I love milk. Cow milk. Whole milk. When I saw the newest non-dairy milk at Trader Joe's, non-dairy oat beverage, I knew I wanted to give it a try. As much as I love regular milk, I know there are issues in the farming industry and milk is likely to get more expensive in the years to come. Better to find a way to mitigate some of the milk drinking sooner than later, right?
So I tested it in a few usual milk situations because during my college years, I tried to change to soy milk to keep my roommate from constantly drinking all of the regular milk that I bought. After trying it in boxed mac and cheese and ruining it, I came up with a new plan. I emptied the soy milk container out completely, rinsed it, and poured my regular milk into the soy milk box. It totally worked.
I bought this in mid-February and it has a shelf life through mid-April, so it lasts a while if you have a problem finishing a gallon of regular milk, which lasts for a week and a half or two. It comes in a 64 ounce container. As you can imagine, there's a lot of settling involved in oat milk, so make sure the lid is screwed on tightly and give it a few tips back and forth to homogenize the mixture more thoroughly.
Oat Milk in Coffee
I can barely tell a difference in coffee. The only difference is it's a little thinner, like I used 2% milk instead of whole. If you usually use half and half or cream, you will be able to notice this a bit more.
The oat milk blends really well taste-wise with the maple syrup and dash of cinnamon in this morning's brew.
Oat Milk in Cereal
Works great in flavored cereals like cinnamon Cheerios. There's a slight oat-y flavor on the leftover milk after eating the cereal. I love to drink the milk out of the cereal bowl usually. But with the oat milk, I don't pour as much because I don't want to drink this milk as much. But that's not necessarily a knock against it, it keeps me from using as much milk in one go. So it definitely works in cereal applications. I've been craving Lucky Charms due to seeing them advertised everywhere because St. Patrick's Day, I guess?
Oat Milk with Oreos
This is where I could taste the difference the most. Or rather, the mouthfeel was the most noticeable here. The taste of dipping Oreos in oat milk was fine, didn't taste all that different from using milk. The part I could tell was drinking the milk afterwards — like using it in cereal and coffee, it felt a little thinner than the whole milk I am used to.
Oat Milk in Boxed Mac and Cheese
Well, I was going to do this, but then I realized anyone who was using oat milk to be dairy free wouldn't be eating boxed mac and cheese! That would be crazy, it has cheese and milk powder already in it. This would be defeating any purpose at all.
I'm so glad because the idea of trying this made me feel sick to my stomach thanks to the soy milk mac and cheese incident I described earlier. Soooo, I gleefully scrapped this idea. There are other vegan boxed mac and cheeses out there if you need such an item.
And that's the scoop on Trader Joe's Non-Dairy Oat Beverage. It's suitable for vegans and non-vegans alike. Find out more about Trader Joe's oat beverage from their Fearless Flyer and grab yourself a carton. The worst that happens is you return it to TJ's for a credit!