While thumbing through Twitter last week I came across a tweet by a good followee for a smoothie recipe. I’m always looking for smoothie ideas as I usually have one a day. This one stood out with an ingredient I had never considered: Oats. A protein powerhouse in itself it was mixed with some tasty ingredients and began salivating for this smoothie.

1 1/2 frozen banana

1/3 cup oats

1/2 cup chocolate almond milk

1 heaping spoonful of almond butter

Blend in VitaMix for 20 seconds until smooth.

A few days passed and still I had no chance to make this smoothie, one that I knew would be filling and should be an early morning drink. Once I got around to trying it I was blown away. Wow! This things rocks! Very tasty, very filling and full of protein. You’ll definitely need a Vitamix for this smoothie to blend up the oatmeal. I don’t think a standard blender is up to the job.

If smoothies are your thing or even if they’re not you need to treat yourself to a Vegan Man Cave Smoothie. The dude is onto something here. I can’t believe he hasn’t patented this yet. I fully expect to see him on a late night infomercial soon touting this smoothie. (Dude, get on this!)

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 admit, I drink way too much coffee even though I drink less now that I once did.  At one time I was putting down 8 cups a day of sock juice (brewed coffee) since it was entirely too convenient. I could fill the french press and drink away and not even realize I was on that sixth cup before I had my eighth. I am also somewhat of an artsy-fartsy coffee connoisseur. I make soy lattes throughout the day, though I cut myself off at about 5pm, and occasionally douse them with this flavoring or that syrup.

There are those days when I’m not home and occasionally feel I like throwing down $4 on a cup of coffee. Those days don’t come often as I am pretty tight with my cash. I have been working on a list of coffee houses around Nashville to get your fix and all of those on the list include soymilk in their milk selections and one, DrinkHaus, also offers rice milk and sometimes almond milk.

I always prefer the local coffee houses. To me it always tastes better and I like not knowing exactly what to expect. I always search out a local coffee house when I travel and usually take home a pound from the places I like. Of course Starbucks is on every street but why go to the corporate bean when you can get your swill from a local coffee joint?

If your favorite coffee isn’t on the list let me know and tell me why it’s your favorite.

UPDATED 4/16/2010

Billy Goat Coffee
401 S. Mt. Juliet Rd., Suite 345
Mt. Juliet, TN
(615) 773-8272

Crema
15 Hermitage Ave.
Nashville, TN
(615) 255-8311

Bongo Java
1812 21st Ave S
Nashville, TN
(615) 777-3436

DrinkHaus Espresso + Tea
500 Madison St.
Nashville, TN
(615) 255-5200

Edgehill Studios Cafe
1201 Villa Place
Nashville, TN
(615) 301-8539

Fido
1812 21st Ave S
Nashville, TN
(615) 777-3436

Frothy Monkey
2509 12th Ave S
Nashville, TN
(615) 292-1808

Portland Brew
3431 Murphy Rd
Nashville, TN
(615) 292-9010

Sam and Zoe’s
525 Heather Place
Nashville, TN
(615) 385-2676

Ugly Mugs
1886 Eastland Ave
Nashville, TN
(615) 915-0675

Cafe Coco
210 Louise  Ave
Nashville, TN
(615) 321-2626

Week two of my soyless existence has passed.  Most notable in changes I have noticed is the fact there are none.  I have lost a couple of pounds but I attribute that to my eating less processed foods.  I am eating more fresh now and even eating out less so the lack of soy can’t take credit there.

It seems eating Asian it very hard to do on a soy free diet.  he one thing I have searched for is a soy-free soy sauce substitute.  It just doesn’t exist, at least it doesn’t exist anywhere near me.  I have stuck with sweet & sour sauce and Trader Joe’s Sweet Chili Sauce.  Both are sugary but have some of the flavor I’m looking for.  I did get treated to an apple pie over the past week as well as German Chocolate Cupcakes.  My wife is the greatest vegan baker and we are usually well stocked with vegan sweets and goodies in the house.  With apple season starting up, I hope for one of pies once a week!

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Apple Pie

It may have been a good idea to have had blood work done prior to starting this event but since I only wanted to gauge my energy levels and weight fluctuations I didn’t think it would be needed.  I don’t have a fondness for needles, either.  If there were any changes in my body that aren’t as evident I’m sure blood work would have showed them.  Otherwise, no changes as of yet but there are two weeks to go.

I am at the end of my first week of reading labels more extensively than I ever have as a vegan.  The soy industry has a firm grip on every aspect of our food supply, and nowhere is this more evident than in processed foods.  Soy protein isolate, soybean oil, soy lecithin – all components of just about every processed food you pick up.  Although some processed foods don’t contain soy, the fact is most do and the only way to truly avoid it is to eat whole foods.  Fresh vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts, which are indeed the best foods for your body, are also the only road to getting zero soy.  With that said, I have not been eating only whole foods.  I have found a processed food here or there without soy.  Our garden is still producing tomatoes, cucumbers and okra.  I picked a small amount of pinto beans last week.  These items typically give me a good lunch but I get lazy in the evenings, the time I really shouldn’t.

The milks I have been trying, which I have spouted about over the last two posts, have been narrowed down to hazelnut.  I have tried a few over the past week.  Almond: too much of a bite.  Rice: too watery.  Oat: grainy, gritty, liquid paper. Hemp: powdery, not as bad as oat.  Drinkable but far too expensive.  Hazelnut tastes light enough, doesn’t have a bad aftertaste and isn’t too expensive.  I spend the most time on the milk subject because I drink a lot of it.  I use it extensively in my coffee and in my cooking.

I have read many articles about soy interfering with thyroid activity.  I haven’t noticed a difference in my energy levels or any weight fluctuations since starting this plan but this is only the first week.  Those differences, should they come, would be expected later on, possibly near the end.