Got Milk?

You’ve heard it said, “Milk does a body good.”  I happen to agree.  Milk is one of my best skinny secrets.

I have always liked milk, but when I was pregnant, I discovered drinking milk controlled my appetite.  I don’t drink as much milk with meals as I did then but it still has the same effect.  Perhaps I should go back to it.

I’m not just talking cow’s milk here.  I’ll show you. (By the way, all of these are in my refrigerator on a regular basis.)

8th Continent Light Soymilk is my liquid of choice on cereal.  With only 60 calories for 8 oz. it’s a nutritional bargain. Not all soymilk is created equal so if you’re new to the soy world, look around.

About that coconut milk, it’s new. To me, anyway.  90 calories for 8 oz.  So far, I’ve used it to thin my strained Greek yogurt and also in cooking desserts.  Not as good on calories as the other choices but OK.  Nice flavor change.

Have you seen almond milk?  Check out the calorie count in the red circle for an 8 oz. serving.  WOW!  This is the best stuff ever.  Doesn’t really have a lot of flavor on its own so goes well in smoothies, lattes, yogurt, and desserts. I don’t drink it straight out of a glass plain. Well, maybe  the chocolate.  Notice it’s unsweetened so will require some sweetener or sugar.  One of my favorite lattes is coffee with chocolate almond milk flavored with Torani  sugar-free syrup in black cherry flavor.  It’s a “black forest” kind of treat.  You can’t buy anything at a coffee shop this low in calories with such great taste.

Another advantage of almond milk is how long it stays good.  I keep it in the refrigerator at work for weeks at a time.  I’ve never seen it go bad although I’m sure it would eventually.

Of course, there’s real milk.  Rarely will you see 1/2 %, 2 %, or whole milk in my fridge.  It’s skim milk all the way for me at 80-90 calories per cup.  My main use for skim milk is homemade yogurt.  I keep buttermilk and fat free evaporated skimmed milk for cooking. Both are low in calories.

But the whipping cream?  What’s up with that?  Several reasons. If a recipe calls for whole milk, I add a couple tablespoons to skim milk.  Only a tablespoon of cream added to fat free yogurt is a flavor bonanza without doing too much harm.  And I never know when I might need to whip up a little homemade ice cream.  I’ll share my recipe with you soon.  Another good thing about cream is that it lasts a long time (as does buttermilk).