A few years ago I did a taste test of the various nogs available at the time. I still have bad memories regarding the rice nog. After seeing so many new varieties available this year I thought it would be time to do another test.

Now, nog, or egg nog as you know it by traditionally, is not everyone’s thing. I have always enjoyed it. As a wee kid I would drink glasses of it. The non-vegan stuff isn’t light on the fat or cholesterol, it does have egg in it, after all. My grandfather always preferred boiled custard which I felt was just the same as egg nog without the spices. I have not found a vegan boiled custard but have run across a few varieties of nog. I have chosen four for this article, one from each of the more popular bases: soy, almond, coconut and flax. OK, flax isn’t that popular and has a relatively small shelf footprint but the other choice was rice and I wasn’t going to go through that again. Rice nog is terrible. Cut the chase, there’s your answer.

So as I’m not the only opinion you’ll get on these nogs, I enlised the tastebuds of the kid. The kid is my 12 year old daughter. She’s picky.

The nog’s are Silk’s Nog that is always a staple in the non-dairy section this time of year, So Delicious Coconut Nog, Trader Joe’s Almond Nog and Good Karma Flax Nog. Lined up, and poured into glasses, the sipping was on.

Silk Nog

A few years ago when I first did this taste test, Silk faired pretty well. I expected it to do the same again. Though, something seems to have changed with Silk’s nog. I don’t know what it is. I am sure Silk has undergone a formula change in many of their products since recently removing carageenan from their ingredients for whatever reason amid sqiubbles of ultra-purists. That might be the change I am tasting. Still, not a bad nog. It doesn’t come close to what was my favorite at one time. (I miss you, Earth Balance Nog) This one has a good flavor with a slight hint of nutmeg. It’s not too sweet though it is a little on the thin side. No nog consistency at all. It doesn’t cat the side of my glass like a good nog should.  A-

The Kid: This is good.

Good Karma Holiday Nog

I’m not one for flax, I don’t even like flax used as a binder in baking. There’s not much it lends to anything. It also doesn’t lend anything to nog. I don’t even think this is nog. In fact, I’m not sure this was even meant to be a drink. No flavor, none. It’s almost like Good Karma said “We need a nog. Let’s make a carton that says Holiday Nog and pour our flax milk in it. We don’t have to do anything else because it won’t matter. Flax is terrible.”  The worst part is the heavy chemical taste and the horrible aftertaste. I don’t know why something natural would have such a chemical aftertaste. It’s just so powerful. The only flavor this nog has is chemical. No spice. No sweetness. Just chemical. Not drinkable. Don’t try.   F

The Kid: I don’t like this one.

Trader Joe’s Almond Nog

I can generally drink almond milk if it is cold. People who use almond milk to make lattes have no scruples. I thought this one would be good. I could see where a light almond flavor would lend to nog. After one sip I knew I was off the mark with that idea. So nutty. Just nuts. This doesn’t taste like nog at all. I caught a hint of a flavor that was trying to reach out. Was it nutmeg trying to get my attention? And then it was gone, crushed by the overwhelming nuttiness. Not a total failure only because I would then have to say it’s as bad as Good Karma.  C-

The Kid: Eww. NO!

So Delicious Coconut Nog

I have never been much a lover of coconut milk products. When it comes to these most just make me feel like I am drinking oil and So Delicious coconut milk is the same way. I can enjoy their ice cream but that’s about as far as I go. However, this was the only nog I tried that had the right consistency. A good thickness that would coat the sides of the glass is key in nog. Unfortunately, that about all this one has. I am sure the spice is there but it just so sweet I can’t taste it. There’s so much sweetness that you can’t call it much other than sugar nog. If it were not for the powerful sweetness this might be good. Otherwise ,may be good for helping with nausea.  B-

The Kid: This doesn’t taste right.

If you have found a nog that I didn’t try let me know. Next year I’ll try to add it to my drinking list. I hope your holidays are happy and full of a good nog!

Browsing around the grocery stores this week I ran into some new vegan items. In Kroger, I noticed Silk now has iced latte available in half gallon sizes. Being a coffee snob, I’m one to make my own iced coffees at home but for those who need a coffee fix on the go with ultimate pre-made convenience, these may fit the need.

Also, at Whole Foods the much reported Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Puffs and vegan butter popcorn and well as vegan cheddar popcorn is now available. At $3.99 a bag these we’re a bit out of my snack price range. Considering the cheddar popcorn seemed to be no more than popcorn with salt a nutritional yeast, paying more than 99 cents for a big bag is just out of the question for me. I can make that stuff at home by the metric ton. I may try the puffs if I find them cheaper or on sale, however.

Over time I gather thoughts. Some I tell myself I’ll write about and some I think why bother. Most of these thoughts never have enough behind them to warrant a lengthy post for the site so I toss them aside and forget it. What I’ve decided to do is throw those all into one post. There won’t be much to go on but jump in the comments and complete my thoughts. I’m counting on you.

I’ve been on the fake meat bandwagon once in my vegan/vegetarian life. It was early on, of course, as most people who do get into that habit of eating with convenience in mind. I’ve not so recently put that aside. Fake meats are, to me, for transitioning vegetarians. They lend the familiarity of what once once the edible mainstay but as a vegan I have moved on to fresher foods. That’s not to say I don’t eat some here and there and you’ll likely see reviews for them pop up on this site. They are what they are, a transition food and that’s fine.

While on the subject of fake meats Just a mention that one of my biggest dining-out peeves is a vegan or vegetarian restaurant that relies on fake meats to fill their menu. How about the veggies, guys? I don’t want to pretend to chew pork or chicken/chick’n/chic’n, no matter how many letters you remove form the word, when I’m paying $15 to eat at your restaurant. If you can’t prepare fresh vegetables, and I don’t mean prepared in some gourmet-style, just simple fresh vegetables, then you have no place running a vegetarian dining establishment.

I have been noticing Earth Balance soy milks at Whole Foods for a few months. I’ve even bought the milks regularly but it wasn’t until recently that I noticed the absence of Silk products in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods. I asked about the disappearance and was told that Whole Foods had decided to stop carrying Silk due to the changes Dean Foods had made to the product line. Specifically, the dropped “Organic” from the standard packaging and came out with a new package design and marketed the Organic line again though with a higher price tag. There was no marking on the original package to signify it was no longer organic less the absence of the organic seal. Shady? Greedy? Shysters? No big deal?

For the past few months I’ve been doing P90X. I completed the first 90 days and immediately started a second 90 days which, at this point, I’m at day 60. I’ve had tremendous results losing some weight and finding muscles I never though I had. I have discovered that Tony Horton, creator of the series, is vegetarian and is now working on a vegan diet plan for his next workout series. Vegan P90X works!

“Flexitarian” is just omnivore disguised in a fancy catch phrase that makes advertising pop and sounds trendy. You know how people love trendy.

As the father of a vegan 5 year old I ‘ve often wanted to hear from other parents of vegan children. If you fall into that description drop something in the comments about your experiences. I would love to hear from you.

I have written in the past about my desire to find a milk other than soy to make coffee with. I would go each time through rice, almond, hazelnut and others only to fall back to the reliable soy after finding each was either too watery or just wouldn’t foam, some even tasted bad. After seeing Silk PureAlmond I thought I should give it a try. I had tried Almond Breeze, both aseptic and refrigerated, but was put off by the strong after-bite. As far as I know Silk PureAlmond is only the second refrigerated almond milk variety.

A good coffee milk should always hold up first to steaming. A nice foam never hurts and this is where most of the milk options I have tried failed. Silk PureAlmond worked very well, surprising actually as I have never managed a good foam with almond milk. The foam was as good as soy milk. The milk is thicker than other almond milks which lends to the foaming ability.

Taste is most important and the flavor held up well to the espresso I use. No overbearing taste to mask the coffee. Most important there is no afterbite like all other almond milks I have tried.

I doubt I will give up soy milk completely for almond milk but finding a new option that tastes good and actually works well for coffee is always welcome.

I lost the taste for cow’s milk before I went vegan. The last drink of cow’s milk came from a coffee that was made using bad milk.   Hot, rancid milk is one thing but add some strong coffee to it and it just enhances the flavor. After that I started drinking soy milk exclusively. I toyed with different brands and different flavors finding the one I preferred.  I went with store brands but found them too chalky and paper tasting. I tried 8th Continent but found at the time they added Vitamin D3 (from sheep’s wool) to their milk, a practice they have since discontinued.  I went with Silk vanilla for a very long time as my choice but lost the affection for such a sweet taste and moved to the plain variety.  I then tried unsweetened and found it to be perfect.  It was the perfect cereal milk, coffee milk and straight out of the carton milk.  It also cooked very well and didn’t lend a sweetness to my recipes.

I then read about the company which owns Silk, Dean Foods, and how they are the leading operator of factory farms in the US.  I also read about how they get a portion of their soybeans from China and there is no sure way to know under what conditions those beans were produced or if they are actually organic.  When Whole Foods opened I noticed they started carrying Organic Valley unsweetened soy milk.  I had used Organic Valley soy milk previously and liked their flavor but they did have a bit of texture to them I didn’t like, reminiscent of a whole cow’s milk. I decided to go with Organic Valley unsweetened for a period.  It didn’t make the best coffee but worked great otherwise. You can also find out exactly where the soybeans that were used in the carton of milk you have are from by going to their website and typing in a code from the carton.
I have since tried rice milk and find it pointless, why not just use water? I have tried hemp milk, full of nutritional value but a little pricey.  I haven’t tried almond milk yet but get many recommendations to do so.

One thing I don’t miss from the days of drinking cow’s milk is the phlegm you get form downing a glass of milk.  None of that stuff with the soy milk. Soy milk even makes great ice “cream”, if you don’t want to make your won get a carton of Purely Decadent.  Better than ANY traditional ice cream I have had.

I have considered going back to Silk unsweetened just for coffee since it steams well but I don’t want to be any more hypocritical than I already am.  I know somebody is just waiting to get me for it if I do.