Fro-yo girl here. I first tried Ripple’s Greek Yogurt Alternative product about 1 ½ years ago. It wasn’t a positive experience. Then the product disappeared from shelves. I guess I wasn’t the only one who didn’t like it.
Recently, I noticed the return of Ripple Yogurt, with new packaging and a new formulation. It’s no longer positioned as a Greek yogurt alternative, but instead is called a Creamy Yogurt Alternative. Of course, their yogurt features Ripple’s proprietary Ripptein pea protein. Interestingly, Ripple admits that they “messed up” their first attempt at yogurt, because of scalability issues.
I found Ripple Creamy Yogurt Alternative at Target for $2.35 each. One cup is the standard yogurt size, 5.3 oz. The product is nut free, soy free, gluten free, lactose free, and vegan.
Available flavors: Original, Blueberry, Peach, Strawberry, Vanilla
* Vanilla Yogurt: The color was light yellow-grey and I could see the tiny vanilla bean specks. It seemed to smell better than I remembered, like vanilla protein powder. The texture was smooth and creamy, but not as thick as Greek yogurt. The flavor was sweet with a little tang and a sweet aftertaste. It tasted like vanilla soy milk with protein powder. Not bad. It’s an improvement.
* Strawberry Yogurt: The greyish light pink color wasn’t appealing but the flavor was better than I expected. The texture was smooth, creamy and a bit thicker than the vanilla yogurt. There were tiny pieces of strawberry and seeds throughout. The strawberry made it a bit tangier than the vanilla yogurt and it wasn’t that sweet. It also had that soy milk meets protein powder taste. It was light on the tongue, with a clean aftertaste.
I recommend stirring the yogurt before consuming it. Doing so makes the texture smoother.
One serving is 160 calories, 6g total fat, 15g sugars, and 6g protein. It has more sugar and less protein compared to the earlier Ripple Greek Yogurt Alternative.
Ingredients (Strawberry Yogurt): Pea protein blend (water, pea protein), water, organic cane sugar, sunflower oil, strawberries, tapioca flour, contains less than 2% of strawberry puree, yeast extract, pectin, locust bean gum, beet juice concentrate for color, natural flavors, live and active cultures.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
Fro-yo girl here. Dairy-free continues to be all the rage. Chobani, the #1 Greek yogurt in the US, just introduced its first plant-based product, Non-Dairy Chobani. Chobani describes Non-Dairy Chobani as “a delicious, non-dairy coconut-based blend packed with probiotics and made with 25% less sugar than other non-dairy alternatives. It’s the perfect non-dairy choice, made the Chobani Way: with only natural ingredients and real fruit for a creamy texture and refreshing taste.” It’s non-GMO, soy-free, and gluten-free.
I found Non-Dairy Chobani at Sprouts in Alhambra, CA. The retail price was $2.49 and the sale price was $2.29. One cup is 5.3 oz, typical for yogurt. I like the leafy green packaging, a good visual representation for something plant-based. It’s interesting and even a bit strange that Chobani doesn’t call Non-Dairy Chobani yogurt.
Slightly Sweet Plain: Since this is the lowest sugar flavor, it caught my eye and interest. I’ve had coconut-based non-dairy yogurt before, but other brands. While COYO was too thick and rich, Dairy-Free Chobani suffers the opposite problem – it’s not thick enough. The texture is a little strange – liked thickened cream that’s almost gelatinous, something that’s obviously been thickened with additives. But I liked the overall mild coconut flavor (I don’t like coconuts) and the fact that it was less sweet. I suspect that Plain is the best Non-Dairy Chobani flavor. One serving is 130 calories, 8g fat, 16g carbs, 7g sugars, 2g fiber, and 1g protein.
Strawberry: This is a blended flavor. I could taste the strawberry and the coconut. The strawberry flavor was stronger. The flavor was fine but too sweet since it didn’t have any sourness or tanginess. One serving has 140 calories, 7g fat, 19g carbs, 11g sugars, 2g fiber, and 1g protein.
Ingredients (Strawberry): Cultured coconut blend (water, coconut, tapioca flour, agar, cultures), cane sugar, strawberries, water, chicory root fiber, lemon juice concentrate, natural flavors, fruit pectin, fruit and vegetable juice concentrate (for color), locust bean gum
Available flavors of Single Serve Cups: Blueberry, Peach, Slightly Sweet Plain, Strawberry, and Vanilla
Available flavors of Single Serve Drinks: Mango, Slightly Sweet Plain, Strawberry, and Vanilla Chai
3.5 out of 5 stars.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
Fro-yo girl here. COYO is the first commercially available cultured yogurt alternative made with coconuts. The founder grew up in Fiji, where he collected coconuts and scraped them for dinner. Later, this inspired him to make yogurt out of coconut milk with probiotics.
Whole Foods has been carrying COYO for awhile now. I found COYO for $2.99. It is dairy-free, gluten free, non-GMO, vegan/paleo, gum free and has no added sugar.
* Natural: I was surprised by how thick and clumpy the yogurt was when I opened it. It was thicker than Greek yogurt and even skyr. I recommend stirring it so that it looks smoother and less clumpy. It was so thick that it reminded me of cream cheese, only coconut flavored. Sourness was present but not overwhelmingly so. The coconut flavor was quite prominent. It was too rich and heavy to eat like a regular yogurt, but I quite liked it spread on toast. It would work well for savory applications as well.
One container is 5.3 oz. One serving is 5.3 oz, 390 calories, 38g total fat, 5g sugars, 3g protein, and 10g carbohydrates.
Ingredients (natural): Coconut cream (coconut extract, water), tapioca, pectin, probiotic cultures.
Available flavors: Natural, Mango, Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Mixed Berry
You can use the store locator to find COYO.
4 out of 5 stars.
You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.
Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.
