Hi, I am new but this is a thread I could have written! I have been veggie for over a year and I really want to cut down on cheese...I just can't seem to do it. The tips in this thread are great though.
Cool to see others from WI here. It seems there are Cheese Hauses in every other town, lol.
Yeah, when I moved to NY from WI, I noticed that there wasn't cheese everywhere. I would go entire days without eating cheese... sometimes it's hard to remember that the rest of the world doesn't put cheese on everything.
Then I moved back to the midwest, to MN, and all of a sudden, I was eating cheese every day again. Sometimes twice a day. It seemed like there was cheese on everything... on every sandwich, on vegetables, in casseroles.
Now that I've moved to HI, the cost of living is higher, and I cook at home rather than eat out. The time is great to make a change in my diet. Yet I find myself cooking with cheese a lot.
TBJ333 you know I am sure I posted a lengthy answer, giving various reasons as to why reducing cheese was a good idea, per your request, but it seems to be missing! Perhaps I have lost my mind and I posted this information elsewhere but I did a search and couldn't find it. Do you remember reading a post like that from me here?
I replied to your PM. Don't know what's happening. This is a good thread though, lots of informative posts.
Moving on... I've decided for this week that when I go grocery shopping, I won't buy any real cheese. (But I might buy some veggie parm, even though it has whey in it.) Not having cheese in the house = not cooking with cheese, right?
Something a vegan said to me a long time ago: "I realized I was only eating animal product for taste." I keep that thought in my mind and am trying to remind myself that I shouldn't give up my ideals for taste. We'll see how this week goes. I'm grocery shopping tomorrow.
I don't know if it is availble in the U.S. but I really like the Yves Veggie Cuisine brand of "cheese" The slices melt pretty good if you are making grilled cheese sandwiches.
I'm amazed no one here has mentioned using nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor!
I use nutritional yeast flakes on top of pizzas, lasagne, mashed potatoes, etc, although I will say that nutritional yeast can run a little on the expensive side.
I'm still not a fan of most vegan cheeses, but nutritional yeast flakes are pretty good.
The site has been having technical difficulties this past week - that is why we are moving to a bigger/better server this weekend. Hopefully the problems will be solved then
I've been a vegetarian since I was 4, and one would think that would keep me thin but OHHHH no. Thanks to the cheese. I've been trying to cut down a lot too. Some things I've found that help are to:
1) Always have the grated kind. It'll save you from devouring a huge hunk of it.
2) If you buy the bagged, pre-grated kind, never let your hand enter it more than once per day. You'll be surprised how much less you need than you want!
3) Make foods that would be gross with cheese. Generally sticking to the Asian areas makes it easier. I mean, who wants to have soy sauce and parmesan in the same bite?
4) There are a lot of things we put cheese on without needing to. Salad, for example-- cheddar is always on the salad bar, but if you get a fat-free creamy dressing, it's pretty much superfluous. Always ask yourself, "Will this cheese really make it that much better?"
There is an AWESOME book called "The Uncheese cookbook" that I really like. I borrowed it from a friend of mine (need to get my own) and there are tons of really good recipies for *cheese*-like foods.
Another poster mentioned nutritional yeast flakes ... MMMMMMMMMMM they are so good and so healthy (lots of B vitamins which vegans need).... I make a yummy cheez sauce for my whole wheat pasta dishes and casseroles...
Bacially, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast flakes, margarine (not too much), garlic, spices etc... it is so good it has like a nacho cheese type flavoring...
I've heard a lot of people talk about nutritional yeast. Don't know whether Hubby would be open to eating a food with that name! Can I sneak it into cookies?
No nutritional yeast in cookies!! It's hearty and cheesy flavored, you don't want it in cookies. I usually just mix it with water and make a sauce.
As for cutting down on cheese, I have to ask, why are you reducing the use of animal products? For health? For the animals? I can make many arguments about giving up cheese, but I don't know which to make.
This is a good thread though, lots of informative posts.
Good luck!
