Why we're all stirred up about... The Coconut Collaborative 'Dairy Free' Yoghurt

Cue drum roll!!

Ta da!

Here it is, the long-awaited Coconut Collaborative, coconut-based dairy and soya free yoghurt.

'Woo hoo!' Thought I, when first I heard, 'another string to the dairy free, soya free bow!'

Ta da!

Whaddya think, then?

Must admit, it's a real departure for the firm behind this yoghurt. Originally known as Bessant and Drury, I first came across this company at the Allergy Show and immediately fell in love with their ice cream, which I reviewed here. I particularly loved their packaging, which really seemed so much better than most free from branding. Just recently, Bessant and Drury have rebranded themselves as The Coconut Collaborative, complete with a groovy new website, see here. I love the look of the website, but so far it's pretty light on information - you'll find out more by looking at their Face Book page. 

As for the re-branded packaging, it's no doubt funky and groovy, I'm not so in love with their new packaging, but you can't judge a book by it's cover, so let's move on!

The yoghurt retails at £1.49 for a 120g pot, in some branches of Waitrose. The list of stores can be found on their Face Book page. 

The Waitrose I visited sold two flavours: natural and natural with a raspberry compote. There are two other flavours, one which comes with a packet of berries and seeds and the other with a compote of mango and passionfruit.

The yoghurts come in a plain pot, which is about the right size for a lunchbox. They are completely plain - all the decorative element is in the cardboard sleeve.

The Natural


Ingredients:
Live coconut milk: coconut milk (96%), natural thickeners (starch,tara gum), water, selected dairy-free cultures.

This yoghurt is smooth, thick and creamy in consistency - in fact so thick that you can pretty much stand your spoon up in it. Like all natural yoghurts it has a certain tartness to it. It is certainly an acceptable alternative to natural dairy yoghurt. For this reason, it may be suited more to adult tastes.

Thick and creamy

Personally, although I love natural yoghurt, perhaps because of the thickness, I found one whole pot a bit much for me. The rest ended up going back in the fridge for later!

As for the other...

The Raspberry

Ingredients:
Live coconut milk: coconut milk (96%), natural thickeners (starch,tara gum), water, selected dairy-free cultures. Raspberry compote: raspberry (19%), grape extract, water, corn flour, raspberry juice concentrate (2%) citric acid, natural colour (anthocyanins, from grapes).

As you can see, the yoghurt and compote come in two distinct layers.

Voila!

It didn't stay that way for long! 'Baby' couldn't wait to open up the pot and give it all a good stir!

Stirred up!

Just before she did get her spoon in, I did just about manage to get a spoon in edge ways and give 'Baby' a quick taste of the top layer, but she wasn't too keen. She much preferred it with the raspberry all mixed in... that was until she realised there were pips in it! 

'Baby' doesn't like 'pipsies'!

Brought up on my Dad's home made jam, pips don't bother me! So maybe this is another one for me, then!

In fact I must admit, for someone whose favourite yoghurt used to be Muller Fruit Corners, the raspberry added a lovely flavour to the yoghurt. I really loved it! 

In fact, I demolished the whole of the rest of the pot in one go!

The packaging states that it is 'dairy free'

Will I be buying it again? 

Well, it's still a lot more expensive than 'normal' yoghurt, so it wouldn't be a regular purchase, especially as I had to go out of my way and make a special trip to buy it. I can get Co-yo yoghurt much more easily from Ocado and from my local health food store.

However...

More importantly, the packaging states boldly on the front that it is dairy free. In fact it states it on the top too!

BUT, in smaller writing, near the ingredients, well, actually nearer their contact details, to be precise, I note a small statement:

'Allergy advice: Made in a factory that uses dairy ingredients.'

'Oh! Hang on!' I gasped, when I spotted this, 'wait a minute! I thought you said 'dairy free'?????'

You may be surprised, and I was, but now I've thought about it, I am now not so surprised, although I am certainly disappointed. 

To put it in context, I suddenly remembered that the brand that created this yoghurt was originally created by people who were concerned with natural healthy alternatives, rather than allergies. 

Now I don't know where you stand on this, but personally if some thing says 'free' boldly all over it, then I expect it to be absolutely free. I think it is mis-leading to later add in small print a statement that says that it might not be as dairy free as I thought!

After all, as I have a little one who is, or certainly has been (we really need to conduct another controlled challenge, I think), susceptible to the slightest traces, I need to be careful and would not have bought it, had I known.

What I am is confused! I was under the impression (from something I was told, a while back) that 'dairy free' is a legal statement.

I'm also confused - as I'm not sure just how dairy free this yoghurt is now. It's something I need to check out, especially as 'Baby' is susceptible to the tiniest traces, and she did have a bit of tummy ache, a little while after her taster... when I say a 'bit' I mean painful enough for her to make a fuss about it, in the way that she does when she has mistakenly been given something that 'may contain'.

Was it a taste of dairy?? I can't be 100% sure, BUT I will not be taking the risk again, as I am pretty certain. There was no other likely cause of her having a tummy ache that day.

They claim their equipment is cleaned and the product batch-tested, BUT I know that not all parts of machinery can be cleaned as thoroughly because they are in hard to reach places. AND allergenic proteins are notoriously sticky!

I am also aware of a few other people who have reactions to another product that claims that it is safe because it is batch-tested, so I am not convinced of the thoroughness of batch-testing - especially as only a tiny amount of a batch is tested.

Something else, of which to be aware is that although there are a lot of claims on the sleeve of the yoghurt, regarding the health benefits of coconuts, I am aware of at least one dietitian who has cautioned against eating too much coconut based yoghurt. 

Despite all the 'healthy fat' claims of people who love the properties of coconut, it does contain a lot of saturated fat. I have been advised to partake sparingly. So it may not be as healthy as we thought.

Also, please note, that unlike some other dairy free yogurts, it does not have any added calcium, so it will not provide a great deal of your daily calcium requirements - except perhaps a little from any 'added nuts'.

Let's be clear - I'm not saying don't eat it...   

Just be careful, is all I'm saying...


Update July 2014:

The Coconut Collaborative are still assertively marketing their product as 'dairy free' despite the cautionary note about the factory. They say (sic):

feedback welcomed. Let us host you at our producers you will 100% be reassured as all our retailers are.

For those of you who are aware that since I wrote this post, 'Baby' has been undergoing a 'baked milk challenge,' I still would not buy her this yogurt. Anyone who has seen a copy of the Milk Ladder which covers the reintroduction of milk will know that baked milk is safer than unbaked milk and that the dose and length of time the milk is baked also has a bearing on how well tolerated the milk may be.

In fact, on a similar thread, I was interested to hear from registered Dietitian, Julia Marriott (@AlimentaryBites on Twitter) that if a product is not heated above 180 degrees, then it is not suitable for anyone undergoing a baked milk challenge. This information was provided in relation to a conversation on Twitter regarding ice lollies with 'may contain' warnings.

Update November 2014:

Interesting article about food allergy labelling and traceable amounts of allergens detected in foods here: Do foods with precautionary labels really contain allergens?

The above article was based on this report by the FSA: Survey on 'May Contain' labelling


Stay safe and be well!


Related Posts:


Wot no dairy! Wot no soya!



Xotic - another dairy and soya free yoghurt



Heaven in a mouthful - Co-yo Coconut Yoghurt



Are you getting enough... calcium??

Getting enough... Vitamin D for you and me!

Co-yo Ice Cream

Finally! After some months of waiting, I've got my sticky mitts on some Co-yo ice cream!! 

Diggin' in  :)

Having heard about it on Twitter, I've been waiting for Co-yo's ice cream for a while. I already enjoy the Co-yo yoghurt, which I reviewed here.

Apparently the ice cream comes in various flavours, Vanilla and Nutmeg, Raw Chocolate and Sticky Date and Tamarind, but this one was Natural.

I found the ice cream in my local health shop. I must admit, I was so excited to see it, I bought a tub before reading the price label - £6.98. Oops!! But, as I told The Hub, it may be more expensive than my 'usual' but at least it's cheaper than Booja Booja (which I can't have anyway, as it's made with cashews)!!

Having got it home, I couldn't wait to dive in!

First thoughts? Creamy, definitely creamy and with a distinct taste of coconut. 

'You can certainly tell it's made with coconut,' I thought. 'So not for anyone who can't eat coconut or won't eat coconut but great for those who can/will!!'

In fact one of my earliest remarks, to The Hub, was that it tasted pretty much like frozen coconut cream. I really liked the creaminess, but thought that (apart from the coconut) it lacked a bit of flavour. For me, the coconut needed something else to go with it and give it a bit of oomph. 

Feeling that it would probably work best as an accompaniment to something else, I added some home made choc sauce and a few walnuts (you could always use some crumbled biscuit instead) which tasted yummy - a bit reminiscent of some Haagen-Dazs, maybe? 

Great with chocolate sauce!

However, I thought the Co-yo ice cream could work equally well served with a scoop of mango sorbet or strawberry - or maybe one of each!?! Not so long ago Tesco made some coconut and strawberry frozen ice lollies, and those were LUSH (unfortunately they no longer make them, now).

I'm really intrigued to see what Co-yo's other flavoured ice creams are like - to see what difference their added flavours make.

So, let's get down to the nitty gritty - what's in Co-yo's ice cream? (Or not, as the case may be!)

Ingredients:
Coconut milk (84%), natural fruit extracts (apple, grape, carob), tapioca.

Additional information:
Worried about traces of other allergens? Co-yo say:

Our natural yoghurt is made with just 3 ingredients and none of these come into contact with nuts; our factory is a nut free environment, we do not produce anything with nuts in it.

Our ice creams are the same, just 3 ingredients, coconut milk, agave syrup and tapioca. Flavoured with raw cacao, date syrup, vanilla extract.

We believe very strongly in preparing our product in an allergen free environment and it makes us very angry to see other products calling them selves dairy free when they are made in and packed on dairy equipment that milk products go through.

Now, if you're interested in trying this product, how you get your hands on some? 

Well it's pretty tricky at the moment, unless you live near a Whole Foods Market, or your health food shop happens to stock it, but, hopefully, it will become more widely available soon. 

Other posts on a similar theme:
Ice - a cream- oh!
Ice, Ice Baby!

Food for Thought

'Food for Thought' is such a great name for a whole foods mini market, don't you agree?

We found them, for the first time, on Saturday in Guildford, following a bit of online research by The Hub. And what a find they were!

Tucked away in a side street, literally not much more than a few steps away from a main city centre shopping street, I can't help wishing that every town had one of these. Unfortunately, at the moment they have only two stores, one in Guildford and the other in Kingston.

Not quite as big as The Whole Foods market, that I visited, in Clapham, the other week, they nonetheless make good use of the space they've got and stock a pretty extensive range of specialist foods. In fact, it was a real Aladdin's Cave of goodies, I really had to restrain myself, from spending too much of The Hub's hard earned money!

The staff in the shop were quite friendly - one helpfully suggested that I might like to leave my cold purchases with them (whilst we shopped elsewhere) and return to pick them up later.  Bonus!! Being in town for the day, I happily accepted this offer.

However, I passed up the chance to buy more dairy free ice cream, - I've still got some in the freezer and was uncertain about getting it home. 

Co-yo's chocolate yoghurt soon found its way into my basket, though, closely followed by a larger tub of its natural version. I was delighted to restock my fridge with this dairy free yoghurt and was keen to try the chocolate flavour.

Another familiar face - Lucy's was in stock, as well. This time I bought a packet of mini cookies,  for taking out and about.

Amy's dairy, gluten and soya free macaroni cheese followed soon after - the first time I had seen this stocked any where, other than Goodness Direct or The Allergy Show. Its dairy and soya free version is not to be confused with their solely gluten free version, which seems to be much more widely available. Unfortunately, it's no good for us at all, as that version does contain dairy!

From the States and hard to find over here!

Joy of joys, their chocolate range was pretty good too - they stock my favourite chocolate bars, by Organica. Baby spotted their 'hamster chocolate' (Mini Moos by Moo Free) and, being a girl after my own heart, she made sure that also made it into my basket!!

All-in-all, it was a successful shopping trip. And now I know where they are, I'm sure that sometime or another I'll be back for more!!

Update:

This cream substitute really is quite yummy!

Just to let you know, I have been back. This time my top find was Soyatoo Rice Whip. Just like the squirty cream, I loved as a kid, this stuff is truly amazing! 

If you can't find it in your local health food store, try Amazon, or the Vegan Store. 

Okay, so I know, it's made with rice and there's a whole debate about rice going on right now (generally I avoid it as a daily milk substitute - just to be on the safe side) but I still eat rice, and being gluten free as well, have little choice but to consume it in baked goods too. Therefore, I think that in an occasional treat, like this hot chocolate (made with hazelnut milk) it should be alright.

Related Posts:

New to me - The Whole Foods Market

Avoiding the hop - doing Free From shopping online

Shopping Around
Heaven in a mouthful?

Heaven in a mouthful? Co-yo Coconut Yoghurt

Important update (21/02/18):

Due to a problem with a supplier, Co-yo has just announced a small amount of dairy has been found in one of their products. Please check out their Face Book page for further details, to see if any Co-yo you have bought has been affected. They have now cancelled this supplier.

Well, the inscription on the lid proclaims it: 'Heaven in a Mouthful'. Wow! That's  a bold statement isn't it? I actually didn't need that statement to persuade me to dive in. I've been after this stuff for a good few months now - ever since I got wind of it somewhere online. 

Thick and creamy - yum!

Originating, in Australia, I was overjoyed to discover that Co-yo  coconut milk yoghurt had made it over here, but getting hold of it has been somewhat trickier than I imagined!

No supermarket over here seems to sell it yet (now widely available see update below). Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose etc. you're missing a treat! Ocado doesn't have it listed... yet - I'm going to suggest this one! Goodness Direct had it listed, but it wasn't in stock when I ordered it. I finally got my hands on it the other day, however, when I paid a visit to the Whole Foods Market in Clapham Junction (there's another in Kensington).

They had four flavours, in stock: natural, mixed berry, pineapple and some kind of chocolate version. Now, if you know me well, you'll know how much I love chocolate, but on this occasion, I passed that over and (mindful of The Hub's wallet) I chose just the first two. This was partly because I wasn't sure that this much anticipated concoction was going to taste just as wonderful as it made out, and I didn't want to waste money on it if it wasn't up to much.

Having now sampled, in fact, demolished both tubs, I can report the following:

I thought it was delicious! It's one of the tastes I've been missing since going dairy free and I'm delighted to have found it.

If you like the flavour of natural yoghurt (and I do) this is the nearest I have come to it - bear in mind that I can't tolerate soya milk, so I've no idea whether there are any soya yoghurts out there that can compare. However, unlike many natural yoghurts, it is not quite as sour (good in my opinion) but every bit as creamy!! There is a hint of coconut in the flavour (not as obvious in the mixed berry flavour) more so, than in coconut milk, but I like the taste of coconut, so that's fine by me!

I enjoyed both flavours, but the mixed berry was my favourite - a fine layer of blueberries  and blackberries nestle at the bottom of the tub, under a thick blanket of coconut yoghurt. The sweetness tempers the tartness of the yoghurt really well, without being sickly, or cloying, in any way.

Now I know that many of you will be wanting to know, what's in it. The ingredients list is refreshingly short. It contains:

Coconut milk (98%)

Tapioca Starch

Vegan probiotic cultures

So, it's dairy free (therefore lactose free), soya free, gluten free and contains no added sugar. There are also no added flavours or colours, yet, if not actually my idea of 'Heaven in a Mouthful,' it does come pretty close!

Yippee! 

I'm definitely going to get some more! However, at £1.99 for a tub (125 g) it is rather pricey, so I might not be eating it everyday!

Updates: 

Ocado does now sell Co-yo and it is now also sold in selected branches of Waitrose and Tesco!

Plain Co-yo also works great as a replacement for sour cream!


New Flavours: 
I've since tried the Chocolate flavour of Co-yo and I'm afraid I'm not a fan. I'm not sure how I expected it to taste, you may think differently, but it didn't work for me. 

I've also tried the Mango flavour. The layer of mango purée was fairly runny - it could perhaps have benefited from a few lumps of actual fruit, but... it was absolutely delicious! Will definitely buy that one again!

A new Morello Cherry flavour came to the market (see here), which I absolutely loved! Sadly I've only seen it in health food stores. I've not seen it recently and I miss it!

There's a new Vanilla flavour and a Salted Caramel flavour around, both yummy, but the vanilla is my fave!

If you found this post helpful, you may also be interested in the following posts:

There are alternatives - dairy substitutes

Have you tried Hemp?

Happy with Hazelnut?

Anyone for Almond Milk?

There are alternatives, but it's certainly not butter!

Wot no dairy! Wot no soya!

Ice - a - cream - oh!

Bessant and Drury's Dairy Free Ice Cream

Ice, Ice Baby

Are you getting enough... Calcium? 

Getting enough? Vitamin D for you and me.

New to me - the Whole Foods Market

Last time I posted was pre-move. I was feeling the ties of our old environment and beginning to wonder why we were putting ourselves through all the stress. Now we've moved, I'm feeling some of the advantages -  a dishwasher, the garden, being closer to family and... to London.

London is one of those places that I love to visit and dip into, before retreating to the clearer air and space of home. Where we live now, we are close enough to do just that.

Today, The Hub suggested visiting Clapham Junction and the Whole Foods Market. I was up for that. I knew that there was one in Kensington, that I've been keen to visit, but Clapham is nearer and, with Baby, more 'doable'.

It wasn't 'til I got there, that I realised I'd been there some years before with my sister, when she lived just up the road. I'd written it off then as being a bit of a trendy hippy haunt (not my thing), but today, I got to see it with new eyes.

I had a hazy memory of a cafe, combined with a kind of health food store, and yes, it was pretty much as I remembered it, but what did it have in store for me now?

What a treat! A small tub for the journey home!

The first thing I caught sight of was the ice cream cabinet, which stocked all four flavours of my favourite dairy free ice cream. This was soon  to be followed by The Hub locating the only Genius loaf that I can get along with - the old style (unsliced) white. Great start!!

There was a goodly array of fresh fruit and veg. but I passed these by and went straight for the chiller. I was after Co-yo - a coconut based dairy free yoghurt. Yup! It was there! Being unable to tolerate soya, I was delighted to get my hands on this.

Next to the chiller was the freezer. I was slightly disappointed that the only Amy's  Kitchen's macaroni cheese in the cabinet wasn't dairy free - I'm still waiting to get my hands on this one, having passed up the chance at The Allergy Show. I picked up a Burrito though - I'm interested to see if my stomach will take to these.

It was by the freezer, that The Hub noticed that they sold insulated bags, for the transportation of frozen goods. Yippee!! However, it was just as well we bought our cold stuff just before our train was due to leave. The insulated bag claims that food can last up to three hours (depending on how much frozen food you buy) but our ice cream was definitely quite soft by the time we reached home (an hour later). 

As for the rest of the store, the place was a veritable Aladdin's cave. There was so much packed into the space, that I found it difficult to scan the shelves for things that I could have. Funnily enough, having yearned to be able to pick my goodies from the same shelves as everyone else, I found myself wishing for a 'Free From' section, so I could highlight the stuff that was relevant for me! 

Couldn't see this at Whole Foods Market - what a shame!

Unless I was missing something, the chocolate section was sadly lacking. Whereas Booja Booja was well represented, Moo Free seemed to be merely represented by a few of their chocolate bars - there were none of the yummy Organica vegan (but may contain traces of milk) chocolate bars that I used to be able to get in the health food shop near my old home. However, Lucy's egg, gluten, nut and dairy free chocolate chip cookies were a great find! They're sooo moreish!

My selection of goodies made (apart from the cold stuff) the only thing left to try was the cafe.

This proved to be tougher than I thought. There was a disclaimer concerning allergies, so if you're really sensitive or coeliac, you'd probably want to give it a miss. More of a concern for me personally, was whether I would be able to tempt the ever-fussy Baby into eating anything at all.

She wasn't interested in the roast potatoes, or the salmon that I had selected - they had 'bits' on them. I knew the green beans were also going to be a no-no for her, but I selected those, purely for my benefit. Baby did eat some of The Hub's turkey slices, but apart from her share of a slice of a rather yummy vegan raw chocolate dessert, by inspiral, called 'Blackout Tart', that was it, as far as she was concerned. 

Impressive! Blackout - a yummy vegan dessert that is gluten, dairy, egg and soya free. Not nut free though!

Mind you, I couldn't blame her. The potatoes (meant to be hot) were lukewarm and the meat, fish and veg were all from the cold food section - definitely not a winner for her. She did love looking out of the window though - I must say, it was good fun people watching!

I was rather tempted by some of the other hot dishes and was interested to spot that you could buy food to take away, but Baby was never going to let me hang around for too long and so soon we duly departed.

Altogether, it was an interesting visit. I probably wouldn't eat in again - not with Baby anyway. We ended up buying her fries from Kentucky Fried Chicken across the road (you add your own salt - marginally healthier than the very salty fries you get from Mc Donald's) As for the shop, I would definitely go again, for the variety of food stuff you can buy. There's still some things that I've yet to try!!

By the way, the shop is sooo close to the station at Clapham Junction, that if you find yourself making a train connection there at any time (and aren't carting around ridiculous amounts of luggage with you) it would be a shame not to pop in. I've already got The Hub working out how he could pop in there on the way home from work sometime and I didn't even have to ask :)