Guest guest Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 One of the biggest stumbling blocks I ran into when becoming vegan was finding a way around cheese. I love cheese, and commercially available vegan cheese substitutes aren't all that good, in my opinion. Other nondairy products are great, such as soy yogurt and almond milk. No problem there, and I like the plant based products much better. But cheese? Tough one. If I was going to become a real vegan and not just a close-but-no-cigar variety, I needed to find a way to get over cheese. I did it, and what worked for me was changing my way of thinking about cheese. I'm not talking about the cow puss in milk horror story or the way animal agriculture contributes to global warming. I knew these facts already, and I was still eating cheese. Guiltily to be sure, but still doing it. I decided to rethink dishes that I used cheese in. Instead of thinking of tacos and burritos as cheese dishes, for instance, I started thinking of them as bean, grain and vegetable dishes. I started adding guacamole and vegan sour cream to them, which gave them a great taste and texture. A little fresh salsa, and they taste so good I don't even miss the cheese. I now use commercial vegan cheez slices on sandwiches and like that pretty well. I started making uncheese sauces for pasta, veggies and potatoes. I do like the vegan parmesan substitutes I've tried, and they make a tasty topping for pasta dishes. But even with pasta, all I have to do is think of them as grain and vegetable dishes and all desire for cheese goes right out of my head. For instance, I just whipped up a pasta dish while visiting my omnivore parents. I couldn't find any vegan parmesan at the market in their small town. I did find some wholegrain penne. I roasted an eggplant, tossed it with marinara, kalamata olives and capers, then stirred in the cooked pasta. It was marvelous, and my mom loved it. Incidentally, I can't recommend the UnCheese Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak highly enough. The sauces are about as tasty as they come. Try " I can't believe it's not cheese " sauce on vegetables or baked potatoes. Yum! Cheers, Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Hi Trish I think you have hit the nail on the head there. It is the way we look at things that matters. Some of your ideas sound really good. Jo , bantrymoon <bantrymoon wrote: > > One of the biggest stumbling blocks I ran into when becoming vegan was > finding a way around cheese. I love cheese, and commercially available > vegan cheese substitutes aren't all that good, in my opinion. Other > nondairy products are great, such as soy yogurt and almond milk. No > problem there, and I like the plant based products much better. But > cheese? Tough one. If I was going to become a real vegan and not just a > close-but-no-cigar variety, I needed to find a way to get over cheese. > > I did it, and what worked for me was changing my way of thinking about > cheese. I'm not talking about the cow puss in milk horror story or the > way animal agriculture contributes to global warming. I knew these facts > already, and I was still eating cheese. Guiltily to be sure, but still > doing it. I decided to rethink dishes that I used cheese in. Instead of > thinking of tacos and burritos as cheese dishes, for instance, I started > thinking of them as bean, grain and vegetable dishes. I started adding > guacamole and vegan sour cream to them, which gave them a great taste > and texture. A little fresh salsa, and they taste so good I don't even > miss the cheese. > > I now use commercial vegan cheez slices on sandwiches and like that > pretty well. I started making uncheese sauces for pasta, veggies and > potatoes. I do like the vegan parmesan substitutes I've tried, and they > make a tasty topping for pasta dishes. But even with pasta, all I have > to do is think of them as grain and vegetable dishes and all desire for > cheese goes right out of my head. For instance, I just whipped up a > pasta dish while visiting my omnivore parents. I couldn't find any vegan > parmesan at the market in their small town. I did find some wholegrain > penne. I roasted an eggplant, tossed it with marinara, kalamata olives > and capers, then stirred in the cooked pasta. It was marvelous, and my > mom loved it. > > Incidentally, I can't recommend the UnCheese Cookbook by Joanne > Stepaniak highly enough. The sauces are about as tasty as they come. Try > " I can't believe it's not cheese " sauce on vegetables or baked potatoes. > Yum! > > Cheers, > > Trish > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 I was lucky, I never liked cheese before I went vegan.......... Peter H bantrymoon <bantrymoon Sent: Saturday, 29 December, 2007 7:03:56 PM Vegan "cheez" One of the biggest stumbling blocks I ran into when becoming vegan was finding a way around cheese. I love cheese, and commercially available vegan cheese substitutes aren't all that good, in my opinion. Other nondairy products are great, such as soy yogurt and almond milk. No problem there, and I like the plant based products much better. But cheese? Tough one. If I was going to become a real vegan and not just a close-but-no- cigar variety, I needed to find a way to get over cheese.I did it, and what worked for me was changing my way of thinking about cheese. I'm not talking about the cow puss in milk horror story or the way animal agriculture contributes to global warming. I knew these facts already, and I was still eating cheese. Guiltily to be sure, but still doing it. I decided to rethink dishes that I used cheese in. Instead of thinking of tacos and burritos as cheese dishes, for instance, I started thinking of them as bean, grain and vegetable dishes. I started adding guacamole and vegan sour cream to them, which gave them a great taste and texture. A little fresh salsa, and they taste so good I don't even miss the cheese.I now use commercial vegan cheez slices on sandwiches and like that pretty well. I started making uncheese sauces for pasta, veggies and potatoes. I do like the vegan parmesan substitutes I've tried, and they make a tasty topping for pasta dishes. But even with pasta, all I have to do is think of them as grain and vegetable dishes and all desire for cheese goes right out of my head. For instance, I just whipped up a pasta dish while visiting my omnivore parents. I couldn't find any vegan parmesan at the market in their small town. I did find some wholegrain penne. I roasted an eggplant, tossed it with marinara, kalamata olives and capers, then stirred in the cooked pasta. It was marvelous, and my mom loved it.Incidentally, I can't recommend the UnCheese Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak highly enough. The sauces are about as tasty as they come. Try "I can't believe it's not cheese" sauce on vegetables or baked potatoes. Yum!Cheers,Trish Sent from - a smarter inbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008 same here allergic to it actually.... Peter VV Dec 31, 2007 11:26 AM Re: Vegan "cheez" I was lucky, I never liked cheese before I went vegan.......... Peter H Sent from - a smarter inbox. Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance. Confucius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 3, 2008 Report Share Posted January 3, 2008  It gives Colin migraines. Since he gave it up he hasn't had a migraine at all. Jo - fraggle Thursday, January 03, 2008 4:28 PM Re: Vegan "cheez" same here allergic to it actually.... Peter VV Dec 31, 2007 11:26 AM Re: Vegan "cheez" I was lucky, I never liked cheese before I went vegan.......... Peter H Sent from - a smarter inbox. Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance. Confucius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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