Ovaltine Light Malted Chocolate Drinks

Ovaltine have been making wholesome, malted hot drinks for over 100 years. According to Ovaltine, its main ingredients of malt extract, milk, eggs and cocoa have largely remained unchanged. Ovaltine is traditionally made by mixing the powder with warm or hot milk to make a nutritious and satisfying drink. While for many, this is probably the most tasty way of enjoying Ovaltine, a single drink can clock up to 200 calories or more.

For those who enjoy their daily cup of Ovaltine but don’t want to consume quite so many calories, there are 'Light' versions which save a few calories because they're made by adding water rather than milk.

Ovaltine Light is available in two flavours: Ovaltine Chocolate Light and Ovaltine Original Light. You can buy them in individual sachets or 300g jars.

If you are counting calories, take care if you buy the sachets. The Ovaltine Chocolate Light sachet is 20g and has just 76 calories, while the Ovaltine Original Light is 25g and contains over a third more calories with 103 per sachet.

Since the Ovaltine Original Light sachet weighs 5g more than the Chocolate Light sachet, it would be expected to have more calories. But the Original Light also has more calories per 100g with 411 calories compared to 379 calories per 100g for the Chocolate Light.

A quick comparison of the calories in all Ovaltine Drinks is shown below:

Ovaltine Chocolate (add milk): 4 teaspoons Ovaltine plus 200ml semi-skimmed milk = 192 calories

Ovaltine Original (add milk):
4 teaspoons Ovaltine plus 200ml semi-skimmed milk = 193 calories

Ovaltine White Chocolate (add milk):
4 teaspoons Ovaltine plus 200ml semi-skimmed milk = 193 calories

Ovaltine Chocolate Light (add water):
4 teaspoons plus 200ml water = 76 calories

Ovaltine Original Light (add water):
4 teaspoons plus 200ml water = 102 calories

Ovaltine Light makes a tasty, malted hot chocolate drink with a rich, chocolatey flavour. Obviously it's not as rich as when made entirely with milk, but mixing the powder with a bit of milk adds a touch of extra creaminess. You can always use less powder to cut down on calories.

Ovaltine Light can usually be found in most supermarkets and many smaller, independent outlets.

Nutrition Information: Per sachet Chocolate Light (20g): 76 calories, 1.7g protein, 14.1g carbohydrate, 10.5g sugar, 1.2g fat, 0.9g saturated fat, 0.9g fibre, 0.4g salt.

Nutrition Information: Per sachet Original Light (25g): 103 calories, 3.0g protein, 17.2g carbohydrate, 9.7g sugar, 2.3g fat, 2.0g saturated fat, 0.7g fibre, 0.4g salt.