Homemade Non Dairy Yogurt

[TEwhole30]

Hi W30ers!

If I want to eat flax mylk yogurt that I make myself, that is compliant in regards to ingredients .. would it be considered a fat since flax are seeds, or would it be a protein, what about if I used pumpkin seed mylk or hemp mylk ... hemp is listed as a protein for the vegetarian W30. 

Excited to hear your feedback. Thank you!

[ShannonM816]

Normally for whole30, we're all about the ingredients list and basically ignore the nutrition info with its grams of this and percents of that, but when you're wondering whether something counts as protein or fat, it can be helpful to look at the numbers. I don't know if you're making your own flax milk to make the yogurt from, or buying it, but just to demonstrate how this might work, I'll use the info from this flax milk:  https://goodkarmafoods.com/buy-flaxmilk/unsweetened-flaxmilk/

If you look at the nutrition info, this has 0 grams of protein. So clearly it doesn't count as protein. In one cup of the milk, there's 2.5 grams of fat. According to this site: https://www.californiaavocado.com/nutrition/nutrients, there are 8 grams of fat in 1/3 of an avocado, and for whole30 purposes a serving of avocado is 1/2 to a whole one, so 12-24 grams of fat in a serving of avocado.  

So there's no protein and very little fat in your flax milk yogurt. It might be a nice addition to a meal, but it's just an extra, it's not really filling any of the major components of the meal. 

Obviously this could vary depending on the flax milk you start with. The one that I linked to, I noticed they make a version with extra protein, that might change how you use it. I would still try to compare it with other protein sources to see how much you'd need to aim for to be getting similar amounts of protein.

You can do this comparison with any of the other options you've listed to see how they compare.

Please note: counting calories and macros is still not in the spirit of Whole30. I'm talking more about doing some comparisons beforehand to decide how to incorporate foods into your meals, not tracking every bite to make sure you hit particular numbers. There will be variations in your macros from meal to meal, and that is fine, but the difference here between 2.5 grams of fat versus 12-24 grams could make a huge difference in how well your meal keeps you satisfied over the course of several hours.

[TEwhole30]

Thank you, @ShannonM816! Yes, I like to make my own mylks so it is literally just nuts/seeds a pinch of salt and water. I don't have any issues with natural flavors additives etc. Plus it helps me reduce my physical waste by not needing to buy as many packaged items. 

Sadly my favorite mylks to make are flax and pumpkin seed, which are both on the shopping list under fats, however they're listed under the limit section. Maybe I need to experiment with making my own coconut mylk from dried coconut instead, so I can count it more completely as a pated fat .. which I think is the hardest category to incorporate to a meal anyway.