Hello! Family transitioning to a mostly vegan diet!
Posted by leona_me on Jan 02, 2011 · Member since Jan 2011 · 2 posts
Hey, guys! My husband and I have recently decided that for health and environmental reasons, we'll be switching over to vegan, with the exception of occasional eggs and dairy products. Don't worry, to the public eye we'll just call ourselves vegetarians to avoid confusion!
My main question, and this seems odd that it's so important, is whether or not there's good vegan yogurt?
I make my own at home, with fresh milk, and I swear, it's an addiction, it's SO GOOD! Is it possible to get a good, unflavored vegan yogurt?
I found soy yogurt an acquired taste. I have seen coconut milk yogurt advertised..that seems interesting. You could experiment with homemade nut and seed milks too.
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=24336.0
Hi, & congrats on deciding on some healthy changes! I don't know about yogurt, didn't miss it when I cut dairy so haven't really sought it out... I'm sure you'll find something that does the trick tho-- or, maybe, figure out how to make a great new best-ever soy/ almond/ other vegan yogurt, to share here for future new-vegans to enjoy!
Anyway: welcome!
:)
Coconut milk yogurt is good, but expensive.
Best of luck!
I make Coconut Milk Yogurt! I follow this recipe, more or less: http://www.smallfootprintfamily.com/2009/04/25/homemade-coconut-milk-yogurt/ I also buy it when it's on sale and stock up.
Also, a lot of people like the Rice Milk Yogurt. And I've found with soygurt, you have to try lots of brands and flavors to find the one you like so keep trying!
Oh, and welcome to VegWeb!
We really like Whole Soy and Co. yogurt, and they do make a plain yogurt, but its not as sour as your homemade will be, I think.
Rice milk yogurt sucks....in my opinion.
I have tried all sorts of vegan yogurts and find them all too runny or just plain unappetizing.
Recently picked up Stonyfields Yo Baby Soy for my son and we both devoured it. It's thick and creamy and super tasty.
The only downside is it's about $2.99 for a six pack and we almost went though it in a day because it was so good. I'd love to find something comparable to greek yogurt.
You can definitely make your own vegan yogurt! I've made yogurt with soymilk many, many times and also tried a mixture of almond and coconut milks once (delicious!). Here are a couple of resources I used:
Bryanna Clark Grogan making soy yogurt
FatFree Vegan soy yogurt
FatFree Vegan Greek soy yogurt or yogurt cheese
I've used cornstarch and tapioca flour as thickeners. You can make soy yogurt without a thickener, but it doesn't get as thick as dairy yogurt. If you use unsweetened soymillk, you need to add a bit of sugar because there isn't much for the bacteria to feed off otherwise (no lactose).
I wouldn't recommend using commercial almond milk - I haven't tried it, but it is really low in protein, and I have a feeling it won't thicken at all on its own. I used homemade almond milk in my almond-coconut yogurt.
As far as commercial soy yogurts, I like Wildwood plain - it is the only plain soy yogurt that is really not sweet, so you can use it in place of sour cream or just as a base for whatever sweet things you want to add without it getting too sweet. The texture is really thick. Silk plain is pretty good if that isn't available - the texture is thinner and it is sweeter. Silk also has some good flavored yogurts, but they are super sweet. Wholesoy is good for flavored yogurt - I don't know if they have a plain variety. It is probably the most similar in flavor and texture to flavored dairy yogurts. Stonyfield uses a dairy based culture in their soy yogurts, and I'm not sure how I feel about that, but their O'Soy yogurt was tasty when I had it once - again I'm not sure if they have plain available.
I have tried all sorts of vegan yogurts and find them all too runny or just plain unappetizing.
Recently picked up Stonyfields Yo Baby Soy for my son and we both devoured it. It's thick and creamy and super tasty.
The only downside is it's about $2.99 for a six pack and we almost went though it in a day because it was so good. I'd love to find something comparable to greek yogurt.
The downside might also be that they are not vegan. Depending on how "vegan" one is...Stonyfield soy active yogurts are cultured in a milk base. Check the label. Sucks.
http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/yogurt(8).jpg
I have been a vegetarian for 15 years and this year I am phasing into veganism. Im soo Excited to make this step in my life. I am finally brave enough to start this life style change.