Almond Milk. I didn't know you could milk an almond.

Making food substitutions, and searching for food substitutions, has been an ongoing process for me since January when I began my weight loss life change. Most of my diet has stayed mainstream, nothing too exotic, but one change that I made that I never thought I would was a Vegan favorite, almond milk.

I heard about almond milk when I watched a documentary called "Engine 2 Diet Rescue" on Netflix where a Vegan firefighter from Austin, Texas visits two families and helps them makeover their pantries and refrigerators to eat a plant-based diet. The firefighter recommended to one family a cereal concoction that used almond milk instead of cow's milk. That piqued my interest, so I bought a half gallon of unsweetened Silk almond milk from the milk aisle at our grocery store and gave it a try. I never noticed it was there until I saw that movie.

It seemed a little chalky at first, but after seven months, it has really grown on me. I love unsweetened almond milk now. I know people who use it in making smoothies and protein shakes, and I mostly use it for cereal. What I love about almond milk most is that it gives more nutrients than cow's milk and when you get the unsweetened kind it comes at a cost of 30 calories per 8 oz. cup compared to 86 calories for skim cow's milk.

The Good & Bad of Almond Milk

Pros and Cons of Almond Milk

What are some food substitutions you have made in your own weight loss journey? Tell me about your experiences with that substitution in the comments below.