Non-dairy Milk Review

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Hopefully this review will help you when choosing a non-dairy milk. The following brands I reviewed just happened to be what I picked up at the store. You may have to find some of these in the boxed milk section aisle.

-Hemp Milk

Original:

100 cal| 6g fat| .5g saturated fat| 110mg sodium | 9g carb| 0g dietary fiber| 6g sugar| 2g protein

I love hemp, especially in milk form. Sweetened with brown rice syrup and organic evaporated cane juice, suhweet, and fortified with Vitamin A, B12, D2, riboflavin, and calcium (30% DV). Gluten and soy free and non-GMO. Living Harvest: Tempt has the following flavors: original, vanilla, chocolate, unsweetened original/vanilla. The original one was awesome. It has a nice hemp-y taste (who would’ve guessed) …kinda sweet, nutty, unique. I really would like to get this again, perhaps the unsweetened vanilla? I bet the chocolate would be delicious, but then again where would it not…

Unsweetened Vanilla:

70 cal| 6g fat| .5g saturated fat| 135mg sodium | 1g carb| 0g dietary fiber| 0g sugar| 2g protein

-Silk: PureAlmond Unsweetened Milk

35 cal| 2.5g fat| 150mg sodium | 60mg potassium | 1g carb| 1g dietary fiber| 1g protein

This milk is basically how it sounds, just almonds in milk form. No sugar added which is great. Compared to dairy (30% DV), this almond milk has 45% of your daily value (DV). It has been fortified with vitamin A, B2, B12, D, E, calcium, and zinc. No cholesterol, saturated, or trans fat.

I must add in that Silk brand definitely has got the creaminess down, even in the unsweetened. They make a vanilla and chocolate unsweetened almond milk! I’ve had both on multiple occasions and would definitely recommend over the unsweetened plain for those watching their sugar intake. I would recommend using the unsweetened almond milks in something that incorporates fruit or something sweet: protein shakes, baked goods, pancakes, smoothies, etc. I like to use this in overnight oats with some stevia and banana.

The sweetened vanilla almond:

90 cal| 2.5g fat| 150mg sodium | 60mg potassium | 16g carb| 1g dietary fiber| 15g sugar| 1g protein

If you’re not too concerned with the added sugar or just want to drink something that tastes really awesome, go for the sweetened almond milks. The vanilla one is divine, even according to those who have declared that they hated almond milk. The taste of the sweetened almond milk is way easier to transition to the non-dairy side. It’s sweetened with evaporated cane juice.

I’ve used this in pancakes and it was sooo good.

-Soy milk

Soy milk was my first introduction to non-dairy milk back in high school. I have tried probably every version (or almost every) of soy milk. I love soy milk. Even the unsweetened plain tastes great to me. Let’s see: unsweetened plain and vanilla, sweetened vanilla, plain, chocolate, very vanilla, DHA omega 3 and calcium, and the “light” versions that Silk brand produces. The very vanilla was wayyyy too sweet for me, at 16g of sugar maybe something to get kids to drink. The “light” versions have evaporated cane sugar and stevia. The chocolate one was delicious and had 8 grams of sugar less than the original chocolate, I could definitely splurge a bit on this. I’ve tried a variety of brands as well and can’t really say I have a preference.

Fortified with vitamin A, B2, B12, D, and calcium (Silk). Soy milk has some protein. There’s definitely a wider assortment of soy milk to choose from than the other milks. Cereal, smoothies, oatmeal, baking, you name it I’m sure there’s a soy milk to suit your needs.

Silk Soy Organic Plain Unsweetened:

80 cal| 4g fat| 85mg sodium | 300mg potassium | 4g carb| 1g dietary fiber| 1g sugar| 7g protein

Silk Soy vanilla:

100 cal| 3.5g fat| 95mg sodium | 60mg potassium | 11g carb| 1g dietary fiber| 8g sugar| 6g protein

Silk Soy light vanilla:

70 cal| 1.5g fat| 100mg sodium | 300mg potassium | 7g carb| 1g dietary fiber| 5g sugar| 6g protein

Edensoy Extra (organic)

I love this soy milk. It contains added kombu seaweed, B12, D, among others. Check out nutrition facts here.  The flavor was awesome to me. Just slightly sweet, but overall kinda earthy flavor.

This is the one non-dairy milk I came across that did not use carrageenan in it.

-Coconut Dream: Coconut Milk

80 cal| 5g fat| 5g saturated fat| 140mg sodium | 7g carb| 0g dietary fiber| 7g sugar| 0g protein

First time trying coconut milk (and not in an alcoholic beverage) and it’s delicious!! I tried the original flavor. All Coconut Dream milks are enriched with vitamin A, B12, D, and calcium (30% DV). It also provides 3 grams of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) per serving. It’s gluten and soy free.

The coconut taste is not overwhelming whatsoever, but there is a hint of coconut. I used it in my smoothies and couldn’t taste it at all. Coconut Dream brand has original, vanilla, and unsweetened original. The vanilla has one more gram of sugar (8g) and 90 calories and the unsweetened has less than a gram of sugar and 60 calories. Curious to taste the unsweetened, coconut milk will definitely see its way back in my fridge in future.

-Flax milk: Unsweetened

25 cal| 2.5g fat| 0g saturated fat| 80mg sodium | 1g carb| 0g dietary fiber| 0g sugar| 0g protein

People are getting creative. I stumbled across this lovely new non-dairy alternative the other day at Whole Foods. The flax oil is cold-pressed. Soy and gluten free. Fortified with Vitamin A, D, B12, and calcium (30%DV). I don’t usually care about counting calories but this unsweetened one has only 25, 1g carb. Good Karma brand has original, vanilla, and original unsweetened (pictured). This actually tasted fairly sweet (and good!) to me considering it’s unsweetened. One may think it tastes a bit watery, so in that case you guys would probably enjoy the sweetened versions. I don’t mind the wateriness of non-dairy milks because I usually incorporate them in baked goods, smoothies, or oatmeal. I used this in pancakes the other night and they turned out superb. I would definitely buy this again.

Original sweetened:

50 cal| 2.5g fat| 0g saturated fat| 80mg sodium | 7g carb| 0g dietary fiber| 7g sugar| 0g protein

Vanilla:

60 cal| 2.5g fat| 0g saturated fat| 80mg sodium | 11g carb| 0g dietary fiber| 11g sugar| 0g protein

-Dream Blends: Almond, Cashew, and Hazelnut Milk

Original (pictured)

70 cal| 2.5g fat| .5g saturated fat| 115mg sodium | 12g carb| 3g dietary fiber| 8g sugar| >1g protein

Unsweetened:

50 cal| 2.5g fat| .5g saturated fat| 125mg sodium | 5g carb| 3g dietary fiber| >1g sugar| >1g protein

The first sip of this was amazing. Way tastier/creamier/richer than almond milk. This blend has the benefits of almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts. Nice source of fiber and Vitamins A, B12 (50% DV!), D, antioxidant E and Calcium (30% DV). Non-GMO, gluten-free, and low in fat. This one may be a little bit harder to find, I got this at Whole Foods. Wasn’t overpriced though and one could choose between original and unsweetened. Something about this nut blend is so unique and delicious by itself or in cereal, oatmeal, baked goods, the works. I always need to test out each milk in a batch of pancakes and I would definitely recommend this, tis purrfect. I’m sure it would do wonders in these vegan chocolate pancakes.

-Almond Breeze: Almond Coconut milk blend

45 cal| 3.5g fat| 1g saturated fat| 135mg sodium | 2g carb| 1g dietary fiber| 0g sugar| 1g protein

Ok, I’ve been wanting to try this ever since I first laid my eyes on it. Sitting there all new on the shelf…

This almond/coconut milk has 45% DV of Calcium! Vitamin A, D, E (DV 50%!), and Potassium.

Available flavors: Original, vanilla, unsweetened original or vanilla. I purchased the unsweetened vanilla.  Tastes like the regular almond milk but with a little bit of sumthin’ sumthin’ extra. (Wonder what that is…) Definitely would recommend as something to try and possibly purchase over normal almond milk.

-Sunflower Milk

80 cal| 3.5g fat| .5g saturated fat| 90mg sodium | 10g carb| 4g dietary fiber| 6g sugar| 2g protein

Ok, sunflower milk? What. Yes, well I’ve pretty much been convinced that there can be a milk made out of whatever you set your mind to. I wouldn’t say this milk is bad or any negative connotation of the like, but it’s just different. And when I say different, I mean just not something you would expect to be eating with cereal or something of that nature. Now this is great in protein shakes and probably really good in baked goods.

Flat out it tastes like sunflower seeds.

So that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s just a very nutty milk. Nutrition stats are pretty good and unique too, great source of fiber, which some of the other non-dairy milks lacked. Only 8% DV of Calcium (eh), but good source of Vitamin A and Folate.

There was also a vanilla version. Can’t say this stole my heart over some of the other milks, but this was definitely something that I’m glad to have tried and maybe one day I’ll find a recipe perfect for sunflower milk.

-Brown Rice Milk

45 cal| 2g fat| 0g saturated fat| 135mg sodium | 10g carb| 6g dietary fiber| 0g sugar| 1g protein

Ok, so I originally wasn’t even going to try this. I mean after trying all the various nut and seed milks out there, rice milk: I can practically have my taste buds imagine if I like this or not. Especially the unsweetened, hah. Well after trying 8 different milks I figured why not and purchased it. Also I have this thing where I want/need to try everything I can. I mean why not, the more experience you have the more knowledge gained, eh?

Ok taste: Hmm how do I describe this one. It kinda just tasted like it existed, but no real substantial flavor. There’s vanilla extract added to it, so I definitely tasted that. Kinda like creamy vanilla water? It’s not horrible, but I’ve definitely had better options for my smoothies, oatmeals, and baked goods. I wouldn’t turn my back on this one though if I were you. I’m sure it has benefits and tastes that are perfect for someone out there. On to the benefits…
This is an excellent source of fiber (6g). Enriched with Vitamin A, B12, D, and Calcium (20%). The vitamin content is a tad lower than the other milks, but if you’re looking to get all of your vitamins and minerals from a glass of milk then I have some news for you..

Gluten-free and vegan. I mean would anyone expect a non-dairy rice milk to have some sort of animal by-product? Oh marketing. Eh, in this society who even knows, I’ll be quiet (reluctantly).

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And there you have it, folks. My review of several different non-dairy milk varieties. I hope this helps some of you out there in choosing the purrfect dairy-free milk for your desires.

So my opinion overall is that I prefer unsweetened milk, as I can always add some sweetener in it. Whether it be stevia, coconut palm sugar, raw honey etc., I’d rather have the ability to control how much and what goes into my milk as the majority of these milks are sweetened with evaporated cane juice. Also I’ve found that a lot of my baked goods, shakes, or whatever else I put milk in has some sort of additional sweetness. Fruit, protein powder, and even my superfood greens blend all has either naturally occurring sweeteners or stevia added. I hate that feeling of consuming too much sugar, but if you need to be weaned or simply just really enjoy sugar (woo!) then go for it, it’s your life, your body.

There are many new blends of milks out there now, it’s crazy. I remember when soy milk was hard to find at certain places. Now they have a variety of brands, types, and flavors to choose from, which is great.