Wot no dairy! Wot no soya!

Life is hard enough when you have to exclude dairy, but more so, if you find you can't have soya either and come to realise that the bog standard replacement for dairy is soya based. That's when you think to yourself, 'What on earth can I eat, then?' Fortunately, there are some products out there, that you can have!

You may already have come across products like Pure Sunflower Margarine (there are other Free From sunflower margarine's emerging now) and Kirsty's Freedom Ice Cream, which I've featured before, but have you also encountered Redwood Foods [Please see below - Update July 2014] yoghurt and cheese?

Redwood Foods (now 'vbites') produce a small range of yoghurts: plain, raspberry, blackcurrant and peach and apricot as well as a cheese substitute called 'Cheezly' (be warned they also have other 'cheeses' made with soya under the same name and in similar packaging, so look for the 'soya free' bit on the label.

Rebranded

What's in it, then?

Well, believe it or not, instead of dairy or soya, the 'yoghurt' and 'cheese' is made with pea protein. Check individual cartons for additional ingredients, as it will vary according to flavour. 

You might be pleased to know that just like yogurt made with dairy, these desserts also contain calcium. There is 270mg of calcium per 100g [Please see below - Update July 2014].

What do they taste like?

The consistency of the desserts is the same as any other yoghurt. The Hub thought the one he tried was very sweet. I didn't think it was particularly, but then I have quite a sweet tooth. I've not tried the plain or strawberry version, but have enjoyed the flavour of the raspberry, as well as the peach and apricot. It also comes in black cherry flavour, which I didn't much like to begin with, but now it's growing on me.

Baby has not enjoyed any of them (beyond the first few spoonfuls) so far, but then she is quite fussy and has been the same with soya-based yoghurts too.

Where can I get them?

I've found them in Holland and Barrett and my local independent health store. However, neither of these places have stocked the complete range, so you may need to shop around. If you're not sure where to look, Redwood Foods website can help you to locate a shop. 

Alternatively, you can buy them from the Redwood Foods website, or you can use their locator, to help you find your nearest stockist. The yoghurts are longlife, so you can stock up and keep them in the cupboard.

They are not cheap, by comparison with dairy yoghurts - currently 59p online and 69p in Holland and Barrett (but in Holland and Barrett, if they're on offer, you can buy one and get one half price).  

Over to you:

Have you tried any of these and enjoyed them? Or, do you know of any other, similar products?


Update July 2014:

Please note:

1. 'Redwood Foods' has now been re-branded as 'V-Bites'.

2. The product packaging and content specification seems to have changed. Each pot is now cheaper but contains less, and seems to contain less calcium. Please see here. 

I contacted V-Bites for comment, and they say:

Having looked into the specs of our Wot No Dairy? Yoghurts, I can tell you that the calcium level is indeed 60mg per 100gm.  The calcium phosphate levels were dropped to give the yoghurt a smoother, more pleasing texture.  However, the research and development team are looking into increasing the calcium levels again, as it wasn’t realised just how many people rely on the yoghurts to get their calcium intake.   Please bear with us while we do that.  But for the moment, all yoghurts contain 60mg per 100gm.

So there you have it!


Update July 17th 2014:

There has been a recent milk alert regarding 'Wot no dairy' raspberry and cherry flavour yogurts. This has come as a complete shock to me - it belies the name of the product!!

I have to admit, I had not realised that these yogurts were made on a line where there was any possibility of cross-contamination - there is no indication of this on their label. If you are milk allergic, you may wish to avoid this product completely.  :(