dairy free cocoa

[Diane Pinkers]

I've got cream of coconut powder, powdered cocoa, almond milk that I could dehydrate into powder, and could use sugar, powdered maple sugar, or honey powder. Any suggestions for a dry cocoa mix that's dairy free? I'm trying not to use soy.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Your best bet is look for one labeled "Vegan" if you are looking for a ready to go mix. If you want to make your own mix though – just take any good sounding DIY recipe and swap out the dry milk for rice milk powder or the home dried almond. Easy swap!

One note – depending on the type of coconut power (if it is coconut cream powder) it can contain milk derivatives.

[Diane Pinkers]

Dangit, you're right! The coconut cream powder does have milk in it.

I'll have to look for the rice milk powder, in the meantime I'll try dehydrating the almond milk.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

There is one other option – http://www.edwardandsons.com/ldo_shop_coconut.itml Look for the organic creamed coconut bar. It is awesome – and all coconut! :-) You can find it in most natural food stores out here.

[BlackHatGuy]

"The coconut cream powder does have milk in it."

If it's only a trace does that matter, or do you have to be 100 percent no dairy?

[. .]

Here are two options, but it bothers me that maltodextrin ends up in everything and all of these other fillers – especially in "organic" or "natural" foods. sigh…

Almond milk powder

Rice milk powder

Organic Soy + Rice blend with less weird chemicals

[Diane Pinkers]

At the moment, Doug, I'm trying to be 100% dairy free. The point of this is as a test to see if some of my weight gain issues are from dietary intolerances. After 6 weeks or so, I expect I'll be asked to add back 1 food group at a time, and see what happens. Since I'm not actively allergic, I'm not worrying about labels that say "may contain a trace of…", but the coconut cream powder has more than just a little in it.

As a veterinarian, we commonly will ask people to put their dogs on a hypoallergenic diet for 6 weeks, to see if some of their itchy skin signs clear up. Often, when I see them at a recheck appt, their dog will still be itching. I ask them about eliminating treats, cat food, food dropped by babies, whatever, and the folks that didn't listen will say "Oh, I thought it didn't matter." So, I'm trying to be good, and practice what I preach, "An elimination diet is just that—an elimination of everything you usually eat!"

I think it's easier with dogs—most of them just eat out of a bag.

[Diane Pinkers]

Hey, biointegra, that almond milk powder looks cool, but I notice, the website ends in ".au". Is this from Australia?

[BlackHatGuy]

Yeah, it's from Australia. The only other place I've seen it is the UK.

If anyone wants to go in on an order from Australia, I'd be up for it. The shipping is steep, but might be worth it if enough folks want some.

[Laurie Ann March]

there are brands that are vegan friendly

[Diane Pinkers]

Doug, I'd be interested if there's enough. Put me on the list!

I wonder if it might be available in Canada? They often have stuff we don't. Anybody got buds in Canada?

[Laurie Ann March]

I'm in Canada… soy milk powder is readily available here as is coconut cream powder which is quite limiting and why I usually create my own cocoa mixes and my own powdered almond milk. Sometimes is impossible to find vegan varieties in powder form.

Ghirardelli has vegan hot cocoa mixes and you can buy them on Amazon.com. Add some powdered almond milk and/or coconut cream powder (if you like the taste) and you are good to go. You can make your own mixes with a high quality vegan friendly cocoa too. This is why I like to use a dehydrator… it opens all sorts of doors food-wise.

[Diane Pinkers]

So far, my dehydrator is letting me down on that score. I'm going to just give up on it for this trip, try again later, maybe with smaller amounts.

The other possibility is that my solid trays aren't completely level, so they tend to puddle at the outside rim. Maybe that's making things too deep to dehydrate well. With the pink stuff growing on one side, I'm concerned that this will not go well. I'm using two different brands, too–one is the Blue Diamond shelf stable almond milk,(which is what has the pink stuff growing on it), and the other is the Silk brand almond milk. Oh, well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[Laurie Ann March]

The dehydrator needs to be perfectly level. What brand and wattage of dehydrator are you using and what temp do you have it set for?

I hope you don't mind my curiosity, its just that I've never had that happen and it would be good to get an idea of what is causing the bacterial growth.

I almost always use the Blue Diamond brand.

[Diane Pinkers]

It's an old Ronco dehydrator, have no idea what the wattage is, but I'm not home, I can look at the handbook for it when I have a chance. The dehydrator itself is level, but the fruit leather inserts for the trays may have a slight tilt from center to outer rim, going by how the milk flowed when puddling it. It's a circular kind, with a hole running through the center, so the trays are shaped like doughnuts.

I don't know for sure that it's bacterial, but it sure doesn't look good, and I don't think I care to try it!

I'm probably going to have to spend money on a real dehydrator someday, if I really get into dehydrating. I managed fine last year with mushrooms, spaghetti sauce, ham, jerky, and assorted other veggies. Trying to dry broccoli slaw was a smelly nightmare, and my boyfriend won't allow me to try it again–at least not in the house!

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Yeah…Ronco's are sadly known to be utter pieces of junk :-(

[Laurie Ann March]

lol… you could have sugar-coated that Sarah but it is pretty much what crossed my mind.

Diane… I had a Mr. Coffee which was very similar to the Ronco in that it was useless. With the Ronco you can be assured that a 10 hour dry time in a Nesco, L'Equip, or Excalibur will be 25 to 30 hours. Of course, this can be shortened or lengthened depending on conditions. I always tell my students to get a Nesco if they want an inexpensive dehydrator that won't let them down. With the Ronco, the amount of waste you create coupled with the risk of bacterium that you cannot see because of the length of drying time, you actually spend more in the long run (electricity waste for the long run time especially when things don't work out and waste of ingredients).

Sorry to be so harsh but Sarah is right on the money about it being "junk".

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Yeah, I know someone here in the PNW who had a Ronco and her Kiwi got all fuzzy and green while drying. And we don't have a lot of humidity – so it shows how bad they dry. The lack of a fan is what is so bad about them. Not often I say it…but that thing should go the garbage can!!

[Diane Pinkers]

Yeah, I know it's a piece of—well, you get the idea. It was free. I didn't do my usual research/purchase investigation, it basically just showed up on my doorstep and whimpered to be let in.

I like the knowledge that a better dehydrator will have shorter drying times—that's ammunition when Bill asks, "Why are you spending money when you already have a dehydrator for free?" Cheaper running costs good.

I would also prefer the rectangular shape—makes for a better fit on the counter. I'll have to put the research into practice now and get a better unit.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

http://www.godairyfree.org/Recipes/Beverages/Hot-Chocolate-Mix-with-Variations-Vegan-Gluten-Free-Soy-Free.html

Oh yeah! Go crazy…..Spindle found that and I am all over it!

[Diane Pinkers]

Yes, I found those, but in my little local area, I was not able to find soy-free dairy-free milk as a powder. So, I gave up and used soy milk powder for the week-end. Not bad, although it tasted a little "thin"–not enough fat to make it as full feeling as conventional cocoa. Didn't have time for the vanilla sugar bit, either, but I coped. Next week-end I will be able to take time to shop outside the area, then look out.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Diane…you can get ground vanilla bean at Williams & Sonoma stores in their spice section. It isn't overly pricey (no more than the other spices) and is a large jar. It is really good.

[Diane Pinkers]

My mom would just fill a quart jar halfway with white sugar, then stick a vanilla bean in it. We had it all the time, and whoever used it last would top up with more sugar if needed. I've just not bothered to buy the vanilla bean, as I don't bake much. Would the ground vanilla bean work better?

My dad tried to grow his own, but had problems in his green house, and lost some orchids, the vanilla one being one of the ones that took the hit. He grows gorgeous orchids, seems like he'd be able to make it work!

[BlackHatGuy]

Okay, y'all have finally inspired me to get a dehydrator. Just ordered a Nesco FD-75PR. Should be fun. I'm also going to try and make my own almond milk from one of the web recipes. Then I'll try and dehydrate it.

Woohoo!

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

The ground vanilla is how shall I say it? Totally cool! :-)

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