Any tips on ditching the cheese?

[backtoblue]

I've been mostly vegetarian for years now. For a few months at a time I can even keep up a vegan diet. But-cheese is the bane of my dietary existence. The soy cheese is alright, but it's just not the same.

It does help to remind myself of all the pus in dairy products and the nasty way the animals are treated. Sometimes, though, I'll pick it up without thinking.

Any tips from any of you who might struggle with cheese?

Thanks!

[RC]

2. Dairy cows must be treated nicely or they will not give milk.

That means treated humanely and fed a good balanced diet. Contented cows is more than just a saying.

Soy isn't as healthy as people think. My doctor told me to avoid it because of a variety of reasons, not all related to my health conditions.
Besides human beings have a evolutionary history of being meat eaters. We need to ingest some animal products in our diet to be healthy.

Do your own google search. I found most of the information here on quite a few other sites.
http://www.electroherbalism.com/Naturopathy/Therapies/Diet/Soy/NewestResearchonwhyYouShouldAvoidSoy.htm

And this:
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm
"The core of their concerns rests with the chemical makeup of soy: in addition to all the nutrients and protein, soy contains a natural chemical that mimics estrogen, the female hormone. Some studies in animals show that this chemical can alter sexual development. And in fact, 2 glasses of soy milk/day, over the course of one month, contain enough of the chemical to change the timing of a woman’s menstrual cycle."

>SNIP<

"Who has something to gain from the consumption of soy? Perhaps companies like Monsanto which produce the genetically modified soybean seeds. Perhaps companies like Cargill Foods or SoyLife which produce countless soy-based foods. Or soybean councils in several states which represent farmers who grow this new, emerging bumper crop. And, of course, all of the companies which are constructing factories all over the world to do the processing which is necessary to make soybeans edible."

[yewberry]

5. "We need to ingest some animal products in our diet to be healthy."

I'm unsure of what this post is doing here.

Did someone change the mission statement of this group when I wasn't looking?

[flvegan]

7. Nutrition fail. n/t

[WillParkinson]

8. We need to ingest some animal products in our diet to be healthy.

There is no sound medical evidence that this is true.

Oh, and I can pull out links, too:

What are the benefits of being vegan? http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8749.php

New study explodes myth about vegetarian diet: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/11310.php

American Dietetic Association Endorses Vegetarian Diet: http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/705553

American Heart Association Approves Vegetarian Diet: http://www.vegparadise.com/news50.html

Supporting the vegan diet choice for kids: http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-children/kids-diets.htm (This one says, " The American Medical Association (AMA), American Dietetic Association (ADA), and Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) support vegan diets for children and adolescents as healthy alternatives to the traditional meat-based American diet.)"

[Codeine]

13. Good grief.

Conditions in factory dairy farms are often abhorrent.

[HopeHoops]

3. Ah, the pork rinds of vegetarians. One answer: small portions.

I lost 55 lbs over a couple of years by reducing my cheese intake. One slice, not two. A cube of each kind, not six cubes of each kind. Be satisfied with the flavor and savor it. Good seeded rye bread helps, and so does Merlot. Eat slowly. You'll learn and still get your cheese - Coltswort, Gorgonzola, Havarti, etc. Good shit, Maynard.

[CrispyQ]

4. Pesto & Tofutti's vegan cream cheese. Get the healthy one in the mostly yellow container.

Tofutti's vegan cream cheese is better than cream cheese. It really is. I've used it as cream cheese replacement in cheese cake & in cream cheese dips. I have not made a cream sauce with it, & if anyone has, I hope they share their recipe. A good product, but highly processed.

Pesto - I use Isa's recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance. It's a decent replacement for a lot of cheesy things, like a base on pizza, mixed with crumbled tofu for a savory ricotta filling replacement (use lots of olive oil in your pesto for this), spread on toasted bread & then topped with chopped veggies. We go through a ton of pesto. When Safeway has their organic basil on sale, I buy a bunch & have a pesto making afternoon. It freezes & thaws beautifully.

Good luck!

[The empressof all]

6. It's hard...

For me I just needed to just go cold turkey on it. I still long for yogurt and although I do indulge in the soy versions...it's not the same. The tofutti better than cream cheese product is the best "faux" cheesy product out there. I've tried all the other stuff out there including the Daiya...and it's just not worth the money for me to eat something that just doesn't replicate those cheesy sensations I once craved.

I rarely crave hard cheese now but honestly it took about a year to not feel deprived when everyone else was chowing down on pizza.

[WillParkinson]

9. We are hooked on Daiya cheese...

We love it on veggie burgers and on pizza. You can find pizzas from Tofurky that have the Daiya on it if you want to try it first. We love it and several non-vegans from work have tried it and given the cheese very high marks.

[backtoblue]

10. Thanks everyone

It's a struggle, but I suppose I'll have to quit cheese like I did cigarettes...

[Codeine]

11. I didn't find it difficult at all.

Vegan soy cheeses were few in number and absolutely dire in quality (remember Soymage? Gag) when I started my vegan diet in '89, so they weren't really an option. Within a few weeks I never even thought about cheese. I've recently started eating Daiya cheeses and they've gotten good enough that even the omnis in my house are happy eating them.

Proper donut shop-style donuts are the only thing I crave even now, even though I guarantee the memory I have of what they taste like after all these years is nothing like the reality.

[CrispyQ]

12. I caught a show on the Food station the other day.

The guy was visiting donut shops. He went to a Spudnut shop up in Washington state somewhere. There was a Spudnut shop in the town I grew up in back in the 60s. They were delicious! My mom wouldn't get donuts anywhere else. ~slurp.

For those who don't know, a spudnut is a donut made with potato flour. Something about the flour makes the donut better, lighter, maybe?

[The empressof all]

14. We have Mighty O...In Seattle

If course....I ...wouldn't know....I stay far far away from the sweets.



http://www.mightyo.com/

I'll eat one for you next time I'm there

[Codeine]

15. Lucky!

I'd weigh about three hundred pounds if I had one of those near me.

[LeftyMom]

16. if the craving ever gets to be too much, I can overnight you some

I think I've eaten every vegan donut on sale east of the Mississippi, and Doughbot makes the best.