Oatly Healthy Oat Milk

Since becoming vegeterian I've made a concious effort to cut back dramatically on the amount of dairy products that I consume, including milk. As a result, I've explored a number of alternatives to cow's milk such as rice milk, soy milk, almond milk and so on. I came across this particular 'milk' a couple of weeks ago in my local Tesco's and picked it up as I'd never seen or heard of oat milk before and I suppose I bought it mainly out of curiousity, although to be fair after reading the packaging and all of the companies claims - eg that it helps lower cholestrol, I decided it seemed like a healthy alternative to cow's milk as well as a nice change from soy and rice milk so decided to give it a try.

I paid £1.39 for my one litre carton of this which I personally think is a reasonable price, although considering an organic carton of cow's milk is 39 pence less it definitely isn't dirt cheap but as it's a 'special' and unusual kind of product I suppose the price reflects this. It is only available in 1l cartons as far as I am aware. Oatly oat milk is easily available and can be found in all the major supermarkets such as Sainsbury's, Tesco's and Waitrose etc. There are a range of different 'types' of oat milk in the oatly range including organic (which I am reviewing), chocolate flavour and there's also a vitamin enriched one too.

The oat milk comes in a white and red carton, although I think the packaging may of changed recently as the picture on the Tesco website shows a blue carton which I find a bit odd but mine came in a simple sqaure shaped cardboard carton with a red and white colourscheme. The carton is very informative and it explains about the benefits of oat milk on the side. The branding is good and I find that the carton is easy to store too as it doesn't need putting in the fridge until it's been opened and it doesn't take up too much room in the fridge. The carton has a round screw-top lid which once removed exposes a foil top which needs to be removed. Once opened, the milk should be consumed within 4-5 days.

The milk itself is pretty weird in appearence and it does not resemble normal (eg cow's) milk at all. In fact I was really confused and thought the milk had gone off or something when I saw the pale yellow liquid. The liquid has a wattery consistency and is almost transparent.. it looks just like a waterred down glass of apple juice. The appearence is not very appealing which is a disadvantage and I felt let down as the illustration on the front of the carton clearly shows a white, milk-like liquid. Anyway, taste wise this is actually quite nice.

The taste of oats is prominent and suprisingly tasty and it is nice enough to drink on its own and it is actually pretty refreshing as well as filling. I would decribe the taste as an accquired one that not everyone will like although my boyfriend wasn't keen on it at first but has gotten used to it within a couple of weeks. I'm not sure if this will appeal to children due to the unusual and quite rich taste as well as the slightly off putting wee-like appearence! Smell wise, this smells just like cooked porridge oats.

The milk can be used in a range of different meals. It's a great alternative to cow's milk in drinks such as tea and coffee and it doesn't ruin the flavour of the drink at all in my opinion. I also use it in smoothies for a bit of extra flavour and it tastes amazing blended up with some cocoa powder. It's also good for eating with cereal, baking, cooking and so on. As well as tasting nice and being a reasonably versatile drink, the oat milk is also very nutritious. It provides vegetable based protein, carbohydrates, fibre and unsaturated fats. It is low in calories at just 35 calories per 100ml. Ingredients wise, this contains water, oats (10 percent) and organic sea salt. I must admit the salt put me off a little but there's only 0.04 grams of sodium per 100ml and the drink does not taste at all salty!

Overall, this is a nutritious and tasty alternative to cow's milk, soya milk and rice milk. It's unsweetened and has no weird ingredients such as artificial flavours, stabilisers or preservatives. It is suitable for vegetarians and vegans and I overall reccomend this product, although I knock one Ciao star off due to the off-putting appearence!