All the New Kinds of “Milks” - Soy, Rice, Almond, & Coconut

You have probably seen all of the new kinds of “milks” out there. First, there was soy milk. Now there is a growing list of others:

• Rice
• Almond
• Coconut
• and more

These usually are fine as beverages. But it’s good to remember what’s in them...and what’s not. They tend to be lower in calories, but part of the decrease in calories comes from less protein, with more of the calories coming from carbohydrates. Here’s a comparison: Regular Milk:

• Regular milk has 8 grams of high quality protein, whether it is whole milk, 2%, 1% or skim.

Soy:

• Soy milk has 6 grams of protein, and while we don’t think soy has as good a protein quality as regular milk or whey protein in particular, we don’t know of any other plant proteins that are as good.

Almond, Rice, Coconut, and Cashew Nut

• These milks usually don’t have much protein, typically either 0 or 1 gram, but read the products label to be sure. Separately, the protein quality of most plant proteins is low.

So it’s great to enjoy all of these beverages if they are from a quality source you can trust. We even include some of these milks in some of our recipes as alternatives to milk. But do keep track of the lower amount of protein…so be sure you are getting enough protein for your body’s requirements – and for your health goals. Other thoughts:

• If you like regular milk, it not only is a good source of protein, but it is a good value compared to the alternatives.