Product Faceoff! Trader Joe’s Soy Milk Creamer vs. Trader Joe’s half & half

This week I compared coffee creamers. As an avid coffee drinker (and the sole lactose-tolerant writer of this blog), I was very interested to find out if soy milk creamer tastes similar to my usual staple, half & half. Below are the results!

Price
Soy creamer - $1.49 – 1 pint, 16 oz

Half & half - $1.29 – 1 pint, 16 oz

Winner of Price category: Although the regular half & half is 20 cents less, I feel the 20 cent markup on soy creamer is worth the price to pay for a dairy-free alternative.

Taste
Soy creamer – unfortunately I was not happy with the taste of soy creamer. It took over the taste of my usually delightful caramel vanilla coffee. Even with the coffee cup sitting on a table far away from me, all I could smell was the creamer. It was very obvious this was a dairy-free substitute.

Half & half – the regular stuff didn’t disappoint in this category. It blended in perfectly with my caramel vanilla and didn’t overpower the coffee taste. It was a perfect compliment to my freshly brewed caramel vanilla coffee.

Winner of Taste category: This was not a close call – regular half & half wins the taste category

Nutrition Info
Soy creamer - 15 calories for a 1 tbsp serving
1.5 grams fat, 1 gram carbs, 0 for every other nutritional category

Half & half - 40 calories for a 2 tbsp serving
3 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 15 mg cholesterol, 15 mg sodium, 1 gram carbs, 1 gram sugar, 2% Vitamin A, 4% Calcium

Winner of Nutrition info: Soy creamer appears to be the winner here since it doesn’t contain saturated fat or cholesterol. It is worth mentioning that I needed to use more soy creamer to get my coffee as “light” as I normally take it. I had to use 2 servings to get there, so the calories between the two were practically the same for me.

Accessibility
Both were from Trader Joe’s - Available at any Trader Joe’s location. As of July 2011, Trader Joe’s has 361 stores in 29 states and Washington, D.C.

Winner of Accessibility category: It’s a tie

Texture
Soy creamer – slightly thicker than the regular stuff, also left a slight film in my coffee cup. It also took more soy creamer to make my coffee as “light” as I normally like it.

Half & half – it took less half & half to get my coffee “light”. Thinner than its soy counterpart & doesn’t leave a film in my cup.

Winner of Texture category: Half & half all the way

Final Results: This is no surprise – I couldn’t get past the taste and smell of soy creamer, so half & half is clearly the winner. Although the price is practically the same, I could not overlook soy creamer’s disappointment in the taste and texture categories. Maybe I picked the wrong dairy-free substitute for my Product Faceoff. What dairy-free coffee creamers do you swear by? We would love to hear about them. Leave your comments below!

Product Faceoff! Trader Joe’s Gluten & Dairy Free Pancakes vs. Aunt Jemima Homestyle Pancakes

Hello! My name is Alyssa. As the sole lactose-tolerant contributor to this blog, I am excited to perform the weekly product faceoff. Each week, I will taste-test a food product and compare it to a lactose-free substitute. The first face-off is Trader Joe’s Gluten & Dairy Free Pancakes vs. Aunt Jemima Homestyle Pancakes. I am a huge fan of Trader Joe’s and was delighted to see the great selection they offer of lactose-free products.

Here is how the two products stacked up (pun intended):
Price
Trader Joe’s - $2.99 - 12 pancakes per box, wrapped in 4 packages of 3 each.
Aunt Jemima - $2.50 – also 12 pancakes per box, wrapped in 1 larger package

Winner of Price category: Although Aunt Jemima was 49 cents less, it is worth noting that their box contained 14.8 oz of pancakes while Trader Joe’s packed a full 16 oz into theirs.

Taste
Trader Joe’s Gluten & Dairy Free – these tasted just like a “regular” pancake. If it was a blind taste-test, I doubt I would ever know the difference! These were delicious.
Aunt Jemima – slightly sweeter than its dairy-free counterpart but also a great tasting pancake.

Winner of Taste category: While this was a close call, I preferred the taste of Trader Joe’s product over Aunt Jemima.

Nutrition
Trader Joe’s Gluten & Dairy Free - 240 calories for a 3 pancake serving (116g)
5 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 430 mg sodium, 42 grams carbs, 3 grams fiber, 5 grams protein, 11 grams sugar
Aunt Jemima - 250 calories for a 3 pancake serving (105g)
6 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 450 mg sodium, 41 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 7 grams protein, 8 grams sugar

Winner of Nutrition: The differences between the two are negligible. Trader Joe’s has 3 grams of fiber compared to Jemima’s 1 gram, so that is the deciding factor in Trader Joe’s taking this category.

Accessibility
Trader Joe’s Gluten & Dairy Free - Available at any Trader Joe’s location. As of July 2011, Trader Joe’s has 361 stores in 29 states and Washington, D.C.
Aunt Jemima Homestyle - Available at any grocery store

Winner of Accessibility category: Aunt Jemima has the upper hand in the accessibility category because my local Stop & Shop is much closer than the nearest Trader Joe’s.

Texture
Trader Joe’s Gluten & Dairy Free – They cooked up better in the toaster oven than Jemima. They had a delicious “cakey” texture yet slightly crispy on the outside (I cooked them in a toaster oven).
Aunt Jemima Homestyle: Thicker and chewier than the cake-like TJ’s, these also had tasty, crispy outer edges.

Winner of Texture category: Trader Joe’s!

Final Results: Trader Joe’s takes 3 out of the 5 categories. Aunt Jemima was very good as well, so this goes to show just how great Trader Joe’s gluten & dairy-free pancakes are. As a lactose-eating person, I have no reservations about keeping these pancakes in my freezer. They will definitely be finished up very soon!