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What kind of coconut milk do I get?


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I apologize if I inundate the boards with various questions but today is my first day doing the Whole30 program. I went grocery shopping yesterday at a regular supermarket and got some items I knew I was indesparate need of. I plan on stopping at Whole Foods later this week. Anyway, I was looking for coconut milk as I have seen on here that many people use it in their coffee but the only one the store I went to had contained sugar. Is there a certain brand I should look for? Thanks.

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My Whole Foods, and even some of the regular groceries here, carries Native Forest which is W30 compliant. It is also BPA free which is really important to me because coconut milk is mostly fat and fat leaches BPA. We use a lot of it at our house so I want the safest kind I can get. It's reasonably priced, too. Another brand people like is Natural Value but I've only seen it online and it is more expensive.

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The best deal (and the best tasting) I've found is Aroy-D, which you can pick up at any Asian grocery store. There are different "grades", I just buy the stuff in the regular green and white can, which tells you in the ingredient list that there's nothing in there but 67% coconut and 33% water. It's plenty thick and fatty. It's been costing me $1.49 a can. Aroy-D does have an "all natural" label, but from what I can tell it's the same stuff with a higher percentage of water added. (WTF?)

Be careful when buying Thai Kitchen. Some of it has guar gum (which is not technically forbidden but yuck), some of it does not. I ordered some from Amazon and it had the guar gum, while the TK I bought off the shelf at my grocery store for $3.79 a can did not. The labels appeared the same otherwise.

Trader Joes' brand "lite" coconut milk is more watered down, but it has no sulfites or other nasties so it's OK in a pinch, you'll just end up using more.

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The Whole Foods by me only has the Thai Kitchen with guar gum. I found Goya at Publix with no stabilizers, gums, etc. for $1.99. I have to give it a whirl in my Magic Bullet every time, because it separates out, but I just store it in the mixing cup with a lid and screw on the blade when I need to.

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I got a tip from the producer of the brand I buy - if you gently heat the milk in the can the solids will melt & you can shake it smooth. Just stand in a pan of hot water is enough. Saves washing blenders!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am totally confused here. Is "Guar Gum" an acceptable ingredient in coconut milk? All the brands mentioned here that are in cans at Whole Foods and on line seem to have it. Please help.

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I have the Thai Kitchen brand here. I pour it out of the can into a canning jar with a screw on lid to keep in the fridge. When I'm ready to use it, all I have to do is give it a good shake and it's ready to go.

I've also seen the Goya brand. Not sure what else is available in the States. I was just mentioning to a friend that I need to stock up and I was going to see what they had at Costco.

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My can (that I've had around for awhile) is Orchida brand, half the text is in Thai. The ingredients are: coconut milk, water & sodium metabisulphide 0.008%. I've never heard of this and am guessing it's not okay for the Whole30. And how do you tell how much water is in it, by the amount of fat? Mine has 12g fat for 65ml.

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I prefer Native Forest Organic due to the BPA-free cans, but be careful as when they source the coconuts from Sri Lanka the milk isn't as good as from Thailand. I have no idea why. Check the can, as the country of origin is listed.

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I also use Native Forest due to the cans not having BPA.

I make coconut milk yogurt by emptying 5 probiotic capsules (such as MegaFoods Megaflora) into one can of coconut milk and mixing gently in a mason jar. I place the jar in a cool, dark place and shake the jar twice a day. After 3 days in the cupboard, I put it in the fridge where it firms up a bit more.

If I weren't doing the Whole 30, I'd add a few drops of stevia. Then I use my coconut milk yogurt to top berries or with other fruit.

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I stopped buying coconut milk with guar gum because I noticed it was giving me a bit of a tummy ache.

Trader Joes just started selling coconut cream from a can. It tasted so darn good but then of course I see xanthem (sp?) gum is used. Ugh. I'm pretty sure this isn't compliant but I wonder why...

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