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What are Coconut Aminos? They’re a popular soy sauce substitute. If you are thinking about switching and want to learn more about how Coconut Aminos differ from soy sauce, this post is for you!
A big part of leading a healthy lifestyle is understanding what you are putting into your body on a daily basis. As I’ve learned more about nutrition, I’ve been sharing as much of that with you as I can.
- Soy Sauce Substitutes
- Processed Oils: Which Ones Are Healthy
- What to Look For In Stevia
- What is Nutritional Yeast?
- What are artificial sweeteners?
- What to Buy Organic and What Not To
Coconut Aminos: Is it the perfect soy sauce substitute?
Coconut aminos are a great choice for replacing soy sauce if you have gluten, soy, or sugar allergies, or if you’re watching your sodium intake.
Soy products are typically highly processed, they usually contain wheat and gluten, and of course…they have soy in them. Wheat and soy are two of the most common allergens around today.
People avoid those allergens for many reasons. One of the top reasons is that they can cause inflammation, which can lead to several health issues (like my migraines). We don’t buy much wheat or soy in our house for this reason.
What are Coconut Aminos and how are they used?
If you are not familiar with this product, let me introduce you to this common ingredient in Asian cuisine.
It looks nearly identical to soy sauce and the taste is very similar as well. It is a great substitute for soy sauce, which is typically very high in sodium.
Do they taste like coconut?
It might seem odd but no, these aminos do not taste like coconut.
What is in coconut aminos?
First let’s talk about what is not included in coconut aminos. There is no wheat, no GMO’s, and no MSG. There’s also no extra sodium which makes them a better choice than regular liquid aminos.
The “aminos” part of the name refers to the 17 different aminos acids that are in the soy sauce alternative. They help develop the taste of the coconut aminos but they’re also beneficial to our bodies. We need amino acids to build muscle and to help maintain muscles on a day to day basis.
This product is made by fermenting the sap from coconut blossoms and mixing with with sea salt and water. Coconut Secret is a popular brand and is widely used as a replacement for all varieties of soy sauce.
Break it down…how do they taste?
It’s about more than just the nutrition benefits, weight loss, and allergies or food sensitivities. If we’re going to make a change that sticks, I need more info than just health food suggestions.
Here’s the low down on taste, gluten content, and sodium so you can make an informed decision on whether using coconut aminos will work for you!
- Flavor: In all respects, the flavor is the same as soy sauce. The taste is mild and not overwhelming or super salty.
- Sodium: Each tablespoon has 270 mg of sodium. Compared to the 575mg of sodium in reduced sodium soy sauce, that’s a big difference.
- Gluten: They are naturally gluten free. There’s no need to cut this product out if you are trying to maintain a gluten free diet.
How does coconut aminos compare to soy sauce or Tamari?
I like coconut aminos for the low sodium content, but I prefer the taste of tamari over all three.
If you are using liquid aminos (not coconut) as an alternative to soy sauce I would switch to coconut to save on sodium. You won’t notice a flavor change.
I choose to mix tamari and coconut aminos to get the best of both worlds–I definitely use coconut aminos more, but sometimes a recipe is lacking and when that happens, I add in a little low sodium tamari.
Healthy recipes that use soy sauce alternatives:
Now that we know what they are we can get to work adding them to our favorite recipes, right? Here are a few to get you started! You can use coconut aminos in things like stir fry or mix it up and try any of these delicious recipes.
Other ways that you can put coconut aminos to work in your kitchen is for topping rice, Chinese food takeout, dipping sauce for sushi or sashimi, and more!
Where can I buy coconut aminos?
You can usually find them in the Asian section of your grocery store. If you have difficulty finding them, you can always buy them from Amazon. If you’re looking specifically for sugar free coconut aminos, know that they should all be sugar free. The coconut sweetens the sauce!
Most health foods stores like Trader Joe’s have a wide variety of coconut products. The benefits of coconut based products is becoming more widely recognized so more products are becoming available all the time.
Coconut aminos can be used to help you reduce your sodium intake while also providing amino acids. Amino acids help you build muscle. Soy sauce substitutes are a great choice if you are looking to eliminate gluten and/or soy from your diet, and these are my favorite!
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