Archive for April 29, 2010
In The Grow Indie Test Kitchen: The SoyQuick
The SoyQuick
Hey you! Non-dairy milk drinker!
You may not be lactose intolerant. You may not be vegan. Some of you are concerned with your health. Some of you simply want to eat wholesome, real food. And when you turn around your little boxes of Silk and Rice Dream and West Soy and read the ingredients – what do you see?
Take, for example, the ingredients of Blue Diamond’s Unsweetened Almond Breeze: Water, Almonds, Tapioca Starch, Natural Vanilla Flavor with other Natural Flavors, Calcium Carbonate, Sea Salt, Potassium Citrate, Carrageenan, Soy Lecithin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2, and D-Alpha-Tocopherol.
And they call it “Natural.”
What is this stuff? Why do we feel like it’s okay to put in our bodies? How is it any better for us than dairy? Milk from a cow is more natural. And cheaper too.
Never have to run out and buy milk again!
There is an alternative: Buy a non-dairy milk maker. Make your own milk from scratch with just two ingredients—water and almonds (or soybeans, hempseeds, rice, etc., depending on your milk of choice).
I got a SoyQuick. It’s 179.95 and worth every cent. Seriously.
How many reasons do you want? Here are ten.
10. It comes with everything you need: strainer, pitcher, customary soy beans, even brushes and scrub pads to clean with.
9. You can make almond, hazelnut, sesame, macadamia, oat, rice, millet, quinoa, and a million other kinds of milk with it.
8. You can flavor and sweeten your milk any way you want… or not at all!
7. It comes with a recipe book, with tons of different recipes.
Almond paste is an added perk
6. The leftover pulp can be used to make vegan cheesecake, as well as many other baked goods.
5. The yield ratio is the same, or cheaper, than store bought milk.
4. You can make tofu and yogurt with it.
3. It’s better for the environment, using less energy, and leaving less waste.
2. It’s better for you. I can’t say that enough, sorry.
1. It tastes awesome. It tastes awesome. It tastes AWESOME.
Making a batch of Almond Milk
The lowdown: Now, I will admit, SoyQuick does take some work. The accompanying strainer leaves behind lots of grainy dust in the milk, so you’ll have to buy a nut bag (or use an old wife beater undershirt, like I did) to strain the milk. You gotta stand there, over your counter, and squeeze the be-jeebus outta that bag. It takes a while.
But good food takes work.
Clean up is no easy task either. But really, were you expecting it to be? If you are going to whine about convenience and time lost, then be ready to get some carrageenan in your system. If it’s worth it to you, you’ll take the time to strain your milk and clean your appliance lovingly.
Pros and cons aside, I will never live without another one of these again. The milk is so good; it’s worth the time spent.
Cost: SoyQuick Milk Maker, $179.95
Time spent: 30-45 minutes for 1 quart of non-dairy milk.
Complete control over what you put into your body? Priceless.
