That Danielle

The idea of a dairy-free yogurt seems antithetical but there are quite a few brands that make yogurt or cultured products out of things that are not animal’s milk. In my attempt to give up dairy and casein for my health I’m looking for replacements of my staple foods like yogurt so I picked up a few non-dairy yogurts at Whole Foods and asked my husband to help me describe the taste since he’s more experienced in food reviews.

(A more scientific survey would have included all vanilla flavors but I wasn’t planning to taste them all at once.)

Silk Live! Soy Yogurt (vanilla): Even though there’s no artificial sweeteners, it tastes like it does. (Incidentally I mistrust food with exclamation marks in them.)

Stonyfield O’Soy Soy Yogurt (vanilla): Rich, consistency most like cow’s milk yogurt, but tastes vaguely like tofu. Josh’s favorite. But not 100% dairy free as it contains dairy cultures so would not work for a vegan.

Whole Soy & Co. Soy Yogurt (blueberry): My dairy-free friend Lisa says Whole Soy is her favorite but we think it has a funky aftertaste. Josh actually used the word “nasty.”

So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt (strawberry): Tastes thin and artificial, like a diet dessert. Out of the four, I like this one the most but just barely.

Conclusion: I am not impressed by ANY of these faux-gurts and can’t envision buying them again. They all lack the creamy taste that even fat-free cow’s milk yogurt has. I greatly dislike the artificial flavor and gelatinous texture all but theall but the Stonyfield samples have . I suppose if you never tasted conventional yogurt or haven’t in a long time these will work for you but I’m accustomed to Greek-style yogurts from Fage and Oikos (a Stonyfield brand) so they just don’t do it for me. I guess I’ll be giving up yogurt!