Where do you get your protein?

Joined
Nov 6, 2017
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Age
36
Lifestyle
  1. Vegan newbie
  2. Vegetarian
JUST KIDDING GUYS!

But now that I have your attention - how did y'all kick the cheese habit?

I live in Wisconsin and lemme tell you... EVERYTHING is covered in cheese... or ranch.

I feel like I have no will power... thoughts? Suggestions?

Right now I eat vegetarian 80% of the time and vegan 20% (ish) of the time
 
I live in WI as well, so welcome aboard. I haven't found a great cheese substitute yet. I guess they do exist, but I haven't seen them in the store. I've tried a slice of vegan cheese on a vegan burrito or sandwich, and it is ok. But I don't know if they would ever have a substitute for cheese curds or fried cheese. :)

I just basically gave up the cheese. I do think you can make a good vegan mac and cheese which is based off ground up cashews. I eat a lot of seitan, veggies, rice, etc. just to fuel myself for lifting.
 
But well done for being vegetarian already. Different people are different but I found I missed it initially but later not so much.

Initially I didn't know how to make sandwiches without cheese but not I have avocado, tomato, lettuce and onion handy and they are great, I did buy some Violife the other day but I have mostly forgotten about cheese.
 
Cheese is okay if you are a lacto ovo vegetarian and you monitor your daily calorie intake, working hard not to exceed it.
Ranch Dressing is fine if you are a Lacto Ovo Vegetarian:
Ranch dressing is a type of salad dressing made of some combination of buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, mustard, herbs (commonly chives, parsley, and dill), and spices (commonly black pepper, paprika, and ground mustard seed), mixed into a sauce based on mayonnaise, or another oil emulsion.
 
I also live in Wisconsin and cheese was my favorite food. It is very addictive but once you stop eating it and find alternatives it gets way better. Cheese was the last thing I gave up when I went vegan. Daiya has been great for cheese. I like their montery jack block, provolone and swiss slices for sandwiches and their shreds. I've also found go veggie parmesan shaker cheese that is also vegan. Try different types and see what you like. I would recommend starting after you give up cow cheese to get the new flavor to your body easier.
 
There are recipes for homemade vegan ranch on-line, they just have a nut or soy milk base. I've had vegan ranch in vegan restaurants and it is awesome.

I personally think it's helpful at first to use creamy fats that aren't remotely like cheese to begin with. By that I mean avocado, guacamole, hummus and tahini dressings, foods that aren't even "trying" to be cheese but will give you a similar quality of fatty comfort foods. Also try eating tofu dishes and proteins like beans and seitan, if you're used to eating eggs and cheese, so you won't be staring at a plate of steamed vegetables in despair.

Once you've eased off cheese for a few weeks try Daiya shreds on pizza and Follow Your Heart and Field Roast Chao slices. Always melt your vegan cheese, at least at first, because that will make it seem more similar to cow's cheese.

If you do like cold cheese, the only one I highly recommend is Heidi Ho Ne Chevre in the Black Lava Salt flavor. I could eat that stuff straight out of the container and it costs like 6 or 7 dollars for a few ounces.

I also frequently make a "cheezy" sauce that I've been using since I first was trying to stay away from cheese, and it's got a base of Earth Balance and flour as roux until it browns (like for a gravy, a couple of tablespoons) and then pouring in a cup of plain unsweetened soy milk and half of a cup of nutritional yeast flakes, and letting it simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until it thickens. This can be flavored various ways, like with tumeric and grain mustard, or just with salt and pepper, or smoked paprika.... but there's something about the soy and nutritional yeast that fulfills some craving I think for a complete amino acid profile or something - I found this very satisfying over pasta even as a new vegan, even when I knew it didn't taste like cheese, it took away the feeling of craving, and I believe it's nutritional as well as taste.