Fortifying Almond/Rice Milk with Calcium

I'm looking into making my own Almond Milk and Rice Milk to save a little bit of money.  My biggest concern in making my own is making sure that it has enough calcium for my children (or that I supplement calcium in other ways).  When making almond milk, I am going to use a soy milk maker, though you can also use a blender or VitaMix, you just need to strain the almond/rice pulp out before sweetening and drinking.  I'll let you know how it goes:)

For 6 cups of Almond Milk, I will use 1/2 c raw almonds + 1/4 c brown rice, soaked for 8 hours first.  I will then add 6 cups of water and process in my soy milk maker.  (If using a blender, blend until milky white and strain pulp.)  To sweeten I am going to add Raw Sugar and a little bit of vanilla, to taste.  I may also add a little bit of salt if I think that it needs it.  If you want to avoid any sugar, there are plenty of other options which I will discuss below.

Naturally Occurring Calcium Content in 1 c of Almond/Rice Milk:  38.08 mg of calcium

(1/2 c of almonds is roughly the same as 2.7 oz. (this is based off of the number of servings in my package of raw almonds).  This would make roughly 216 g of calcium in 6 cups.  The 1/4 c of brown rice will add 12.5 mg of calcium to the 6 cups of milk giving a total of 228.5 mg of calcium in 6 cups of almond/rice milk.)

Options for adding more calcium:

• If you have calcium supplements (we have chewable), then you can add them to the rice/almond mixture before processing or blending them to add more calcium per cup (add as much as you need to compensate for lack of calcium, or to taste).

• In trying to find the calcium content of certain items in g/mg, it is a little bit more difficult because many products label calcium as a percentage of the Daily Value rather than the exact mg.  Fortunately, I was able to find out what the recommended Daily Value for Calcium is (according to packages).  It is 1000 mg, so you can adjust your measurements based upon your needs.  Oat groats contain 20 mg per 1/4 c, so if you substitute oat groats for the brown rice (in the recipe above), then you will be able to add a little bit more natural calcium, though not much.  1 c almond/oat milk will give you 39.3 mg calcium.  Oat milk also has a really nice flavor, so I'm definitely going to experiment combining oats and almonds to see what results I can get.

(For more Daily Values, go here:  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/AN00284)

Options for sweetening almond/rice milk:

• Although I haven't tried this, in looking at the chart below, I am very interested in trying to add dried figs and blending them into the almond/rice milk as they have 300 mg of calcium per cup.  I think it's worth trying to see if it sweetens it nicely.

• Dried dates also are a great sweetener.  I would soak them in freshly made almond/rice milk (HOT) and then blend them together to form a smooth mixture.

• Stevia and agave nectar are also other options for sweeteners.

If you have any good almond, rice, or oat milk recipes that you'd like to share, please feel free to comment below and add them:)  According to what I currently spend on Rice and Almond milk each month (I have 6 kids), making my own will save me well over $60 a month.  That's over $720 a year, and I will know exactly what is going into it, so no cross-contamination!  I'll post my results later:)

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In doing my research, I ran across this chart that lists the calcium content of certain foods (obviously we have to leave out the dairy right now):

Calcium Content of Selected Foods

Dairy and Soy	Amount	Calcium (mg)
Milk (skim, low fat, whole)	1 cup	300
Buttermilk	1 cup	300
Cottage Cheese	.5 cup	65
Ice Cream or Ice Milk	.5 cup	100
Sour Cream, cultured	1 cup	250
Soy Milk, calcium fortified	1 cup	200 to 400
Yogurt	1 cup	450
Yogurt drink	12 oz	300
Carnation Instant Breakfast	1 packet	250
Hot Cocoa, calcium fortified	1 packet	320
Nonfat dry milk powder	5 Tbsp	300
Brie Cheese	1 oz	50
Hard Cheese (cheddar, jack)	1 oz	200
Mozzarella	1 oz	200
Parmesan Cheese	1 Tbsp	70
Swiss or Gruyere	1 oz	270

Vegetables

Acorn squash, cooked	1 cup	90
Arugula, raw	1 cup	125
Bok Choy, raw	1 cup	40
Broccoli, cooked	1 cup	180
Chard or Okra, cooked	1 cup	100
Chicory (curly endive), raw	1 cup	40
Collard greens	1 cup	50
Corn, brine packed	1 cup	10
Dandelion greens, raw	1 cup	80
Kale, raw	1 cup	55
Kelp or Kombe	1 cup	60
Mustard greens	1 cup	40
Spinach, cooked	1 cup	240
Turnip greens, raw	1 cup	80

Fruits

Figs, dried, uncooked	1 cup	300
Kiwi, raw	1 cup	50
Orange juice, calcium fortified	8 oz	300
Orange juice, from concentrate	1 cup	20

Legumes

Garbanzo Beans, cooked	1 cup	80
Legumes, general, cooked	.5 cup	15 to 50
Pinto Beans, cooked	1 cup	75
Soybeans, boiled	.5 cup	100
Temphe	.5 cup	75
Tofu, firm, calcium set	4 oz	250 to 750
Tofu, soft regular	4 oz	120 to 390
White Beans, cooked	.5 cup	70

Grains

Cereals (calcium fortified)	.5 to 1 cup	250 to 1000
Amaranth, cooked	.5 cup	135
Bread, calcium fortified	1 slice	150 to 200
Brown rice, long grain, raw	1 cup	50
Oatmeal, instant	1 package	100 to 150
Tortillas, corn	2	85

Nuts and Seeds

Almonds, toasted unblanched	1 oz	80
Sesame seeds, whole roasted	1 oz	280
Sesame tahini	1 oz (2 Tbsp)	130
Sunflower seeds, dried	1 oz	50

Fish

Mackerel, canned	3 oz	250
Salmon, canned, with bones	3 oz	170 to 210
Sardines	3 oz	370

Other

Molasses, blackstrap

1 Tbsp

135

* When range is given, calcium content varies by product.
* The calcium content of plant foods is varied. Most vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit contain some calcium. Listed are selected significant sources of well-absorbed calcium.
References:

• USDA database, Handbook 8 palm program
• Bowes and Church

How Much Do You Need?

Age	Calcium (mg)
1 - 3 year old	500 mg
4 - 8 year old	800 mg
9 - 18 year old	1300 mg
19 - 50 year old	1000 mg
51 - 70 year old	1200 mg
> 70 year old	1200 mg

http://www.ucsfhealth.org/adult/edu/calciumContent/index.html

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or health care provider. We encourage you to discuss with your doctor any questions or concerns you may have.

This website is also a great resource for nutrition information on fruits and vegetables!!!  

http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/vegetables-nutrition-chart.html

For example, we're going to have butternut squash (from our garden:)) tonight.  I looked it up on the above website, and one cup of butternut squash has 84 mg of calcium in it!!!  In looking at all of our options, I feel confident that having enough calcium with a well balanced diet will not be a problem.