I Scream for ICE CREAM

In Arizona, when it's 110 degrees outside, all you want to do is sit inside and eat ice cream.

Actually, in Arizona, when it's any kind of weather outside, you just want to sit inside and eat ice cream. Or, at least I do.

Luckily, there's some really good ice cream out there that, yes, is everything-free. Everything-free meaning no dairy, eggs, soy, gluten, nuts, or garlic (but who puts garlic in ice cream? I'm not a vampire). 

I may be a little bit biased towards one brand, namely the only brand I've ever tried of everything-free, creamy frozen desserts, So Delicious. Their brand name doesn't lie, their stuff really is SOOO Delicious. The only ice cream we ever buy in my household is So Delicious, because even my parents who can eat the "real" stuff, have fallen in love with this ice cream. When my friends come over, they actually ask for my everything-free ice cream. It's really magical, just like ice cream should be. Because, you know, it's ice cream!

Personally, I'm a sucker for their coconut milk ice cream (maybe because I can't have their oat, almond, soy, or cashew milk options?). My parents usually go for their cashew milk flavors, namely Salted Caramel Cluster and Chocolate Cookies N Cream. Oooo, cue the ice cream truck music. 

I'm not going to lie, I've tried a bite of the Salted Caramel Cluster, and it's pretty heavenly.

When it comes to the cashew milk, they have a handful of other flavors like Bananas Foster, Creamy Chocolate, Snickerdoodle, Dark Chocolate Truffle, and Very Vanilla. 

However, the real star of the show today is their coconut milk flavors. They actually have a whole lineup of no sugar added flavors in the coconut milk category, which is great if you're trying to kick the sugar in addition to the allergens! They also have just their regular sugar-filled options as well.

Of all the flavors I've tried, by far my favorite flavor of ice cream is...

*Drumroll please*

Mint Chip!

Mint Chip is the best because it's like vanilla, but with a minty flavor, and has chocolate chunks in it. It's just incredible, and I can't even tell the difference that it's dairy-free.

My second favorite flavors are chocolate and vanilla. I just can't choose between the two, they're both amazing classics. This is probably why Mint Chip is my all-time favorite since it's like the two combined haha. I just can't choose between the two!

In addition to those ones, they also have Strawberry, Coconut Macaroon, Mocha Almond Fudge, Cookie Dough, Cold Coffee Brew, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl for you lucky folks out there eating a pb&j right now.

I definitely can't forget about their ice cream sandwiches, which come in vanilla and coconut. Or their fudge bars. Or their chocolate dipped vanilla bean. All of which are just as heavenly as the ice cream cartons.

Am I making you hungry yet? Haha I hope so! There's nothing better in the dead heat of July than ice cream, which is a creamy treat that even us everything-free people can enjoy! You can find So Delicious's ice cream at Sprouts, Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, Frys, and I'm sure there's more.

You can also check out So Delicious's website to see more of their other plant-based ice cream options. https://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/dairy-free-foods/dairy-free-frozen-desserts/

Anyway, I'll wrap this up now, so you can go grab your keys and get some ice cream :)

P.S. Be sure to follow my Instagram @Theeverythingfreegirl to get updated every time I add a new blog post!

EVERYTHING-Free Bread!

Alright, let's think about this for a minute.

It's pretty simple to get allergen-free bread. There's plenty out there that have no dairy, egg, soy, nuts, etc. However, they all contain gluten. 

Okay, simple solution. Ditch the gluten. So, bread makers get rid of the gluten, and add in some eggs. Well, that helps if you're just gluten intolerant. But, I can't have eggs. 

So the bread makers remove eggs, and add in dairy. Great.

Get rid of dairy, add in soy. No bueno. It's just one endless round of removing one thing, and adding something else. 

Basically, what I'm trying to say, is it's nearly impossible for me to find everything-free bread.

Note the word nearly.

Somehow almost 6 years ago I managed to stumble upon this brand, Ener-G, which makes- dare I say it?- everything-free bread. Yup. 

Ener-G does have some bread that uses eggs, so their facility isn't 100% allergen-free. But, for food sensitivities, it works just fine because the majority of their products are tapioca and rice-based (plant-based). In fact, they have almost 30 different types of bread that are egg-free! That's right- almost THIRTY. I can't have all of them, and some of them just really aren't that great, but I do have a few favorites that I don't think I could live without. 

Papa's Loaf

If you read my Plant-Based Butter post, you might remember me saying that I'm just slightly addicted to toast. Let me just say that Ener-G's Papa's Loaf is the reason why. It's one of the most normal-tasting breads they have. That's saying a lot, because when you remove all of the allergens that make normal bread light and fluffy, it becomes really dry and crumbly. It just kinda cakes in your mouth... pretty disgusting. As a general rule, any type of everything-free bread is going to need to be toasted or microwaved before you eat it (so better invest in a nice toaster now). With Ener-G Papa's Loaf, you can actually get away with not toasting it, which is huge. Like, if I'm going to just make a sandwich, sometimes I won't even toast the bread. 

BUT- If you do toast the bread, and put Melt butter on it... it's heavenly. Just incredible. Every single morning, without fail, for the past... 3 years? My breakfast has consisted of 3 or 4 slices of toast. Yeah, I eat 4 slices of toast every morning. Before you judge, keep in mind that the slices are pretty small. These aren't normal loaves of bread- I would say they're about 2/3 the size of a normal bread slice. 

Papa's Loaf is made primarily with rice and tapioca flour. Overall, it's my absolute favorite type of bread that Ener-G makes.

Tapioca Loaf

I ate the Tapioca Loaf for a couple years before I discovered the Papa's Loaf. It's a lot more dense than the Papa's Loaf, which is why it's not my absolute favorite (because we all love light and fluffy). The Papa's Loaf is pretty popular (I wonder why), and occasionally I can't order any for a while. That's when I have to resort to the Tapioca Loaf, which is still pretty good, but you definitely want to toast this stuff before you eat it. 

This is also made with rice and tapioca flours...

Egg-Free Raisin Loaf

Cinnamon raisin bread (without the cinnamon). That's what this stuff is. It actually has little raisins in it, and it's SO good. I just make toast with this, but it's really nice to have a variety for my breakfast when I get a little tired of the Papa's Loaf. When I first tried the Raisin Loaf, I was a little disappointed at how bland it actually was, since it doesn't have any cinnamon in it (which I guess I was expecting Sun-Maid Cinnamon Swirl Raisin Bread quality from back when I was 5). I kept eating it though, and now it's definitely one of my top favorites. It's just incredible toasted with butter.

Tapioca Dinner Rolls and Hamburger Buns

I'm going to group these two together, because they're basically the exact same thing. Dinner rolls= you get 6 of them in a package and they're smaller. Hamburger buns= you get 4 per package and they're bigger. So, as long as you don't have super huge burgers, I'd roll with the dinner rolls (aren't I so punny?) because you get more meals out of it for the same price. They're really good, but you definitely want to toast them before eating or else they'll cake in your mouth. 

I use them mainly for turkey burger buns, but you can also toast them and slather on some butter. 

English Muffins

These aren't very good as burger buns, or even to put butter on. Not even to toast. Yet, if you put them in the oven with cheese and meat, or marinara sauce and cheese, or any combination of those, you can have yourself some really good pizza-type... things? I'm not sure what to call them, but they're really tasty. Basically anything in the oven is good for these.

Also- I would recommend cutting each "muffin" into thirds because they're so thick/dense.

Tapioca Hot Dog Buns

There's nothing to be said here. They're hot dog buns, and they fit the hot dogs. Would recommend using the microwave, since they don't really fit in the toaster. I love these things!

(The lighting on this picture from the Ener-G website is horrible, it makes the buns look like really yellow burritos. I promise they're more appetizing than the picture makes it look lol).

BAGELS???!?!?!?!!!

If you remember my Cheese post, when I talked about Violife's and Daiya's cream cheeses, I mentioned that the cream cheese is kind of useless to me, since there were no everything-free bagels I could have.

Well, lo and behold, about a week after I posted that, my mom told me that Ener-G now has BAGELS. Wow. Guess I really need to do my research before I go say something doesn't exist. 

I haven't ordered them yet, but I have high expectations. 

Other random bread

I've only touched on a few of the breads Ener-G has available. The ones I discussed are the only ones that I actively eat. The rest of their breads are either:

A) Gross, like most of their yeast-free breads. Blegh. 

or B) I just can't have them, like their corn loaf which I've tried and is SO GOOD, but I don't eat corn... so....

So, where can you get Ener-G bread? The best place to get it is online on Ener-G's website. Most of the bread packages are between $5-6-7, which is pretty pricey, considering that's over a dollar each for some items like the English muffins and hot dog buns. You can also get various types of their bread at stores like Sprouts, Natural Grocers, Frys, Whole Foods, maybe even Walmart (but don't quote me on that)? But usually they just have some of the yeast-free (blegh) and other random types in-stores, so your best bet is Ener-G's website for a full range of choices.

https://www.ener-g.com

Food For Life Gluten-Free Brown Rice Bread

The ONLY other brand of bread I've been able to find that I can have is Food For Life, and only their Brown-Rice Bread (gluten-free). I don't buy this very often, because it's SUPER dense. Like, they're still small slices but I only need to eat 2 to get me filled like 4 of the Papa's Loaf. Definitely would not recommend for sandwiches but I do occasionally buy a loaf just for some variety in my toast. Toasting is a must. Crust is crunchy which I LOVE.

You can get this at Sprouts and Natural Grocers.

That's all for everything-free bread. Thanks for reading! I'm hoping to get a more established blog posting schedule by August... but until then, you can look forward to my ice cream post coming next week! Mmmmm....

Don't forget to follow my Instagram account @Theeverythingfreegirl. I post there every time I write a new blog post, so you'll never miss out! 

All About The Plant-Based Butter

The funny thing about butter, is that I actually like vegan, soy-free, everything-free butter better than "real" dairy butter. A few weeks ago, my mom made this amazing sourdough bread, and I tried a bite with regular butter. Then I tried some with my own butter, and it tasted so much better! I mean, I don't think any type of everything-free butter is a match for Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter, but that's a special case. In general, the dairy-free, plant-based stuff tastes so much better to me now, although 6 years ago I most likely would have begged to differ. 

I say plant-based butter because that's what dairy-free butter is made out of- plants! Lots of dairy-free butters will use soy (which is a plant), but I also can't have soy. So the ones I use are made out of oil blends. 

There's actually a very small variety of foods I even use butter on, yet I go through the little tubs like crazy! Probably because I'm just slightly addicted to toast. And mac n cheese. And mashed potatoes. Which those three things are honestly the only things I can think of right now that I even use butter for. Oh- and grilled cheese. Be sure to check out my cheese post for a rant on the best everything-free grilled cheese cheese!

But back to the butter. Here's my top three favorite vegan/soy-free/plant-based butter substitutes!

Earth Balance

The very first plant-based butter I ever used was from Earth Balance. Back before my mom and I really read the ingredients label, I tried their "Original," because we saw the words "Dairy-Free" and gave it a go. Later on, we realized they had a Soy-Free type, so I use the kind in the little red tub (made out of Palm Fruit, Canola, Safflower, Flax, and Olive Oils). 

This butter is great on everything. You really just can't go wrong when it comes to the soy-free kind, anyway. It tastes pretty good on toast (although I do have another preference when it comes to my toast now), it's the only kind I'll use in my mac n cheese, it's perfect in potatoes, really just anything. No complaints when it comes to Earth Balance.

They also have Soy Garden, which is soy-based (Original is oil-based but it uses soy, just not as it's primary ingredient). 

Their Olive Oil type is soy-free, but I haven't tried it. 

They have an Organic type, but it's not soy-free which is a bummer, because I didn't even realize that their other kinds weren't organic until... today?! Woah, guess I'm pretty oblivious. Not like that's a total deal-breaker, but my mom and I try to get organic whenever we can.

The Omega-3 kind has horrible reviews on the Earth Balance website, with people complaining of it tasting awfully fishy. Like, fish fishy. As in, FISH. Sounds gross to me, but I guess if that floats your fishing boat... (I know, I know, I'm so punny. Haha)

There's also these two kinds, which are smaller tubs than the originals above. I do remember trying the organic coconut, and I don't think I hated it, but also wasn't super in love either (since I didn't go back and buy it again). I can also have the European Style, but haven't tried it either (I feel like this whole post is about things I haven't tried lol). I'll have to see if I can get my hands on a tub and try it out.

There's also these kinds in the black tubs, which feature the different oils. I won't go into too much detail but you can check them out if you're interested.

Earth Balance also has sticks in Original and Soy-Free!

Melt

I would consider myself a toast-a-holic. If I don't eat my four slices of toast every morning for breakfast (yes, four, don't judge because everything-free bread is TINY), then I get pretty cranky. And that's not to mention the occasional slice or two I'll eat at night with a smoothie. I'm just in love with toast. I didn't know that my toast experience with Earth Balance could get any better than it already was, and then I discovered Melt.

This stuff... oh my gosh. It's just... amazing. Incredible. It spreads so nicely and has the most fantastic taste ever. AND it's organic! And soy-free! It's made with a blend of oils like Earth Balance, but slightly different oils (virgin coconut oil, palm fruit oil, canola oil, high-oleic sunflower oil, flaxseed oil).

Melt also has Probiotic Butter (what??), Salted Butter Sticks, and Unsalted Butter Sticks. I've tried none of those but I can guarantee you probably can't go wrong with Melt. 

Also, Melt is generally cheaper than Earth Balance, although Melt is 13 oz, and EB is 15 oz. However, if you factor in the fact that Melt is organic and its taste is incredible, then I'd say Melt is the better choice. (Although I did try Melt with my mac n cheese and it just didn't give me the flavor I'm used to with EB, so I still buy both brands)

Natural Grocers

So, this is kind of an odd one, because Natural Grocers (the store) has their own... "Organic Plant-Based Buttery Spread." I found this a couple months ago and grabbed it to try it out. I have no complaints, it's pretty good! The thing is, it has a lot more muted taste, so if you aren't a fan of super rich, unique tasting butter, this would definitely be the way to go. I personally love the rich taste, so I'm not head-over-heels for this kind, but I'll definitely still use it! They have the tub and sticks, and it's organic!

And can we take a second to appreciate the adorable hippo on the packaging?

Another thing that I thought was interesting was Melt and Natural Grocers' butters have the exact same ingredients and oil blend... hmmm. Do we have a copy cat (or copy hippo) in the room?? Either way, the two still have different flavors. 

That's it for butter! Whether you're a toast-a-holic like me, or just need some plant-based butter for baking, hopefully one of these brands will be the right fit!

Be sure to check out my Instagram @Theeverythingfreegirl for the fastest way to get notified of new blog posts! 

Cheese Glorious Cheese!

First, I have to start off with a rant about how much I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE cheese.
Like.
Cheese could just be a meal for me.
I could literally sit down, and just eat a block of cheese for dinner and I would be perfectly happy with that.
My childhood consisted of mac n cheese, grilled cheese, cheese n crackers, plain cheese quesadillas, sliced smoked gouda cheese (which I would just sit down and eat a few slices at a time), tacos with gooey queso cheese dribbling out the ends (not to mention nacho cheese taco shells), nachos with nothing but melted cheese, I could keep going all day long. The point is, to tell the total cheese freak I was that I couldn't have dairy anymore was complete and total devastation. No... more... cheese?

I still remember my last meal of tacos with that luscious, gooey queso cheese. I sat there, at the kitchen table, right before my mom started me on the SCD diet (which we quickly stopped). The last bite went into my mouth, I scooped up the dribbles of cheese left on the plate with my fingers, and then the plate went into the sink, the chapter of tacos closed indefinitely.

However, once we started looking around for dairy alternatives, my mom and I found that cheese wasn't as extinct to me as the dodo bird. Back in late 2014, there was only one brand of dairy and soy-free cheese that I could have. Five and a half years later, I can still only count the number of brands I can have on one hand, but hey, options are options!

So Delicious

My absolute favorite brand of dairy-free, soy-free, almond-free, everything-free cheese is So Delicious Shreds. They have 3 flavors, cheddar, cheddar jack, and mozzarella, and they're made using coconut milk.

I use the cheddar on tacos, nachos, and pizza. I don't really use the cheddar jack on anything except pizza, and the same goes for mozzarella. This cheese melts AMAZING in both the microwave and oven, not so much the stovetop though. One thing is this brand goes bad really fast if you just leave it in the fridge, so I usually leave mine in the freezer since I just heat it up to melt it anyway.

Another thing to mention though is that it's getting hard to find this cheese anywhere... I used to buy it at Sprouts and Whole Foods, but around February of this year (2020), they both stopped carrying it in stores. Now you can't find it anywhere in Arizona. Not sure about other states- I looked up California on So Delicious's website store locater and they said there were a few stores that carried it. I called one of them and they said they didn't have it, so who knows. I also called So Delicious themselves and they said that Sprouts and Whole Foods discontinued carrying the shreds for a "reason they can't disclose," and they're working on getting them back on their shelves soon.

We stocked up on the Cheddar cheese when we saw that stores weren't getting it in anymore and froze a few bags. I'm on my last bag in the freezer now savoring every last crumb... hopefully stores near me start carrying it again soon (or else this girl is going to be cranky haha!)😭

You can check and see if stores near you carry their cheese on the So Delicious website:  https://sodeliciousdairyfree.com/dairy-free-foods/dairy-free-shreds/

Follow Your Heart

When it comes to cheese, Follow Your Heart has a lot more variety than So Delicious. They have different types of sliced, shredded, and blocked cheese along with parmesan and feta crumbles.

I mainly use their American slices for sandwiches and the parmesan for spaghetti or other pasta-type dishes. The slices don't melt real well on the stovetop for grilled cheese, at least not the American, Provolone, or Gouda which are the only slices I've tried (the other ones I either didn't know existed until I looked up the Follow Your Heart website, or they have too many spices like garlic in them). They do melt in the microwave though on turkey burgers, and I'll also just put them on cold turkey or chicken sandwiches, which are great for school lunches! And yes, the Gouda tastes like real Gouda cheese- I'd eat a slice plain!

As for the blocked cheese, I've never really had a reason to try it, but I assume its like the slices, just... not sliced. I'm pretty sure the feta crumbles are new, and I haven't tried those either. 

Now, the shreds, I honestly can't remember if I've tried them before. Something tells me I have and didn't really like them, so maybe I've just kind of tried to push them out of my memory and pretend they don't exist. Either way, I'll have to grab a bag the next time I go to the store and give it a taste-test. 

Here's the Follow Your Heart website: https://followyourheart.com/product_category/vegan-cheese/

Violife

I have to obsess over Violife for a minute. You know I'm passionate about my cheese, and for the first four years of being everything-free, I basically gave up all hope in having a heavenly grilled cheese sandwich ever again. Sure, I tried shredded cheese on the stove, along with Follow Your Heart slices, but nothing ever melted before the bread burned. I would have to grill the bread, put it in the microwave with the cheese, then the bread would be soggy, and the cheese never tasted right. I abandoned any and all hope of ever having a good grilled cheese.

But then.

Last summer we took a trip to Durango, Colorado. We went to this little all-natural store, Nature's Oasis, to check out their stuff, and we got talking to one of the employees who pointed out Violife cheese to us. We had never seen it in Arizona before. The employee said it was really good, that her and her boyfriend really liked it, etc, etc, so I decided to give it a shot, although I was still skeptical because I knew that no everything-free cheese ever really tastes like the real thing.

When we got to the hotel, I put it on some mac n cheese, a sandwich, tried eating slices plain, the whole deal. It was alright, at the least it was some variety. We went back the next day to buy a couple more packs to take back home since we knew we couldn't get any in Arizona.

When we got back home, I decided to experiment and made a grilled cheese sandwich. To my absolute and utter amazement, I found that the cheese actually melted before the bread burned! Incredible.

But then.

I tasted it.

I don't remember my exact reaction, but it was probably something pretty close to jumping up and down, squealing, shoving another bite down my throat, then being close to tears over how INCREDIBLE the darned grilled cheese tasted! Seriously. Like. I almost can't tell the difference when I'm eating a grilled cheese sandwich with Violife cheese. When my mom makes a grilled cheese, and then I see how amazing hers looks, so I go make one of my own, I don't envy her "real" one for a single second. I honestly don't even care what "real" grilled cheese tastes like because mine is so amazing. Do you get the point yet? This is the BEST everything-free grilled cheese cheese EVER.

Amazingly enough, after our trip to Durango last July, Violife cheese magically appeared in Whole Foods in Arizona! Like, within a month. It was scary. But hey, I'm not complaining!

They have three types of slices- Cheddar, Smoked Provolone, and Mature Cheddar. I use the Cheddar on my grilled cheese, but I'm sure the others would work just fine meltability-wise. I've tried both the Smoked Provolone and Mature Cheddar slices, but I still prefer Follow Your Heart for just my cold meat sandwiches. 

Violife also has shredded cheese in Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Colby Jack. I've only tried Cheddar and Mozzarella. I don't care for them very much on nachos where you really taste the cheese flavor, but I'll use them on pizza. Honestly, pretty much every cheese is good on pizza. You just can't go wrong with pizza.

They also have Mature Cheddar, Smoked Cheddar, and Feta blocks, none of which I've tried. There's a parmesan block I haven't tried either... and they've also got cream cheese! I wasn't going to go into cream cheeses in this post, but since it technically is under the name cheese, I guess I'll cover it.

Violife's cream cheese options are Original (plain), Garlic and Herb, and Cheddar. I've tried the Original, obviously can't have Garlic n Herb 'cause I can't have garlic, and I actually didn't know Cheddar existed until I looked it up on their site just now! The original is good, nothing to complain about. I just don't get too thrilled about it because the only thing I ever used to put cream cheese on was bagels, and I'm yet to find everything-free bagels. But hey, it's still pretty good on crackers or something! 

Violife website: https://violifefoods.com/us/our-products/

Daiya

I have mixed feelings about Daiya. On one hand, it was the first dairy-free cheese I ever tried- Christmas Eve 2014 on top of baby purple potatoes. It's good, sure, but I personally like some of the newer brands better. I haven't had Daiya shedded cheese in a couple years, but the last I remember it, the individual shreds broke apart really easy, and the cheese was almost kind of greasy. I'm not saying it was gross, but it just isn't the best. I'm probably not the best one describe it, since I haven't had it in a few years and they could have changed it since then. Either way, I don't eat the Daiya cheese anymore, but it's still worth a try.

I'm not going to go through all of the different types and styles, but here's some pictures and their website if you want to do some investigating: https://daiyafoods.com

One thing I will stop to talk about, though, is their cream cheese. Like I've mentioned, I don't really have any use for the plain, and can't have the fancy seasoned stuff, but the strawberry kind on the other hand... technically, I'm not supposed to have strawberries, but I'll make an exception for this stuff (shhh). I'll toast some of my everything-free bread (look for that post soon!) and lather on the strawberry cream cheese and mmmm... it's so good. Not grilled cheese good, but it's pretty amazing. 

                             

 Okay, I think I'm about done with my cheese rant. Hopefully this post was insightful and I wish you the best of luck on your cheesey journey!

Also, if you really like grilled cheese... you HAVE to try the Violife. HAVE to. Okay, okay, I'm done with my rant now lol.


P.S. Follow my Instagram account @Theeverythingfreegirl for the fastest way to get notified of new blog posts!

Welcome To My Refrigerator- Featuring Milk!

Back in 2014, when my naturopath doctor told me to cut out dairy, eggs, and gluten, the hunt began for foods I could actually eat. Later, when I got my food sensitivity test back, the list of no-no foods grew and the list of safe foods felt practically non-existent. It's been 5 and a half years since I went "everything-free," and here is my current list of foods I cannot eat:

• All Dairy
• Eggs
• Soy
• Peanuts
• Cashews
• Pistachios
• Almonds
• Brazil nut
• Walnut
• Hazel nut
• Garlic
• Chilli Powder
• Cayenne Pepper (and basically all other hot pepper things)
• Goat milk
• Buffalo milk (Seriously?)
• Flax Seed
• Aniseed
• Gluten/Wheat
• Oat
• Barley
• Spelt
• Strawberries
• Apples
• Cherries
• Raddish
• Lime

I basically consider myself a soy-free, grain-free, nut-free, gluten-free vegan who can eat meat. Then you can add in the other miscellaneous stuff if you want to have some real fun.

That being said, the contents of my refrigerator are pretty interesting... I've had to find substitutes for milk, cheese, butter, bread, and of course, ice cream! I figured I'd do a series of posts on some of my favorite substitutes for each of the categories in my fridge (stay tuned for the pantry posts!). 

Let's start with Milk!

Luckily, there's plenty of plant-based milks out there. Personally, I use rice milk, but if that's not your cup of tea (glass of milk?), there's also soy, almond, coconut, cashew, oat, and flax-seed milk. The only kind out of those that I can have is the coconut milk, but I'm not a big fan, so I stick with rice. 

**Also, my mom and I try to stick with buying Organic products if we can find them. Organic basically means that the food was grown without pesticides or hormones, so they're just more natural. Not all of the milks in this post are organic, but most are.

Rice Milk:

Costco had their Kirkland Signature bulk rice milk in-stores, but about a year ago they discontinued it. Right before it was all gone, me and my mom bought every last case, and I'm just now finally running out. Even though Costco isn't an option anymore, you can still find Rice Dream in most grocery stores, which is my favorite brand. (It also comes in chocolate which is amazing!)




Rice Dream milk is a little sweet, so if you aren't a big fan of sweeter milk or are trying to ditch the sugar, then you might want to go with a different brand or type of milk.
Trader Joe's has their own brand of rice milk which I've tried before, too. If I remember right I think it's a little less sugary than Rice Dream, so if you have a Trader Joe's near you, that's always another option. Pretty sure they only have Original and Unsweetened.

Coconut Milk:

The only other kind of plant-based milk I can have is coconut milk, which like I mentioned I'm not a big fan of. It's just too thick and coconut-tasting to drink plain, but I'm not against using it in cooking. My mom uses coconut milk in smoothies every morning for breakfast, her favorite brand is Costco's VitaCoco. It comes in a bulk 6-pack box. The VitaCoco has a really rich coconut taste to it.



Another brand that we've tried is So Delicious. Most stores like Sprouts, Frys, Whole Foods, etc. sell the individual cartons on their shelves, but Costco just got the unsweetened type in bulk boxes!

 

So Delicious also has chocolate, vanilla, and original, but unsweetened is the only kind you can get at Costco in bulk.

I'm definitely not the expert on any of the soy, cashew, oat, flax seed, or almond milks, but here's some different brands/options that I've seen around.

Soy Milk:

Silk is the most popular brand, you can also get Kirkland bulk at Costco in both Original and Vanilla.

Cashew Milk:

My dad drinks cashew milk, but my mom actually makes it herself! I'll do a separate post later on making your own plant-based milk, but here's some of the options in-stores.

Looks like Silk also makes Cashew milk! Comes in Unsweetened, Original, and Vanilla.

So Delicious also makes Cashew milk. I can only find it in unsweetened online, but I'm gonna bet money there's probably Original out there somewhere.

Oat Milk

Apparently oat milk is getting pretty popular, looks like Oat-ly, Silk, and Planet Oat are among the rising brands.

Flax Seed

The only brand I could find for flax seed milk is Good Karma. Looks like flax seed isn't that popular, but hey, it's an option.

The Grand Finale- Almond Milk

Almonds do NOT agree with me- I avoid them like the plague (which I think we can all agree that phrase has a brand-new meaning here in 2020). Ironically, almond milk and flour seem to be the most popular to use in vegan/gluten-free/allergen-free recipes. Go figure. Silk and Almond Breeze appear to be at the top of the list when it comes to almond milk. There's also Kirkland Signature brand at Costco. 

Alright, that's all I've got for milk. If you really wanted to get creative, you could look into peanut and hazelnut milk. Apparently you can make your own pistachio milk. I guess you could basically turn anything into milk if you really wanted to haha!








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