Silk Very Vanilla All Natural Soymilk Review

I purchased several Silk products yesterday for review, including this Silk Very Vanilla All Natural Soymilk. Note that this is a different product than the Silk Vanilla All Natural Soy Milk that I reviewed previously. This product has a much stronger vanilla flavor and is significantly sweeter as well. It has more calories per serving than the other product, and its carton is colored a deep purple, instead of a deep blue.

I’m always trolling around for low-fat, soy-based substitutes for dairy-based milk products with an added twist of lightly sweet, vanilla flavor. This one indeed has a strong vanilla taste, and it’s considerably sweeter than cow’s milk. So, while it tastes wonderful, and is a decent beverage in its own right, being a good substitute for cow’s milk is not its big claim to fame, due to its radically more intense flavors.

I’d avoid Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk when on a diet, as the added sugar (though it is evaporated cane juice) can make me crave this beverage excessively. This stronger version of Silk vanilla flavored soy drink is even more addictive than their weaker-strength vanilla soy beverage.

I enjoy the Silk brand stronger vanilla flavor. This product is among my favorites of all the soy drink brands. Silk drink is a great-tasting, thirst-quenching treat from a glass, or sometimes, when really parched, right from the carton.

It accepts added chocolate or strawberry flavorings well, and for those of you who are not overly impressed with the soy flavor, you can easily mask it with other flavors. However, some of said flavors may clash with the vanilla, and this is particularly true with this elevated vanilla drink. Further, the stronger vanilla here does a pretty good job at cancelling the blandness of the soy. Thus, you may not wish to add anything to this. But, sample and see.

Benefits, Features, Pros, and Advantages

No bland taste from this soy drink product from Silk. The extra sugar and mildness of soy flavor solves that problem quite deliciously.
This soy drink is made with only whole soybeans (not extracted soy proteins).
This drink has only 0.5 grams of saturated fat, no cholesterol, and contains a bit of “good” fat, and 1 gram of fiber per serving. But it does contain 6 grams of sugar per serving. So be careful not to enjoy too much at one sitting. These great numbers suggest that this product is indeed a heart-healthy soy product.
The packaging protects this soy beverage from excessive light, which can also impact the flavor as well as sap some of the nutrition. The soymilk itself has a pale, ivory color.
This drink has some additives; including calcium carbonate, sea salt, carrageenan, natural flavors, and several vitamin additives.
The one-half gallon version of this Silk product comes in a carton; not a plastic bottle, and I believe that its taste is thus, far less degraded by the leeching plastic compounds from plastic bottles that transfer to the vanilla drink inside, that can destroy its chocolaty almond flavor.
It stays fresh for nearly two months after the purchase date in the refrigerator. So this product is great to stock pile. After opening, it remains fresh for seven to ten days, again, in the refrigerator.
I like the color and consistency here. Its opacity resembles traditional dairy-based white milk.
While this brand does not have added DHA omega-3 fatty acids, the label indicates that it comes bundled with extra added vitamins. Plus, it is soy-based, and as such, has lots of healthy soy protein.

Disadvantages, Concerns, Problems, and Cons

To produce a lower glycemic index product, thereby making this product better for diabetics, Silk might use pure agave nectar or stevia even, to sweeten this product, rather than the concentrated sugar cane juice.
Due to the sugar content, in my opinion, it’s quite easy to consume excess calories via this product. This product’s intense vanilla flavor, though only lightly sweet, still tests one’s decision to drink in moderation. It’s got a delicious and addictive flavor in spite of the soybeans being the heaviest ingredient.
Diabetics should thus watch their blood sugar counts extra closely after drinking this, as it contains a fair amount of sugar. Account for this in your insulin doses.

Ingredients

All natural soymilk (filtered water, whole soybeans), natural cane sugar, calcium carbonate, natural flavor, sea salt, carrageenan, tricalcium phosphate, sodium ascorbate (vitamin C), vitamin E acetate, zinc gluconate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, vitamin B6, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B12.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1 cup, or 240 millilitres. Servings per container: 8.
Calories: 130. Calories from fat: 30.
Total fat: 3.5 grams, 5% DV.
Saturated fat: 0.5 grams, 3% DV.
Trans fat: 0 grams.
Polyunsaturated fat: 2 grams.
Monounsaturated fat: 1 gram.
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams, 0% DV.
Sodium: 120 milligrams, 5% DV.
Potassium: 300 milligrams, 8% DV.
Total carbohydrate: 19 grams, 6% DV.
Dietary fiber: 1 gram, 4% DV.
Sugars: 16 grams.
Protein: 6 grams, 12% DV.
Vitamin A: 20% DV.
Calcium: 45% DV.
Vitamin D: 30% DV.
Vitamin K: 15% DV.
Vitamin B6: 30% DV.
Vitamin B12: 50% DV.
Magnesium: 10% DV.
Selenium: 8% DV.
Vitamin C: 35% DV.
Iron: 6% DV.
Vitamin E: 20% DV.
Riboflavin: 30% DV.
Folate: 6%.
Phosphorus: 10% DV.
Zinc: 10% DV.

Product Rating

Silk Very Vanilla All Natural Soymilk is a delicious and economical treat. Over all, I’m pleased with this particular soy drink recipe! While I love the extra strong vanilla flavor, I’m not crazy about the extra cane sugar. So I’d rate this beverage at 88 out of 100.

Where To Buy Silk Very Vanilla All Natural Soymilk

Look for this soy drink in the purple, pale yellow, and white carton with the blue Silk logo on the front, and the white cap on top, in the refrigerated dairy section at your favorite larger grocery store.

References

Revision History

2015-01-16: Moved this post to the Tom’s Diet Quest blog, added whitespace, revised tag and category assignments, fixed typos, and adjusted ad placements.
2012-06-26: Originally published.