Results tagged “milk”

Reader Favorites: What is your favorite Brand of Dairy Free Milk?

It's been a while since we've done a Reader Favorites, and since this week it's all about the Drinks, I would love to hear your thoughts: What is your favorite type of dairy free milk - soy, rice, oat, hemp? If you have a favorite brand, let us know! I'm a big Rice Dream Rice Milk fan, as is obvious from the review of the Vanilla and Vanilla Hazelnut flavors.

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Rice Dream Vanilla Hazelnut Rice Milk

By: Tanya Patrice | Jun 10, 2009

Ever since I first had Rice Dream Rice Drink, it has been my "dairy alternative" beverage of choice. I love you Blue Diamond Almond Milk, and I drink you a lot, but Rice Dream has my heart.

Rice Dream Vanilla Hazelnut Rice Milk has been a superstar in my breakfast for the past week or so. The flavor is sweet, which does wonders when added to cereals that aren't very sweet, like Cheerios Multigrain. The hazelnut also shines through, especially when you add a little to your coffee.

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WestSoy Soy Slender

By: Sarah J | Apr 7, 2009

Gone are the days of only finding soy milk only in specialty stores. Now even my 'mom and pop' grocer carries the stuff. Recently I saw WestSoy Soy Slender on a buy one get one free sale, so I grabbed both the Chocolate and Vanilla flavors to try.

I was actually quite pleased with them both. The vanilla was nice and creamy and the chocolate had a very real chocolate taste. Both flavors were sweet enough for my liking (thanks to sucralose). Wondering what makes this soy milk so 'slender'? Well the nutritional stats are pretty impressive. One 8 oz glass (for both flavors) provides only 70 calories - but Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk provides only 45 calories per cup. Still, they are both less than half the calories of "regular" chocolate milks that we're used to, like Organic Valley Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk which has 170 calories per cup.

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So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage

By: Tanya Patrice | Feb 6, 2009

Turtle Mountain, makers of So Delicious products and Purely Decadent Ice Cream, are releasing a new non-dairy alternative to milk, So Delicious Coconut Milk. I was beyond excited to review this and it was one of the rare times I actually contacted a company to get a sample of a product since it's not in stores yet.

I'm lactose intolerant, and have had to be a lot more vigilant about it lately. I was actually using Rice Dream Rice Drink, when So Delicious Coconut Milk showed up on my doorstep. I tried it out the next morning with a bowl of cereal (Honey Nut Cheerios if you're curious - thought it would be something more exciting didn't ya!) and it rocks!

There is NO odd taste or off-flavors and just a light hint of sweetness. It was a little more flavorful than Rice Dream, and I totally love it. In addition to being dairy free, So Delicious Coconut milk is also soy free and certified gluten free. I've had it with my cereal every morning for the last 5 days and have been nothing but pleased.

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Organic Valley Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk

By: Emily W | Feb 1, 2009

Organic Valley dug themselves into a big hole in my eyes with their overly sweet concoction dubbed Organic Valley Vanilla Lowfat Milk. However, I must say that they redeemed themselves with their Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk.

One sip and you will be in chocolate heaven. The flavor is alarmingly similar to a melted fudgsicle ... so much so that I think it IS a bunch of melted fudgsicles . Seriously, if you try this for no other reason than to test my "fudgsicle theory" it will be worth it!

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Hood Simply Smart Fat Free Milk

By: Allison P | Dec 26, 2008

I have been a skim milk drinker since the age of 9 months. My mom likes to tell this story of how I was allergic to formula as a baby, so the doctor switched me to whole milk. Well, then she says I had gotten so fat by the time I was nine months old that they switched me to skim milk and I've been drinking it ever since. I know - cow's milk for an infant?! Most of you probably know that here in the 21st century, the rule of pediatric thumb is once a kid hits a year old, they can have cow's milk either of the whole or 2% variety because they need fat for brain development.

Fast forward to adult hood, where one day, I found myself out of skim so I innocently reached for the 2% and ... oh my gosh! It's thick, creamy and delicious. Skim milk really is colored water! I tried to go back, erasing from my mind the creamy goodness of milk with fat, but I just couldn't do it. So for the past few years, I've been a 2% girl but I always feel a little guilty about the 40 extra calories and 5 grams of artery clogging fat I'm consuming with each cup. This is why when on a recent trip to Publix, the following carton immediately jumped out at me: Fat Free Milk with the taste of 2% Milk from a carton called Simply Smart and manufactured by Hood. The website says they use a process called ultra-filtration which removes some of the liquid that makes fat free milk look and taste watery.

I let the milk chill in the fridge for like an hour and then poured myself a big glass. It definitely looks like 2% milk - no blue tinge at all and it looks thicker as it's poured. And, drum roll please ... it really does tastes like 2% milk! It's creamy and yummy and I honestly couldn't tell any difference at all.

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Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almond Milk

By: Sarah J | Oct 5, 2008

Soy milk is a staple in my household, but, in the interest of variety, I decided to switch things up a bit and try Almond Milk. Made from real almonds, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze is (according to the packaging), "a great tasting non-dairy beverage without the thin, chalky after taste of rice and soy beverages." I purchased the Unsweetened Vanilla and Chocolate varieties, but they also make regular Almond Milk sweetened with evaporated cane juice.

After pouring a glass of the chocolate flavor, I didn't notice much of a difference in terms of color, texture, and thickness from my regular soy milks. The taste was a different story. I don't think this unsweetened almond milk is the best thing to drink straight from the glass. The flavor is odd - the vanilla wasn't very good, and the chocolate was slightly better. But all hope is not lost. I did really appreciate the creaminess of these milks. I added it to my daily smoothies and it made them delicious! I can definitely see me keeping these around when I want to add some taste to beverages (tea, coffee, smoothies) but not add a lot of sugar or calories.

I just don't see myself drinking this straight from a glass (or the carton! oops!). In a previous review of the Chocolate flavor, Caroline suggested adding a sweetener - and I definitely agree.

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Organic Valley Vanilla Lowfat Milk

By: Emily W | Aug 13, 2008

If you've ever ordered or prepared a creamy milkshake made with vanilla ice cream and ice cold milk, then you'll know what Organic Valley Vanilla Lowfat Milk tastes like. When I first tried it, I was thought "Wow this tastes exactly like a melted vanilla milkshake ... who could ask for more"?! Unfortunately, about half way through drinking this, my thoughts changed to "I feel sick and must throw this away"

I am not really a big fan of flavored milks, because most of them are just sweetened with a little bit of flavoring added and Organic Valley Vanilla is no exception. If you have a serious sweet tooth, then you MAY like this product, but I surely will not be buying it again (and I certainly have a sweet tooth).

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Silk Soymilk Plus Fiber

By: Tanya Patrice | Feb 20, 2008

Silk Soymilk has a new Plus line enhanced with ingredients that provide extra nutrition, Silk Plus Omega-3 DHA, Silk Plus for Bone Health and the one I'm reviewing Silk Plus Fiber. I poured in a bowl of Fiber One Cereal with Honey Clusters added a little less than 1/2 cup of Silk Plus Fiber (I don't like a lot of milk in my cereal), and prepared to start the day off with 60% of my daily requirement for fiber.

The taste is exactly like regular Silk with a mild taste and not a strong soy/ beany flavor. If you chose to try and drink this straight though (does anybody do that?) then you will get some of that wheaty flavor which I am not a big fan of. The only soy milk that I have tried to drink straight that didn't have that taste was Silk Chocolate Soymilk (read the review. I would drink this over regular Silk though because of the extra fiber and no difference in calorie content.

See more on: Beverage , dairy alternative, high fiber, milk

Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk

By: Caroline Yoder | Aug 16, 2007

If you're a dieter, that familiar glass of chocolate milk, which is roughly 160 calories, now becomes a high calorie indulgence, especially for a liquid that may not leave you feeling full. After experimenting with some homemade chocolate milk concoctions (mixing skim milk with chocolate milk, adding Hershey's syrup to skim, etc.), I discovered Almond Breeze Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk.

This dairy free milk ingredients are mostly water, almonds, and cocoa. It's sugar free (and free of artificial sweeteners), so I would not recommend drinking it straight from the glass as is. If you've ever tasted unsweetened cocoa powder, you'll understand why! Usually I add a packet of natural sweetener, such as Stevia - warm it up in the microwave to get something similar to hot cocoa. It also works well when making a delicious tasting milkshake or smoothie.

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Horizon Organic Chocolate Reduced Fat Milk

By: Tanya Patrice | Apr 6, 2007

Now this is what chocolate milk is supposed to taste like! I think I was a little scarred from drinking Dean's Chocolate Milk Chug, which I thought was horrible [read the review], but here comes Horizon Organic Chocolate Reduced Fat Milk to save the day. It tastes like ... milk, but it was a tad sweet (well at least for me). I wish I could see more manufacturers not adding so much sugar to chocolate milk - and let it taste more like 'milk' instead of 'sweet milk.' But still, I really enjoyed this.

In addition to coming in the regular cartons, Horizon Chocolate Milk also comes in a nifty single serving box with a straw attached. It's an attractive package and the perfect size for kids to take to school. This milk is also UHT processed (ultra high temperature) which makes a shelf stable product so no refrigeration is necessary and the expiration date is much longer than for regular pasteurized milk - and thank God for that because it sat in my hot lunch bag for hours before I remembered to put it in the fridge - and when I finally drank it, it was still good.

See more on: Dairy , Organic , milk

Diet Trash: Deans Milk Chug Chocolate Milk

By: Tanya Patrice | Mar 16, 2007

Diet Trash is about the food products you might eat because you think you're doing something better for your diet, but you'll be surprised to know, they're not.

Deans Milk Chug Chocolate Milk is utter diettrash. The ingredients are milk, sugar, nonfat milk, high fructose corn syrup, cream, cocoa, food starch, salt, carageenan, vanillin (artificial flavor). Don't even think about adding this to cereal - imagine my surprise when I scooped out my cereal and then opened a bottle of this and instead of a nice free flowing liquid, I got a thick goopy mess. Even then, I still went ahead and tried it. It is so incredibly sweet that I just ended up tossing the rest of the bottle. I believe this product has really strayed from the definition of "milk." Please check out the review of Silk Chocolate Soymilk [read the review], which even though it is not 'real milk' it is closer to the real deal than this!

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Silk Chocolate Soymilk

By: Tanya Patrice | Mar 15, 2007

Silk Chocolate Soy Milk is one great tasting beverage! Two thumbs up all the way . The taste is chocolatey, not too sweet and there is absolutely no beany soy taste nor any other aftertaste. It was so good that I almost drank the entire 11 ounce bottle that I bought - straight. I didn't add it to cereal or anything else. If your kids don't like milk, if you are lactose intolerant, or even if you are just drink milk with your cereal, then I strongly suggest you give this a try.

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Meyenberg Goat Milk

By: Tanya Patrice | Dec 12, 2006

Goat milk is supposed to be more easily digested than cows milk, which is important if you are lactose intolerant like I am. After passing by goat milk countless times in favor of soy milk and rice milk, I finally decided to try it.

Meyenberg Goat Milk has the same consistency as regular cows milk and tastes a lot like it, except you get a faint hint of a flavor that is not in regular milk. It is difficult to describe, but it is very subtle and not at all unpleasant. If you have ever had goat meat before (and I strongly suggest you try curried goat which is exquisite), you might recognize this flavor as characteristic of the 'goat' taste. I could drink this milk straight, without adding it to anything, or, with cereal which I also did. Goat's milk is usually "ultra pasteurized" which means it has a very long shelf life. As far as being more easily digested - lets just say that I noticed a bit of flatulence and it did not smell very nice (it was stink! but I am trying not to be too graphic about my bodily functions). Just that side effect alone is enough to make me swear off this stuff.

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8th Continent Light Soymilk

By: Tanya Patrice | Jun 22, 2006

Milk has calories, soy milk has calories, so if you are trying to cut calories where you can, 8th Continent Soymilk has a Light version. I tried the 'Original' variety, andloved it. It's not too sweet, and there is no strong beany taste which is a characteristic of most soy milks. I had mine with cereal, and I really couldn't tell the difference between the light and full calorie version. I had mine with my morning bowl of cereal (finally finished off that huge box of Kellogg's Flakes with Less Sugar - read the review).

Next, I tried to take a big gulp of this. If you drink it straight (and I don't ever drink soy milk straight, but I tried it for the purpose of this review), at first there is just a mild taste, but then there is a sort of coating left on your tongue, like an aftertaste.

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Rice Dream Vanilla Rice Drink

By: Tanya Patrice | Apr 10, 2006

Rice Dream Rice Drink is a dairy free milk substitute made from brown rice. I'm mildly lactose intolerant, which means that I can have some milk with my cereal with no symptoms, and a bit of ice cream with only mild stomach issues, i.e. flatulence, which is really worse for you than it is for me! But this has effectively cured me of any ice cream or chocolate cravings - wouldn't you know that something about chocolate makes me more sensitive to it than anything else! So I'm used to drinking milk substitutes - but it's usually soy milk. For some reason, I just couldn't wrap my mind around milk made from rice. Something about it screamed that it would taste nasty, BUT, I was so wrong! Rice Dream Rice Milk is the best tasting dairy milk substitute I have ever tried!

I bought the Vanilla flavor, because I knew the vanilla would be subtle and I would be able to detect any off tastes. I didn't have to worry. The taste of the rice drink itself is very mild, as it should be with 'milk', and there was no off or after-taste. I tried a little on it's own, and it was pretty good. I think kids who are finnicky about milk would probably love this. I also tried it with cereal, and it was great. Then I added it to a pack of Nestle Carnation Instant Breakfast Drink [read the review] and it was also a winner - it tasted like chocolate milk, albeit maybe a bit too sweet for me in this case.

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Slammers Milky Way Reduced fat Chocolate Milk

By: Tanya Patrice | Dec 13, 2005

I was on my way to get a cup of coffee when I spotted Milky Way brand reduced fat Chocolate Milk in a vending machine in a building on my college campus -milk that "tastes just like a Milky Way Bar." Of course, it was $1.50, but since this is the first time I have seen milk anywhere on this Auburn University campus, I happily shelled out the buck fitty and got the milk instead of coffee.

This doesn't really taste like a Milky Way bar to me - well, what I mean is that it tastes like chocolate milk. If Milky Way wasn't on the front of the label, I wouldn't make the connection. It is very sweet. So sweet that I had to glance at the sugar content - 20 grams in half a bottle - which means I just ingested 40 grams of sugar, or about 10 teaspoons! While the bottle packaging may say reduced fat, and it barely is with 5 grams total fat, and 3 grams saturated fat per serving (so remember to multiply by 2 to get how much is in a bottle), just know that there is plenty of high fructose corn syrup included to make up for what they took out in fat. They also added some alternative sweeteners so the HFCS wouldn't get lonely - acesulfame K, Splenda AND neotame. Did I mention that this milk is really sweet?

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