This Mom Runs on Dairy Dunkin
Give me coffee or give me death!
Okay so maybe that's not a direct quote, but as a born Mass brat it's definitely pretty accurate. Especially for one running on an hour of three solid hours of sleep a day. Coffee is wonderful, it tastes delicious, perks me up, and makes the noises coming from the loud creatures less painful (especially those from the smallest one).
Just one tiny issue. I like creamer in my coffee. I decided this would probably be a good spot to start my dairy free journey as I like getting my coffee from Dunkin and I knew they offer an almond milk alternative. It could also be dual purpose as I also needed to find a way to eat my cereal.
Off to Dunkin I went! I gave them my preferred beverage options with two differences; I couldn't have my whipped cream and this time I requested almond milk instead of creamer. My first observation was the color of my coffee. It was slightly darker than usual, and less opaque. But let's face it when it comes to matters of import with one's coffee, while important presentation isn't top of the list. I would have to taste it. So, I did.
I was pleasantly surprised. Other than a slight nutty aftertaste that actually went very well with my caramel coffee the only real difference I found from my normal coffee was that it felt slightly thinner.
My first success!
The next stop was Wegmans to pick up almond milk for home. There were lots of options but given I was experimenting I decided to go with the store brand. This still left quite a few options so I narrowed it down to three:
Upon testing, she was right. It was certainly thicker than the prior three products. However, it was also considerably sweeter and it has a very noticeable cashew flavor. Overall while it did meet the less watery hope, it fell short everywhere else. It wouldn't be a bad choice, however the vanilla and chocolate Wegmans almond milks were still preferable.
So. Final tally. I wound up with four products to try, and walked away with two that satisfied my needs. The other two wouldn't be bad in a pinch either, and I really hadn't found a product that I disliked or found downright disgusting. All in all it was encouraging! With this success I turned my thoughts to the next issue- my family eats a LOT of pasta with sauce. And while I was willing to forego my cheese pending a good option, my Italian bread is not something I'm willing to compromise. I also needed a similar flavor for cooking and for buttering my English Muffins.
Join me next time as my quest continues!
Tata!
Okay so maybe that's not a direct quote, but as a born Mass brat it's definitely pretty accurate. Especially for one running on an hour of three solid hours of sleep a day. Coffee is wonderful, it tastes delicious, perks me up, and makes the noises coming from the loud creatures less painful (especially those from the smallest one).
Just one tiny issue. I like creamer in my coffee. I decided this would probably be a good spot to start my dairy free journey as I like getting my coffee from Dunkin and I knew they offer an almond milk alternative. It could also be dual purpose as I also needed to find a way to eat my cereal.
Off to Dunkin I went! I gave them my preferred beverage options with two differences; I couldn't have my whipped cream and this time I requested almond milk instead of creamer. My first observation was the color of my coffee. It was slightly darker than usual, and less opaque. But let's face it when it comes to matters of import with one's coffee, while important presentation isn't top of the list. I would have to taste it. So, I did.
I was pleasantly surprised. Other than a slight nutty aftertaste that actually went very well with my caramel coffee the only real difference I found from my normal coffee was that it felt slightly thinner.
My first success!
The next stop was Wegmans to pick up almond milk for home. There were lots of options but given I was experimenting I decided to go with the store brand. This still left quite a few options so I narrowed it down to three:
I chose Original Unsweetened because I figured it would be the closest to plain milk available, Vanilla Unsweetened because if the original was bland the vanilla would be neutral enough to suit my needs, and chocolate because the idea of giving up chocolate milk made me sad, and not everything should be completely practical.
First I tried the Original Unsweetened. As expected, it was pretty bland and had a nutty aftertaste, though it was less pronounced than what I had at Dunkin. It tasted thin like it was watered down, not terrible and it would serve my purpose but I wasn't impressed. Still, it wasn't terrible.
Next I tried the Vanilla Unsweetened. It was delicious, especially after how bland the Original had been. The vanilla flavor was very mild, I only really noticed it because I was looking for it but it added depth that the Original had lacked. It was still a bit watery, but as almonds don't have mammary glands I think that's something that has to be expected. This is definitely my go-to as it works for my cereal, coffee, and isn't bad in a glass either. My first success!
Next I tried the chocolate. This was a slam dunk. The flavor was delicious and creamy and only finished thin. I honestly would have likely thought it was just a thin milk if I didn't know better. Of the three it was by far my favorite, if not the most practical.
Two out of three, not bad! Especially for my first attempt. The two I found were refreshing, suited my needs, and made the lack of dairy a little less painful. Plus they saved my family from enduring Mom without coffee (a fate I'd wish on few). But when I commented on how thin they were, my sister recommended that I try the Silk Almond Cashew Milk. Cashews are yummy, back to the store I went!
Upon testing, she was right. It was certainly thicker than the prior three products. However, it was also considerably sweeter and it has a very noticeable cashew flavor. Overall while it did meet the less watery hope, it fell short everywhere else. It wouldn't be a bad choice, however the vanilla and chocolate Wegmans almond milks were still preferable.
So. Final tally. I wound up with four products to try, and walked away with two that satisfied my needs. The other two wouldn't be bad in a pinch either, and I really hadn't found a product that I disliked or found downright disgusting. All in all it was encouraging! With this success I turned my thoughts to the next issue- my family eats a LOT of pasta with sauce. And while I was willing to forego my cheese pending a good option, my Italian bread is not something I'm willing to compromise. I also needed a similar flavor for cooking and for buttering my English Muffins.
Join me next time as my quest continues!
Tata!
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