Plant Milk Comparison

My dad (77, a lifetime carnivore), my elder daughter (24, an opportune eater who tolerates my non-foods) and myself (41, vegan for several years) sat down last weekend with a whole lot of shot glasses to taste test 8 different plant milks.

Our taste test comprised (in alphabetical order):

• Almond, unsweetened (13kcal/100ml) Alpro
• Cashew (23kcal/100ml) Alpro
• Coconut, unsweetened (14kcal/100ml) Alpro
• Hazelnut (29kcal/100ml) Alpro
• Hemp (26kcal/100ml) Good Hemp
• Oat, unsweetened (40kcal/100ml) Alpro
• Pea (34kcal/100ml) Sproud
• Walnut (25kcal/100ml) Valsoia

OBVIOUSLY there are loads more - rice, soya, macadamia, tiger nut, blended, flavoured, sweetened, organic...

I use almond as my go-to all-purpose non-milk because it's the lowest calorie and has virtually no flavour. My mum drinks a glass of milk plain and prefers cashew as it's creamy but is okay with oat (which is good as cashew isn't so easily available).
I have been asked many times for my opinions on the 'best' plant milk but it comes mostly down to individual taste so I really recommend trying as many as you can. Also, I would recommend anyone new to plant milks to do the following:
A. If you use large quantities would it be a more economical idea to make your own? Especially if you want to reduce your waste or live in an area that doesn't offer carton recycling... Incidentally we use plastic shot glasses for my mum's meds so they will be reused many times. You can always use glass or paper cups.
B. Think how you use milk. Do you drink it plain, have a dash in coffee, pour it over cereal? The difference in flavours can make a huge difference and you will need to taste test the milks as you use them - especially for hot drinks as some separate and *TMI alert* I vomit with hot soya milk.
C. Where are you at in life? Look at the calorie counts, sugar or protein content depending on what matters to you.
D. Alpro milks are frequently on offer (3 for £3, usually) so stock up for a taste test economically.

Our rankings went as follows:
Dad
1. Hazelnut* / Walnut*
3. Pea - as the only one who could tolerate Pea milk he took it home!
4. Cashew*
5. Oat
6. Almond
7. Hemp / Coconut - which he dubbed "arsenic and cyanide"
Daughter
1. Cashew*
2. Hazelnut*
3. Walnut*
4. Oat
5. Almond
6. Pea
7. Coconut
8. Hemp
Me
1. Cashew* / Walnut*
3. Oat
4. Hazelnut*
5. Almond - despite being my go-to it is bland, nothingy and not nice on its own
6. Coconut - watery and white, didn't even realise how much I disliked it, shan't buy it in future!
7. Pea - with the comment "bloody weird NO" definitely not worth the 2nd highest calorie count
8. Hemp - with the comment "bleuuuu socks ICK"

*As the same three milks made all of our top 4 I will discuss those in a little detail.
Cashew (Dad's # 4, daughter's #1, my joint first)
As someone who hasn't had cow juice in over 7 years it's not the easiest to say but to me Cashew is the closest to dairy milk. Coconut is very white; hazelnut & walnut are rather brown. Coconut & almond are rather watery but Cashew has a hint of creamyness. Also, unlike hazelnut, walnut, coconut the flavour is pretty neutral meaning it's a great all-purpose choice. (For the record, almond milk doesn't taste of almonds. Before I first tried it I was terrified it'd be like liquid marzipan!)
Hazelnut (Dad's joint 1st, daughter's #2, my #4)
As above, hazelnut is a bit on the brown side and tastes, unsurprisingly, of hazelnuts. Hazelnutty coffee or hot chocolate would probably be just fine but in tea? Probably not. Fortunately I loathe tea. Actually, I don't like hazelnuts but I like this milk. Weird, huh?
Walnut (Dad's joint 1st, daughter's #3, my joint 1st)
Again, brown. Again, strong walnut flavour. I have since tried this as a latte and it was DELICIOUS. Like hazelnut I think it'd work better in particular contexts: with muesli? Great! To make a strawberry blancmange? I kind of think the pepperyness of the walnut would make that pretty gross but I could be wrong.

Februdairy Roundup

For each day of February I have posted to Instagram (and linked to Twitter and Facebook) a picture of an alternative-to-dairy food. The one exception was day 4 where I shared a Metro article quoting farmer James Robinson "to show what actually happens on dairy farms and not give way to militant vegan propaganda"...nah mate, vegans and animal rights activists are showing what actually happens on dairy farms countering decades of carnist, speciesist propaganda.

As I accidentally posted my MeatyMarch blog earlier than intended I wanted to sum up here what my anti-#Februdairy posts included. I am putting brands in bold for their first mention only, products I hadn't tried before are in bold red.

I kicked off the month with four cartons of plant milks, representing the stash I keep in. Unsweetened Almond for everyday use, Cashew for milkshakes, Oat for lattes and Chocolate Oat for my dad.

There are lots of different plant milks on the market and many different brands and I wanted to show a range. These were Oatly and Alpro milks; on day 6 I shared Alpro chocolate and strawberry lunch box size cartons and on day 24 it was Rude Health's Tiger Nut milk.

But obviously the dairy industry is a whole lot more than JUST milk. For me the hardest part of going vegan was giving up cheese so it made quite a few appearances during the month.

On day 2 it was vegan pizza with Tesco's mozzarella-style. The mozzarella-style appeared again on day 13 with nachos...and also featuring an Asda soured cream topping. Another serving suggestion appeared on day 5 - Tesco's peppercorn style with kale as a toasted sandwich.

Yet another Tesco's cheese alternative featured on day 12; their chili jalapeno cheese has to be my favourite. Violife slices were day 23's offering.

Then there are other basics. Many margarines are actually dairy free but rather than scanning the ingredients I tend to go for Vitalite (day 19) because it is clearly marked vegan. Flora's new Avocado Lime spread was a product I tried for the first time this month (day 10).

Oatly and Alpro custards shared the spotlight on day 9 and Alpro long-life creamy desserts were featured on day 27.

Alpro blueberry yoghurt was my offering on day 17, Rebel Kitchen's coconut vanilla yoghurt appeared on day 22 and Tesco's Fromage Frais were featured on day 3.

There's a false idea that veganism has to be healthy but junk food vegans are definitely a thing and treats featured regularly throughout the month. 

Swedish Glace is a great everyday ice cream (day 18) whereas Ben and Jerry's is an all-out indulgence (day 7).

Sainsbury's chocolate soothed me on St Valentine's Day (day 14), Vego was a treat on a difficult day at work (day 25) and my final post of the month was my Choices Easter Egg (day 28).

Eve's Tree fudge (day 15) is a newer product to the dairy-free market but like I showed in a Throwback Thursday post you can always MAKE whatever you're missing - day 8 was homemade toffee apples made with coconut cream.

Making things without dairy isn't especially arduous and I also included ingredients for doing just that: Nature's Charm coconut condensed milk (day 21) and Oatly single cream (day 26).

Obviously making your own, especially using plant-milks for coffee, is the easiest option most of the time but obviously you're not always in a position to do so. Hence day 11's Costa coffee - coconut vanilla latte - and a convenience ice coffee from Califa Farms - Cold Brew Cocoa Noir - on day 16.

Favourite for the whole month though had to be day 20's Honey Mustard Dressing from Follow Your Heart. Yes, that's a VEGAN product emulating a honey flavour creamy dressing.

Seriously, answers on a postcard (or in the comments) on what people are 'missing out' from being on a vegan / dairy free diet. DO NOT GO THERE WITH THE CALCIUM ARGUMENT - look up kale and other leafy greens!

Admittedly, even in my 2.5 years veganism has become a whole lot easier. As veganism becomes more mainstream life as a vegan or lactose intolerant person is only going to get more straightforward. Get onboard now and help us all along! ;)