Friday, April 10, 2009

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - My Thoughts on Hemp Milk

I'd been hearing a lot about hemp milk as an alternative to soy milk and dairy, so I finally got around to buying a box and giving it a try. I'll be honest. I thought it was completely undrinkable - tasted exactly like drinking chalk...OK, I've never actually consummed chalk, but at least it tasted like what I imagine drinking chalk would taste like. I threw the box away, discouraged and alittle irritated, since it was dang expensive!
Then the other day I was on a shopping adventure in the local Whole Foods. I don't usually shop at Whole Foods, but when I want to load up the pantry and fridge with dairy/soy free stuff, I drag myself over there since they have a great selection.

Anyhow, I was perusing the frozen food section when I stumbled upon a new product...Tempt by Living Harvest. It's ice cream made from hemp milk.

Now, I realize I just finished saying how nasty hemp milk is, but I've been on a quest to find a good alternative for vanilla ice cream. The coconut-based ice creams make vanilla, but they have a pretty distinct coconut flavor that just doesn't work when you're looking for a pie a la mode experience. And most rice milk based ice creams contain soy. So I was willing to give hemp milk another try. Even the guy bagging my groceries was excited by Tempt. He hadn't seen it on the shelves yet and wanted to know what I thought. So grocery bagging guy, if you're reading this, here's what I thought....vanilla hemp milk ice cream by Tempt is....YUM!

It is really the closest thing I've found to vanilla ice cream. It's got a good creamy taste and texture, and there aren't really any strong flavors coming through, other than vanilla. Managed to get the hubby to taste a tiny bit (he was resistant), and he said it was actually decent, although perhaps a bit thick for his tastes. But that's pretty high praise, since I can't even get him to sniff the coconut and rice milk based ice creams. HA!

I had some with a piece of pear pie and it was really good. I'm going to try it in a root beer float this weekend. I've been craving one of those for months now!

So long story short, I'd steer clear of hemp milk for drinking, but if your local grocery store happens to carry Tempt, I'd encourage you to give it a try. I've heard hemp milk is good for cooking, but I haven't tried that and if I'm honest, I probably won't. Sorry.

14 comments:

  1. Sorry to be a ninja commenter; I happened upon this post during a Google search for Tempt ice cream. I love hemp milk but I haven't yet seen the ice cream in stores, and wanted to see what kind of reviews it's received. Do you know which brand of hemp milk you tried? I shelled out the $3+ for a quart when it was on sale because a friend had been raving about it and I was excited for a drink full of omega-3s. I even bought chocolate because I've never had a chocolate milk that I didn't like. It was really awful! Turns out that Hemp Bliss, for whatever reason, is just gross. A lot of people feel the same way. Living Harvest, however, is delicious. I still don't think the chocolate is very good, and I haven't tried the unsweetened varieties, but the vanilla and plain are crazy-delicious! Anyway, I recommend that you try Living Harvest (preferably sweetened vanilla or plain, as they're the only ones that I can personally vouch for) before you swear off hemp milk for good.

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  2. I have found Hemp to be yucky a well I tried the hemp Bliss like the other comment above and I had to throw it out. I will try the living harvest brand. I have tried their hemp ice cream. (Vanilla and chocolate ripple) and they are soooo Yummy good and creamy!!! This is what an alternative should tast like.

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  3. I love hemp milk and so does my son! Different brands have different consistencies. I was in the same situation no dairy/soy (among other items) while nursing. My son turned 2 in April and still cannot have dairy/soy. I think I would say that hemp milk is not for everyone, but the nutritional content is much better than most of the alt milks. I second the two thumbs up for Tempt's ice cream!

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  4. Hemp milk tasting like chalk? Exactly, I've been trying to put my
    finger on the taste after making hemp milk at home; even after
    straining out the shells the milk has a sharp gut-wrenching taste
    to it.

    I have really tried thus far to find a way to consume hemp from its
    whole seed form, which I can get for cheap, but I'm struggling: I
    am not a fan of the taste, and after some experimentation I don't
    think that awful taste can be masked in any smoothie, I've tried.

    I'm wondering, how do they make ice cream from hemp milk, I'm desperate
    to find a use for whole hemp seeds. I want to consume at least
    1 litre hemp milk a day for my protein requirements, but I can't
    get around the chalk taste, it turns my stomach.

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  5. As I read these reviews, I'm drinking the unsweetened Living Harvest coconut hemp milk. I think it's pretty delicious! A previous almond milk drinker, but I need to stay away from nuts. I have had hemp milk in the past, and like several of you, tasted and tossed it in the garbage!! This is also called Tempt. Yum��

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  6. As I read these reviews, I'm drinking the unsweetened Living Harvest coconut hemp milk. I think it's pretty delicious! A previous almond milk drinker, but I need to stay away from nuts. I have had hemp milk in the past, and like several of you, tasted and tossed it in the garbage!! This is also called Tempt. Yum��

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  7. I concur, it does taste like chalk however if you mix it with some organic chocolate almond milk it blends quite well.
    Don't be afraid to think outside the box in assuming it must be consumed as sold ; )

    That aside, for some reason some ingredient in it (maybe D2) makes me almost very anxious. In case you have a similar reaction perhaps just start off with a tiny amount each day and avoid drinking it at night.

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  8. I concur, it does taste like chalk however if you mix it with some organic chocolate almond milk it blends quite well.
    Don't be afraid to think outside the box in assuming it must be consumed as sold ; )

    That aside, for some reason some ingredient in it (maybe D2) makes me almost very anxious. In case you have a similar reaction perhaps just start off with a tiny amount each day and avoid drinking it at night.

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  9. Try the vanilla or the unsweetened vanilla hemp milk. It doesn't taste chalky at all; I can't stop drinking it!

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  10. Bought hemp milk to try...never expected its taste to be so disgusting!!!

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