Day 15 - Got Milk?

You wouldn't believe what you can get milk out of these days. There are the obvious places like cows, goats, and other hooved mammals, but there are also TONS of milks that are plant-based.

Since we have gone vegan, all the mammalian milks are definitely off the menu, so we've been testing out the variety of plant milks that we have found. We've got three kinds so far: soymilk, almond milk and hemp milk.


Soymilk

Our personal favorite, you can find it pretty much anywhere. This milk is made from soybeans (thus the name) and is almost always vegan-friendly. Silk makes a rockin' good soymilk in vanilla, chocolate or good ol' regular flavors. You can get fortified or light versions too.

Taste
Soymilk is pretty mild and not too crazy-tasting, which makes it a good starting choice for those who are used to the moo juice. I definitely recommend it for those who want to cut out milk but are scared of those "weird" milks.

The Good
Since it's plant based, soymilk is saturated-fat and cholesterol free. There's also no lactose, so those with dairy allergies can have as much as they want! There's also a good amount of protein.

The Bad
Soy has been labeled lately as being unhealthy in large amounts. There are studies that have suggested it can cause low sperm count in men and mess with lady hormones. I don't know about that, but I wouldn't drink gallons of this every day. I mean come on, let's show some restraint!


Hemp milk


That's right, drinkable pot! Ok, so it's really made from pot's wimpy little cousin, hemp. Either way, someone figured out that you can use hemp seeds just like soybeans to make milk from. Milk is just another product of this plant, which is used for rope, clothing and all kinds of other useful things.

Taste
The taste of hemp milk is surprisingly creamy. It has a really rich flavor that goes well with coffee and other beverages you'd put richer milk in. We used it with coffee and it works really really well. To note, hemp milk (or the kind we got) tends to separate out really quickly. Make sure you stir it a lot.

The Good
ULTRA-creamy. It's almost suspiciously creamy, but man it was good in our morning coffee!

The Bad
It separates out really fast. After five minutes, we had a layer of watery-looking stuff in our coffee, but it stirred back in just fine. It has the most fat of the milks we tested, which probably explained the creaminess.

Almond Milk


Another choice for those who can't (or don't want to) have soy, hemp, or animal milks. We used a regular almond milk instead of the vanilla versions of the others. Not really fair for comparison, but this isn't science class so we'll just go with it.

Taste
It tastes really close to low-fat or skim milk. The texture and creaminess matched up really well with what I remember milk being like (it's been a while, we've been soymilk folks for months). There's a tiny hint of almonds in the taste and scent, but I actually liked that. Almonds smell and taste good, so I didn't mind them in my milk.

The Good
Tastes like milk! Well, milk with almonds in it. We didn't try any other flavors, but I'm going to the store to get chocolate as soon as I finish this post. That's gonna be good!

The Bad
This is pretty much a nut-allergen's worst nightmare. They should stay far far away from these milks. Costs a lot for a little package, so not the best deal for your money.


The Verdict
We only tried three milks during this test, missing out on peanut, oat, rice, hazelnut, and all the other milks out there. We didn't think any of them were BAD, but it is really up to personal preference. It takes experimenting to figure out what is going to work for you. The good news is that you have no shortage of options to try!

Have you tried any other milks? What's your favorite? If you like one that we didn't try, let us know and we'll check it out!

Be Healthy,
Brendan