to tofutti or not to tofutti?
Miserable. That’s all I’ll say about the dairy-free diet I’ve been force-fed for the past four months (doctor’s orders.) Since I’m a tall glass of milk type, I’m on a desperate lookout for satisfying substitutes. The Tofutti Cutie has become my dessert of choice for its uncanny similarity to a “real” ice cream sandwich. But then I read on Gawker the other day that the treat is laden with transfats! Dozens of cuties later, I was feeling queasy about this news… That is, until Angela M. saw an update saying they were wrong, and an official statement from Tofutti denying the rumor. Moral of the story: Don’t jump to blog conclusions!
Still, according to Supervegan, Tofutti’s popular cheeses are full of transfats and the company doesn’t report that in the nutritional
content. So, my detective work continues… In the meantime, Shelterrific readers, can you recommend some reliable dairy substitutes that will do the trick? — Megan K.
I can’t remember any product names, but when I was vegan, I very much enjoyed ‘ice cream’ made with nut butters.
I actually just had a conversation with a friend a while back about this. I too was put on a temp dairy free diet and other then its use as tofu in chinese food cooking I hated soy based products. I was told, although never tried, to make almond milk. You can easily make it yourself and apparently because it has a fat content it can be turned in to butter (not that id have the time for that). I have since been allowed back on dairy but here is the recipie… http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/almondmilk.html . It uses only water, almonds, and any flavoring of your choice. Enjoy (maybe?)
If you’re trying to figure out what the trans fats in your food are and they aren’t listed, look at the total amount of fat listed on the nutrition label, then subtract the fats that are listed — saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, cholesterol. What you’ve got left is trans fats.
Tofuttis may not have trans fats, but high fructose corn syrup is pretty high up there on the ingredients list.
How about trying soy smoothies — you get the creaminess and the fruit is good for you. You could even toss in a bit of dark chocolate.
I have not liked any soy desserts I’ve tried. My husband and I eat a diet that is mostly devoid of animal products for health reasons and we really like Coconut Bliss. Sadly, it isn’t widely available outside the Pacific Northwest.
It’s not healthy (it has lots of saturated fat which is what makes it feel like real ice cream) but it’s very yummy with nifty flavors like blueberry lavender and pistachio cardamom!
Good suggestions! I do like chocolate soy milk, so a smoothie might be in order… Boy, do I wish Minneapolis had a Coconut Bliss supplier…
Real Simple did a “best vanilla ice creams” feature in Nov 2006, and their recommended non-dairy version was Organic Vanilla Bean from Whole Soy & Co, a “soy frozen yogurt.” “There’s no disguising the soy flavor, but that was offset by just the right amount of vanilla.”
I can’t vouch for this – I’ve never had it, and anyway, there’s no accounting for taste. But, I thought it might be helpful anyway. Good luck! :)
Gawker got the story quite wrong: all Tofutti frozen desserts are indeed safe from the terrors of trans fats. Still, their cheeses are very trans-fatty–partially hydrogenated soybean oil is their second ingredient, listed on the package, though the particular number of trans fats in grams are not included.
I can vouch for the Whole Soy frozen soy yogurt. I was addicted to that stuff, so of course the stores in my area stopped carrying it. The creme caramel is particularly good–even my dairy-loving brother liked it. Soy Delicious soy ice cream isn’t too bad, either.
i wouldn’t freak out about the cheese, as long as you don’t eat too much of it. yes, you want to avoid trans fats, but as long as the rest of your diet is healthful, a bit here or there isn’t going to give you a heart attack. sprinkle a little on some chili or a veggie burger, and augment with other creamy flavors, like avocado (salted, since cheese is salty), or a bit of mayo.
Oh noes! Tofutti! I love that stuff – and I can eat dairy :P
I’m sure as long as you’re not eating six a day you’ll be fine… but if you were, who can blame you? Tofutti Cuties are soooo tasty.
I’m dairy-free, and I’ve been enjoying the Haagen-Daz Chocolate Sorbet. It’s incredibly rich and chocolately. I can’t get into the soy ice creams as much since I still remember what ice cream is supposed to taste like. Soy is good, but it’s just not ice cream to me.
If your issue is lactose, Breyer’s has a 99% lactose free vanilla bean ice cream that’s wonderful.
When my daughter was dairy-free, we used Soy Delicious vanilla ice cream to good effect. I hate the taste of soy. But one thing have not given up is Earth Balance soy butter substitute. It is absolutely delicious.
i use organic rice milk,
+ my daughter eats the tofutti cuties
Whole Soy frozen yogurt is awesome, but very hard to find. Turtle Mountain (purely decadent, soy delicious, etc.) is always a good standby, and they have “ice cream” bars. Tofutti has been playing around with their ingredients quite a bit in recent years. Some older products do linger on the shelves with trans fats, while new ones are modified. Just check the ingredient label. If it has the word “hydrogenated” then trans fats are likely.
I have not trialed the Tofutti desserts as they contain high fructose corn syrup, and often a lot of corn products in general.
We use a lot of almond and rice milk, they are easy to find in stores.
If you want an abundance of ideas, check http://www.godairyfree.org. There are recipes, milk subs, etc. plus grocery shopping list ideas – http://www.godairyfree.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=4&id=16&Itemid=30
tofutti cuties are indeed tasty and cute, but i was always disturbed by how they held their shape even after melting. after witnessing that more than once it was no more tofutti cuties for me!