Review of Coconut, Almond and Soy Milk

As a CaveGirl who lives in a busy city, coffee is a big part of my life. I would consider it one of my passions. It's the reason that I go to bed at night, the reason that I wake up in the morning, and the reason I was successful in University.

As I began my Paleo journey, my main concern was "Will I be able to drink coffee"?

The answer is yes.

Not only can you drink coffee, but you can explore new coffee creations that you might not have thought of otherwise!

I will review three milk-substitutes and score them on based on taste, availability, and affordability. I will also post a recipe for a luxurious Cinnamon-clove Coconut Latte.

Coconut Milk

Taste: 4/5

Affordability: 3/5

Availability: 4/5

Coconut milk is really big in Paleo recipes. I used to drink coconut water as a hangover cure and then I realized you can also buy coconut milk in most grocery stores. The brand that I buy is Coconut Dream. I usually just buy the small tetra pack containers because I only use it for coffee. But if you use it in recipes like curry, then it might be worth it to buy the bigger size. That's what I have displayed here. To be honest it's a better value. 

Price: $4.49 - Sale $2.25

Available Stores: Supervalu, Whole foods, IGA Marketplace, Safeway, London Drugs, Saveon Foods

Coconut milk has the lowest carbohydrate content of the three. It appears to have the highest fat content, 5g/240mL, but if you have not already discovered, fat is a good thing. It's protein is quite low and calories are low as well. Overall my favourite alternative. 

Tip: I recommend that you heat up your coconut milk before putting it in coffee. Just put it in the microwave for 40 seconds (or heat it up on the stove). This makes it more smooth and creamy. 

Almond Milk 

Taste: 3/5

Affordability: 4/5

Availability: 5/5

I started drinking almond milk last summer when I did the Wild Rose Cleanse. It was hard to get used to the Original Silk flavour and I didn't like the Vanilla Silk flavour because it was too sweet. The hardest thing for me was the lack of availability in coffee shops. 

You are lucky if you can find soy milk in coffee shops, now just try almond milk. I only found two places that offer almond milk:  Bean Around the World and Melriches. 

The good think about almond milk is that you can pretty much buy it anywhere, and it is usually on sale. Same as coconut milk, I would recommend that you heat up the almond milk before adding it to coffee. 

Price: $4.99 - Sale $3.49

Available stores: London drugs, Supervalu, Safeway, Savon Foods, Thrifty's, Superstore, Costco, Shoppers, Whole Foods, IGA, Cappers

Soy Milk

Taste: 5/5

Affordability: 4/5

Availability: 5/5

Just an FYI, soy milk is not actually Paleo. 

I first began drinking soy milk when I began my lactose free life in July of 2003. At this time soy milk was not readily available in all stores. And you could forget getting soy milk in a coffee shop. 

But now in 2012 you can get so many different brands of soy milk. Some of them are even these Asian brands that are more raw/unprocessed versions. 

I have completely cut soy from my diet. When I look back I was eating too much soy: tofu, edamame beans, soy milk, soy cheese, soy nuts. You would be surprised at how many products actually contain soy but wouldn't seem like it. Also, soy is a very common genetically modified food (GMO), better to avoid these when you can. 

Price: $4.99 - Sale $3.50

Available stores: Everywhere!