A Review of New Things I've Tried #50: Dairy Substitutes Edition

Here we are again! I have more goodies, tried over the course of probably a few years (it takes a while to get these out to you). All of these are dairy substitutes. I think they all still exist, though some of them have vanished from stores near me.

1. Wegmans Plant-Based Buttery Sticks

I started buying these because they were so much cheaper than Earth Balance, and inflation was getting really scary (still is). This has a slightly different fat composition, but still works well for most of what I use butter for. These days, they cost more than Earth Balance, so I guess we've come full circle; still, it's nice to have options!

2. Good Planet Pepperjack Slices

I love how much variety there is out in the world of non-dairy cheese these days! This cheese has a slightly crumbly texture, which is a bit odd, but it tastes good. If you want spicy cheese, I recommend it!

3. Daiya Monterey Jack Style Block

This cheese is amazing. It's softer than I recall the dairy version being, but for once, this is an excellent cheese to just have a hunk of cold--you can melt it if you want, but you can also cut it into cubes! I was so excited about it.

4. Nature's Charm Sweetened Condensed Coconut Milk

A lot of easy recipes out there rely on the thick, creamy qualities of sweetened condensed milk. Is there a vegan option? Yes, there is! This can be used in the same way as any other sweetened condensed milk. I made some easy fudge with it and I felt like whole new worlds opened up. It's pricey, at more than $4 per can, and hard for me to get locally. But on special occasions, this is definitely worth it to me.

5. Mooala Original Banana Milk

I wanted to like this, but in a way, I'm glad I didn't! Mooala banana milk had called to me from the supermarket shelves for ages, but it was so expensive--which was annoying, because it was bananas. But I finally picked some up, because I decided life was too short not to know what it tasted like. It does taste like bananas with a hint of cinnamon (that's the good part), but it also tasted strongly (to me) of sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds have a slight bitterness to them that I find off-putting in a lot of things, and this is one of those things. I imagine this would be better in a flavored version, like chocolate, that covers over the sunflower taste. I used this up in smoothies, so I didn't waste it, but I wouldn't buy this specific version again. Even so, if you're someone looking for an allergy-friendly milk, this could be worth a try. I wasn't always crazy about soy milk, but now I love it, so I could probably grow to love this, too. And it's great to have options.

6. Califa Farms Coconut & Almondmilk Blend

Although I confess to sweetening this, I really enjoyed this otherwise! The coconut flavor is extremely strong, though. Be forewarned.

7. Cocojune Vanilla Chamomile Yogurt

I love coconut yogurt, though it's a bit of a luxury item in some ways. This is a regional brand that I have wanted to try for a long time. The price, though, really put me off. But it went on sale at my local health food store, so I got a few flavors to try. This is amazing. The yogurt is thick and delicious and a perfect topping for oatmeal or pancakes. I tend to lean toward higher protein yogurts these days, but sometimes, something like this really hits the spot.

8. Cocojune Lemon Elderflower Yogurt

More Cocojune! This was also delicious. I like that there is a subtle twist on the traditional flavors with this brand. The elderflower is a nice little change of pace. I think I liked the vanilla chamomile better, but this was great with some granola for a snack.

9. Cocojune Greek Style Vanilla Cinnamon Yogurt

This yogurt has protein, and with it, I was absolutely sold on Cocojune! I loved this stuff. It was nice and thick and tasted great. This may be a situation where you get what you pay for--if it isn't on sale, this stuff definitely isn't cheap--but sometimes, if you want the good stuff, it's nice to have, isn't it? This is probably the best Greek style non-dairy yogurt I have ever had.

10. Cado Choco Peanut Butter Frozen Dessert

I was skeptical of avocado-based ice cream, but it went on sale, and so I tried it. And it was great! I loved it. It's not necessarily all that "better" nutritionally than other non-dairy ice creams, in my opinion (though of course I am not that kind of doctor), but who eats ice cream for the health benefits, really?

Found anything new worth trying yourself lately?