Product Review: Milk Alternatives made from Rice, Soy, and Almond

Lately the Nature Family has been on a food odyssey. One of our nature kidz has had some allergic reactions and we've been hosting our own non-televised episode of the popular "Mystery Diagnosis" show.  Unfortunately, the most allergenic foods out there also happen to be Nature Kidz' most commonly eaten ones: dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream), wheat, nuts.  Let's just say that our food groups are: mac and cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets, and peanut butter sandwiches (thank goodness peas, broccoli, and most fruits fit in there too!).  

In order to eliminate dairy for a while (we will introduce it after a period of time to see if there is a reaction), I definitely needed an alternative.  I purchased the ones pictures above at Trader Joe's on the recommendation of another shopper whom I accosted while she was browsing the dairy alternative aisle.  I'm sure she felt thankful to escape when she did, as I peppered her with multiple questions, like: "is it good? Is it thick? Would you say it's more chocolatey or banana--y"?  

At any rate, here are our thoughts:

None of these "milks" have the thickness and creaminess of whole milk. All of them have their fair share of sugar.  All are lower in fat and calories than whole milk.  3 of the 4 come in shelf-stable packaging, which is convenient.

Vitasoy Chocolate Banana:  This dairy-free soy-based beverage is a favorite of mine.  I think it's delicious--it has a nice chocolate flavor and is great in a smoothie with a frozen banana and some ice.  However, Nature Kidz did not like it.  They found it "too banana-ish."  I guess they were expecting chocolate milk.

Vitasoy Strawberry Banana: Elder Nature Kid loves this stuff.  It helps that her favorite smoothie flavor is strawberry banana.  She drinks this one regularly, and she and I shared a smoothie made with frozen banana, ice, and honey and a good measure of this "filk" (faux milk) and it was really very good. Nature Kid the Youngest did not like it at all.  But then, she is a peanut-butter-and-chocolate smoothie lover.

Trader Joe's Vanilla Rice Drink:  This is an acceptable substitute for milk in cereal, but neither kid liked it at all straight. It just doesn't taste like milk, which is what they wanted.  But over cereal or mixed into things like oatmeal, it's a great substitute and a good price.

Almond Breeze Chocolate Almond Drink: This one is Nature Kid the Youngest's favorite.  She declared it "just right!"  It's got a nice rich chocolate flavor.  This one, of course, presents a problem if a person is allergic to almonds, but it's probably the best-tasting of the bunch and is very kid friendly.

Overall, the fact is that there is no really perfect substitute for milk in terms of taste and additives: though "natural," each of the drinks features here has a lot of sugar.

Natural vs. Mainstream: Lime Ice Pops

The Contenders:

Edy's Lime Fruit Bars, $4.15 for 6

365 Everyday Value (Whole Foods Brand) Lime Frozen Fruit Bars, $3.89 for 4

Edy's Ingredients: water, sugar, lime juice from concentrate, citric acid, citrus pulp, natural flavors, guar gum, carob bean gum, lime and lemon peel, ascorbic acid, Yellow #5, Green #3.

365 Ingredients: lime juice, water, cane sugar, natural stabilizers (guar gum, carob bean gum, carrageenan), citric acid.

As a person newly committed to natural living, I have a whole history of delicious and bad for me junk food for which I now have to find healthy replacements. I have long loved Edy's frozen fruit bars and, for "junk" food, they're really not all that bad.  A look at the ingredients shows that there is no high fructose corn syrup, and there is real lime juice and citrus pulp, though the juice comes from concentrate.  And there are those pesky artificial colors, a no-no on the Feingold program.  

So, while I was browsing Whole Foods the other day I saw these Lime Frozen Fruit Bars in their 365 Everyday Value store brand and thought I'd give them a try.  There are no artificial ingredients whatsoever, and the first ingredient is lime juice. NOT from concentrate.  

I made the sacrifice and tried one of each.  The Edy's brand is decidedly green, the color of artificial food colors.  I didn't have to read a book to figure this out--a fan of real key lime pie, I know that lime juice isn't actually green.  The 365 brand is nearly colorless.  So, to a kid, I guess the Edy's brand looks awesome.

And, truthfully, it is pretty good.  It  has the tart bite you'd expect in a citrus fruit bar, and does taste like lime--at least, it tastes a far sight more lime than the standard grocery store popsicle. But there is a bit of a weird aftertaste.  Overall, Edy's has made a step toward "real" food.  The texture is quite firm and dense.  More so than your usual firecracker pop or grape ice pop.  It's very smooth.

The 365 brand packaging is pretty lame.  It looks generic, which I suppose the 365 brand is supposed to be since it's a store brand.  It's green and has a picture of the nearly-white bar on the front.  The Edy's logo is more pleasing and, to someone raised in and inhabiting an environment full of bright eye-catching colors via advertising, the Edy's box promises flavor and healthfulness (it does, after all, say "fruit" and "fat-free" on the packaging).  In Whole Foods' defense, I suppose we Nature Momz might be suspicious of anything healthful that looks alarmingly like something McDonalds might sell.

But what the 365 lacks in branding it makes up for in taste.  I am so in love with this ice pop that I bought 3 boxes the other day and am treating myself to one bar per day.  At night. After the kids are in bed.  I have no intention of sharing.

The texture is smooth but with more give than the Edy's bar.  It's somewhere between the Edy's bar and a frozen lemonade.  The flavor is equal parts tart and sweet, and very refreshing.  It's not green, but it's just delicious.  It just tastes real--the way fountain lemonade just can't stack up to fresh-squeezed, Edy's can't hold a candle to 365 Everyday Lime Frozen Fruit Bars.

Yummy.