Which Non-dairy Milk is Best?

If you're new to the vegan lifestyle, you might be confused as to why we have loads of different milks and what they're all for and which one is best for you? Here's a handy guide to help you understand the top six* non-dairy milks.

Keep in mind this list was created by someone who has never liked cows milk. Grossness. You won't find any comparisons here.

*If I made a list about ALL the milks, we'd be here forever. Trust me, there's so many options for vegans, guys. Too many options.

Hurraw! Lip Balms

I've been obsessing over Hurraw! Lip balms for over a year now so it feels right that I should rave about them here. Incase you've been living under a rock, Hurraw! is a company that makes raw, natural, vegan lip balms and lately they've been adding new fun flavours and lip balms with different purposes such as the moon balms and sun balms. Ugh, it's just too much for me. I need them all.

So my first question was, what exactly is a moon balm? I'd been using the blue chamomile vanilla moon balm obsessively for a few weeks before looking into it. Basically, you wear it at night. It's longer lasting so you don't have to reapply it very often and it tastes and smells divine.

During the day I like to alternate between the green tea lip balms and any of the nutty ones like the coconut or the almond. I find the fruity ones to be too sickly. I loved the black cherry tinted lip balm at first but then the taste became too sickly and I soon grew to hate it.

The sun balm is another one that basically speaks for itself. It's basically sun tan lotion for your lips. Do I need to say more on the topic?

There's so many flavours so you're always covered. Root beer, mint, liquorice, earl grey, whatever you like, whatever you feel like, Hurraw! have probably made it into a lip balm or are likely going to in the near future. There's so many flavours where I just think, 'really?' and so many others where I think 'YES. Need it' so there's really something for everyone.

I love love love Hurraw! lipbalms, they're a great vegan alternative to chapstick or Vaseline and they taste so good! Everyone needs to own at least one. Or ten.

Vegan Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

These were a result of accidentally adding orange essence to cookie dough mixture. Didn't I already tell everyone that I'm terrible at baking? Well, that's irrelevant here because these turned out SO GOOD! I made a gazillion of them and all my meat-eating friends and family said they tasted as delicious as real cookies, if not better.

The only weird ingredient here is egg replacement powder. If you think about it, it's a lot less gross than chicken periods, but if you're not comfortable with egg replacement, I would recommend making flax eggs out of flax seeds and water. Google it. But trust me, egg replacement powder makes these cookies really decadent and delicious.

(Makes 20 Cookies)

Ingredients:

• 200g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100g vegan chocolate chips (if you can get orange flavoured, even better!)
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 75g vegan butter (I use Vitalite)
• 2 1/2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 75g caster sugar
• 90g brown sugar
• 1 tbsp orange essence
• 3 tsp egg replacement powder
• 3 tbsp lukewarm water

1. Preheat the oven to 180c/gas mark 4 and line two large baking trays with greaseproof paper
2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.
3. Stir in the chocolate chips and orange zest.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the dairy free butter, rapeseed oil, caster sugar, brown sugar and orange essence. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl or jug, whisk together the egg replacement powder and lukewarm water until light and frothy. Combine with the flour mixture, then add the butter mixture. Stir together until well combined.
6. Form the dough into 20 small balls and place on the baking sheets. Allow a couple of inches in between each cookie to give them room if they want to spread out. Bake for 12-13 minutes. They should be golden and still soft. Flatten them out on a counter and leave them to cool and harden.

March Favourites

Beauty

Deodorant is one product that is really difficult to find a vegan version of. I've tried all sorts of products but my favourite has to be 'Blossom' by Herban Cowboy. It smells floral, is easy to use and has good protection. You can buy it online on Amazon or just have a look on google if you're in the UK and looking for a good vegan deodorant.

My second beauty product of March is Lush's 'Kerbside Violet' perfume. I've been a little bit obsessed with the scent 'Vanillary' for a few months but I became bored with it when every single person started smelling like it. I know it's cliche to say, but I'm a big hipster when it comes to products and as soon as something becomes popular, I get bored. Kerbside Violet is another scent by Lush that is vegan, obviously, and smells divine. It smells exactly like Parma Violets, and it's not too over bearing like other Lush scents. It's slightly less popular than the Vanillary scent, therefore it's better.

Books

This month I've been busy so I've not had much time to read but I have read some of 'Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows' by Melanie Joy. It's a great book if you're interested in the theory behind Carnism and philosophy.

Simple Green Smoothie Bowl

This is a simple delicious with four ingredients that will vitalise you and help you to become the best version of yourself. Add whatever ingredients you want to the top to make it become instagram- worthy. I choose a chopped banana, chia seeds and pomegranate seeds.

Ingredients:

• 4 chopped bananas, frozen for at least 2 hours
• 2-3 bunches of kale
• 100g of coconut water
• 1 tsp of wheatgrass powder

1. Add in the kale, coconut water and wheatgrass powder to your blender. Blend them up.
2. Add in the chopped bananas. Adding them last will make them easier to blend.
3. Pour into a bowl and decorate however you want to make it pretty for the pictures.

How to Make Almond Milk Frothy Barista-Style

This is just a quick how-to on making almond milk look frothy and pretty for instagram purposes. What you'll need is a Kilner jar or an empty jam jar or something similar. Add the amount of milk you want for your tea or coffee, make sure the lid is on tight then shake it up. Then microwave for about 20 seconds with the lid off, then add to your drink.

I sprinkled cinnamon on top of mine. If you have one of those things that create the shapes on top of the froth, definitely use one. I didn't and also, I'm lazy. But I was still very happy with mine anyway.

This method will almost definitely work with whatever type of dairy free milk you're using, not just almond milk.

Fried Plantains

I recently discovered plantains and I fell in love. They look like bananas but they taste like potatoes! It's the weirdest experience for someone who eats a lot of bananas and isn't too cultured when it comes to exotic fruits and vegetables. They're starchy and in my opinion, these fried plantains taste just like chips in the shape of chopped bananas.

I served mine with homemade salsa and guac. Recipes for those might come some time in the future. They don't go too well with the plantains so perhaps they're not the perfect recipes to go side by side.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp of olive oil (for a healthier option, try coconut oil)
• 1 plantain

1. Chop the ends of the plantain, then cut a line down the middle, breaking the skin but not digging into the fruit. Then peel it off in one go.
2. Chop the plantain into smaller pieces.
3. In a frying pan, fry the oil then place the plantains in the oil and fry for 2 minutes or until brown on one side.
4. Flip the plantains then fry on the other side for a further 2 minutes.
5. When they're done, place on kitchen roll to drain away the access oil.
6. You're done!