milk alternative taste test

A friend came over yesterday and mentioned she liked Almond Milk. I wasn't so sure, but I had Almond Milk in my refrigerator left over from Easter. My mom brought the rest of the container that she had used to make my portion of our traditional Easter potatoes. Our tradition is actually a recipe from Rivoli's Restuarant that contains heavy cream and creme fraiche. Almond Milk made for a very gray, non-creamy substitute.

So I was interested to find out if I liked the stuff all on it's own.  We also had Hemp Drink, Rice Drink - Original, and Rice Drink - Vanilla in our refrigerator. I had tried them all in tea or cereal, but I had never tried them on their own. 

My husband created a blind taste test for me, marking what was what on the bottom of the cup. It didn't really matter though, I could tell just by looking at the Hemp and Almond Milks and the Original and Vanilla Rice Milks were quickly distinguished in the first sip.

I found the Hemp Drink to be thick, but sweet.

The Almond Milk was as expected. Nutty.

The Vanilla Rice Drink tasted like vanilla flavoring.

The Original Rice Drink was surprising. It actually tasted good. Kind of like milk. Nice!

what's in my refrigerator?

This is a list of literally everything in my refrigerator right now that I can eat:

DRINKS: We hosted Easter and so now have a lot of extra beverages.

Champagne
Hemp drink
Rice drink
Almond milk
Oj
Coca-Cola
Sprite
Root Beer
Beer
White Wine

DAIRY SUBSTITUTES: All purchased at Whole Foods.

WayFare Cheddar Sauce
So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt, Plain
Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread Soy Free
Daiya Chedder Style Shreds
Galaxy Nutritional Foods Rice Vegan American Flavor Slices

FRUITS & VEGGIES: Ideally we'd buy everything at a farmer's market, but really we buy pre-packaged from Trader Joe's.

Strawberries
Apples
Oranges
Mango, pre-sliced
Corn
Romaine Lettuce
Spinach, bagged
TJ Broccoli Slaw, bagged
TJ Beats – pre-cooked
TJ Fire Roasted Yellow & Red Peppers, jar
Capers, jar
Bread and Butter Pickles

CONDIMENTS / SPREADS / DIPS: I have to be especially careful in this area. Gelatin, meat seasonings, dairy, and soy products sneak into some brands, but not others or even get added after years of dedicated buying.

TJ Masala Lentil Dip
TJ Spicy, Smoky Peach Salsa
Skippy Natural Peanut Butter 
TJ Olive Tapenade Spread
TJ Hummus
TJ Salsa Verde
TJ Ketchup
French’s Yellow Mustard
Tapatio hot sauce
Sriracha hot sauce
TJ Tarter Sauce with Dill & Jalapenos
TJ Champagne Vinaigrette
TJ Real Mayonnaise
Laura Scudder’s Peanut Butter
Maple Syrup
Jam Variety (homemade by friends & family)
Applesauce
TJ Cranberry Sauce

LEFTOVERS

Pinto Beans
Pasta
Northern Beans
Eggs
TJ Flour Tortillas
Flax Seeds
Corn Meal

FREEZER

Dr. Praeger’s Spinach Pancakes
TJ Masala Burgers
Amy’s Mexican Tamale Pie
TJ Rice Medley
TJ Coconut Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert / chocolate & strawberry
Whole Foods 365 Tater Puffs

I will post my cupboard list soon.

first shopping trip

Immediately after leaving the GI where we had learned that my two week no soy / no dairy trial would continue indefinitely, my husband and I decided to take a family trip to Whole Foods to find me something to eat. He carried Nelle around, since we had accidentally left the carrier at home, and I pushed around an empty cart.

Although I learned at that appointment that most people with a soy allergy can eat soy lethicin and soy oil I am committed to avoiding these items before I slowly try to reintroduce them in a couple more weeks.

Slowly my cart began filling with things. It must have. I got two paper bags full and spent $84.

Introduction

I am used to reading food labels. Always have been. I'm 32 years old and have been a vegetarian my whole life. Okay, I was an ovo-lacto-pesco vegetarian until I was 21 and gave up the pesco part. Fish just looked gross to me. But I digress. 

Along the way people asked me if I was vegan. No, I'd always say, I love cheese too much.

When I was pregnant an interesting thing happened. No longer were my boobs private things not to be discussed. Strangers would ask me if I planned to breastfeed and get excited for me when I told them I was. I would often add, however, that if my baby was dairy sensitive that I would probably have to switch to formula; I couldn't give up cheese.

Fast forward and Nelle is almost three months old. We spent 10 weeks soaking in baby spit-up before a gastroenterologist suggested I go dairy free. Oh and since my trial of dairy free a few weeks prior hadn't worked and most babies with dairy allergies can't handle soy either, I needed to give that up too.

Despite my initial brush-offs about not being able to give up cheese, the reality of it became that it would be harder for me to give up nursing. When it became a choice of feeding myself cheese or my daughter "boobie foods," it wasn't really a choice at all. Along with reflux medications, it seems to be helping so far, so I'll give it a try.

Okay, so here's where it gets really tricky. I'm not vegan, but I'm a vegetarian who has to give up dairy. That leaves eggs. Soy is a staple to the vegan diet. Heck, soy is a staple in most diets. On a list the GI gave me of foods to avoid it says "Asian foods." Really? I have to give up food from an entire continent! This was not good news.

My husband cooks. Some. I cook. Some. Okay, not really.  Mostly we like to eat out or just prepare quick meals thrown together with things we have on hand. We're just a typical working family. We go grocery shopping once a week and keep a relatively stocked cupboard. Typically our food comes from Trader Joe's or Costco. Sometimes I pick stuff up at Target while there getting other stuff.

So, what do you eat?

It's a good thing I was already familiar with that question. When I was in elementary school classmates would ask me what I ate for Thanksgiving. "If turkey is the only thing on your table," I would, in that oh so 8 year-old way, snottily reply, "then I feel sorry for you."

Here's what's on my table.