The solution to craving cheese for vegans: Introducing Daiya
Dear fellow #vegan or almost vegan Steemers!
As part of the #veganuarycontest, I'm happy to share my personal challenges when it comes to becoming a 100% vegan.
Giving up animal products can be very challenging, and although I personally found that giving up #meat was the easiest part, I'm having a much harder time when it comes to cheese.
My biggest challenge is giving up cheese.
If while being meatless, you can still enjoy all the good stuff such as lasagna, pizza, and the large quantity of other dishes, there is no problem. But let's face it, what really makes our taste buds rejoice is that crispy, cheesy taste in those dishes. The crispier, the better, especially with mozzarella on a pizza, or tasty cheesy pasta in the oven! I'm drooling a little as I'm writing this...
I've done a pretty good job in giving them all up, but I'm truly suffering from withdrawal. I also do slip up sometimes (please don't judge me), but it's getting less and less frequent, so I'm making progress.
Of course there's always the option to make my own vegan cheese, but it's quite time consuming and too expensive for me (cashew nuts cost over $20 for a rather small bag here in Panama). If you're into making your own, however, I highly recommend the following recipes.
The good news
Mentalities are changing globally, and the vegan community is growing.
Even in Portugal, vegan dishes are now mandatory in schools, hospitals and prisons
As a result, the global vegan market is expanding rapidly, and we are witnessing an increasing amount of great vegan products in supermarkets all over the world today.
This is true even here in Panama where I live, and where veganism is something relatively new. Panama is a country where meat is consumed at every meal, so it makes me immensely happy to see that there is a growing vegan and vegetarian community in Panama You can find our Facebook group here
Introducing Daiya
My good friend Jo works at Daiya, a vegan dairy provider, and they've made a vegan version of the most popular cheeses out there.
They even have Greek yogurt, dressings and vegan cheesecake, imagine that!
I'm currently talking with my friend Jo about importing some of these products to Bocas del Toro, Panama, because right now we only have access to vegan cream cheese here. A new supermarket just opened on our small island, and they allow their clients to ask for specific products to be sold in their store. Guess what I'll be putting on my wish list =)
I look forward to trying all these great cheese options, and to ditching cheese once and for all.
Good luck to everyone who's in a similar situation =)
Omg I absolutely LOVE Daiya products! Im vegan and my dad is visiting. He was like the biggest carnivore going! I have him totally converted now! He has never been able to eat cheese because it doesnt agree with him. Well i introduced him to Daiya and a couple other brands of vegan cheese I use and hes obsessed!!! He told me the other day that the vegan cheese tasted more like cheese than cheese! Haha 🧀 and best of all, no upset stomach.
Im happy to hear that your schools, hospitals and prisons now all require vegan options. The vegan movement is going to be huge this year. With so many alternatives available even the big meat and dairy producers are being forced to start producing alternatives or get left behind!
That's awesome Donna that you've converted your dad!! I tried with my parents, but no luck so far! Maybe they have to try Daiya too! =)
I can't get the Daiya cheeses in South Africa where I live. They look so yummy 🍕 I make my own homemade vegan pizza cheese, if you're interested in the recipe you can check it out in my latest post.
Your photography skills are 🔥🔥🔥 btw
awesome, I will!!! Give it time, I''m sure they will get there as well some day
Lord this looks so delicious :) There isn't alot of stores in Sweden that selld daiya. I hope there will be more soon :)
little by little vegans are taking over (fingers crossed =))
Really hope so ;)
@danaedwards @shinedojo @bjjworldtraveler
I also consume vegan "cheese" or substitutes for dairy products and they're quite nice and you can make great stuff with them. Glad to see it's catching on there as well :)
I can't wait to try them all out! =) Glad to hear they are tasty !
Yeah, they're alright. For pizzas is quite handy and pasta as well. Soy yogurts is a give as well as other stuff like almond milk and so on :)
Love the article @evecab. I am a complete cheese-ahoilic. I am a pescetarian and was a full vegetarian from an early age up until when I was about 15 when after a trip sea fishing I decided I needed to eat what I had caught. I'll tell you the full story and rational some other time, I know it might sound strange.
Anyway, it is good to know that if I decide to vegan-ize there are products out there which can fill the gap that cheese would leave in my soul 😉
I'm glad you liked it, @raj808! I would defo like to hear your story =). I do eat fish every once in a while too, if it's locally caught
I'm so glad that we have Daiya as an option to replace cheese. We tried the mozarella style on our pizza last week. It wasn't bad but it definitely has a very distinct flavor. Best to dial it back compared to regular mozarella.
I can not think of a meatless life :)
I was like you a while back, but then I couldn't condone animal suffering anymore. Even though meat tastes great, I succeeded in giving it up, and I'm not even missing it today. Now I cannot imagine eating meat anymore =)