Soy milk and yogurt

J

Jcrew3082

Cathlete
Hello everyone,

I'm a vegetarian but am thinking about going vegan. I love dairy products though- milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, you name it. Can any of you suggest a tasty soy milk and/or soy yogurt? Also, do you prefer flavored soy milk or plain? I guess I am looking for soy products that taste very similar to dairy. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance-
Gina
 
Hi, Jcrew. Silk has a wonderful line of soy milk and a not bad yogurt. The consistency is thin compared to my favorite dairy yogurt but you could mix soy and regular dairy, gradually lessening the dairy as you adapt your taste buds. I love plain and vanilla soy milk but there are some other excellent choices- mocha and chai come to mind. I also like Belsoy and 8th Continient soy milk. They don't have as many flavor options as Silk but they are delicious! Good luck to you in your transition!
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"
 
Hey Gina, the best commercial brand of soy yogurt I've had is Wildwood and coming in second is Nancy's. Silk and a couple of others make a really gross yogurt in my opinion. I think Vitasoy and silk make very good soymilk. Vitasoy's chocolate milk is delicious.

Have you heard of vegan cheese? Most of it is NASTY but this brand is very good. Don't expect it to be exactly like cheese just tasty and good enough.

http://www.imearthkind.com/
 
Hi Gina,

I'm also a vegetarian who was a vegan for about the first six months when I converted. I too love Silk Soymilk but I haven't tried the yogurt so I can not say about that. Silk chocolate soymilk is awesome and I use the plain for cereal. It is a matter of adjusting your taste buds. Though I eat some dairy cheese, I don't eat eggs or drink milk by themselves. Because I am so used to soymilk, cow's milk tastes very strange and honestly gross to me now. Another dairy free product I like is the Tofutti brand of sour cream. If you like sour cream this is a good substitute for the dairy kind. There are lots of choices out there and more come out all of the time. I would suggest trying different ones and see what you enjoy the best! :)

Harmony
 
If you are planning on going vegan, be sure to watch out for hidden dairy in non-dairy products. Every faux cheese I've ever found contains casein, a milk-derived protein (I say faux cheese because they come in soy, almond and veg varieties). Many soy yogurts contain lactic acid, which can be derived from veggie sources or milk sources. Only Nancy's Soy Yogurt and Whole Soy Yogurt accurately label their products with veggie source lactic acid. Oh, and Tofutti is another brand that's extremely careful about labeling (their "cream cheese" is yummy too).
On soy milk, I highly recommend starting with an enriched vanilla--enriched because it has a nice consistency and tons of calcium and vanilla because plain soymilk tastes kinda nasty. I eat a big bowl of oatmeal with vanilla soymilk every morning and it still tastes like a treat!
I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Dorie
 
I have tried many soy milks, and they have gotten better over the years. My favorites are "Pacific" and "Edensoy." I tried Silk plain years ago, and it left a weird, chalky feeling on my tongue (not unlike real milk). I do like their chocolate soy milk though (and their soy "nog" around the holidays), and I've tried their new unsweetened soy milk, which I wouldn't recommend for soy novices, but which I found to be pretty good. I like to use vanilla soy milks on cereals and oatmeal. Almost any brand is o.k. in baked good.

I'm not much of a yogurt eater, but I really like a cultured soy drink (like a "keifer") by "WholeSoy."

As for cheeses, I suggest you try the "Uncheese cookbook" which is supposed to have recipes for rather authentic-tasting non-dairy "cheeses." I've pretty much given up on finding a good alternative for cheese (except for nutritional yeast in some cases), so I just go "cheeseless" most of the time.

I don't know if I'd recommend mixing soy and dairy. Just try cold turkey, and your tastes will evolve over the course of a few weeks.

You might also like to try some rice milk, which I find has a milder flavor that soy. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the isoflavones and other phytoestrogens that make soy so good.

Be sure to get enriched soy (or rice) milk so you get the calcium benfits equal to that of dairy.
 
I can't recommend a soy product, but I use rice milk. It's called Rice Dream and is calcium fortified. I've developed thyroid problems over the past few years so soy isn't an option for me. I use it mostly on cereal.
 
I eat a mostly vegan diet, but I sometimes eat dairy and sometimes even meat.

I love the Soy Kefirs that Kathryn refered to. Silk yogurts are ok, but I often buy organic milk yogurt from various companies.

Another thing that it delicious and nutritious and no one has mentioned yet is almond milk. I buy that every now and then instead of soy milk and it is great on cereal.

I like the vanilla flavored Silk, but since I live alone, I only buy the plain because it is more versatile. I LOVE the Silk egg-nog they sell at holiday time.

I think Silk plain and Vitasoy are the most delicious of the soy milks. I now find them more delicious than cow's milk, they are sweeter and richer and cow's milk tastes gross. It took me a month or so to switch over. Another thing I like better about soy is that it keeps way longer without going bad.
 
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