The past few weeks I have been seeing a lot about Oatly...and none of it has been good. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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There have been articles with titles like " Oatly: the New Coke" and "Some Plant based eaters are boycotting Oatly" ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Today I wanted to break talk about some of these headlines and offer up my two cents. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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So here's a little backstory - Oatly is a Swedish brand that was founded in the 1990's due to a large part of Swedish population unable to drink milk, or not wanting to support the dairy industry. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In 2012 Oatly hired a new CEO who re-branded the milk alternative and brought it over to the US. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The re-branding placed a HEAVY focus on both health and the environment - two of the main issues they are under fire for right now! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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So Here are some things that stuck out to me

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1. Oatly adds Rapeseed Oil to their product ( AKA Canola) - we know this is highly inflammatory and linked to Alzheimer's, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and more. ⠀ After a little digging and flipping over multiple brands of Oat Milk in the grocery store - added oil was in every single store bought Oat Milk I saw. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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2. There is evidence that how they create the oatmilk and the enzyme they are adding to break down the fiber turns to maltose - which effects the blood sugar levels in the same or worse ways as HFCS. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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3. Oatly is not organic, and oats are DIRTY! A study done on oats found 7 different pesticides on them ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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4. About 10% of Oatly was recently purchased by a company that has a major impact on the Amazon Deforestation- Oatly's response was "we're convinced that if we’re to progress in the shift towards plant-based we have to involve governments and private equity firms, and steer more global capital into green investments." ⠀

So now we have almond milk that is unsafe for the bees, and Oat milk that is unsafe for us - what do we do?

We make our own.

Oatmilk in my opinion is the easiest nut milk to make. There is no soaking required and the straining process is light on the muscles!

Some things to note before buying oats:

I always look for certified GF, Organic oats (see point 3!). Oats are naturally gluten free but can become contaminated during the processing part. Bob’s Red Mill has certified GF and Organic oats.

How to make Oat Milk

1 Cup GF Organic Oats

4 Cups Filtered Water

High Speed Blender

Cheese Cloth or Nut Milk Bag

Put oats and water in blender and blend on medium - high speed for 30- 40 seconds. This is important because over blending will result in a gummy milk

Pour the milk into a nut milk bag, and squeeze gently to release all the water.

Store in a glass jar in the fridge for about 1 week.

Easy!

This week I've been talking A LOT about my mission with Hungry Hippie, if you missed that check a few posts back to learn more.

Part of that mission is to educate people on what they are putting in their bodies. When I first made the switch to a healthier lifestyle, a decade and a half after going vegetarian, I started with my food, but RARELY paid any attention to condiments.

I assumed ketchup was just ketchup, and Italian salad dressing was just herbs and oil - but I was so wrong. When I turned over the bottle of ketchup and saw High Fructose Corn Syrup as the 2nd ingredient I knew I had been missing a huge piece of the puzzle.

I started to make a lot of my own condiments like ketchup, BBQ sauce, and Italian Salad dressing (which is super easy!)

The ingredients in the store bought packet are pretty scary and include :

Sugar, Xanthan Gum, Maltodextrin, Guar Gum, Natural Flavor, Soy Sauce* (wheat, Soybeans, Salt), Citric Acid

You can avoid that by making a jar of the mixed herbs in just a minute or two!

Italian Dressing

Makes enough for 5-6 bottles

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp celery salt (omit if you don't have on hand)

Salt to taste

Olive Oil

Water

Balsamic Vinegar

Combine all herbs and spices in a glass jar to store.

Take 2 tbsp of the herb and spice mix and put your Italian dressing bottle. Fill Olive Oil, Vinegar, and Water according to the jar. Shake to combine

If you don't have the jar whisk together 1/4 Cup Vinegar, 3 tbsp water, 1/2 Cup olive oil and 2 tbsp of the herb and spices mix.