26 December 2009

Breastfeeding: Dairy Replacement Reviews

I'll add to this list as I find and use other dairy-free products. However, if you're also on a Dairy-free journey and have a recommended product feel free to email me the link to your review or email me a review to add to this post. I would love for this to help others!


Milk Substitutes
Rice Dream: I've not personally had a drink of this product, but Nana made my pumpkin pie with it. I was quite the fan of the pumpkin pie so I highly recommend it for baking fantastic pumpkin pies ;) Update: I did buy a half gallon of this. It's super chalky tasting and really watery. I was not a fan.  But it made fantastic hot chocolate when mixed with Nesquik powder where Almond and Soy milks just tasted weird.

Almond Breeze: I've only had their refrigerated varieties but I imagine the aseptic containers contain a similar or equal high value product.
Vanilla (sweetened): This a fantastic drink product. I love the way it tastes. There is a slight almond-y taste to it and a sort of usual milk/sweet beverage aftertaste, but it is great cold in a tall glass.
Vanilla (unsweetened): I've been addicted to making banana and fruit or banana, chocolate syrup, and peanut butter smoothies with this product. It's perfect for adding a creaminess to a smoothie without adding unneeded sweetness.
Original: I think this tastes just like milk on cereal, but keep in mind it's a long time since I actually had milk on cereal... But it doesn't have the soy bean aftertaste, so it's got to be closer...

Silk:
Silk Almond: Well it's better than their soy products, but it's not as good as Almond Breeze and I think the Vanilla version is super close.
Original: Definite traditional soy bean-y aftertaste, but it's not too bad. Store brands generally tastes the same.
Vanilla: Also has a bean-y aftertaste, but a little less than original. It will work for cereal great, if you don't mind added sweetness, and isn't too bad to drink either. Store brands also taste the same.
Unsweetened: Great for baking. I just made pumpkin pancakes with this and they taste great. It's cheaper than other alternatives too.
Chocolate (full fat): My chocolate milk drinking snob of a husband will fight me for this stuff. It's fantastic and well... addicting. Buy with caution.
Pumpkin Nog: A great seasonal treat. Soy aftertaste, but it's really good flavored (though I'm somewhat miffed that there's no pumpkin in it whatsoever...)
Soy Nog: Has a traditional eggnog type flavor but is missing the stick to your throat creaminess of eggnog. I wouldn't buy this if you're an eggnog snob lover like I am.
Chai: A really tasty chai latte tasting drink. I really, really like this and I'm a chai tea snob. It does have the bean-y aftertaste though.

Butter Replacements

Smart Balance Heart Right Light Buttery Spread: Tastes like butter, but is only good for eating on a bagel or toast (not recommended for baking). This goes on my morning Thomas Bagel (dairy free!) sometimes with a little cinnamon sugar added. So good!

Earth Balance Shortening Sticks: We made my husband's double chocolate chip cookies with this product. They tasted the same. I'm sure a pie crust would be perfectly made with this too!

Earth Balance Vegan Sticks: I'm not going to lie: I spread this on a bagel while starving and running out the door. I gagged on it it tasted so bad.  I actually picked around in on my bagel.  That said; it does bake up into a fantastic muffin.  I can't master cookies with it. Maybe I'll mix it with the shortening sticks.

Ice Cream and Yogurt
Turtle Mountain Products: I'm quite a fan of Turtle Mountains Ice Creams and to top it all off I can find most of their products in normal grocery stores.

  • Coconut Vanilla Bean Ice Cream is really rich and creamy and just about perfect, but you have to like coconut cause you do taste it!
  • Chocolate Obsession is really good too, though you can taste that soy flavor. However, my ice cream snob husband will happily down a pint of Chocolate Obsession.
  • Coconut Milk Yogurt This has less of an obvious coconut flavor than the ice cream and a good yogurt bacteria zing... but it's not at all comparable to the taste of my beloved Publix brand yogurts. I personally don't think it's worth the extra money (something like $.60 a piece), but it's not bad tasting. I can only find it at Whole Foods locally.
  • So Delicious Minis Ice Cream Sandwiches These taste super soy beany to me in the ice cream content, but the chocolate brownie parts saves the whole deal. Not too bad at all but the Tofutti Cuties are better (and cheaper!).
Tofutti Cuties: My sister used to get these back in her vegetarian days. They were very tasty and you honestly couldn't tell the difference between these and your run of the mill ice cream sandwich. In fact, I'm not sure why I haven't looked for them locally yet... P.S. The mint chip variety is my new favorite treat now that I've found them locally!

Chocolate
Whole Foods Brand Vegan Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: Not as melty as milk based chips, but the flavor is perfect for a semi-sweet. At our local store these are $2.99 a bag, which is a steal compared to a fancy chocolate bar.
Whole Foods Brand Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips: These have the same ingredients as the Vegan ones, but have the added warning that they were processed in a plant that also processes dairy. Since I don't think the girls have an allergy, I'm not too worried about trace amounts of dairy so I started buying these. They only cost $1.99. I like keeping that extra dollar...
Bakers Chocolate Semi-Sweet Baking Squares: This is what I use to make fondues with almond milk and pudding.   Tastes like chocolate to me :)

4 comments:

Valerie said...

I love Rice Milk! I think you would too. I think it is because I like the mexican drink called Horchata; made with rice milk. Thanks for your posts. They are definitely marked as a "favorite" right now. I'm 34 weeks along with twin boys and am wondering how everything will come together (especially breastfeeding).

Melissa Ann said...

I'm glad you find this helpful!

Lynn said...

Isn't Purely Decadent coconut milk ice cream the best? I love the chocolate and mint chip flavors! And I also really like So Delicious coconut milk beverages and coffee creamers. I think they're even yummier than Silk! Though I still really enjoy Silk Nog.

Valyre said...

The packets of Nestle' pre-melted unsweet baking chocolate are also dairy free. It's what I used in the peanut butter chocolate cookies.