Life without cheese was just getting be to too tough on this cheese connoisseur, so I went on a seemingly fuitless search for a suitable substitute. Looking through several vegan foodie blogs on the subject of cheese, I kept reading rave reviews about this new "cheese" carried at Whole Foods. "It tastes just like cheese!" "It melts!" "It stretches!" "It's delicious!" "It's incredible" "It's AMAZING!" "It's the answer to world peace!!!" Okay, I made the last one up, but you would think that this "cheese" could be the answer with all the over-the-top accolades it was getting.
My first thought, honestly, was, "these people are nuts! They wouldn't know a good cheese if their lives depended on it. These people rave about tofu, for Heaven's sake!" You see, I am a cheese snob. I admit it. But, humility and yearning started to set in after I made my girls one too many grilled cheese sandwiches. MUST... HAVE... CHEESE.
Enter Daiya
I caved to the reviews of the vegans and drove across town to get a few packages of Daiya "cheese" to test. The "cheese" is shredded and comes in two flavors: cheddar and mozzarella. It's dairy-free, gluten-free and preservative-free with no artificial flavors, which are all positives. I grabbed two of each, figuring that if it tasted anything like cheese, I am going to stock up.
We rushed back home, and I quickly steamed up some broccoli and cauliflower to sprinkle it on. Excitedly, I ripped open the cheddar flavor bag and poured it on my veggies, a bit heavy-handed. I gobbled down the first bite and... CHEESE! Well, for the most part. It's more like the cheese packets for the microwaveable Kraft mac 'n' cheese than a fine aged cheddar, but it tastes like cheese none the less. As far as the melting and stretching part, it does change shape into a stretchy blob, but what can you realistically expect of flavored pea protein?
Overall, I am satisfied with this Daiya "cheese". I am really looking forward to making a gluten-free flax meal pizza crust and trying out the mozzarella flavor. Add some homemade tomato sauce, fresh garlic, spinach and onions, and walla!! Vegan deliciousness. It also keeps me from being too snarky while my kiddos devour their REAL grilled cheese sandwiches. For that, Lord, I am grateful. :)
4 comments:
This would be great for Aubrie and I. I think Aubrie has a milk allergy (small one), and so I'm banned from dairy as well since I'm still nursing her. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done, because I love cheese, too! And milk is in everything! Good luck on the new diet, and I hope it makes you feel better.
Hey, Kim! It really is a good non-dairy substitute for cheese. I think they carry it at the health store on Spring Cypress close to Old Town Spring, as well.
Alas! I was going to email u today about this! Guess I will have to drive to dallas again!
Thank you sooooooo much for this information! I was just at Grace's and had I known they had it, I would have grabbed some! I also love the egg free dairy free goodness of Vegenaise! We are so blessed to have people that actually care about what we eat and make products for us! And Praise God for you Rebecca for sharing with others!
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