Try These Alternative Healthy Food Staples!

Last week, I shared my Perfect PSL remix. It was dairy-free and low sugar, and you could even mix it up more with homemade cashew mylk and healthy coconut whipped cream. Yum! So for those of you who are a little more daring with your food choices, I have some alternative healthy food staples to spice up your regulars, like milk, cereal and snack foods. 

And just in time for Halloween, these may include a few creepy crawlers…

Get ready to spice up your Autumn with these alternative healthy food staples.  

There has been no shortage of new non-dairy milk options this year – from coconut to walnut to sesame. Autumn is the season of abundance after all. Today, we’re going to focus on two new milk superstars, gaining in popularity.

Oat Milk

You’ve probably heard of this dairy alternative before because it’s really building steam in independent coffee shops around the country. Oat milk is made by blending water and oats, and then straining out the liquid to a desired consistency.

The results are chock-full of nutrients, such as “fiber, plant-based protein, B vitamins, and minerals, including iron, calcium, and magnesium.” Oats contain a special fiber called beta-glucan that’s been shown to help with high cholesterol and provide prebiotics. So this is a heart and gut-healthy alternative to cow dairy.

Oats are whole grains, so it may not be the best choice for people with certain food allergies. You want to watch out for added sweetness with most dairy alternatives, but this delicious beverage is perfect for your next warm morning latte.

Taste Test – Silk Oat Yeah Oatmilk or Pacific Foods Organic Oat Milk

Pea Milk

If peas make you think of grandma’s Sunday dinner, you’re not alone, but these little babies make a surprisingly velvety and nutritious beverage.

In addition to having fewer calories than traditional dairy milk, pea-based drinks like Ripple pack a protein punch that knocks almond milk out of the water. There’s 8 grams per 8-ounce serving in Ripple’s original flavor, compared to 1 gram in Almond Breeze. Adam Lowry, one of Ripple’s co-founders, adds, “The protein naturally found in peas helps you stay full between meals, and peas are easily digested and non-allergenic.”

Pea production is better for the environment too, using 25 times less water than dairy milk and 100 times (!!) less than growing almonds.

“It takes 1,000 gallons of water to make just one gallon of milk, and 1.1 gallons of water to make a single almond,” according to Ripple co-founder Neil Renninger. Their company is committed to sustainability and creating a positive  “ripple effect” on the environment.

Pea protein is also rich in branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which aid in building strong muscles and lowering blood sugar. Ripple, in particular, contains omega-3 fatty acids like DHA from its algal oil, a plant-based source derived from marine algae. DHA “plays vital roles in heart health, immune function, nervous system function and brain health,” making this dairy alternative a smart and pea-leasing choice for your smoothies, baking and oatmeal. 😉

Taste Test – Ripple Pea Milk and Yogurt

Bean Cereal

Unless you’re enjoying an Irish breakfast, beans are probably the last thing you want for breakfast. Still, these tiny but mighty staples provide as much protein in a bowl of cereal as a single, large egg. Even breakfast champion Cheerios started to add lentils to their product in May to beef it up.

In addition to their high protein content, beans like navy beans, lentils and garbanzo beans are also high in fiber, which helps maintain bowel health, control blood sugar levels and lower cholesterol. And, if you suffer from a peanut allergy, allergic reactions to other beans are typically uncommon. One U.S. study revealed only 5% of children with a peanut allergy had allergic reactions to other beans tested.

So mix up your morning by enjoying a bowl!  

Taste Test – Love Grown’s Power O’s

Cricket Protein

There is an entire industry for edible insects scurrying into stores (sorry, I had to make at least one joke…). From protein bars to chips to baking powder, bugs aren’t just reptile food anymore!

The ones people generally consume are Acheta domestica, or the house cricket, which is farmed in Thailand specifically for human consumption. This process actually helps make crickets “cleaner than chickens and cows, carrying fewer diseases and infections.” And because you eat the entire cricket, there’s little to no waste. 

In fact, crickets grow about 20 times faster than cows in less than half the space, using fewer resources and creating far less serious environmental repercussions. “Only 40% of a cow’s original slaughter weight is used as meat,” once it makes its way to the supermarket aisle, but not before using up additional economic and environmental resources to arrive safely to consume.

Before you balk at eating bugs, you should know that over 80% of all countries in the world already eat bugs as one of their main sources of protein. Its “subtle earthy taste” is easily disguised in dishes among other ingredients and flavors or when processed into something like noodles.  

Cricket powder and flour are an affordable way to add healthy proteins to your diet, and for good reason. They are packed with protein! Two tablespoons of cricket powder contains 7 grams of protein, and it’s gluten-free. It also contains high levels of amino acids, comparably 10 times as much energy-boosting vitamin B-12 as salmon, more than twice the iron as spinach. 

Try one of the options below to ease into this new ingredient, and see if you can even tell the difference!

Taste Test – Chirps Chips, Thailand Unique Cricket Flour and Exo Cricket Flour Protein Bars

Are you adventurous enough to give crickets a try? Have you already sampled some oat milk with your favorite latte? Let me know about your experience in the comments below.

LOVE + happy taste testing!