Yogurt Survey

Yogurt is just one of those amazing and yummy foods. It's great for your health, for cooking, for snacking.... Yogurt is awesome =)

AND, sorry boys, yogurt is helpful in preventing yeast infections. So, if you're lactose-intolerant or dairy-free, not having yogurt can be a problem.

I've tired different non-dairy yogurts here and there, but never really liked any. Fortunately, Yoplait, my favorite brand of yogurt, made a lactose-free kind! Unfortunately, it is not always available. I decided I needed a back-up yogurt and bought the following three non-dairy yogurts.......

 

Almond Dream, Silk, and So Delicious

Represented here are all of the most popular yogurt forms of non-dairy milk: almond, soy, and coconut. I also made sure that all my sample yogurts were strawberry to try and stay uniform.

Before I conducted my taste-test, I rallied the troops. My taste buds alone were not enough for this test, so I asked my coworkers to weigh in. We had breakfast at the office! I think it's important for all readers to know that two out of the three girls were lactose-intolerant and surprisingly none had tried any of the offered yogurts before.

Drum roll please.......

There was no winner. The only agreement everyone had was that the So Delicious coconut milk yogurt tasted the most like REAL Greek yogurt. If you love Greek yogurt, this is the way to go. The one person who wasn't lactose-intolerant said she would buy this one even though it's not necessary for her to stay away from regular Greek yogurt. This yogurt was also fantastic when blended with a banana, ice, and soy milk. Perfect breakfast!

There was a tie between the Almond Dream and Silk as far as taste goes. Half of us liked the Almond Dream, the other half liked the Silk.

Silk was definitely the sweetest of the three. It also tasted very much like soy milk. Almond Dream was the blandest of the three, had a very light flavor.

Pricing:
Silk $1.19
Almond Dream $1.59
So Delicious Greek Style $1.99
*I purchased these in Southern California at a Whole Foods Store

And there you have it. I'm curious to hear more feed back on these three yogurts! Please feel free to conduct this taste survey yourself and send me the results!!

Sour Cream

I can't say I ever miss milk. Wasn't ever a huge milk drinker to begin with. My parents had to disguise it with strawberry and chocolate mixes.

But I miss sour cream!
I've lived long enough without it, so it was time I looked for a substitute.

A few months ago I got this little devil:

WayFare Sour Cream- 100% dairy free

Their tag line is "we can't say it's sour cream" and I think it's because it doesn't taste like sour cream. (I took this picture at Whole Foods btw). If you need 100% dairy free, there aren't many options. I would rather live without sour cream than use this stuff though. It had a weird consistency, it smelled like yogurt, and taste-wise it wasn't a good substitute. I pretty much gave up on ever having sour cream (unless I took a lactaid).

But then I recently found this gem:

Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Sour Cream

And the angels sang! ahhhhhhh So good! It smells like sour cream, looks like sour cream and tastes like sour cream. Well, because it IS sour cream. Brilliant. Perfect. Magical. For those who live in SoCal, I bought it on sale at Whole Foods for $3.

Here it is with my taquitos, home-made guacamole and pineapple salsa. MMmmm Mmmm good!

The Best Ginger Mint

My doctor is amazing. She's not quick to write drug prescriptions to get you out of the office. She will spend 10 minutes alone telling me about different natural remedies for nausea. One of which being GINGER.
I have often needed ginger ale, ginger tea, and ginger candy. My favorite on the go remedy is of course, the ginger mint. I also tend to fall asleep with ginger candy in my mouth, and I prefer the ginger mint.
Therefore, I think the BEST ginger mint candy is: Newman's Own.

Here in Southern California, they can be found at Gelson's, and run around $2-$3. They are about the size of a dime. I get the one in the tin as pictured above. It has the best balance between ginger and mint without being too spicy.
This magic candy also is available in small purse sized "rolls"... kind of like Certs. These are WAY SPICY! Do not buy them unless you want a little shock! (Pictured below)

Also, I do NOT suggest falling asleep with these in your mouth. I'm lucky I haven't choked already. Since buying Lactaid, I haven't had to use these too often, but I still keep them in my purse and on my nightstand.

Giada Piccata Simmer Sauce

I was browsing at Target when I came across a new Giada de Laurentiis section. I love her Chicken Piccata recipe, so I decided to try this Picatta simmer sauce. I almost cry when I find pasta sauces that don't have tomatoes in it! But, sometimes when I get really excited about tomato-free products, I tend to forget to make sure it's also dairy-free. This one is NOT DAIRY FREE. Oopsie! I decided to make it anyway (well, to be honest, I had already started) and now I have this lovely product review for you!

 The directions are pretty simple and are printed right on the jar.

Melt 2 Tbsp butter (I guess it doesn't matter if it's dairy-free butter at this point...!) in large skillet. Add 3 to 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in to bite-sized strips. Cook until no longer pink in center. Add 1 jar sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in 1 Tbsp butter and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve with orzo or other pasta and sautéed spinach.

The meal was quick and easy to fix. I boiled my regular ol' spaghetti while the chicken was cooking and simmering. Added some dry parsley before serving it to my husband. Took probably 15 minutes to make, very fast.

It's not as tasty as her original Chicken Piccata recipe, but if you're in a hurry, this will work. It's also a little more on the tangy side.

As for my husband, he didn't eat the leftovers =(

 

If you would like me to review a tomato or dairy free product, please send me an email at beautyandthefood@yahoo.com