I haven't written much yet about the logistics of our veganism, but I thought I'd start with a post on things we've found that have made it "easy being green." I'll cover our dairy replacements first. :o)
One HUGE concern for me initially was cheese. "But the cheese! How will I ever live without the cheese?!" I felt I could give up meat, eggs, and milk with no problem, but cheese was a deal-breaker. I even remember telling my sister that I could easily be vegan if not for the cheese thing. (I've since discovered that nearly everyone says this!) Whereas I practically could have lived on sharp cheddar dairy cheese (if not for the fact that it was clogging my arteries and leading to my premature demise), we've discovered that different vegan cheeses are best used in a variety of foods, and there is no one "sharp cheddar" that works for all dishes.
Daiya - For anything requiring shredded cheese like pizza, nachos, etc., there is nothing better than Daiya. While I wouldn't snack on it straight out of the bag (note that my kids will, however!) it's a good-tasting option in these kind of foods as it tastes like cheese and it melts. It comes in cheddar, mozzarella, and pepper-jack flavors. (I love the pepper-jack in "crack wraps." A crack wrap is a grilled tortilla filled with a schmear of hummus and some vegan cheese. Try it. Trust me.) Daiya is made from arrowroot and tapioca starch, and is soy-free. It comes in shreds or block form. I order it in 5 pound bags from our health food store.
We Can't Say it's Cheese - This is a line of cheese sauces made by a Montana company. Their sauces are oatmeal-based, if you can believe it! For macaroni and cheese, it's our favorite. The whole family loves it.
Cashew Cheese - This one seems to have begun with Seventh-Day Adventists, but there are several versions of this recipe around. The one we use came from - surprise! - an SDA and it's really yummy. We use it for a nacho cheese-type dip for chips, and it also makes good mac and cheese. With the addition of agar-agar, it can be formed into a block and sliced. It's tasty and good for you!
Follow Your Heart - This is our favorite "slicing cheese." It's what we'll put on a sandwich, and because it melts well, it's a great choice for grilled cheese sandwiches (though Daiya is, too). It has a slightly grainy texture when cold, but it's completely smooth and yummy when melted.
Tofutti - This is just OK, but if you want an American cheese slice for grilled cheese sandwiches, it tastes about the same as its dairy counterpart. We used to buy Galaxy Foods "Veggie Slices," but although they're soy-based, they contain casein.
Dr. Cow and Sheese are two brands we've not been able to find around here, but they're supposed to be really good. Dr. Cow's are nut-based and come in lots of flavor options. Sheese is available in England and people rave about it.
These cheeses have made a huge difference in our adjustment, but we've also found that we simply eat lots less cheese than we used to.
Rice Milk - This one seems to be the favorite of the older kids in the family. Nutritionally, it's higher in sugar and lower in other nutrients than some other options, but it's fortified with vitamins A, D and B-12, making it a really good option for vegans/vegetarians. It's rather thin, so I don't like to use it for cooking, but the taste is good and I can store cartons of it in the cupboard. We buy the organic Rice Dream from Walmart.
Coconut Milk - Two of our kids vastly prefer coconut milk, so this is another one I keep on hand. There are a few brands, but we buy Silk Coconut Milk from Walmart (refrigerated) and I also buy coconut milk powder that I can use for baking. So Delicious makes a shelf stable version.
Soy Milk - We don't drink soy milk in the mornings, but I do buy small cartons of vanilla and chocolate soy milk for the kids' school lunches. I get either Silk or Pacific Foods brands, both of which come to us on the Amazon Subscribe and Save program. For baking, soy milk is really good option, so I keep a couple of half-gallons in the fridge. I buy Walmart's or Costco's organic versions, and I also have some shelf stable brands in the cupboard.
Almond Milk - None of us likes drinking plain almond milk, but I do keep some on hand because it's called for in some recipes. We do like the chocolate version, though, and I buy individual cartons for the kids' lunches through Amazon's Subscribe and Save program. The brand we get it Pacific Foods.
Oat Milk - This is another of our family favorites. The brownish color is a little off-putting at first, but it tastes YUMMY and is especially good on - you guessed it! - oatmeal! This is another Pacific Foods offering. We get it either in the big city (two hours from us) or order it from Amazon. They sell it at the local health food store, but it's twice as much there.
Hemp Milk - and finally, I thought I'd include the one that didn't make the cut. We wanted to like hemp milk, because nutritionally, it's got a lot going for it, but yuck. It's just nasty.
So that's it for dairy! All in all, we're not feeling too deprived. :o)
Cheese, glorious cheese!
One HUGE concern for me initially was cheese. "But the cheese! How will I ever live without the cheese?!" I felt I could give up meat, eggs, and milk with no problem, but cheese was a deal-breaker. I even remember telling my sister that I could easily be vegan if not for the cheese thing. (I've since discovered that nearly everyone says this!) Whereas I practically could have lived on sharp cheddar dairy cheese (if not for the fact that it was clogging my arteries and leading to my premature demise), we've discovered that different vegan cheeses are best used in a variety of foods, and there is no one "sharp cheddar" that works for all dishes.
Daiya - For anything requiring shredded cheese like pizza, nachos, etc., there is nothing better than Daiya. While I wouldn't snack on it straight out of the bag (note that my kids will, however!) it's a good-tasting option in these kind of foods as it tastes like cheese and it melts. It comes in cheddar, mozzarella, and pepper-jack flavors. (I love the pepper-jack in "crack wraps." A crack wrap is a grilled tortilla filled with a schmear of hummus and some vegan cheese. Try it. Trust me.) Daiya is made from arrowroot and tapioca starch, and is soy-free. It comes in shreds or block form. I order it in 5 pound bags from our health food store.
We Can't Say it's Cheese - This is a line of cheese sauces made by a Montana company. Their sauces are oatmeal-based, if you can believe it! For macaroni and cheese, it's our favorite. The whole family loves it.
Cashew Cheese - This one seems to have begun with Seventh-Day Adventists, but there are several versions of this recipe around. The one we use came from - surprise! - an SDA and it's really yummy. We use it for a nacho cheese-type dip for chips, and it also makes good mac and cheese. With the addition of agar-agar, it can be formed into a block and sliced. It's tasty and good for you!
Follow Your Heart - This is our favorite "slicing cheese." It's what we'll put on a sandwich, and because it melts well, it's a great choice for grilled cheese sandwiches (though Daiya is, too). It has a slightly grainy texture when cold, but it's completely smooth and yummy when melted.
Tofutti - This is just OK, but if you want an American cheese slice for grilled cheese sandwiches, it tastes about the same as its dairy counterpart. We used to buy Galaxy Foods "Veggie Slices," but although they're soy-based, they contain casein.
Dr. Cow and Sheese are two brands we've not been able to find around here, but they're supposed to be really good. Dr. Cow's are nut-based and come in lots of flavor options. Sheese is available in England and people rave about it.
These cheeses have made a huge difference in our adjustment, but we've also found that we simply eat lots less cheese than we used to.
Creme de la creme: cream cheese, sour cream, whipping cream, creamer, ice cream
Although there are other brands of cream cheese and sour cream, Tofutti and Follow Your Heart are the only ones we've tried. We all prefer Follow Your Heart because both products contain the right tanginess that is missing from the Tofutti versions. Tofutti is slightly less expensive, and I think it works best in baking because it's slightly sweeter. Follow Your Heart sour cream, however, can be plopped onto your potato and their cream cheese schmeared onto your bagel without you feeling someone's playing a cruel joke on you. They are very close in taste to the dairy versions.
For whipping cream, the only substitute we've used so far is coconut milk. You can whip it just like cream, add some sugar, and blop it onto your dessert. It's HEAVENLY. We ordered some "MimiCreme" (cashew based) but haven't yet tried it. I'll post a review when we do, but others say it tastes like Cool Whip. It is whipped just like a dairy cream.
We aren't coffee drinkers, but I buy soy creamer for recipes. Since I only cook and bake with them, I can't tell any difference in their taste or performance compared to dairy. I buy Silk and Wild Wood brands.
Ice cream is another place we've found a huge variety of offerings with some being better than others. The most common options are rice milk-based, soy milk-based, and coconut milk-based, but there are some others (like almond milk versions). Sorbets are also a good option, and I usually buy Ciao Bella. Our favorite ice creams are the soy and coconut versions, and we usually buy So Delicious, which offers both versions. Rice Dream is gritty and has an odd taste.
Yogurt
My only gripe about nondairy yogurt is the cost; they are so expensive. Soy versions are cheapest, but since I try to limit soy so we can indulge in other soy foods, I usually buy coconut milk yogurt. We get the So Delicious brand, and it comes in several flavors including plain, vanilla (these two flavors come in larger tubs which comes in handy for smoothie-making), raspberry, strawberry-banana, blueberry, and mango-passion fruit. I buy vanilla and plain WholeSoy Co yogurt for baking and smoothies, and we also like Amande (almond milk) yogurt. I've heard great things about Silk's soy yogurts, and I've asked our local Albertsons to special order some so we can try them. Like I said, I don't want us to get too much soy, but I'd like to give them a try.
Mayonnaise
If cheese was my pre-vegan hangup, mayo was Hubby's. In all the years of our marriage, he's been very particular about mayo. My arguments of, "But this brand was on sale!" always fell on deaf ears. It had to be Best Foods, and not the olive oil or light varieties, or Heaven forbid, the kind that you squeeze out of the bottle. I can sum up our sampling of vegan mayos in this way: Follow Your Heart Vegenaise (grapeseed oil version) - Good. Spectrum Eggless Canola Mayo and Nayonaise - Very, very bad. And I kid you not, hubby says he prefers Vegenaise to Best Foods. Miracle of miracles.
Milk
Our family is all over the place with this one, but you know what? All the nondairy milks cost about the same, and because of aseptic, shelf-stable cartons, it's easy for me to provide for everyone's preference. I buy 'em all!
Flax milk - This is by far my personal favorite, and most of the family will happily drink this when it's around or if we're out of their favorite. Flax milk is just slightly sweet, smooth and creamy, and it has a great taste. I was never one to chug a glass of milk (not since I was 16, anyway), but I will actually drink a glass of this on occasion, in addition to putting it on cereal. One cup has only 50 calories, and it supplies a big percentage of our Omega-3 requirements. And look ma, no cow pus or antibiotics! ;o) I buy FlaxUSA Flaxmilk at Walmart, of all places.
Rice Milk - This one seems to be the favorite of the older kids in the family. Nutritionally, it's higher in sugar and lower in other nutrients than some other options, but it's fortified with vitamins A, D and B-12, making it a really good option for vegans/vegetarians. It's rather thin, so I don't like to use it for cooking, but the taste is good and I can store cartons of it in the cupboard. We buy the organic Rice Dream from Walmart.
Coconut Milk - Two of our kids vastly prefer coconut milk, so this is another one I keep on hand. There are a few brands, but we buy Silk Coconut Milk from Walmart (refrigerated) and I also buy coconut milk powder that I can use for baking. So Delicious makes a shelf stable version.
Soy Milk - We don't drink soy milk in the mornings, but I do buy small cartons of vanilla and chocolate soy milk for the kids' school lunches. I get either Silk or Pacific Foods brands, both of which come to us on the Amazon Subscribe and Save program. For baking, soy milk is really good option, so I keep a couple of half-gallons in the fridge. I buy Walmart's or Costco's organic versions, and I also have some shelf stable brands in the cupboard.
Almond Milk - None of us likes drinking plain almond milk, but I do keep some on hand because it's called for in some recipes. We do like the chocolate version, though, and I buy individual cartons for the kids' lunches through Amazon's Subscribe and Save program. The brand we get it Pacific Foods.
Oat Milk - This is another of our family favorites. The brownish color is a little off-putting at first, but it tastes YUMMY and is especially good on - you guessed it! - oatmeal! This is another Pacific Foods offering. We get it either in the big city (two hours from us) or order it from Amazon. They sell it at the local health food store, but it's twice as much there.
Hemp Milk - and finally, I thought I'd include the one that didn't make the cut. We wanted to like hemp milk, because nutritionally, it's got a lot going for it, but yuck. It's just nasty.
So that's it for dairy! All in all, we're not feeling too deprived. :o)
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