Why you should never buy skimmed milk
I've always loved milk. As a kid, it was 1%. I ate cereal for breakfast every day and had a glass of milk with every dinner. At uni, it was skimmed. After being dreadfully cliché and gaining a good few pounds, I bought the red-capped bottle like my waistline depended on it. Now, thankfully, I only use whole milk. Here's why.
1. It's not as healthy as it's jazzed up to be.
The whole low-fat diet has been disproven. It doesn't lead to sustainable weight loss or heart disease prevention. What's more, when people limit their fat intake drastically, there's a risk of cravings of sugar and carbs - two dangerous things when it comes to the risk of diabetes.
2. Fat is good for you.
In a 2016 study published in the journal Circulation, they found that people consuming higher levels of dairy fat had, on average, a 46% lower risk of getting diabetes.
Whole milk is also not as fatty as you'd think - there's usually only 3.25% fat. One serving amounts to about 12% of your daily value, which might seem like a lot at first, but it'll leave you feeling satiated for longer.
3. It tastes like water.
Let's face the fact: fat equals flavour, so when you lose it completely, you're not only cutting the carbs, you're getting rid of taste. In the case of cereal, fine, but if you want to drink a glass of milk (especially if it's chocolate!), you deserve at least 2%.
4. It's terrible for cooking.
Skimmed milk is *usually* terrible when cooking. Unless a recipe specifies non- or low-fat, whole is generally preferred. Consider a bechamel sauce (which you'd use for mac and cheese) where milk is the main ingredient. As obnoxious as it is to say, there's a richer mouthfeel with whole milk. And, as we already know, it tastes better. If you're using skimmed milk, you'd have to save your sauce with either more butter and/or more salt.
5. And baking!
In baked goods, fat adds moisture and helps tenderise. If you go with 0% fat, things can get dry and sad fast. The same can be said for pancakes.
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