It started off smoothly yesterday, with a nearly cruelty free breakfast....no I didn't have animals for breakfast, however that ant did NOT belong in my kitchen. To all the insect lovers out there, I apologize.
So. Smooth sailing as of yet...but there are some interesting vegan conundrums. And by some, I mean two really bizarre ones that have caught my attention already. If you don't like science or veganism, don't read them. If you want a part in the giveaway but hate bread, just skip to the second part.
1) White vs wheat. When making my own bread the other day, I had two easy recipes to pick from: King Arthur Flour's whole wheat recipe, and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day's white recipe. I tended toward the whole wheat...until I saw that the recipe required 1/4 cup dried milk. Milk = not vegan. Artisan bread it was, the ingredients of which are white flour, water, yeast, and salt. Depending on your views on white flour, it's not inherently bad for you. Providing time and good baking conditions, I'd pick it over the packaged bread that's currently in my kitchen (although that calcium peroxide and sodium stearoyl lactylate is really tasty...). Still. Even the artisan bread website (hyperlinked above) admits by default that the recipe isn't the best for you--if it was, why would they have a competing Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day?
I'm sure there are vegan whole wheat bread options out there, I just didn't have immediate access to it. Being a serious vegan apparently takes serious planning. When 1/4 cup dried milk keeps me from eating whole wheat, something feels a little wrong.
I'm willing to call a winner here: I'll take the dehydrated animal product over the white wheat bread.
2) Silk vs Milk. Calling a winner in the first scenario was pretty easy for me. This one...I'm still conflicted.
Consider exhibit A, your typical half and half. Half milk, half cream. 40 calories, 3 grams of fat, neglible lactose, and slightly less than a gram of protein in two tablespoons. Ingredients? Milk, cream, and a preservative (at least mine had a preservative. You can probably get it without one). Skinny Bitch barely considers this an appropriate food (eww, you're eating cow product and you're GOING to get fat), while Michael Pollan would argue in defense of it.
Consider exhibit B. Exhibit B is scary. Go look at it. I dare you to. I don't even know why we have exhibit B in the house. It's a non dairy creamer (yay! Vegan?) with...a milk derivative? (Maybe not vegan. Actually, definitely not vegan.) Although flavored creamers are fun on occasion, on a day to day basis I think I'll take either my milk or no milk. Milk derivative? Geez, it's like drinking calculus for breakfast.
And finally, exhibit C. I picked exhibit C up at my local Whole Foods store after realizing I need some kind of coffee creamer because I like coffee. I guess I'm not a Skinny Bitch (they hate coffee. With a passion. And while it's arguably bad for you, it's food and I'm willing to defend it.). Exhibit C is a cute little pint of Silk Hazelnut creamer that, according to the bold print on the back, I'm not allowed to use as infant formula. Good thing I'm only using it as coffee creamer. Exhibit C is proud of a lot of things. It has "1/3 less fat, 40% less sugar and 40% fewer calories than the leading non-dairy creamer" (Coffee-Mate Hazelnut) and actually has comparable calories to half and half. 100% vegan, the ingredients are as follows: all natural soymilk (filtered water, whole soybeans), all natural evaporated cane juice, palm oil, soy lecithin, natural flavors, potassium phophate, sodium citrate, tapioca starch, carrageenan. Interesting because...
1) "All natural evaporated cane juice" is sugar. Fancy sugar, but still sugar. Yes, there are benefits to it. Because it goes through less refining than normal cane sugar, it maintains more nutrients. According to this health foods site, it's a good source of riboflavin...although you probably shouldn't be looking to get your riboflavin from sugar. Anyways, I don't have a real issue with the sugar (I put it in my coffee normally, or use a creamer with sugar). In fact, this may be a winning point--more enviromentally friendly sugar already incorporated into my creamer? Alright! But as far as labeling goes, it's just a tricky way of saying glucose.
2) Soy lecithin is an emulsfier. Don't groan, I told you there would be science. Basically, it mixes the fat and the water for consistency, bringing us to...
3) Tapioca starch and carrageenan, both used to thicken the consistency. Leading to...
4) This is an imitation creamer. In all respects, it's trying to be a flavored half and half. It tastes alright, and it does a good job. It's mostly natural, and the company has some good enviromental measures.
In summation, there's a definite loser: exhibit B. If I'm going to use a non dairy creamer in a not exotic flavor (I find an occasional guilty pleasure in a particular Italian sweet cream flavor), Silk has my vote. But Silk vs Milk? It rhymes!
I'm going to get a professional opinion on this, but in the mean time, feel free to weigh in. Who knows, a local someone may win a free pint of the winner. YES this is the lamest blog give away ever...but I really want to know.
So make a comment below, email me, write obnoxious Facebook messages, and give me your opinion on Silk vs Milk.
Milk! Much simpler
ReplyDelete