Substitute

Yep, still a song title. Substitute by the Who. Which is kind of appropriate actually. Shawn and I got some dairy replacement products to test out, since I am going dairy free, since my body does not want to cooperate with me eating what I want to eat. I'm not sure who my body thinks it is, but I'm not appreciative of the insurrection. But since it is what it is, I have to look into alternatives.

The first product we tested was Silk Soy Milk Vanilla Flavor.

Shawn: Tasted like a really bad vanilla milkshake.

Denise: Reminds me of really repellent Shaklee protein drinks from my youth. I could use it to bake with maybe, but not as a milk replacement.

The next product was Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almond Milk Vanilla Flavor.

Shawn: You can really taste the almond. Tastes better than the soy, but doesn't really taste like milk.

Denise: It was very sweet, but tasted better than the soy, and it was less chalky than the soy.

The next product was So Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Milk Creamer tested with Starbucks House Blend coffee.

Shawn: It's okay, but has a bit of an after taste.

Denise: It's okay, but it's like non-dairy creamer is to me. I'd rather drink diet pepsi for my caffeine acquisition than drink coffee with this in it. (I have a very specific stubborn palate when it comes to coffee - it's half and half or not at all.)

Silk Soy Creamer Original tested with Starbucks House Blend Coffee.

Shawn: NO!

Denise: Yuck! Bitter after taste.

Just for the heck of it we attemped the Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almond Milk Vanilla Flavor in the Starbucks House Blend Coffee.

Shawn: Not quite there.

Denise: Not rich enough, but tastes better.

For a further experiment, we tried the Starbucks House Blend coffee, with both the So Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Milk Creamer AND the Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Vanilla Flavor.

Shawn: The mix of the two creamers is as close as you're going to get to real half and half.

Denise: So much better than either alone, it's close enough that I might (still a might though) be able to drink coffee with this in it rather than choose diet pepsi as my caffeine delivery device instead.

For ice cream, we tried So Delicious Neapolitan Ice Cream made from soy.

Shawn: Decent alternative.

Denise: The strawberry wasn't tart or bright enough for me, but the chocolate and vanilla was okay. There is a waxy texture and a bit of an after taste, but it's not a deal breaker.

Whole Soy & Co Soy Yogurt Cherry Flavor (shown on right)

Shawn: Decent

Denise: Almost normal, but not a lot of cherry flavor.

So Delicious Cultured Coconut Milk (yogurt substitute) Raspberry Flavor (shown on left above)

Shawn: Didn't like the aftertaste. Liked the soy version better. You could definitely tell it was made from coconut milk.

Denise: Better fruit flavor than the soy, but the after taste was much worse.

Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese tested just by tasting a bit on a spoon.

Shawn: No way! Didn't like the first taste, let alone the after taste.

Denise: It's okay, didn't really seem any worse than low fat or fat free cream cheese.

Vegan Gourmet Cheese Alternative Mozzarella, tested by tasting a piece cut off directly out of the package.

Shawn: Lacks taste. Doesn't taste bad, just doesn't taste like anything.

Denise: I found it to have a moldy taste with a nutty tasting after taste. Not worth the money out of the package, but will try it melted before final judgement.

We also bought some nutritional yeast flakes and I'm going to try to make a mac and cheese sauce from the Uncheese cookbook mentioned in my last blog post, just to see.

Stay tuned for futher developments as they arise.