So, in my attempts to live a more healthy lifestyle one of the first things that I decided to try (again) was to find a non-diary yogurt substitute. For starters I don't really like yogurt, even dairy yogurt, it's my one dairy love exception. Texture is a huge issue for me and yogurt and applesauce are hard to stomach texture wise even though they taste great. I usually add in granola to help. So why do I even bother with yogurt? Well, as the infamous Activia ads will tell you, there's no arguing that the probiotics in them make digestion and just your whole system work much better. So I figure if I'm going to go through the trouble of trying all these disgusting dairy free yogurts, I may as well document it so y'all aren't forced to "enjoy" all the nasty ones searching for the best.
My biggest challenge in trying to eat less furry things or animal biproducts is getting enough protein . I'd tried soy yogurts before from Trader Joe's and they tasted terrible to me. So this time I went to Roots Market, a granola hipster market in the Maryland area that has anything healthy you could possibly want and breaks out sections for vegan, glutein free, etc. I got four different nondairy strawberry yogurts to try out. You'll notice there are no coconut milk yogurts here and the reason is because they have only 1g protein per serving so I ruled them out. Here are the results.
Strawberry amande cultured almondmilk
Well the first word of advice, it takes a LOT of stirring to turn this into a creamy smooth goodness blob like dairy yogurt. Like, might as well throw it in a blender or your stirring breaks apart the deceiving creamy smooth goodness it looks like when you pop the top and turns the prior smooth blob into a lumpy blob. Maybe you can just not stir? Anyways, after many grueling moments of much stirring I was able to get it back to a normal consistency and dove right in. I was pleasantly surprised that it was a nice creamy pink color as opposed to the weird greyish color of TJ's soy yogurt. I know the whole "all natural with no coloring" is a huge fad, but if it looks like cultured swamp water it makes it a lot harder for me to commit to the dairy free option.First bite: it tasted fine but the texture was a bit off-putting. It felt like a bunch of small creamy (but separate) particles. Similar to cream of wheat but smaller globules is probably the best way to describe it. However, after a few more bites, I couldn't notice it anymore and the yogurt was just as enjoyable as my normal dairy yogurt. Adding in some granola would probably get rid of the "first bite" texture anxieties and I would definitely buy this again. Another usual texture problem for me is the half rotted fruit in most yogurts...why is this appealing?! While this had real fruit in it, the slivers were very thin and weren't off-putting in the least. Cost: $1.39. Nutritional: Vegan, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Fruit Juice Sweetened, Gluten Free, 6 Active Cultures, No GMO. Nutrition Facts: serving size 170g (3/4 cup), 150 calories, 50 fat calories (6 grams), 23g carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 3g protein, calcium 30%.
WholeSoy & Co. strawberry soy yogurt
Upon opening the container I was sad to see the color is reminiscent of the TJ's soy "cultured swamp water" coloring. But I took that first bite anyways. The texture was very pleasant, I'd say almost exactly like freshly stirred dairy yogurt. The taste was "fine" but not as good as the strawberry amande. It's not as sweet and you can actually taste the soy a bit for the first few bites. No actual fruit in here and frankly it barely is flavored like strawberry at all, more like random fruity hints. If it was the only non-dairy option I'd definitely buy it again because it's good, just not as tasty as the strawberry amande. But it clearly beats the amande on texture, it's a very nice creamy consistency, has twice the protein, and is slightly cheaper. Cost: $.99. Nutritional: Dairy Free, Verified Non-GMO, Probiotic Cultures, Vegan, Casien/Whey/Gluten Free. Nutrition Facts: serving size 170g (3/4 cup), 160 calories, 25 fat calories (3.5g), 30g carbs, 2g dietary fiber, 6g protein, calcium 30%.Silk Live! soy yogurt
Awesome. So awesome. Creamy texture, not a horrendous grey color, and tasty too. This one could enter a contest with dairy yogurts any day. Bonus, it's tied for cheapest and has a decent 4g of protein. Cost: $.99. Nutritional: 6 Live Active Cultures, Lactose and Dairy Free, No Artificial Flavors or Preservatives. Nutrition Facts: serving size 170g (3/4 cup), 160 calories, 20 fat calories (2g), 31 carbs, 1g dietary fiber, 4g protein, calcium 30%.Almond Dream Yogurt
Um, ew. The texture on this one is definitely better than the amande but the taste is gross bordering on disgusting. It tastes basically like coffee with a hint of strawberry flavored yogurt. Ew. But just in case you're interested...not only does it fail in taste badly, but it also has the pleasure of being the most expensive, the most carbs, AND the least protein. Epic. Fail. Cost: $1.59. Nutritional: Non-Dairy & Lactose Free, Gluten Free, Live and Active Cultures, Non-Genetically Engineered, Soy Free, etc. Nutrition Facts: serving size 170g (3/4 cup), 160 calories, 25 fat calories (2.5g), 33g carbs, 3g dietary fiber, 1g protein, calcium 20%.
So in summary, sorry, soy yogurts are still better than almond or coconut imho so I hope you're not scared of the whole "eating too much soy will give you girl parts from all the estrogen" rumors that I have yet to look into. amande is a decent substitute, but stay away from Almond Dream. And Silk Live! is hands down the winner. Anyone have any other brands I should try that they think can beat Silk? Or do you think I should give Almond Dream another chance because you love it and I must've gotten a bad batch? Let me know in the comments :)
