When Everyone Else is Eating Cows Milk Cheese

Well, we eat cheese, vegan cheese that is! Daiya is our favorite store bought vegan cheese. It is amazing and doesn't taste super sweet like many of the other vegan cheese's out there. You can find it in many grocery stores and this link helps you figure out where to buy it. It truly does melt and stretch. 

There are of course many vegan cheeses on the market, some are easier to find than others and some are worth the effort and some simply are not. I'll let you choose.

Vegan Gourmet makes many different blocks of vegan cheese and this is one of the brands that is found most readily in grocery stores. 

Vegan Rella

Sheese - I actually love this vegan cheese alternative but it's harder to find. They have a blue cheese that is great. 

Teese

Tofuti - they also have a cream cheese that I love. My local bagel shop, Bagel Time, sells this along with some of the best bagels around. 

Galaxy Foods Rice Vegan

Road's End Organics - They make packets of a dry cheese mix. My favorite though is the macaroni and cheese from Road's End. We eat it when we are low on time. I mix cut up broccoli pieces into the pasta as it is cooking. I've used soy and rice milk when making it but I have a friend that uses just water. I also use Earth Balance to make it like I did when I was a kid. 

Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheese

Wayfare Foods: We Can't Say It's Cheese these are dips and I've been lucky that a grocery store near my local Whole Foods carries it. I love the hickory-smoked cheddar style because it reminds me of my days as a girl eating cheddar cheese balls covered in nuts that we used to get from Hickory Farms. 

Of course there are numerous recipes for making your own vegan cheese. Our favorites are nacho cheese sauces from Shmooed Foods the author of Vegan Lunch Box 

and Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce at Kristen's Raw

I made a spicy one (from the original recipe) and a non-spicy one for my boys that can't handle the heat! Here is a recipe for Macadamia Nut Cheese from Awesome to be Rawesome. Raw cashews and nutritional yeast are two ingredients that are integral to making a thick creamy vegan cheese sauce. Cashews when blended with a liquid and heated actually thicken up. Nutritional yeast is full of B vitamins and chock full of protein and it has a cheese like flavor. White beans can also offer a creamy base for cheese like flavors. Following is a montage of ways that I have used vegan cheese.

Pizza!

Quesadillas before they are cooked.

Macaroni and vegan cheese

Vegan Reuben

Gluten free cheese pizza

What Do Vegan's Eat

After living in the same city for 7 years I had gotten a bit complacent about informing people about eating a vegan diet. Our friends (many of whom are vegan or vegetarian) and people we knew were well past the point of asking what we ate. But, eight months ago we moved states and we've had to make new friends none of whom are vegan or vegetarian so the questions about what we eat are numerous.

I don't mind them in the least but I do feel out of practice with my answers. So, the other day I took some dip to a party and it was a hit, everyone wanted the recipe. I remembered that the best way to inform people about what we eat is to actually feed them. It takes a little more work since you end up bringing food everywhere but I find that people are less likely to say they couldn't do a vegan diet if they are actually eating the food in question!