calories per 8 oz) if you get the unsweetened. If she needs the calories, then you might want to look at the sweetened version which I think is 80-100 calories per 8 oz.

I use the unsweetened Almond Breeze with morning oatmeal and it keeps in the fridge for at least 3-4 weeks that it takes me to use it up, as I only use a couple ounces daily. The label says 7-10 days, but I keep it at least twice that long with no change in flavor or odor. I love the taste of it!

I searched high and low for the unsweetened Almond Breeze (pink label) here in Pittsburgh, but all I can find locally are the original, vanilla, and chocolate, all sweetened and higher calorie. So I ended up ordering the unsweetened varieties on the Internet. If you're watching for added sugars, even the original (green label) has 7 grams of sugar (the vanilla and chocolate flavors have more). Here's a link to the different kinds and you can click on the nutritional info: Almond Breeze

I read soy milk is out. I actualy like it better than cow's milk. I drink 8th Continent Light Vanilla.

I was drinking almond milk but couldn't get the unsweetened and didn't like using calories for the sweeteners. With that being said, I LOVED the almond milk. I originally bought it because I had a reciped for a banana brown rice pudding that was out of this world!! My kids used it to make pancakes one morning and loved the sweet nutty taste it added to the pancakes. I would think in most situations you could use it the same as "regular" milk.

Now I'm curious. I can't wait to get back to the store and see if they have the unsweetened one. Also curious to see how she likes it. Thanks for the link Meg. If I can't find the unsweetened one, I will look into ordering it. I'm sure it keeps nicely and wouldn't be a problem therefore to order a bunch at a time.

Thanks again to all of you who replied. I've found this all very useful. I'll let you know if I find the unsweetened version at the store and if she likes it.

My favorite is Almond dream (30 calories per serving)

http://www.tastethedream.com/product...t/1939/360.php

Only problem, is not very many stores carry it. More stores carry Almond breeze.

I also have seen Pacific Almond unsweetened milk too but I've never tried it.

Love the almond milk. I had no idea it would taste SO good, and I actually like it MUCH better than dairy!

I also love unsweetened almond milk (vanilla and chocolate!!!). For those who don't like soy milk usually, Silk Plus Omega 3's (formerly Silk Enhanced) is REALLY delicious and rich.

I can't do the unsweetned almond milk, it just wasn't good to me. But I love the sweetned vanilla almond milk, a lot better then soy milk to me. I'm ok with the soy milk but like almond better. In the grocery stores around me it's in the "organic/whole" foods section on the store. I don't drink any of them just use them for cereal and recipes, but I've never been a milk drinker just not something I enjoy, unless it has tons of chocolate in it.

Went to the store yesterday. And they had the unsweetened version. I couldn't decide which to buy as my daughter is a picky girl. I didn't want to turn her off. Well, I bought the unsweetened version. I hope it wasn't a mistake and that I should have bought the sweetened one. If she doesn't like it, I'll try the sweetened version.