Hello everyone
Posted by BrocasBrainBurger on Mar 02, 2011 · Member since Mar 2011 · 7 posts
Hi, I'm a long-time lurker of these forums but a first time poster. I figured that I get so much from the recipes and some of the forum topics that the least I could do is introduce myself.
Sooo howdy! I'm in Chicago, I'm a vegetarian that's leaning towards veganism but dammit, cheese is just so tasty and vegan cheese is just so... not tasty. I'll do it eventually, I've been working in that direction for a while now. I think I just need to come to terms with not having cheese anymore.
I have one question for you all. I see the term 'veg*n' a lot on these boards. What's with the asterisk?
Hi & welcome! glad to meetcha!
"Veg*n" means "vegan/ vegetarian"... kind of an all-inclusive way of referring to anyone on the veg path. :)
Cheese/ dairy was last to go, for me-- if you want some info on what finally was enough to push me 2-footed onto the planteater path, message me & I'll be happy to share-- don't wanna do unsolicited recruitment to dairy-free ways, but man-o-man: so glad I'm off it! won't ever go back... lotta reasons not to put it in your body; & lotta reasons not to support the folks who put it on the shelf...
Cashew cheez: have you tried it? nutritional yeast/ sauces therefrom? Daiya mozzarella? If you haven't... I think you should! Cashew cheez & nooch (nutritional yeast) make me purr, the way cow-squeezed cheese used to... when I first tasted cashew & nooch-based uncheez sauces & such, I was PISSED that no one had told me about them sooner! I'll search out what I consider 'best of' recommendations for recipes, for these, & report back with relevant links, if others don't-- pressed for time right this minute, but there's a wealth of info on this site for uncheez happiness... and Daiya mozz is to die for, imo, on pizza/ in wraps/ etc, where I would have put dairy chz before. Oh, also, tofu makes fab ricotta & feta... omni hub no longer asks for cow-squeezed kind of cheese on pizza or pasta, as Daiya/ tofu feta/ etc work so well...
But anyway, I digress! glad to have you about, and posting; posting is way more fun than lurking, in my experience! It's totally ok to explore vegan dairy options even if you keep cow cheese in the fridge sometimes... you may be surprised how much yum is out there of non-dairy origin! But either way, it's very nice to meet you & I'm glad you're posting now... Be sure to join in on the forums- they're fun!
Welcome! :)
ooooohhhhhhh veg*n, gotcha. Thanks!
I've tried all sorts of uncheez types of stuff. Once I got really really excited because I found 'non-dairy' cheese that tasted pretty decent and I was all like FINALLY WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
Then I read the ingredients.
bastards.
It had milk in it!!??The hell?? Who puts dairy in something marked non-dairy? Seriously.
I have not tried cashew cheez though, sound interesting. I also made some of the cheez sauces from this site and they turned out pretty well. The trouble is DH (who is omni but generally pretty tolerant of my vegan cooking escapades) absolutely cannot stand cheez and most meat alternatives. I am far too lazy to bother with cooking separate meals and frankly haven't been creative enough to come up with non-cheese recipes. I know there's plenty out there and I just need to try some different stuff. Lately I've been toying with Japanese cooking which seems to be largely cow-free and the DH likes it well enough.
I'll keep an eye out for the ricotta and feta too. I love feta cheese so if there's a decent replacement for it I'll be a happy, happy girl.
Anyway thanks much for the reply. I see you're a regular welcomer of us noobs here ;D 'preciate the advice and I'll definitely look up the cheese alternatives here and try some different ones to see what's what. Thanks again, and goodtomeetcha too
Then I read the ingredients.
bastards.
It had milk in it!!??The hell?? Who puts dairy in something marked non-dairy? Seriously.
RIGHT???!!! I think we've all had those 'you have got to be f***ing kidding me, you a**holes!!' moments.... crazy world, isn't it?!
Welcome! I hear ya on the cheese! when I cook at home it's not a problem because I will use Daiya or even rice cheese and I've made several cheeze sauces that are really good, it's when I go out to eat that I miss it. I do have to cook separate meals because my family refuses to try my vegan meals (they did try the muffins & cupcakes but won't try any "real" food). fortunately I only have to cook 2 or 3 times a week for them but I also have to cook my supper and lunches to bring to work, but that usually last about 3 days. I do get tired of having to cook two meals but I am enjoying trying new recipes and foods, I have several vegan cookbooks now (and am wanting still more, lol!)
one thing I did last week was I made my family spaghetti, but I kept the noodles (whole wheat) separate and did their meat and sauce and then I had a bag of stir fry type fresh veggies that I heated in a pan, made an alfreda sauce with pinenuts from Vegan With a Vengeance (I think it was that one!) and then put it together for my supper and lunch for two more days. It was Really good, I think I added mushrooms to it too, it had broccoli, carrots, sprouts, snow peas; that was a really good sauce on it!
Labels can be tricky as I'm still learning what is an animal product and what is not. (I found out that casein and whey are animal products, I didn't know that before) And I've slipped when I didn't read the label on whole wheat english muffins for my boca burger. I had already eaten one and I was looking at the label and it had milk and eggs in it. I think I was trying to decide between two brands and read the label on one and not the other. Oh well, live and learn ....
Best of luck to you!
Nice to meet you!! Welcome out of the land of lurkerdom.
Vegan cheeses generally suck and I rarely eat them. I love cheese...seriously love cheese and miss it, but made the decision to give it up and deal with it. I love to cook and love spicy foods, and there are so many good tasting vegan foods I don't think about cheese and definitely don't feel deprived. If and when you decide to go vegan you're just going to have to break that addiction and deal.
Perhaps you can just eat less and less. In the meantime watch videos and read books about who dairy cows are treated.
All the best.
Welcome. Cheese was the one thing that was hard for me to give up too. I hated nooch when I first tried it but, a few months down the line I loved it. I think my taste buds changed. I like daiya. Good luck.