Great Value Low Fat Chocolate Milk Review

I spotted a carton of this Great Value Low Fat Chocolate Milk the other day. With my efforts over the past decade to add more soy, almond, and rice beverages to my diet and cut back on the more fatty dairy products, I haven’t tasted any dairy-based chocolate milk for several years. But, to round out my reviews of chocolate beverages, I decided to bring home a half-gallon of this dairy chocolate milk to try it out. Yea, bring on the real chocolate milk!

The carton says that this chocolate milk contains 160 calories per 1-cup serving, which is twice as much as non fat plain skim milk, which is what I typically drink around here. Vitamins A and D3, as well as calcium have been added to beef up the nutrition, and the fat content has been trimmed down to one percent, thus the low-fat designation.

However, you’ll find lots of added sugar in this product. So I’d avoid Great Value chocolate dairy milk while dieting, as this attached sugar as well as the chocolate and artificial flavors (also included) makes this chocolate soy drink rather addictive in my view. One serving a day might not be bad. But the enticing flavor will indeed entice you to drink significantly more than that; especially if you’re a weak-willed chocoholic and sugarholic like me.

Health concerns aside however, I think real dairy chocolate milk tastes fuller, richer, more chocolaty, and overall, is more fulfilling than the soy, rice, and almond-based chocolate drink products I’ve built into my diet in the 21st century. Indeed, no one I know of, has come up with a nondairy chocolate drink that tastes as good as real chocolate cow’s milk. The Great Value Low Fat Chocolate Milk flavor is deep and strong, much like those Yoohoo chocolate drinks in the glass bottles. But it’s also significantly thicker. This results in an unmistakably sweet dairy chocolate sensation.

Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features

Great Value sweetened chocolate milk keeps for roughly three weeks from the date of purchase in the refrigerator. That’s a decent shelf for a dairy milk product.
Great Value chocolate flavored low fat milk is made with real cow’s milk.
At roughly $2.47 per half-gallon carton, Great Value brand chocolate milk is a decent buy.
This chocolate milk has only 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 10 MG of cholesterol, and 0 grams of dietary fiber per cup. But it does contain 24 grams of sugar per serving, although in fairness, roughly half of this sugar occurs naturally in milk, and was therefore, not added. Still though, be careful not to enjoy too much of this chocolate delight at one sitting.
The packaging protects this chocolate milk from light, which can impact flavor as well as neutralize some nutrition.
Its medium-dark brown color resembles the name brands of chocolate milk closely. Indeed, there’s no compromising on taste, color, or texture in this chocolate milk product. No weak chocolate flavor here.
The one-half gallon version of this product is packaged in a carton; not a plastic bottle. Its taste therefore, is less impaired by the leeching plastic compounds from plastic bottles that can transfer to the chocolate drink inside, that can destroy its chocolaty flavor.
This Great Value product is available at most Walmart stores. So, for shoppers in most areas of the USA, it is easy to find.
While they have added no DHA omega-3 fatty acids, the label indicates that this milk comes bundled with extra added vitamins.

Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns

This product is available only at Walmart stores. However, its lower price may make the trip to Walmart worth the extra gas or fare.
Due to the sugar content, in my opinion, it’s easy to consume excess calories via this product. This product’s sweet chocolaty flavor tests one’s conviction to consume in moderation thus. It’s got a delicious, addictive, and rather strong chocolate flavor.
Diabetics should therefore, monitor their blood sugar readings meticulously when consuming this milk, as it contains significant amounts of high-glycemic index sugar.
To produce a lower glycemic index product, thereby making this product more suitable for diabetics, Great Value might use pure agave nectar or Splenda instead of the sugar for sweetening.

Our Rating

So, Great Value Low Fat Chocolate Milk is (what else?) a great value. I like it! This milk is a nice diversion from that and a pleasant vacation return to the truly wonderful chocolaty tastes of yesteryear. I’d rate it at 90 out of 100.

Where To Buy Great Value Low Fat Chocolate Milk

Look for this chocolate milk in the brown and white carton with the blue letters near the top, the blue Great Value logo on the front, and the brown cap, in the refrigerated dairy section, only at Walmart grocery stores and super centers. Drinking healthy is good. But sometimes, folks need a chocolaty and sugary indulgence too.

References

Revision History

2015-02-01: Moved this post to the Tom’s Diet Quest blog, added whitespace, adjusted ad placement, and tweaked the content.
2012-04-07: Originally published.