Smoothies are delicious treats that most of us have difficulty turning down. And for that reason a lot of us like to make our own smoothies at home. Who wouldn’t want to have instant access to a delicious drink that both tastes good and is healthy? Nutritious, pleasant to look at, and dangerously tasty, smoothies can become an everyday treat very quickly.
But what if you’re on a diet? Or what if you’re trying to lose weight but also simply cannot give up your smoothies? Fortunately, thanks to the dozens of different kinds of milk available on the market, you have an almost unlimited selection of ingredients. And choosing the right type of milk could severely cut down on the calories in your smoothies. So let’s go over just some of the different milk types you could use in making your smoothies that will help you lose weight.
Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Almond milk is an excellent alternative to regular milk. It tastes great, and the unsweetened versions still have a great nutty flavor to them. When used in a smoothie almond milk not only reduces the number of calories compared to regular milk by a drastic amount, it also gives the smoothie a unique taste with a slight hint of almond. Couple that with the benefits you get from almond milk anyway and your smoothie becomes healthier in more ways than one.
Unsweetened Vanilla Soy Milk
Soy milk is yet another great alternative to regular milk. Being another plant-based milk like almond milk, soy milk is also relatively low in calories compared to regular milk. Of course, sticking to the unsweetened version is the right way to go here. And what’s more, soy milk has its own distinctive taste too. Some people would prefer soy milk over any other plant-based milk, and the only way to determine which one you like more is to taste them all yourself. Soy milk makes for another great milk type to use in smoothies as it has its own unique benefits too in addition to the low calorie count.
2% Milk
If you want to stick to cow milk but find low-fat version of it to use in your smoothies, you’re in luck. There are multiple types of low-fat milk types available in the market. One of these is 2% milk. This type of milk has 2% of the fat of the total weight of milk. Significantly lower than regular whole milk, this is yet another great contender for being used in smoothies if you’re looking to cut some calories.
Lowfat Milk
Lowfat milk is exactly what its name suggests. It’s regular milk that has a lower fat content than whole milk. Though not desperately low compared to whole milk, it is still the better choice out of the two if you’re looking to stick to cow milk for use in your homemade smoothies.
Skim Milk
Probably the best option to go for when sticking with cow milk, skim milk – also known as Fat Free Milk – has a much lower calorie count compared to whole milk. Unlike what its alternative name might suggest however, skim milk is not completely devoid of fat content. It is however, much lower than whole milk and still comes with all the nutrition present in whole milk. This way you’re not missing out on anything except unneeded calories in your smoothies.
Lactose-Free Milk
Lactose-free milk is a win-win for anyone that’s intolerant to lactose, looking to cut down on calories, and still wishing to use cow milk. Basically just regular milk but with the lactose sugar broken down, lactose-free milk is digestible by lactose-intolerant people all the while cutting down on the number of calories compared to regular whole milk. And it even provides you with all the necessary nutrition you’ll need as well.
Which Milk Wins?
Though there are plenty of choices to go for, and in the end that choice falls on you depending on how much you value taste, origin, and calorie count, the winner for us is clearly unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Almond milk has the lowest number of calories per cup out of all of the mentioned milk types. It can be as low as only 30 calories. And that is worth it in every way. Not to mention because all the other ingredients you will adding to your smoothie will have their own calories to add to the delicious mix.
Stick to the unsweetened variants and the vanilla ones with no flavoring, and you have the lowest possible calorie count a milk can give you when making homemade smoothies. Plus, who doesn’t like a slightly nutty taste to the smoothie. Trust us, it goes well with it.
Conclusion
And that wraps up our discussion on the best low-fat milk types you could use for making a homemade smoothie. Agree with our decision of appointing almond milk the winner or do you believe some other milk has better tradeoffs? Whatever your choice, it’s the right one. Any number of calories cut is a good number. Intrigued by the plant-based alternative milk types we mentioned above? We have posts on both of them. If you’d like to read more about almond milk and its benefits, click here. Curious about soy milk instead? We have a post on soy milk and its uses and benefits too.