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Overview and Personal Journey
SoyQuick, SoyaJoy, SoyaPower and SoyToy
Our family discovered the need for non-dairy alternatives to milk when our eldest son was diagnosed with a milk allergy as a baby almost 20 years ago. We scrambled to find substitutes for milk, butter, cheeses, etc. The choices back then were very limited, very expensive and not very palatable. However, this was all we had, so we endured the limitations in options and taste.
Nowadays, people choose non-dairy beverages such as soymilk, rice milk, oat milk and almond milk for health and taste reasons. With more information coming to light about the health benefits of including a moderate amount of organic whole-food soy in the diet, soymilk has become one of the best sellers for non-dairy beverages. Currently there are several good versions to choose from (enriched, vanilla, chocolate, etc.) and many good brands on the market, although I am careful to check the labels for unwanted additives, sweeteners and thickeners. There are some brands out now that have eliminated the unwanted extras, but most brands add more ingredients than we care to use. In addition, not all brands of soymilk are organic or even non-GMO, which is very important to me. And even though it is convenient and there are many brands to choose from, unfortunately, using a non-dairy milk alternative regularly can still be very expensive. We use milk alternatives not only for drinking but also on cereal and in all cooking and baking where milk is used. I also needed a non-dairy yogurt. The cost of buying these commercially made products took a HUGE bite out of our food budget each month.
So, we searched, compared and shopped for the best brand at the best price. We purchased our non-dairy milks by the case to get the bulk price, and sometimes we were able to order from wholesalers to get the wholesale price. When we were unable to get either of those options due to our locality, or when we ran out and needed some right away, we had to buy from the grocery store and pay the retail price. On average, in our area, one quart of non-dairy milk costs anywhere from $2.30 – $3.75 depending on brand and type. During an average month, we used approximately $30.00 – $50.00 of these beverages. Over a year, we estimate that we spent $480.00 – $600.00 on non-dairy beverages.
As with most things we regularly use, I tried to save money and increase the quality by making the dairy alternatives at home. I did have success making soymilk from scratch using the stovetop method; however, the process was multi-stepped, time-consuming and very messy. It took way too much time and effort for me (not to mention the mess!) to consider making soymilk this way on a regular basis or using it to replace what we consumed in store-bought non-dairy milks. Although I found the milk to be usable in cooking, my family would not touch it as a beverage or on cereal. In other attempts using different combinations, even though it tasted good, I could not get a product that combined my preferences for quality with the convenience and taste/texture of the store-bought. I needed ALL of these aspects to be able to make this work for my family. When I tested the newest automatic soymilk makers, I was delighted to find that I was able to make a product the way I wanted it to taste, while at the same time having it be healthy, convenient and relatively inexpensive.
I am finally able to make a good-tasting milk alternative that my family enjoys without complaint. Making these beverages at home has saved us about $500.00 per year. The automatic soymilk maker paid for itself in about 3 months, and the best news is that the process of making non-dairy milk using a machine is easy, quick and completely automatic (thus saving my precious time for more important tasks!). I am completely sold on using these machines on a daily basis.
Using an automatic soymilk maker has truly been a liberating experience! No more do I worry about running out of our “milk” for cooking or drinking. No more buying huge quantities to get the best bulk price and trying to find a place to store them. No more settling for a brand that is not organic or that adds sweeteners, thickeners or other additives that I don’t want. Now, I simply make my own in about 16 minutes. The process is simple (add water, beans and turn the machine on!), fast and works well every time.
Another benefit is that kitchen mess is eliminated since I only have the machine and a few utensils to wash. Add to the list the joy of saving about $500.00 per year, and using an automatic soymilk maker has me (and my family) celebrating. The best news is that my family drinks the beverages that I make from my soymilk maker, AND they eat the foods made from my homemade non-dairy milks because I use them in place of dairy for all my cooking and baking needs. I also make soy yogurt, soy yogurt cheese and tofu using the milk from my soymilk maker, another big cost-saving advantage for me. Once I found that an automatic soymilk maker was the way for me to get good-tasting soy and other non-dairy milks from my kitchen and I could do it on a daily basis, I went on a mission to find the best machine to fit our needs.
See also…
- II: Automatic Soy Milk Makers – Model Instructions
- III: Automatic Soy Milk Makers – SoyaJoy SJ-5
- IV: Automatic Soy Milk Makers – SoyaPower
- V: Automatic Soy Milk Makers – SoyQuick
- VI: Automatic Soy Milk Makers – SoyToy
- VII: Automatic Soy Milk Makers – Final Comparisons
© 1995-2010 Vickilynn Haycraft and Real Food Living. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this review may be copied, stored or transmitted in any medium, for any reason without prior written permission of the author.
About Vickilynn Parnes
