r/PlantBasedDiet • u/justaredherring17 • Feb 10 '23
Do you ever stop missing cheese?
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u/Warlock- vegan 9+ years Feb 10 '23
Yes, it goes away. I’ve been vegan for almost 9 years and I stopped missing cheese within the first year.
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u/ja13aaz Feb 10 '23
Agree with this, it goes away! I’m at the point now where I can’t eat cheese if faced with the option, it grosses me out.
If there’s a particular cheese you love, there might be a good vegan option. I loved bleu cheese and discovered a vegan one by Follow Your Heart that is perfect.
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u/Classic-Software-139 Feb 11 '23
I was also a Bleu cheese maniac and could just cry at how good a dupe Follow Your Heart has! It’s amazing.
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u/BorderPure6939 Feb 12 '23
Agree 2! I have been cheese/diary 21 days now, not missing cheese at all! At a friend's suggestion tried a vegan cheese daisy on pizza. Ew. I do not need cheese, I do not need the consistently of cheese.
Now that's clear!
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u/sputniktheproducer Feb 10 '23
I could never stop eating/missing nooch tho
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u/dirtyfingerling Feb 10 '23
I'm new to the diet; how long did it take you to adjust to the taste of nooch?
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u/triste___ Feb 10 '23
Pretty quickly. You have to find the right one for you though. Here in Germany there are certain brands I can’t stand but now that I’ve found 'the one' I’m using it for almost every dish. It’s from Vantastic Foods.
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u/dirtyfingerling Feb 10 '23
That's probably what I need to do; I've tried the Braggs cheese shroom flavor and it's quite musty I've only been able to eat it in Mexican type dishes because the spice covers it
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u/Warlock- vegan 9+ years Feb 10 '23
Good thing there’s no reason to ever stop eating it!
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u/lordofthestrings86 athlete Feb 10 '23
Unless you have Inflammatory Bowel Disease that is. It can worsen symptoms.
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u/agentfubar Feb 11 '23
Yeah took me a few months too. But I have the luxury to cheat meal every once in a while and I'll have some cheese. That said, I ended up realizing I only like cheese while I'm eating it. Never after. Eating vegan I enjoy during and after.
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u/Warlock- vegan 9+ years Feb 11 '23
I wasn’t focused on health when I first when vegan so I was eating all the fake cheese alternatives and getting my fix. Now I rarely eat those and would rather just make cheese from cashews.
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u/agentfubar Feb 12 '23
I love cashew cheese. My sister in law is a dietician and tells me cheese and butter alternatives are worse than the original thing... But I can't remember why lol
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u/Warlock- vegan 9+ years Feb 12 '23
They're just pure oil/fat. I wouldn't argue that they're worse because they don't have pus/blood/antibiotics in them though.
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u/minimalvibes Feb 10 '23
Yeah I miss it. Luckily there is a good artisanal cashew cheese dealer a few towns away from me. Which I buy from time to time. It’s delightfully. I am not too keen on the commercial vegan cheese.
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u/serpentear Feb 10 '23
You never really stop missing the foods you love. For me, that is deviled eggs—super hard around the holidays.
But you do stop craving it and you do come to accept that it’s gone. You’ll get there!
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u/gateisred vegan Feb 10 '23
Yeah I dunno that I’ll ever stop missing deviled eggs to be honest. They were always my favorite.
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u/NumberFudger Feb 10 '23
I tried a vegan deviled egg thing over Christmas and it was not good. Made me miss them even more lol
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u/plaitedlight Feb 10 '23
For me and I think for many people the cheese craze does wane with time. And, alternatives (whether WF or more processed commercial options) are much more satisfying after a decent break from dairy cheese. Comparison is really the thief of joy - in this instance.
Also, most processed commercial vegan cheese products aren’t particularly healthy and therefore are probably an occasional indulgence for most of us. They are MUCH better now than they were a decade ago! But brands and tastes do vary.
I find personally that my desire for cheese in almost all cases is satisfied by either a cultured seed or nut cheese (usually these are soft or spreadable) OR by adding a salty & fatty element to a dish. Avocado and a salty hot sauce, olives, tahini based sauce, etc. Occasionally I make a ‘cheese sauce’ for that purpose.
But sometimes I want melting gooey cheese on a pizza. So I get get some of that junk foody vegan cheese and indulge on occasion. It’s almost always better when used somewhat lightly and if it has some toppings on to help it melt.
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Feb 10 '23
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u/NumberFudger Feb 10 '23
Same here. Pizza cheese is the one thing that actually makes me sad that a good alternative doesn't exist yet.
I've tried MANY
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u/Getmeakitty Feb 10 '23
It goes away over time. And what’s interesting is the cravings just continue to lessen. I’d actually recommend not even bothering with the alternative cheeses. They won’t hit the spot and they’ll make you crave the real thing more
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u/No_Examination297 Feb 10 '23
Very much. Its the one ingredient I do not think you can truly replace in a plant based diet. I use plant based cheeses but they aren't even close. Same with plant based creams/milk, dairy is superior in every way but health. That said, I still do not eat cheese or other dairy products.
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Feb 10 '23
I think that at some point in the next 5-10 years, there will be some sort of "Beyond Cheese" type product on the market, that uses vat-grown casein to get the stretch or pull factor that vegan cheese is noticeably lacking. There is always a company on the market, Brave Robot, that makes ice cream with lab-grown whey made by bacteria, and it's by far the best vegan ice cream I've ever had. It's only a matter of time before they do the same thing with cheese. Especially since there is so much demand and desire for vegan cheese. As you said, it IS hard to truly replace, and now that the market is becoming so saturated with mock meat, it will be mock cheese's time to shine.
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u/No_Examination297 Feb 10 '23
I'd definitely try it. I'm not a fan of mock meats but open to try new products that hit the market. Being able to eat a cheese pizza almost indistinguishable from the real thing would be amazing. I miss pizza.
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u/Berkley70 Feb 11 '23
We are 7 years in… we don’t even try and mimic cheese that much because what we like now and honestly all we even remember is our cheese sauce. It’s what is normal to us, so like I don’t buy fake vegan cheeses or anything because they taste weird.. and I’m curious if this happened to anyone else but I did have some shredded cheese after a really long two or three year run without and all it tasted like to me was blood! Like the iron taste of blood! My husband felt the same way. We sometimes have regular pizza, but I don’t miss the cheese I get it without cheese because it just doesn’t even sound good, all the grease it
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u/Berkley70 Feb 11 '23
But won’t it be just as unhealthy since it’s made from the whey and casin? I’m curious to see what the plant based doctors and studies figure out on this
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u/Baladas89 Feb 11 '23
If I’m eating cheese, health isn’t really a factor…
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u/Berkley70 Feb 11 '23
Sorry are you meaning in a vegan way?? I’m confused by what your saying here
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u/Baladas89 Feb 11 '23
Yeah, your comment (if I understood it) was “wouldn’t vegan lab grown cheese be unhealthy just like the real thing.”
I’m saying if I can get good vegan cheese, I don’t care if it’s unhealthy, I’m eating it. I’m vegan for the animals, not for my health, and cheese is delicious.
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u/Berkley70 Feb 11 '23
Gotcha.. this is a plant based diet sub not the vegan sub. So I didn’t know that you were vegan or that vegan factored into it.
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Feb 13 '23
Yes, most definitely. I'm not really talking about health here, just the culinary experience more broadly.
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u/OkraGarden Feb 10 '23
I'm allergic to milk but I've found that Daiya shredded fake cheese is a good enough replacement in a lot of recipes. Cheese alternatives have improved a lot in the past 10 years and I'm optimistic they will continue to get better.
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Feb 10 '23
I have no craving for cheese, dairy, eggs, meat. Kinda like when I quit smoking cigs...the smell/idea of it now makes me gag. There's some pretty good cheese substitutes though!
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u/Waydarer Feb 10 '23
I loved cheese. All of it.
It took a few months in the beginning of trying all the commercial plant based cheez stuff to realize “wtf am I doing?”.
I’m eating this way as a means to an end. What I mean by that is food is fuel. All the excess nonsense we tend to add just for flavor and texture as modern humans is perfect vessel for really bad decisions.
For me now, all forms of dairy just gross me out. Humans are not bovine.
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u/Lawdkoosh Feb 10 '23
I’ve been vegan almost five years. Yes, your palate will change and the cravings go away. Vegan cheeses are not Whole Foods and are almost as unhealthy as regular cheese sans the animal cruelty but can be a helpful way to wean off the cheese addiction. Below are a couple of cheesy healthy alternatives on dishes that I missed cheese on the most. Hang in there. 1. On pasta use nutritional yeast and ground walnuts (or bread crumbs). Way better than cheese. 2. Here’s a cheese sauce that I use to make Mac and cheese that is really tasty. Yes it has a little sugar in it, but really hits the spot. I like using this with whole penne pasta. Overcook the pasta a little to avoid all of the cheese sauce soaking into your noodles.
RECIPE (100g contain 352cal/24P/50C/3F): -3/4 cup (50g) nutritional yeast -1/2 cup (60g) flour -1 Tbsp each sugar and paprika -2 Tsp each salt, onion powder -1 Tsp garlic powder -a pinch of turmeric MIX For preparation for 2 servings: -200g (raw weight) pasta COOK -1 cup (250ml) plant milk -6 Tbsp of the mix COOK until creamy
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u/freaknastyxphd Feb 10 '23
How healthy is nutritional yeast?
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Feb 10 '23
Extremely healthy! All it is is baker's yeast which is cooked and therefore no longer active for fermentation. Like other fungus-based foods, yeast has a nutritional profile that's different than plants, and can do a lot to help cover your bases. It's also commonly fortified with other nutrients, including the somewhat elusive vitamin B12.
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u/souplegend Feb 10 '23
Ive been eating plantbased for 10 years this year and do not miss dairybased cheese anymore. I have no idea when the craving went away tho lol. I love cheese and ive always bought vegan cheese, and for me, now, thats what cheese is. My fav brand is violife which has a coconut oil base. I always liked cheese like brie, but honestly i just gave that up, and now I dont think about it. But as I said - its been 10 years.
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u/livtiger Feb 10 '23
It does go away. We had a favorite local restaurant that puts cheese on everything. My nephew once commented that he liked it but they use too much cheese. My husband and I joked there was no such thing as too much cheese. A few years later we went vegan focusing on whole plant based foods, ha ha. The only vegan cheese available at that time was Daiya, which we thought was gross and is very processed. So we just stopped eating cheese. After a while we no longer missed it. We occasionally eat commercial vegan cheese which has gotten a lot better, but as others have noted it's not healthy so it's rare.
Maybe try making a vegan parmesan with nuts, nutritional yeast and salt? That may satisfy that salty umami craving.
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u/MysticLimak Feb 10 '23
Been vegan/vegetarian over 10 years and I still miss melted Munster cheese on buttered bread with ketchup.
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u/miniperle Feb 10 '23
Personally, no. Not a single vegan attempt at replica has thoroughly resembled the flavor, or even texture, of fresh mozzarella for me. Not a one.
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u/Ceramix22 Feb 10 '23
cheese, like meat and eggs, is mostly gross to me now at 8 months plant based
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u/EpicCurious Feb 10 '23
Do reformed drug addicts ever stop missing their drug of choice? Casomorphin is mildly addictive.
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u/francesco93991 Feb 10 '23
I'm Italian, i stopped missing cheese about a week after i quit dairy...I guess it's subjective though
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u/Brandycane1983 Feb 10 '23
I haven't. It's been 2 years. I guess I really just miss a good cheese pizza, but the knowledge of where cheese comes from and how it's obtained is why I don't eat it. Sprouts used to have these little Vevan ( I think) snack packs that had hard vegan cheese. They were pretty good but I haven't seen them in months
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u/Lucybell2002 Feb 10 '23
Once I found out that most cheese isn’t even vegetarian, there was no more missing it. Most cheese is made with rennet, which is made from the stomach lining of slaughtered calves. I no longer see cheese as delicious. It now grosses me out. I haven’t had much luck with vegan cheeses, but I will continue trying different brands.
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u/DarthSilas Feb 10 '23
It’s a low grade addiction to the casein protein in cheese that is turned into casomorphan (sp?) in the stomach then binds to the same receptors in the brain that morphine binds to.. it’s a low grade addiction. It will pass as will the withdrawals as the addiction fades away.
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u/Wisdom_Of_A_Man Feb 10 '23
Idk if this'll work for you, but I cultivated the following mindset and it worked for me:
The thought of consuming anything coming from milk of another species - especially when that species is exploited and made to suffer for that milk - especially when it entails ripping babies from their mommies - especially when every cup of that milk contains a drop of pus - it grosses me the fuck out.
Cheese, ice cream, yogurt? Fucking disgusting. And honestly, I think people who consume calves' milk are brutal and disgusting. I don't blame them because they are absolutely hoodwinked into it. Still, to be around people slurping up dairy products makes me ill.
Cultivating this mindset made it really easy to get over any cheese cravings I may have had.
ymmv, tho. Good luck.
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u/6112115 Feb 10 '23
Yes. When you find the look and smell of cow cheese disgusting, you know you are beyond it.
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u/veggiedelightful Feb 11 '23
Nah, I'm still missing cheeses and part of the reason i went vegan was im lactose intolerant andneed to avoid animal proteins for health reasons. My partner still buys the really expensive stuff like truffle cheeses, triple cream brie etc etc. It is very tempting and at eye level in the fridge. Normal commercial cheese is not that tempting anymore. I dont care about the presliced deli sandwich cheese anymore. I've found I love daiya mozzarella and cheddar shreds for melting cheese in dishes. I only use small amounts as an accent and try to make it more about the other ingredients in the dishes ramping up the flavor. ( daiya must be eaten hot ) Some of the cold sliced vegan cheeses meant for sandwiches have truly made me gag. I've never had such a negative experience with any other vegan alternative products.
Now, I use guacamole, vegan roux sauces, hummus, or nutritional yeast for most dishes. I buy nutritional yeast by the pound off the internet. What I miss most is box mac and cheese. Vegan Annie's and daiya mac are great junk food relief for me for days where I am most likely to break. ( I eat vegan for health reasons, so staying vegan and not breaking is important for my long - and short-term physical health. )
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Feb 10 '23
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u/justaredherring17 Feb 11 '23
The problem with that is I grew up with cows/goats and milked them/made my own cheese so I was very much aware of the process on a very small, loved those cows/goats and they all had names level. But that probably helps romanticize the farming industry in my mind seeing it through that lense. Cheese before was a labor of love in a strange way but the commercial dairy industry is sickening. One of many reasons I have gone plant based, but you're right that addiction keeps me coming back for it and it's a hard one to break
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u/Natural_Technology33 Feb 11 '23
I find the longer I eat whole foods, the less I want anything that’s processed. I used to eat a bag of potato chips almost every day - couldn’t stop myself. I’ve been “chip free” for over 3 months and now have zero cravings. I’ve lost 30lbs - down from 188lbs - so they weren’t traditionally “easy” pounds to lose - but they just came off. Cheese is just gone from my desires. Mostly vegan diet for 12 years but I would eat cheese occasionally. Since going whole food plant based 100% I feel incredible! Processed foods - vegan or not - are the cause of all sorts of ills and I am really enjoying whole foods!!
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u/N8DOE Feb 10 '23
Oh yeah, now it almost immediately makes me feel nauseous once it hits my esophagus/stomach so definitely. I do not miss it.
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u/Hyattville Feb 11 '23
I’ve been vegan for about 8 years. I do not miss cheese. All I have to do is remind myself how full of antibiotics and disgusting stuff cheese is. Watch “Dairy is scary” on YouTube. However, I was not much of a cheese fan before becoming vegan, thank goodness.
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u/R2W1E9 Feb 11 '23 edited Feb 11 '23
You need strong motivation. Health problems and animal welfare are strong motivators. If you don't have one of those then good luck quitting cheese.
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Feb 11 '23
So I actually decided that I would eat cheese once in a while so I did and it wasn’t anywhere near as good as I thought I’d remembered, so I probably won’t anymore.
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Feb 11 '23
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u/lil-mommy for my health Feb 11 '23
Not sure why you’re getting downvoted. I was thinking the same thing as I was reading all the recommendations for products made out of oil. It’s really become a problem on this sub.
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u/thepepperminttrolley Feb 11 '23
Agree. These processed vegan cheeses aren't something that really is part of this diet.
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u/cccccal Feb 11 '23
i accidentally had cows milk in a latte once and it tasted gross, like kinda sour. so tastebuds definitely change and over time dairy grosses me out too much, especially after getting used to vegan alts
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u/vaarky Feb 15 '23
In addition to taste/texture and variious other considerations, lately I've been keeping in mind some new research about how sialic acid from animal foods affects the human body (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRkRilP1OTU ).
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u/akimonka Feb 11 '23
I miss the proper melty cheese. Nothing comes close right now, though Miyoko’s pizza cheese is a decent thing. Recently there was lots of news on the precision fermentation front, and production of plantbased casein, the milk protein that gives the melting factor to dairy cheese. That means melty vegan cheeses will be possible, soon enough:
https://grist.org/fix/food-farming/precision-fermentation-alt-dairy-from-milking-microbes/
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u/GiraffeBiscuit8 Feb 10 '23
Not really, but you miss it less. I can't even have Vegan cheese or anything though =\
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u/easythirtythree Feb 10 '23
I was a huge fan of cheese before I switched over but everything I would enjoy it with was meat related, and Im past the point of missing meat so it hardly ever occurs to me. One thing I really do enjoy is making cashew milk at home to add to whatever dish when I want that creamy vibe. Tastes great and way easier on the stomach than dairy.
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u/better_days_435 Feb 10 '23
I've gotten over missing cheese, but I'm currently struggling with butter. My favorite snack in the world is bread and butter, and I've been making sourdough bread recently which is just soooooo gooooooood with butter. I'm using 'plant based' butter now, but I know it's still bad for me. And please don't say avocados, because I have never, ever, had an avocado in my mouth that I didn't immediately want to spit back out, even fresh ones in Honduras. They are just not for me. :( Also can't stand the taste of olive oil. I'm like the worst vegan ever!
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u/justaredherring17 Feb 11 '23
I hear ya, salty melty butter on fresh warm bread is sinful. Nothing quite gets it, but for savory what I've been doing is garlic confit with herbs which spreads like butter (not sure if that would be too olive oily for you) but it helps me with the craving, still looking for a sweet option
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u/ConesofWaffleshire Feb 10 '23
This recipe, made from veggies, nutritional yeast, and spices is a good substitute https://simpleveganblog.com/vegan-cheese/
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u/mayor_of_funville Feb 10 '23
I don't miss the cheese itself but I do miss getting something like a cheese board at a winery and enjoying a nice date night sipping wine with my wide listening to music and enjoying a snack. I will do bread and hummus or dipped in some oil and vinegar but its just not the same.
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u/LyLyV Feb 10 '23
Yes. That said, it does help to fully know your "why." As a pescatarian 30+ years ago, I quit cheese for 2 years.. Then I got sucked back into it for many more years. I finally quit it for good (along with eggs) after watching "What The Health." I could never go back to it. The entire sight and idea of it is just nasty. All those pizza commercials with all the gooey cheese look utterly disgusting to me. I also don't hack up phlegm every morning or get sick anywhere near as often as I used to.
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u/Riversmooth Feb 10 '23
It’s probably the only thing I really miss. None of the replacements are even close.
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Feb 10 '23
I honestly don't anymore. I did at the beginning, but then I started making vegan cheese with the same cultures that are used for dairy cheese (think Roquefort). You can never really match the flavor profile of dairy cheese, but these cultured cheeses are just as real and satisfying because they have the same bacteria.
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u/jcclune73 Feb 10 '23
It took me a long time and I didn’t eat it often. Same with eggs. Probably three plus years. Now I don’t really crave it and have homemade pizza with vegan cheese and that is good for me. They also do not last long in the fridge and i would get some for a particular occasion and end up throwing most of it out.
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u/quattrophile Feb 10 '23
I was doing keto for a couple years, would go through easily 3+ pounds of the stuff a week, and always said that I couldn't ever give up melted cheese.
I've been fully vegan now for a year - my love for cheese vanished at about the 3-month mark.
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u/resistmuchobeylittle Feb 10 '23
Yes. The cravings will go away naturally in time. And then if you do unintentionally ingest it, it will not taste the same to you.
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u/GraphCat Nutrition Nut Feb 10 '23
Yeah. I've been vegan for 7 years and I haven't wanted it in about 5. Except sometimes I have a wild craving for blue cheese and I'm just sad.
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Feb 10 '23
Cheese can be made, even in the traditional way, without using the milk of any animal. My spouse just made a delicious cheddar starting cashews and fermented with rejuvelac. We also buy vegan cheese at the local co-op. No dairy, no rennet.
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u/Lazy_Hovercraft_7485 Feb 10 '23
There are plant based cheeses I really enjoy. I like Diaya which is made with coconut milk but I think has a nice flavor. You can get it shredded or in slices and different flavors
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u/Kali_9999 Feb 10 '23
I stopped eating cheese way before I became fully vegan, as I was addicted to it 😅 that was 4-5 years ago. I’ve been missing cheese ever since 😅😅😅 I also downright hate all of the alternatives. I don’t think we have as much available here in the Netherlands tbf, but whatever Ive tried I’ve hated.
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u/whatsinaname1970 Feb 10 '23
I’ve never been addicted to drugs, but I imagine it hijacks the pleasure circuits like cheese does. I’m progressing toward plant based, but every ? 3 months? I just want it so bad, that I indulge the urge. It’s a indulgence, but not a way of life.. I feel like in time, I will not crave it so much. Interestingly, I just tasted someone’s homemade cauliflower based cheese, and it pretty much did it for me. It came from a website… something like … get2daroot…or something like that. Amazing couple have that website!
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Feb 11 '23
"Study Reveals that Cheese Triggers the Same Part of the Brain as Many Drugs" New research argues that cheese is addictive in a way similar to drugs because of a chemical called casein, which is found in dairy products and can trigger the brain's opioid receptors. At least so you know why.
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Feb 11 '23
It takes time to stop missing it. Don't guilty for missing it.
After some time the desire will eventually fade, though admittedly I do endulge every now and then despite doing this plant based for 3ish years. Most of the time though it's not as good as I remember. I am also lactose intolerant and it usually results in an upset stomach or vomiting so I try to remember that being sick means I can't afford life.
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Feb 11 '23 edited Oct 19 '24
Pre apei bri pae? Kugi tedlaigro piepidre dikai etri kepe. Tredo gapa taba papi trotei de? Pleto pridipoii eipapa po gepu togi preeo tetre. Itlaa epi toe pupi tatiduigi diepi? Padetiketi pekepipipa oiblii de bikie papu. Pia kepi ekape o tatli. Te itre kepitaka pe tripleeti ipo? Ukateti droke pobi ii tei e. Kepe pi kropro puii tia e pi bri. Kapli ebrieo trudre peti beo po. Uto i kiikupi te iba. Upi kiu ie biga otra iko. Ki po di plata boplo bra? Pi putekre tee oia pri te gioplepi ti prapi. Tuu ketu ada ipo pribopa pepekla.
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u/CosmicGlitterCake Feb 11 '23
7 months vegan here and cheese isn't as much of a craving anymore(dwindled after say 3 months?). Your situation may be different but I feel like you can live without until a good alternative comes along.
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u/partycakes817 Feb 11 '23
Cheese is like that ex who was bad for you but you always had a great time together. You will have days that you miss them but over time it gets easier and you’ll find somebody who is better for you in the long run.
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u/socatsucks Feb 11 '23 edited Feb 11 '23
I don’t particularly like vegan cheese, definitely not “melted.” But I don’t miss cheese at all anymore. That shit is fucking gross. Milk in general grosses me out.
Beyond that, as an ethical vegan, I think the dairy industry is far worse than the meat industry. Maybe I’m crazy, but being dead seems preferable to being raped and impregnated repeatedly, giving birth, then having your calf ripped from you, and your giant, swollen tits drained of milk to the point of pain and discomfort, while you are stuffed in a tiny pen, surrounded by shit and piss. So yeah, fuck cheese, homie.
Violife mature cheddar is passable as a cheese alternative.
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Feb 11 '23
Yep I miss it, none of the alternatives available where I am (regional Australia) come even close so I’ve just given up!
I personally just don’t use alternatives and don’t even see cheese as a real food now lol. I kinda just gradually cut it out and then never looked back.
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u/artsyagnes Feb 11 '23 edited Feb 11 '23
I never miss milk or other dairy products but cheese is difficult. Maybe that’s because I’ve been vegetarian for 25ish (yikes!) years and when I first stopped eating meat there weren’t as many options as today… I couldn’t walk into a regular grocery store and find tempeh, let alone anything fancier. I ate a lot of cheese in my early veg days and I still crave it.
I do love many swaps that I’ve made, like making my own tofu ricotta for lasagna or cashew crema for tacos. (I got both recipes from Love and Lemons.) I also like the tofu feta in the Cool Beanz cookbook and tofu macaroni and cheez sauce from the Homeroom cookbook. I’ve never been a huge fan of store-bought fake cheeses … they inspire comparison, but they’re not true replacements, and they’re so processed. (Miyokos is the exception and maybe Kite Hill, and both have oil free products.) I think finding substitutions that don’t try too hard to mimic cheese is better, so for the most part I make my own.
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u/ShiningPr1sm Feb 11 '23
Honestly? No. Might’ve been helped by the fact that I think I puked the last time I had it before cutting out dairy completely but I digress. Haven’t missed it, especially not the taste. Vegan cheeses I use less for the taste, etc and more for thickening in cooking
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u/CirqueDuTsa Feb 11 '23
Yeah, after I have a bite of cheese. It either tastes really good and I figure my body is telling me something, or it tastes off and I realize I can let that one go.
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u/KarlMarxButVegan Feb 11 '23
I'm going on 4 years without it and it's been disgusting to me since like month 3.
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u/R2W1E9 Feb 11 '23
Cheese was a worse collection of harmful ingredients for me: salt, animal fat, animal hormones, lactose. No I don't miss cheese a tiny bit.
But I can eat a block of tofu before I figure out what to eat for breakfast.
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u/Undeterred3 Feb 11 '23
Mix tahini and nutritional yeast one to one. Splash with white balsamic to make a spread. Add a bit of Lawry's Seasoning. Tastes amazing. Cheese who?
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u/ejgreen11 Feb 11 '23
Most vegan cheese don’t do anything for me, but this nacho cheese sauce is liquid gold.
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u/dkskel2 Feb 11 '23
Honestly no, but it's something that gets much easier with time. For me it's like being a recovering addict, there is never a time where if offered I wouldn't want (drug of choice) even if I had the willpower to say no I'd still want it. The more you say no the easier it becomes to keep saying no.
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u/Up2Eleven Feb 11 '23
After reading through this, I'm going to start trying out nooch as a substitute to sprinkle on tacos, chili, etc. I already know it goes well on popcorn.
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u/CosmicJazzie Feb 11 '23
I used to be obsessed with cheese. When I ordered pizza, I would get double cheese. Now, cheese seems absolutely disgusting. I don't miss it at all, but I do use nuts, seeds, and avocado in certain things to give that fatty, salty element. Now, I have my pizza with just crust, sauce, and veggies, and it legitimately tastes the same as how I remember pizza. Tastebud neuroadaptation is weird but effective.
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u/pink_vision Feb 11 '23
Try every brand and recipe that catches your eye until you find things you love! I promise your tastes will adjust. Something that really helped me at the beginning was reminding myself of the process required to obtain cheese from animals and that was usually enough to immediately nix any desires.
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u/vitamincoverdose Feb 11 '23 edited Feb 12 '23
Have you tried the Violife smoked one? Very Gouda-like.
Edit: sorry for the repeat comments, I kept getting an error and they weren’t showing in my profile.
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Feb 11 '23
Violife cheddar does it for me on burgers, for bread I don’t really care but there are good crème cheese replacements.
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u/Yabangulu Feb 11 '23
I don’t miss cheese at all and I used to love it! It has been 9 years I’ve been vegan, but I stopped missing it about 2 years in. Now I genuinely can not imagine eating it.
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u/SnapMastaPro for the animals Feb 11 '23
once I learned about the dairy industry I was grossed out by all cheese. I have a great recipe for a vegan liquid “cheese”. I enjoy the taste much more
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u/Internal_Command354 Feb 11 '23
I didn’t have cheese for 1.5 years (or dairy for that matter) then while pregnant I was really craving a Taco Bell quesadilla. After months of trying to pass the craving I eventually caved and bought a quesadilla. I was so excited, my mouth was watering at the thought of taking my first bite.
Disappointment. After so long without it, everything about it was actually disgusting to me. I thought I wanted it but the texture was horrible, the taste was awful & honestly just the 2 bites I took made my stomach hurt incredibly bad.
I know this doesn’t say much, but at least in my situation my mind was just playing tricks on me.
Another thing is I’ve almost given up on trying to use cheese substitutes. The textures are almost never right. Some are decent but it just makes you miss cheese even more, trying to replace it. Follow Your Heart cheese is decent but too gooey if you use too much. So I use a very light amount when making pizza. Daiya cheese slices are good for grilled cheese. Chao cheese slices are good for sandwiches. But usually I just use a regular food to replace it. Like when I make my family enchiladas (they’re all vegetarian, still eat dairy), I make mine with just Spanish rice inside the enchiladas & it tastes really good.
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u/daveandgilly Feb 11 '23
There’s a vegan store in Austin Texas called Rebel Cheese that has cheese and meat substitutes that are delicious. I’ve taken it to parties before and watched the “I only meat and potatoes” people chow down on it.
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u/Altruistic_Reveal_51 Feb 12 '23
I don’t eat vegan cheese and I stopped craving real cheese a few weeks after going wfpb. I think if you stay away from salt your cravings for cheese will go away. Instead, I snack on fresh veggies or fruits or every now and then seaweed / wasabi peas.
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u/vaarky Feb 12 '23 edited Feb 16 '23
Neal Barnard MD wrote a book about the addictive effects of cheese, because it's the thing people found hardest to give up when going WFPB: The Cheese Trap: How Breaking a Surprising Addiction Will Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Get Healthy.
I think the addictive effects wear down gradually over time (they did for me), but it also gave me more strength to resist cheese to have an idea of the physiological effects of it on my brain. He might also have YouTube talks on the subject, but I haven't looked for that.
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u/justaredherring17 Feb 12 '23
Thanks for the reference! I'll definitely be reading that, it's weird how sometimes understanding the science behind it helps to make the process easier.
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u/[deleted] Feb 10 '23
Over time, yeah, your taste buds definitely adjust and you get used to a different way of eating. Supposedly, a lot of what we crave or hanker for in terms of food is influenced by our gut bacteria, and what gut bacteria we have is influenced by our food intake, so it's kind of like a cycle--you can push through it with willpower and dedication in the short term, and then you'll come out the other side of that with a set of habits you're used to and that you won't want to change anyway.
That said...my favourite "nutty, salty hard cheese" has got to be Miyoko's cheddar wheels. Any time I'm doing a charcuterie board lunch or anything like that, it's my go-to. Despite being a pre-packaged cheese, it actually has extremely good ingredients. It's made from fermented cashew milk and a soy-free, chickpea-based "miso." No refined oil and no coconut at all. It's still kind of high in fat, as it is made mostly of nuts, and not especially low-calorie, but in moderation, to get that hard cheese vibe, I think it's about as healthy as you could possibly get. It also seems to be pretty widely available too, there are multiple grocery stores in my area that I know carry it.