Cold Day, Hot Yoga, Fake Yogurt

After snowing all day yesterday, today is cold, windy, and it even flurried a bit. I did not want to go for a run today, so I went to a Hot Power Vinyasa class instead. The heat was cranked up, and we did a lot of moves that worked the core and shoulders. My arms were already sore from yesterday, so today's class was a bit more challenging. I worked up quite a bit of sweat during the one hour class! It was nice to stretch those sore muscles in the heated room, though. Today was the last day of my introductory week and I took 5 different classes with five different yoga instructors. I really enjoyed the different styles of teaching and I think I am going to sign up for a month of unlimited classes.

Goal #1 for this week- so far so good. Reaching my other goals? Not looking too hot. I was really looking forward to this weekend to go on a nice bike ride to a small mountain near me, but it looks like there will be thunderstorms on Saturday! Also, it might rain on Sunday, the day of my first 10K. I rarely run in the rain (I hate getting wet), and I've been lucky so far with good weather for all of my races. I guess it's bound to rain on one of my race days, so I better get used to it. Or maybe I'll get lucky again!

In other news, I went to Whole Foods yesterday and bought some non-dairy yogurt to try. Lactose and I are not getting along so well these days, and I am putting my beloved Greek yogurt and cheese on the refrigerator shelf for now to see if I feel any better. I eat Greek yogurt for second breakfast, after my morning workouts, because it's really high in protein. Now, I am trying to find a non-dairy substitute.

First up, So Delicious cultured almond milk, with 6g of protein. I rarely say this about food, but this was almost inedible. It had a gritty texture from the pea protein powder and had a really thick and slimy mouthfeel with no yogurt-y tang whatsoever. So NOT worth the meager 6g of protein. I hate to waste food, so I choked it down. You disappoint me, Greek Style So Delicious :(

The other cultured non-dairy product I tried was the coconut milk version, non-Greek style. The flavor was delicious and the texture, though un-yogurt like, was pleasant and like coconut pudding. There was also a very slight tang to it. The downside is that there is basically no protein, only 1g, and it's mostly fat and sugar. NOT the nutritional profile I am looking for as a Greek yogurt replacement. It's also pricey and not worth the expense, even though it's pretty tasty.

As an alternative, I also bought some lactose-free yogurt. Although it's not Greek yogurt, it's still a good source of protein for post-workout recovery. I haven't tried it yet, but hopefully it won't give me pain like regular yogurt does.

Do you eat dairy? If not, what non-dairy replacements do you like?