Balance of Food

I bought my first container of skim milk. To some, that shouldn't be a radical statement. I don't have a breakdown of milk statistics, but thousands buy skim milk on a regular basis. But not me. When I got my act together, I was drinking whole milk when I drank milk -- 4% fat. According to this Web site, a glass of whole milk is 150 calories and 8 grams of fat per 8 oz. glass (see chart below). Since I was virtually eliminating soft drinks, I switched to a regular diet of milk, so I would have something to drink at the table. So while eliminating my security of blanket of sugary soft drinks, I was also making a change I thought I would never do -- 2% milk. I thought like most neophytes that 4% and 2% weren't that far apart. But that method is deceiving. 2% milk has about half as much fat as whole milk. Like most of my changes, it was very difficult getting used to 2% milk. But in time as my tastes for a number of things were forced to change. About a year into the "new me," I went to 1% milk. And 1% milk is where I have stayed. But like a lot of people in the upper United States, winter weight is creeping into my life. And I'm starting a new relationship with a woman that I really like. I saw her drinking fat-free milk. Okay, it was organic fat-free milk and she made hot chocolate with it. But even without the twinge toward possible romance, it was a sign that I needed to make the final plunge. Despite the need to eat better, and to eat better than I have lately, giving up certain foods of childhood and young adulthood becomes difficult. I've made so many jokes over the years about skim milk. "Would you like a little milk with your water?" "No fat, no taste, no milk." I'm smart enough to know that I need fat throughout the day. And I do use olive oil most of the time when cooking. But in drinking skim milk 3 times a day vs. 1% milk, it's a savings of 7.5 grams of fat. Normally, I buy milk in gallon jugs. For the experiment, I went the half-gallon route. As for the taste, skim milk tastes pretty flat. But so far, it isn't horrible. The ultimate test for me is cereal. After trying it on raisin bran, it was okay. The normal joy of loving lapping the milk from the bottom of the bowl is lost with skim milk. Skim milk is almost like the serious 9-5 worker and whole milk is the babysitter that let you stay up a half hour later provided you behaved. I'm not greatly concerned about the calories: the difference between 1% and skim with 3 glasses a day is 60 calories. But saving that 7.5 grams of fat wouldn't hurt. At least, I know now that skim milk won't kill me. The 1% habit has one huge drawback for someone who travels on foot to get most groceries. Convenience stores don't carry 1% milk. You can get whole, 2%, and skim, but not 1%. I suppose you could buy 2% and skim and combine them into one Frankenstein-like 1% hybrid. Too much work, but in a blizzard situation, you just never know. But I'll leave that for a future column. * Whole Milk - 150 Calories - 8g Fat * 2% Milk - 120 Calories - 4.5g Fat * 1% Milk - 100 Calories - 2.5g Fat * Skim Milk - 80 Calories - 0g Fat