Malty drinks good or bad idea?

[fitbyjuly]

I have given up drinking wine and am looking for a night time drink whats anyones thoughts on Horlicks or Ovaltine are the wasted calories? thanks. (I only drink soya milk)

[IndigoBlue61]

Only you can decide how to spend the calories you have fitbyjuly. In general, I prefer not to drink my calories, and I believe these two products are both high in sugar which is also problematic . . .

However, avoiding wine is an excellent idea, what else have you tried? I used to drink a lot of diet coke but gradually swapped it for diet tonic and now I have fizzy or plain water, with ice and lemon if I’m feeling posh 😊

I do like a milky drink, but I just use a little cinnamon or nutmeg and find the milk on its own quite sweet enough 😊

[fitbyjuly 7lbs in reply to IndigoBlue61]

Thank you I have been drinking a lot of peppermint tea which I enjoy I tend to agree with you re not drinking too many calories. I suppose I am luck as fizzy drinks are not my thing so nothing to miss there!

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to fitbyjuly]

We all have our demons don’t we 😊

[H61g in reply to fitbyjuly]

I love peppermint tea....only herbal tea I can drink

[anigoni 2 stone]

Hi there.. I use barley cup and add a splash of milk or just have milk alone with a few spices.. I don't have hot chocolate any more as that keeps me awake.. and I do have horlicks if my calorie limit allows.. but if not, I just have plain water.. sometimes I have boiling water with lemon in it and a dash of ginger... I like experimenting and feel it is important to have alcohol free days to allow your liver to recover and begin working on all that fat I am trying to lose..

Good luck.

[Misslovely]

Hi fitbyjuly

If i REALLY want a milky drink i tend to go for Cadburys highlights - but its not often & i sometimes have a Tea which is called Pukka Night Time and this seems to help

me sleep a little more restful

xxx

[Marple_J 2lbs in reply to Misslovely]

I have the pukka night time drink too. I find it nice and soothing before bed. I drink a lot of their flavours including Peppermint and green which I really like. I'm going to get some of those highlight drinks, not thought of those. I looked on this thread to check out people's replies as it was I query I also had ☺

[fitbyjuly 7lbs in reply to Misslovely]

Thanks I will look out for the pukka tea.

[Iwilldothisthisyear 1kg Restart Oct 2024 Restart Feb 2024 in reply to Misslovely]

I have been having the night time tea and it has really helped with my not sleeping issue . The only problem I have is that it makes my cats loopy (think crack cocaine level catnip) so I have to share the cup with them 🤭

[mcmarvyn]

Options Hot Chocolate- really, really nice and very low calorie. Cheapest in Iceland usually

[Hidden]

My cardiologist tols me that teh ccasional (weekly, his words) are absolutely fine, so I don't drink on school nights but maybe a glass on either Saturday or Sunday is fine for me

[PandQs Maintainer 3st 7lbs in reply to Hidden]

Hi Fredbeare, see my reply to OneandTwo below, re video of Dr Robert Lustig discussing benefit of small amount of red wine

[0neandTw0]

Find all this very interesting! So there's an assumption that drinking [red] wine is a No No??

I'd love to have your views on this as it's my EOD treat.

[PandQs Maintainer 3st 7lbs in reply to 0neandTw0]

I’ve been very impressed by the work of Dr Robert Lustig especially his “Skinny on Obesity” series of videos. I’ve been following LCHF since viewing them. This is a Q&A session with him where about 4.5 minutes in he discusses alcohol, red wine vs beer which is interesting if you are following the same way of eating, but I recommend watching the whole thing, not just that segment.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj8uQ...(Not working as expected?)

[TTandRW]

Robinson’s have a range of lovely drinks I found at Christmas. I have them in hot water the flavours are 1. Crushed Apple and cinnamon 2. Raspberry rhubarb and orange blossom 3. Crushed lime and mint.

I’m not a fan of fruit teas etc and don’t like a lot of cold drinks but these are lovely hot as a comforting drink but are also nice cold.

I’ve just checked calories and it works out at about 43 calories if you add 35/36mls of cordial to each 200/250ml water.

There’s 14 servings in a bottle if you use 35/36 mls for each drink as it says on the bottle.

This is quite a strong flavour so you could use a bit less if you wanted to reduce calories etc.

It may sound a lot of calories for a drink but personally I think the flavours are worth it as I’m not keen on other cordials.

The sugar per serving is between 9.5 - 11g (12%) which is amber on the traffic light system.

lm not sure how this would fit into a strict or diabetic diet but in moderation I’m enjoying it in my regime and it’s encouraging me to drink more fluid.

It can be diluted further to lessen the calories and still be just as tasty.

[fitbyjuly 7lbs in reply to TTandRW]

Tried one flavour the Rhubarb Raspberry and Orange is sooooo nice and I like the petit bottle too makes it feel like a real treat.

[BunnyTummyLumpy]

Must check out Robinson’s. I also like cinnamon tea....the Indian type. Nice in winter. I also have a small cup of pure cocoa on very cold nights.

[fitbyjuly 7lbs in reply to BunnyTummyLumpy]

Some other group members have mentioned pure cocoa sound nice, thank you.

[Hidden]

I have chamomile and lime flower tea from the cheap supermarket beginning with A! Its lovely, very mellow especially of a night time.

Have you tried a few squares pf dark chocolate in an a small cup of hot milk? If you really wanted a milky drink then that might work.

[Craftyperson]

How about just warm milk or maybe with a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg in or dissolve a few pieces of good quality dark chocolate

[BerlinBetty Visitor]

Hello fitbyjuly. I'm going to be a wee bit controversial here. Yes, these two hot drink products are now choc-full of sugar - far more than is needed to make a decent night-time cuppa, and perhaps therefore best avoided? However, I'm going to part company with folk who with the very best of intentions are guiding you towards various teas/tissanes etc. This is not because they aren't nice enough in their own way but they just don't satisfy in the same way, if you have been brought up, as I was, on the wisdom of a milky drink at night, which takes the blood towards the digestive system rather than the head, so helping you get off to sleep, and which lines the tum benignly. Can I suggest that you try two or three pieces of really good dark chocolate melted gently into a pan of 60% milk, 40% water (don't get up-tight about measurements). This does make a very nice hot chocolate. Or invest in a classy cocoa powder; even the strong ones contain some sugar - but nothing like what commercial hot chocolate contains.

Replacing the malt-based drinks is much more problematic. I can remember Ovaltine used to be very malty but not too sweet, so very satisfying. Now it's so sweet as to be very sickly, and of course not what we slimmers need at all. Perhaps try the home-made chocolate option? There used to be a thing called 'posset' (aging myself now), which involved whisking an egg into some hot milk with a small spoonful of treacle. Yes, sweet, but I bet not as much so as the stuff they sell us now.

I'm not knocking tissanes folks, but there's nothing wrong with a warm milky drink either, providing that we can find something to flavour it which doesn't involve a mountain-sized sugar-rush!

BB x

[13Valerie in reply to BerlinBetty]

Fab idea Betty! Melting a square of dark chocolate into almond milk will be my night time drink tonight... Sweet dreams!

[fitbyjuly 7lbs in reply to BerlinBetty]

Yes sugar rush at bedtime isn't a great idea I think I will stick to hot water with lemon or mint tea earlier on in the evening .

[13Valerie]

A milky drink made on unsweetened almond milk has the least calories. I'm becoming quite a fan of herbal teas too!

[Rhys00]

i drink ovaltine with no sugar as it contains vitimins and minerals which the body needs. i have excluded this drink from my calories as i think what i eat im not having the right vitmin and mineral

[Subtle_badger in reply to Rhys00]

I can't find any "ovaltine with no sugar". Ovaltine Light is mostly sugar, the main ingredient being being malt extract (which is sugar), the second ingredient is skim milk, which is largely sugar and the third is glucose, which is literally sugar.

Ovaltine lite is sugar.

Don't drink it. It's not doing you any good. If you need vitamins, get them from your food. If you aren't sure you can, then get multivitamins. If you shop around, you can usually find them at less than 4 p/day. Cheaper than ovaltine, and with no sugar.

[Rhys00 in reply to Subtle_badger]

You cannot actually avoid sugar. Most things cintains natural sugars. I will still drink ovaltine as i prefer it. And iprefer a hot drink over food many times.