Chocolate milk can be a delicious treat, but most of the options out there are loaded with sugar and nasty additives that you’re way better off avoiding. Today we’re breaking down the two best chocolate milk options available on the market; one contains dairy and the other is dairy-free. I’ll also walk you through exactly what you want to avoid that’s lurking in other brands.
The Best Dairy Chocolate Milk:
If you’re a dairy milk drinker, the Maple Hill 100% grass-fed organic chocolate milk is by far the best chocolate milk on the market. It’s really amazing to see grass-fed chocolate milk in the first place. Grass-fed milk is the best milk you can get, and it’s superior to grain-fed milk for many reasons. Nutritionally speaking, grass-fed milk has more conjugated linoleic acid, more vitamins, and more omega-3 fatty acids.
One eight-ounce package only has four grams of added sugar, which is one teaspoon. That’s still not ideal — any amount of added sugar is undesirable. However, chocolate milk is going to have some sweetener, and I can totally live with one teaspoon. Compare that to other brands of chocolate milk (Aldi’s has 15 grams of sugar) and it’s a big winner.
The Best Dairy-Free Chocolate Milk:
Dairy-free families rejoice, because this plant-based milk is better than anything I have ever tried. Not only is it tree nut-free, but the ingredients are beyond "Bobby Approved," the flavor is outrageous, and the texture is smooth as silk.
Kiki milk is one of the few milks that does not use any gums, oils, or emulsifiers, yet the texture is better than any other milk I have tried. Use code FLAVCITY for 20% off.
What to Avoid:
Here’s an example of a chocolate milk you don’t want to give to your kids, or really anyone. With 27 grams of sugar, including 15 grams of added sugar, you’re drinking chocolate diabetes. I don’t say that lightly, but this amount of sugar is crazy.
That’s not even the worst of it; they’re using GMO high-fructose corn syrup, carrageenan, and artificial flavors. Artificial flavors in chocolate milk are unforgivable; that’s about as bad as it gets. Let’s call artificial flavors what they are: chemicals. They can cause allergic reactions, food hypersensitivity, nervous system depression, tumors, and more. Avoid this nastiness completely.
Carrageenan is a seaweed emulsifier that shows up in many of these products, but a lot of brands are phasing it out because it’s highly inflammatory. It can disrupt your gut bacteria in your intestine. In fact, some doctors will even give patients carrageenan to induce inflammation in certain studies, so it’s really bad news.
Chocolate milk can be dicey, which is why I wholeheartedly recommend Maple Hill 100% grass-fed organic chocolate milk for the dairy drinkers, and Kiki Milk for everyone else. Instead of a cloyingly sweet sugar-bomb, you’ll find a delicious treat you can feel good sharing with your family.