Earlier this year, Wu-Tang’s Once Upon A Time In Shaolin album was sold by the government to pay off part of ultra-weasel Martin Shkreli’s $7.4 million forfeiture judgment. But members of The Wu-Tang Clan have stayed plenty busy with other endeavors. For starters, the second season of the Hulu show Wu-Tang: An American Saga came out, and one of its members, RZA, re-launched his series Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater on his platform 36 Cinema, which hosts screenings of old school kung-fu and blaxploitation films, complete with guests and live commentary.
In a recent interview with Mic, where RZA spoke about An American Saga, the 2019 Sacha Jenkins-directed documentary Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, and the need for Black voices to tell Black stories. He also revealed that he is working on a biopic about Ol’ Dirty Bastard. If you’ve heard about this before, it’s because in 2018, The Hollywood Reporterran a story revealing the project was green-lit by Columbia Pictures, that it would be produced by RZA, and that a search for a director and screenwriter were underway. Not only that, but he shared that it’s part of a bigger vision:
“The documentary was to capture the story as best we can in the reality of it, and then the TV series was to dramatize it. The third tier of the plan, which I’m in progress of, is an ODB movie biopic. Like the five-year Wu-Tang plan, this was a five-year media plan that I concocted, I meditated on, and I’m striving to live out. So far, it’s working well.”
ODB was a polarizing figure, to say the least, and his life was shrouded in equal parts flamboyance and mystique. A RZA-produced biopic is sure to shed light on his fantastic and mad existence.
After years of keeping their metrics under wraps, only divulging their most-watched shows when true pop culture phenomena (such as Squid Game) occur, Netflix is finally coming clean with their analytics. Earlier today, the streaming service took to Twitter to announce they are creating a website entirely dedicated to listing their weekly top ten films and television shows. The website, topten.netflix.com, will allow visitors access to the service’s global top ten lists, as well as various filtered lists based on language and country.
We’ve had a lot of feedback about our metrics over the years.
So we went back to the drawing board and today we’re excited to launch https://t.co/a9X2usRUun — a new website with weekly global and country lists of the most popular titles on Netflix as ranked by view hours pic.twitter.com/JMrvzmRv8s
This site comes as quite the surprising following reports earlier this year that Netflix was shifting away from its longtime two-minute viewing time metric in favor of ranking shows by total number of hours viewed. Considering the streamer has always been a bit secretive with their numbersand was undergoing that aforementioned shift, folks weren’t necessarily anticipating this new feature. However, it comes as a welcome change for both curious subscribers and most assuredly advertisers.
Netflix’s Weekly Top Ten is scheduled to refresh every Tuesday, but will keep a record of previous weeks as well. As of right now, users can track metrics as far back as the week of June 28, 2021, though Netflix has not revealed if earlier data will be lost as new weeks are created.
In addition to merely listing the top ten, the site will also keep track of how many weeks a title has been on the top ten as well as the total number of hours the title has been viewed. Right now, Netflix’s original film Red Notice holds the global, English movie record with nearly 149 million hours viewed. Narcos: Mexico: Season 3 holds the title for most-watched English series this week, with just over 50 million hours watched. According to Netflix (via The Wrap), the company will also give proper credit to hours rewatched, meaning more shaming Netflix users for watching far too many hours of The Christmas Princeis surely coming soon.
After LeVar Burton went on a roller-coaster experience as a potential contender to become Alex Trebek’s successor as the permanent host of Jeopardy!, the gig ultimately went to executive producer Mike Richards. He lasted less than a week at the podium, and LeVar Burton has landed on his feet with a new game show hosting gig. The beloved Reading Rainbow host has teamed up with eOne to develop a new show based on the classic board game Trivial Pursuit, which falls directly into Burton’s wheelhouse as a purveyor of knowledge.
“Trivial Pursuit is one of the best-known brands in the gaming universe. I am thrilled to have partnered with Hasbro and eOne to bring this beloved game to market as a premium show for television,” Burton said in a statement to Deadline:
“LeVar Burton has been an iconic member of American pop culture for decades from Roots to Reading Rainbow to Star Trek and beyond. His love for intellectual curiosity paired with his ability to connect with audiences worldwide make him the perfect partner to bring Hasbro’s beloved trivia game to households in a new and exciting way,” added Tara Long, President, Global Unscripted Television, eOne.
Clearly, Burton’s time on Jeopardy! hasn’t soured him to the world of TV game shows, but don’t expect him to be calling out Daily Doubles again. When asked back in October if he’d take the now-vacant Jeopardy! hosting gig if it was offered to him, Burton told an interviewer exactly what he’d say to Sony Pictures Television, “‘No. You’ve got to be kidding me! You’re out of your mind. Goodbye!”
Kate Bush once famously took a 35 year hiatus from performing on stage. The iconic British singer and producer is among music’s most notorious recluses. And despite the 2016 Before The Dawn live album, has not released any music since and any news of future releases has remained consistently absent. Until now…
Appearing on The Fader Uncovered Podcast with Mark Ronson this week, Big Boi dropped a bombshell so to speak, that he had not only recorded a song with Bush (whom he idolizes), but that it’s “…a monster hit with Kate Bush — that I’m just holding.” He explained on the show that in 2014, around the time of the Outkast 20th anniversary tour and when Bush came out of that 35 year performance retirement for a 22-date run of shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, he and his wife went to see her live. He met Bush backstage after the show, exchanged numbers and stayed in touch. “She’s a very, very, very classy lady,” he said.
Big Boi then details a dinner he went to with Bush at a pub where they sipped “almond cognac,” before eventually working on this mysterious song. “It’s a dream come true and the people are gonna f***ing love it. It’s f***ing incredible,” he says. But he stayed coy on the song’s release, stating that “Whenever I think they deserve it, I’m gonna give it to ’em.” He also intimated that the song could be “that perfect art piece” to go with a visual component necessary for a release as an NFT.
The news of this collaboration really came out of left field, but not so much considering Big Boi looked up to Bush growing up. He revealed that Bush was one of the reasons he got into making music and that he would ride his bike to school as a kid listening to “Running Up That Hill.”
“The world gotta hear it cause it’s uplifting,” he said reflectively of the song. “It’s the last piece of the puzzle as far as my legacy goes.”
Riverdale (CW, 9:00pm) — Sabrina Spellman’s due on the scene soon, all while Veronica and Reggie have become a power couple, and Jughead moves in with Tabatha. The Archiverse is about to grow even stranger than it’s been already, and thank goodness the “war” is over.
The Flash (CW, 8:00pm) — Team Flash must push hard to save the world after a brand new alien threat arrives on Earth. No rest for anyone, ever.
La Brea (NBC, 9:00pm) — Natalie Zea is still stuck in a primeval hellhole, and it looks like that astral window might be closed for good. Last week’s storm left two survivors trapped, and now, it’s time for the rescue mission.
Simple As Water (HBO, 9:00pm) — This documentary examines parent-and-child bonds, along with a look at the effects of war and displacement upon Syrian families who only want normalcy.
The Last O.G. (TBS, 10:00 & 10:30pm) — Tray begins to help out after the Tompkins-Marcy Center reopens, all while Javi’s mom and an old friend complicate matters.
Queens (ABC, 10:00pm) — The fractured girl group that was once part of a hip-hop dynasty continues to enjoy their second wind. However, they’re all gotta conquer their personal lives, too, and Brianna’s dealing with Jeff’s infidelity while the group faces a performance that could mean a real comeback.
Chucky (SYFY and USA, 10:00pm) — The O.G. homicidal doll is still at it, this time with original voice actor Brad Dourif taking over for recent movie-version Mark Hamill. This week, Jake’s recruiting his friends to set a trap for Chucky, but things might get even worse if the trap backfires.
Jimmy Kimmel Live — Kirsten Dunst, Wilmer Valderrama, Kevin Garnett, Gracie Abrams
The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Jared Leto, Vanessa Hudgens, Tom Morella Ft. Grandson
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Eric Adams, Dwyane Wade
Late Night With Seth Meyers — Aubrey Plaza, Peter Sarsgaard, Amor Towles, Nate Smith
The Late Late Show With James Corden — Mindy Kaling, Yvonne Orji, Majid Jordan
In case you missed these recent streaming picks:
The Freak Brothers: Season 1 (Tubi series) — Woody Harrelson, Pete Davidson, and John Goodman play the title-character freaks in this animated series that updates The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers comic (created by Gilbert Shelton) that first surfaced in 1968. They’re all stoners, and Tiffany Haddish voices their ornery cat as they barrel through San Francisco, looking for their next high.
Kamikaze: Season 1 (HBO Max series) — This Polish show might not be on your radar yet, but it arrives with a riveting premise: what happens to one’s identity when everything that matters in your life disappears in one panicked heartbeat? Marie Reuther portrays a young woman who gets a terrible text message — her entire family is about to go down in a plane crash — that changes everything.
Christine Miserandino gave the world a new way to understand chronic illness in 2003 when she wrote a post on her blog, “But You Don’t Look Sick,” titled “The Spoon Theory.” Miserandino was looking for a way to explain to a friend what it’s like to live with lupus, so she used a set of spoons in a cafe to illustrate the finite amount of energy she has for each day.
The friend walked Miserandino through a typical day and each time she did an activity that used a significant amount of energy, the blogger removed a spoon from her hand.
Before she was able to get through her day, the friend ran out of spoons and couldn’t accomplish everything she set out to do. Miserandino explained that chronically ill people have fewer spoons and need to be judicious about how they use their energy.
Timber Talbot and a group of their friends took Spoon Theory to heart and organized a community on Facebook where people could share extra spoons with one another to help them get through the day.
“I had noticed that several close friends of mine were struggling with social anxiety and executive dysfunction and wanted to create a place where they could seek the help they needed when it came to difficulty completing tasks,” Talbot told Upworthy.
Talbot has executive dysfunction which makes it difficult for them to accomplish tasks.
Individuals with executive dysfunction struggle with planning, problem-solving, organization, and time management. It often occurs due to autism, ADHD, another disorder, or a traumatic brain injury.
“We are conditioned to believe that our worth is based on productivity and executive dysfunction limits productivity greatly. The feeling of hitting an emotional and mental wall is discouraging, frustrating and sometimes infuriating,” they said.
In 2019, Talbot created the Extra Spoons Facebook Group with about 70 others figuring out how to get through simple, everyday tasks due to feelings of fatigue, depression, or ADHD. This group is 100% volunteer-based, 100% free, and available to anyone who has executive dysfunction or is neurodivergent.
The Facebook Group gives members the ability to get help with simple administrative tasks such as scheduling doctors’ appointments or drafting short emails. The group is efficient. After a task is posted, a volunteer will usually show up to help in just a few minutes.
“Many common requests are asking for help finding doctors that take the requester’s insurance,” Talbot says. “There are often requests for body doubles to help people stay focused while completing tasks.”
A body double will quietly work alongside someone to help them focus on the task at hand by keeping their mind occupied so they don’t lose focus. Extra Spoons members will often body double for someone who needs assistance through Zoom or video chat.
Over the past two years, Extra Spoons has expanded to over 6,800 people.
“Extra Spoons gained traction during the upswing of the COVID-19 pandemic and has shown the pure kindness and resilience of the human spirit in a time of crisis,” Talbot said.
The group isn’t neatly divided between those who request help and those who volunteer.
“The thing about Extra Spoons is even when people join to ask for help, oftentimes they find themselves able to contribute to help people in other ways,” they said. “I do find that there are often times there turns out to be an equal number of volunteers to requests daily.”
The Extra Spoons Group is a fantastic example of how people can use Facebook Groups to help one another in real-time. Here’s an example of a group member helping Talbot write an email.
Photo courtesy of Timber Talbot
Miserandino’s theory and Talbot and friends’ ability to put it into action shows how by listening to people with chronic illness, we can find new ways to meet their needs. Now, with resources like Facebook Groups, those of us who have an extra spoon can find a place to lend it.
When she released her 2020 sophomore album Color Theory, Soccer Mommy was only to celebrate for about a month before the global lockdown took place. She made do by sharing specialized videos to appease fans who had their city’s tour date canceled and was since able to return to playing live shows earlier this fall. But now planning to make up for lost time, Soccer Mommy reveals she’ll once again hit the road with a 2022 North American tour.
Soccer Mommy’s jam-packed 2022 tour kicks off in March in Athens, Georgia and comes to a close a month later in Lawrence, Kansas. There’s also a few tour dates in Canada along the way, which she missed with her 2021 tour in September.
excited for our spring 2022 tour can’t wait to play in a bunch of cities we haven’t been to before! presale 11/18 @ 10am et. sign up for the code: https://t.co/zYBDTREugs
Wyclef Jean is good at many things. Through his solo music and work with the Fugees, he’s become one of hip-hop’s most respected figures. Also, he got pretty famously choked by Dylan (aka Dave Chappelle) that one time, so that’s another resume bullet point. If there’s one thing he’s not awesome at, though, it’s supporting CEOs while they sit on his shoulders.
That’s not just an odd and random thing to say, as TMZ has the story: The rapper was hired to perform at the the Range Rover Leadership Summit, which was attended by Jaguar Land Rover higher-ups, yesterday. After the event, there was an after party at the Edition Hotel in West Hollywood, where Jean was seen carrying Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America, on his shoulders. In the video obtained by TMZ, Wyclef kind of just sways for a while as Eberhardt sits on him and supports himself by holding onto Jean’s hands. Then, there comes the point where Jean seemingly either attempts to let Eberhardt off his shoulders or just stumbles forward, which sent both Jean and Eberhardt hurtling to the ground.
TMZ notes that Eberhardt left the party early and was “slightly hurt” as Jean “looked embarrassed by the whole thing.”
Land Rover’s slogan is “above and beyond,” but it seems Eberhardt might be best served if he stayed below and close: below shoulder level and close to the ground.
In the latest bonkers excerpt from Jonathan Karl’s new book, Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show, attorney Sidney Powell reportedly fell so hard for a QAnon conspiracy theory that she actually contacted the Pentagon and attempted to launch a special operations mission to extract CIA Director Gina Haspel from Germany.
For the record, Haspel was not in any danger whatsoever, but thanks to a steady diet of wild QAnon theories, Powell was fully convinced that the CIA director had been injured and arrested while on a covert mission to destroy proof that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. According to Karl’s book, Powell contacted Ezra Cohen-Watkins, a Trump appointee at the Pentagon, and demanded immediate action. Via Mediaite:
“The server, Powell claimed, contained evidence that hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of votes had been switched using rigged voting machines. Powell believed Haspel had embarked on this secret mission to get the server and destroy the evidence – in other words, the CIA director was part of the conspiracy.”
“They needed to get the server and force Haspel to confess,” Karl adds, explaining Powell’s motives. According to the reporting in the book, Cohen-Watkins was so taken aback by the call he reported the call to the acting defense secretary.
According to the book, the situation got so out of hand, that a CIA spokesperson had to issue a statement saying that Haspel is “alive and well,” and more importantly, in her office. Powell would later be removed from Trump’s legal team for somehow being too crazy for Rudy Giuliani, which is pretty impressive. That takes skill.
There are a lot of reasons not to drink milk. Adverse allergic reactions, lactose intolerance, environmental concerns, well-placed hate for the dairy industry, or simply being weirded out by the idea of drinking the milk of some other animal. We get it, milk is kind of weird, but it’s also packed with essential nutrients, according to Healthline, including iron, niacin, vitamins B, E, K, thiamin, and selenium. It’s full of calcium that’ll keep your bones and teeth healthy and is great for baking and other culinary uses. And, most importantly, milk makes the best cheese!
But sometimes you just don’t want to mess with milk, even if you’re down with cheese. Luckily, we live in an age in which you can get all kinds of plant-based milk alternatives and some of them are just as tasty and useful as milk. Unfortunately, a lot of them are also crap that’s either really bad for you, not what it seems, or both.
So we’ve taken a deep dive into the most popular milk alternatives currently on grocery store shelves to give you a full run-down of all the good and bad of each of them. Whether you’re looking for milk for your cereal, latte, baking a cake, or making a smoothie, we’ve got you covered! Because this list is more of a guide than a ranking, don’t consider the brand we’ve chosen to represent each different milk as an endorsement of that brand, we just picked whatever brand had a large national presence for each style.
Wait… How Do You Milk Any Of This Stuff?
It’s something that you might not think about because in a lot of cases plant-based milk looks like milk, but you can’t exactly milk an oat. Or an almond. Or any of this stuff. So then what the hell is plant-based milk? In most cases, it’s a bunch of ground-up beans, grains, plants, or nuts that are mixed with water, vitamins and minerals, sometimes sugar or vanilla flavoring, emulsifiers, thickeners and gums, and perhaps the most shocking of all, oils. That’s all blended together to make, well, “milk.” But what do you want people to call this stuff? Somewhat interestingly, in most cultures outside of the Anglosphere, they call them “drinks” — oat drink, soy drink, almond drink, etc. But we digress.
Like plant-based meat, plant-based milk requires a whole lot of processing. So in order to get that consistency milk is so famous for, a lot of plant-based milk options need some kind of fat mixed in. That means a lot of brands opt for oil since it’s dairy-free and contains healthy fats (assuming it’s good oil, though in most cases, it won’t be). Once you know plant-based milk has oil in it, you won’t be able to not taste it. We sincerely apologize for letting you know.
What To Look For
When it comes to plant-based milk, the fewer ingredients the better. It’s normal to see emulsifiers like sunflower lecithin and dipotassium phosphate, or vitamin and mineral blends, and salt. You’re going to want to stay away from things like added sugar, sweeteners, the phrase “natural flavors,” long lists of ingredients you have a hard time pronouncing, and something called carrageenan. Carrageenan is an emulsifying agent derived from seaweed that, according to MedicineNet, scientists believe can induce inflammation and lead to chronic illnesses and digestive disorders.
We should also note that certain low-quality oils may also lead to inflammation, but that’s a whole other guide we’d have to dive into so we can’t really cover that here. You may also want to spend the extra dollars for products that are organic, considering a lot of pesticides go into the growing of things like almonds, peas, and oats.
In short — look for unsweetened “milk” with a shortlist of ingredients that contain good levels of protein, calcium, and vitamins, and stay away from carrageenan. Now that you’re a little bit more familiar with what’s inside most plant-based milk, you’re probably thinking you can make your own. You totally can, it’s easy and in a lot of cases better for your health because you have full control over what you put in it.
The Milk
Almond Milk
Blue Diamond
The Milk:
Almond milk is hands-down the most popular plant-based milk currently on the market. Tasting it, it’s easy to see why. It has a soft and creamy texture with a delicately nutty flavor and is, according to Medical News Today, naturally high in fat, vitamin E, calcium, and potassium while being low in calories and unfortunately, protein. Generally, most almond milk brands further fortify it with calcium, more protein, and vitamins A and D, giving it a nutritional profile that isn’t that far off from cow’s milk. Though it is less bioavailable, which means you don’t absorb it quite as well.
Unfortunately, almond farming is very damaging to the environment considering almonds require a lot of water to grow and most almonds in the world come from California, a state that is always in the news for being in a drought. Maybe stop growing almonds, California! No seriously, I say this as a Californian, stop growing almonds here, please!
Where it sucks:
Baking. Don’t substitute cow’s milk for almond milk in a baking recipe. Well, let us walk that back a bit, you can substitute 1:1 but you shouldn’t. Almond milk has the high-fat content to act as a good substitute in most recipes, but the flavor leaves a lot to be desired. Milk is sweet, almond milk — especially the unsweetened stuff we suggest you buy — is not, which will result in your recipes always tasting inferior when compared to using real dairy. The texture will also be less fluffy.
Where it thrives:
In almost every other use for milk that you can think of. Need something for your cereal? Almond milk. Need some cream for your at-home coffee? Bam, use almond milk. Making a vegan cheese? Almond milk is the stuff!
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
Smoothies and milkshakes. As I mentioned before, almond milk has a pretty high-fat content, which is why it works in baking (even though, again, we don’t suggest it). So when it comes to smoothies and milkshakes, it’s one of the best choices you can use next to cow’s milk. It nails that creamy consistency.
Banana Milk
Mooala
The Milk:
Banana milk is made with blended banana and water, so it is essentially banana juice. If that sounds delicious to you, we’re happy to report that it is. Banana milk is one of the best-tasting milk alternatives out there thanks to its natural sweetness. Some banana milk on the shelves is blended with other plant-based milk, so keep that in mind when looking at ingredients lists.
This option shines for being low in carbs, calories, and added sugars, as well as being allergen-free so long as it isn’t mixed with nut-based milk (or you’re not allergic to bananas). Unfortunately, it’s also low in protein and other important nutrients. So if you’re looking for a milk alternative for flavor, this is that milk. If you want milk for nutritional reasons, this one is one of the weaker options.
Where it sucks:
Savory options. Don’t make a bechamel sauce or any other cream sauce with banana milk unless you want to throw up.
Where it thrives:
Smoothies, obviously. Banana milk is a great way to double down on banana flavor when you’re mixing up a smoothie.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
As a great baking option. Sometimes. Yes, banana milk tastes a lot like a banana. So if you don’t want the taste of banana in your cake, don’t use it. But if you do, it really adds that magical touch of something extra. Don’t use it to make banana nut muffins… banana-ier, instead add a subtle touch of banana to things like a devil’s food cake, or even pumpkin spice cupcakes.
Cashew Milk
Elmhurst
The Milk:
If you’re feeling guilty about being an almond milk drinker but love the flavor, give cashew milk a try! Cashew milk also has a deliciously creamy consistency with a naturally sweet nutty flavor that is still low in sugar. It’s not as delicate as almond milk, but it’s (slightly) better for the environment.
This is the sort of milk that you should definitely learn to make at home, as it’s one of the easier ones to make right. But, unfortunately, while your end product will be delicious, it’ll be pretty free from substantial nutrition. If you’re looking for something vitamin and mineral fortified, you’ll find it in the grocery aisles, but that usually comes with a whole lot of other ingredients and thickeners.
Where it sucks:
While you can use it as a 1:1 substitute for milk in baking, again, we suggest against that. It’s a better choice than almond milk because most cashew milk will come sweetened, but it still leaves your baking recipes missing that extra dose of sweetness that cow’s milk provides.
Where it thrives:
Like almond milk, cashew milk is good for smoothies and milkshakes, but also makes a great milk substitute in savory foods.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
As a plant-based milk base for a curry.
Coconut Milk
Silk
The Milk:
Coconut milk comes in two categories: canned, and what is called “coconut beverage,” which is the refrigerated stuff. The canned stuff is thick and creamy and made from actual coconut and acts as a delicious cooking ingredient and is even thick enough to be whipped into cream. It’s the sort of stuff you should use in a curry.
Coconut milk beverage on the other hand is the sort of thing you’d put into your coffee, drink from a glass, or eat with your cereal. You could bake with both but not in equal measures!
Where it sucks:
In certain recipes. While you can substitute cow’s milk 1:1 with coconut milk beverage, sometimes to great results like when baking, it’s going to sometimes impact the flavor in adverse ways. Coconut milk isn’t quite as neutral as cow’s milk, if you reduce it down into a sauce, that sauce is going to have a coconut quality to it. If that’s not what you’re going for, it can ruin the results.
Where it thrives:
It’s delicious in baking!
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
It is hands down the best milk to eat cereal with, even compared to cow’s milk. Eat cereal milk with coconut milk and I promise you you’ll never look back.
Hemp Milk
Pacific Foods
The Milk:
High in protein, hemp milk is a fantastic plant-based milk alternative with a distinct earthy flavor and a thick and creamy consistency. Hemp milk is also high in omega 3s and iron and has skin and heart-healthy nutrients but is low in calcium, according to Heathline. Yes, hemp is a cannabis plant. No, it won’t get you stoned. Even if you drink the whole thing in one sitting. That might make you throw up though.
Where it sucks:
Baking. Again. Like a lot of the other plant-based milk, it’s not that it doesn’t make a good substitute for cow’s milk consistency-wise, it’s just that the flavor is way too distinct, so it messes with the balance of sweetness in your baked goods.
Where it thrives:
Savory dishes, it has an earthiness that adds a lot of distinct character to sauces.
Where you wouldn’t expect it
As the base of a double espresso shot latte with a generous swirl of honey. That’s earthy bitter perfection in a cup.
Flax Milk
Good Karma
The Milk:
Flax milk — made from flaxseeds crushed and mixed with water — is a great choice for those looking for plant-based milk that doesn’t contain nuts. It has a tasty earthy flavor but is usually pretty low in protein and often comes fortified with all sorts of stuff.
Where it sucks:
Coffee. It doesn’t add a creamy lift like a lot of the other options on this list. Instead, it leaves coffee tasting flat and dirty.
Where it thrives:
In savory dishes.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
Crepes. It’s a little too thin for good pancakes. But if you’re looking to make a crepe, its silkiness will keep your crepe from ever-rising too thick.
Oat Milk
OatLy
The Milk:
If almond milk is the current favorite of the plant-based milk buying crowd, then oat milk is a close second. Made from whole oats and water, oat milk tastes a lot like a less intense version of oatmeal with a creamy texture and an earthy and nutty flavor.
Where it sucks:
It doesn’t have the neutrality of cow’s milk, so in certain dishes, it imparts an earthy flavor that can be off-putting and give your baked goods a health-store quality. It can be used to an advantage, but not always.
Where it thrives:
In lattes. Like hemp milk, oat milk’s nutty earthy flavor profile pairs perfectly with espresso.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
In smoothies. Oats sounds like a dull way to enhance your smoothie when you compare it to something like banana milk or almond milk, but the earthy nutty flavor of oat milk adds a nice sense of texture that can calm down overly sweetened smoothies. It’s a nice balance.
Rice Milk
Rice Dream
The Milk:
Rice milk is by far the thinnest plant-based milk substitute on the market. It’s also low in fat, protein, and fiber, and is usually sweetened. So why would anyone ever pick rice milk? Because it’s soy-free, dairy-free, and doesn’t contain allergens like nuts. Still, as far as plant-based milk go if you can stomach other options, this is the one we recommend the least.
Where it sucks:
Baking. I know we’ve said that about almost every milk on this list, but rice milk is the absolute worst for baking. The consistency is just way too thin. Do not use this as a 1:1 substitution for cow’s milk, it’ll throw everything off.
Where it thrives:
Cereal, that’s pretty much it.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
In coffee, it tastes somehow remarkably similar to cow’s milk.
Soy Milk
Silk
The Milk:
If you hopped in a time machine and traveled back about 15 years, the only plant-based milk you’d find on grocery store shelves would be soy milk. The option for using soy as plant-based milk was a no-brainer, soy milk contains a lot of protein and is naturally full of antioxidants while still being rich and creamy like cow’s milk. It’s sweet and can be used as a 1:1 substitute for milk on any occasion, from making butter to baking, to really, any type of cooking.
So why isn’t it the most popular? Let’s get to that.
Where it sucks:
Soy milk is interchangeable with cow’s milk, so the flaws with this milk are less in what it can and can’t do, and more about why you might not want to drink soy. A lot of people are allergic to soy, so they can’t drink soy milk. Also, soy farming is incredibly harmful to the environment.
Rain forests are cut down and burnt in order to make way for soybean farms (which also includes animal protein production too). It’s one of the worst environmental offenders, even when compared to almond milk. Soy also contains phytoestrogens that may mess with the hormonal levels of infants, children, and adolescents. According to Livestrong, contrary to popular belief, those phytoestrogens should have little impact on the hormone levels of fully grown men.
Though there are a lot of current studies being conducted in regards to the human consumption of soy, just something to think about!
Where it thrives:
In cooking. Use it in any recipe that calls for milk and soy milk will get the job done.
Where you wouldn’t expect it:
Of the plant-based milk on this list, soy froths up better than any other milk that isn’t cow’s. Take it from me, I worked as a barista for five years.
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Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
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