the great almond milk debate

[gabepace]

i know there are so many threads about almond milk but it is all very confusing.  i had the 365 whole foods brand almond milk as i read a bunch of posts about almond milk and other ingredients and i thought there's no carrageenan or sulfites, and gums are ok and i didn't see anything about lecithin.  

 

"Though it may exist somewhere, compliant commercially-produced almond milk is hard to find.  Ingredients  like sugar (in any form) or carrageenan will render store-bought almond milk off-limits for your Whole30. The alternative is to make your own—but remember, no added sweetener!"- See more at: http://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/#sthash.Ep4XYKbp.dpuf

It seems from that that you CAN find compliant store bought almond milk so long as it doesn't have sugar or carrageenan.  so...i'm still confused.

do i have to start over if I had whole foods unsweetened almond milk?  if so, why?

thanks for any help!!

gabrielle pace, x-sugar junkie

http://www.gabriellepace.com

 

 

 

[Deb.]

i know there are so many threads about almond milk but it is all very confusing.  i had the 365 whole foods brand almond milk as i read a bunch of posts about almond milk and other ingredients and i thought there's no carrageenan or sulfites, and gums are ok and i didn't see anything about lecithin.  

 

"Though it may exist somewhere, compliant commercially-produced almond milk is hard to find.  Ingredients  like sugar (in any form) or carrageenan will render store-bought almond milk off-limits for your Whole30. The alternative is to make your own—but remember, no added sweetener!"- See more at: http://whole30.com/2013/06/the-official-can-i-have-guide-to-the-whole30/#sthash.Ep4XYKbp.dpuf

It seems from that that you CAN find compliant store bought almond milk so long as it doesn't have sugar or carrageenan.  so...i'm still confused.

do i have to start over if I had whole foods unsweetened almond milk?  if so, why?

thanks for any help!!

gabrielle pace, x-sugar junkie

http://www.gabriellepace.com

Below are the ingredients in the 365 brand almond milk. 

If it were ONLY the first two ingredients, it would be fine - and that's what it would be if you made your own - which is really easy to do. 

I wouldn't want to put those other things into my body but on this thread a moderator says its ok

http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/19549-while-foods-365-organic-almond-milk-unsweetened/

 

Ingredients:  

Organic almondmilk (filtered water, organic almonds), tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, xanthan gum, potassium citrate, sunflower lecithin, vitamin a palmitate, ergocalciferol (vitamin d2), dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin e).

 

 

[missmary]

Here's the deal: manufacturers of almond milk have been moving towards sunflower lecithin instead of soy lecithin, which means there are now technically compliant almond milks around like the one listed above. That doesn't make almond milk a health food. 

 

You can have this almond milk during the whole30 if you wish. Whether you include it or not comes down to a question of what you are using this milk for, and if it makes you more or less healthy. Personally, once I stopped having smoothies I stopped having much use for almond milk.

[Tom Denham]

Compliant almond milk does not make you healthier, but you can use it in your cooking if you choose. There are compliant almond milks on the market with less unpronounceable ingredients than the Whole Foods 365 brand, but, again, none of them make you healthier. 

 

I don't object to you putting a little almond milk in your coffee, but I get annoyed when I see advertising and customer endorsements that say almond milk is a healthy choice. Almond milk is a healthy choice if it is a replacement for dish-washing liquid, but it is a stretch of the imagination to say that almond milk is good for you. At most, in my opinion, it is an acceptable flavor additive. 

[gabepace]

wow thanks for the replies everyone.  and so quick!  you guys are really on it!

 

i have only been using almond milk in my coffee since starting whole30.  i'm very much on board with the "no desserty" type foods rule.  before starting i was making "chocolate mouse" from organic cacoa and coconut cream.  totally cool.  high in magnesium!  but totally a dessert crutch.  and i had been drinking a lot of "hot chocolate" and maca smoothies as well.  but no more!

 

like i said in a previous post, i've been using gum to get through in between meal slumps.  i just needed a little something in my coffee!  

 

i'll stop using the almond milk but i am glad i don't have to start over.  maybe i will anyway.

 

thanks again.