Talk to me about nog.

Who would have thought the week before Christmas would be so stinking busy. I feel like I'm going a million miles an hour and barely have time to sleep. But I'm trying. And, naturally, because I'm so busy I'm more tired than usual so the normal bedtime just really isn't cutting the mustard.

I really wanted to get this out before Christmas, though, so I'm going to power through this and then crawl into bed and (hopefully) sleep. I didn't sleep well last night, which is a huge anomaly, and I have a work Christmas breakfast at 7:30 tomorrow morning so I NEED to get some quality shut eye or I'm worried I'll get a cold or something (not to mention a serious case of the grumpies) before I meet my one and only NEPHEW this weekend. 

So. Eggnog. I learned to love it when I started dating Karl. It's totally his Christmas jam. Figuratively, of course. His new Christmas jam is going to be the jam that our friend Steph just brought us. Talk about my favourite gift to get. It's even raspberry. I might name our first born after her.

But eggnog. I wanted to share my experiences with you so that you could make educated dairy-free eggnog choices. Because I care about you.

This being my first dairy-free Christmas means that eggnog (and everything else) has a different meaning. It's a whole new challenge. I'm a baked goods fiend so being dairy-free this year actually means that I've lost five pounds. I don't understand either, but I'm a fluctuator so don't be too envious.

Anyway, here is what I've learned about dairy-free eggnog this year:

Soy:

source

It tastes like sweet chalk. I'm not a big soy fan, but figured this was worth a shot. It wasn't, really, but it was really good when warmed up and added to some decaf coffee (thank you, Keurig machine for forever improving my at home coffee drinking experience) with some cinnamon. It ended up going chunky on me before I could finish it, but was also good in chai tea. Like regular eggnog. It was not good, however, straight. Like I said, sweet chalk.

Almond:

Better than the soy, not really great for straight drinking, and good in coffee. Goes a little thick when warmed up, and I'm a classic reheater so that's a major turn off. Definitely better than the soy, but still not amazing. Hasn't gone chunky in the fridge yet, that I know of, but it's been in there a while. 

Homemade:

This recipe. Not exactly eggnog, and had a slight green hue, but it was a hit. I would go a little easier on the agave next time, but other than that I was a fan and recommend it. I made a about 1 1/2 times the recipe and it was too much for about a dozen people. Not everyone tried it, granted, but it's very rich and two small glasses were enough to leave me feeling slightly hungover the next morning. And I didn't even add the rum. I also recommend drinking it in a wine glass because it's freaking classy. Until the sides get all slimy. I even convinced one of the girls at the party I brought it to to put some in her tea and she said it was good. The only downside is that the recipe says it doesn't keep well. I didn't want to find out what day old coconut milk and avocado was like. It's also like a high fat smoothie, so there's that.

Bottom line, nothing is the same as the real stuff, but there are acceptable alternatives, especially for your coffee.

Okay, nerds, in case I don't see you, merry Christmas! 

I'll also be posting baby nephew photos like it's my job over the holidays so I apologize in advance for your intolerance of my Instagram.