Made in the USA

I keep receiving a forwarded message from various well-meaning email friends about buying only products made in the USA.  The message always refers to the lack of any inspection or quality control in foreign countries and the ensuing contamination of food and drug products, or substandard and hazardous elements in manufactured goods.

All foreign products are suspect according to the text, and the worst offenders are China and India, though Mexico, Indonesia and Vietnam are secondary targets.

If you happen to be one of those who have forwarded such messages, let me advise you that you needn't bother.  I have always been selective and discriminating in my choice of produce and products--except where I have no choice--and I try not to comply with the ever present request to "...forward this message to everyone you know." 

That said, I do have something I want to relay to you about a new (to me) product that I've been using for about a year that is working out quite nicely for me. 

I do not care much for milk, be it from cows, goats or any other mammalian animal.  It isn't that I have a lactose intolerance or any other problem with dairy products.  In fact, I do like most cheese products, including cottage cheese.  I just don't like milk.

Unfortunately, many prepared foods have milk as one of the ingredients. 

One of my female friends suggested that I try a milk substitute that is equally wholesome, tastes somewhat similar, can be used in place of dairy milk in recipes and is also lactose-free and soy-free with fewer calories than even skim milk. It also contains more calcium than milk.

Wow! you say, what can this miracle product be?

The product is almond milk. It is a little more expensive than dairy, but only marginally so.  It is available in several varieties, sweetened or unsweetened, unflavored, Vanilla and chocolate, and as a blend of almond and coconut milk.  It looks like dairy milk and doesn't taste of either almonds or coconut, though some people say that they detect a nutty flavor. I don't.  In fact, in the vanilla flavor that we use, it really doesn't even taste to me like vanilla. The flavor is very neutral and, I think, quite good.

If you have a taste for chocolate and like chocolate milk, but don't want all the calories and other "bad stuff" associated with that drink, use the chocolate flavored almond milk for a guilt-free beverage with less than half the calories of dairy chocolate milk.

There is another terrific benefit in using almond or coconut milk; it lasts a lot longer than any dairy milk.  The expiration date on cows milk is usually 7-10 days from the date of processing, which can translate into less than a week once it has also been transported and delivered to the store where you buy it.  When it starts to turn, it gets a sour smell and taste that tells you it is time to dispose of it.

(If you have trouble reading these labels, use ctrl and the + keys to enlarge them)

Almond milk is found in the dairy case at your grocery store, but that is only so that it is visible to consumers as an alternative to cow's milk.  In those dairy coolers, it typically has an expiration date about a month from date of processing and carries a suggestion on the carton that it be used within seven days of opening.  However, we have used this milk up to two weeks with no deterioration or telltale taste.  It never seems to sour.

We've also bought almond milk in quart sizes that is not refrigerated and has a shelf life of about six months, but I suspect that could be a lot longer, possibly up to a year.  It only needs to be kept in the refrigerator after opening. I suspect that even the half-gallon sizes in the dairy section are also okay if not kept in the refrigerator until they are unsealed for use.  If you are one of the survivalists, or a Mormon, this is a must have for your long-term food supply. You can find the room temperature, quart-size almond milk in the Dietetic Section of the store.

Another benefit to using almond or coconut milk is that it can be used in cooking and baking just like milk on a one-to-one ratio.  The taste of the food will not be influenced by the substitution, even using the vanilla-flavored almond milk.

I am not a salesman for almond milk, nor do I hope to get any monetary benefit for this promotion of it.  I merely believe that it is a great substitute for the highly perishable and somewhat suspect dairy milk we've been using all our lives.  If you've never tried it, go out and spend a few dollars and buy a half-gallon of it.  Use it just like cows milk and see if you don't agree with me that it is better in all respects.

One last point... It is all made here in the USA!