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Gokids Chocolate Oat Milk | Chewsday Review

Today’s Chewsday review features an alternative milk product, GoKids Chocolate Oat Milk. There’s a super-oat designed to catch the attention of your kiddo, but is the product as super as suggested? Let’s find out…

Ingredients

Water, Oat Extract (9%), Sugar, Cocoa Powder (1.2%), Prebiotic Fibre (Inulin), Canola Oil, Natural Flavours, Mineral Salts (341, 500), Vegetable Gums (Acacia, Gellan), Salt.
Inulin is a natural prebiotic fibre that adds fibre content to support gut function.
Mineral Salts 341 and 500 are calcium phosphate and sodium carbonate… in other words, harmless additions that increase the calcium content and stabilise the ‘milk.’
Allergens: gluten (wheat)

Positives

Great to see it’s fortified with a decent amount of calcium (120mg per 100mL). Always look for plant based milks that have added calcium, as they don’t naturally contain it.
Sodium and saturated fat are both within the healthy guidelines – tick!
Contains 1.7g per 100mL of fibre which is more than most oat milks, but not nearly as high as Dairy Free Up and Go, which contains 4g per 100mL.
There is some added sugar, but it’s pretty insignificant. Unsweetened oat milk has about 4g/100g and this has 4.9g. I’d choose unsweetened for daily drinking.
Comes in a useful 200mL pack, and is ultra-heat treated meaning it doesn’t have to be kept cold. It’s also the perfect size for freezing and popping into lunchboxes.

Negatives

Contains 1.4g of protein per 100mL, which is pretty low. Dairy-free milks are generally lower in protein than cow’s milk, but I like to aim for around 2-3g per 100mL. I’d prefer to aim for an amount closer to 3.5g per 100mL as fat is important to support rapid growth and brain development during those younger years.
This product costs $5.5/L or $1.80 per tetra pack which is pretty standard for a dairy-free milk. Dairy Free Up and Go is a slightly cheaper price at $4.8/L.

Marketing

“Dairy free and high in calcium.” True.
I mean the oat-hero is kind of cute
“The product is not suitable as a complete milk replacement for children under 5 years.” It’s hard to find a dairy-free milk that is nutritionally similar to cow’s milk, so if your child can have cow’s milk, then this is the ideal choice. For a daily drink I’d prefer a soy or oat milk with higher fat and protein content.

Alternatives

There isn’t really a lot of anything in this milk. It’s water with a little bit of sweetener, a sprinkle of oat and some minerals. This means it contains hardly any protein or fat. It’s an OAT-kay option (I couldn’t help myself) if your little one has an allergy or intolerance to cow’s milk as it’s high in calcium and low in sugar. If your kiddo can have dairy, there’s definitely no need to swap to a dairy free alternative.
‘Dairy Free Up and Go,’ is a better tetra pak option, with the bonus of more vitamins, minerals and protein, and it’s slightly cheaper. Oat-Ly Barista is a better daily oat milk option.
If you have time to make your own smoothie, try a combo of dairy-free milk, frozen fruit, oats or Weet-bix and ice.