“I went vegan because I hated the taste of cheese.”
– No one, ever
If you can’t imagine a life without cheese, you’re not alone. Cheese is delicious! It’s everywhere. People love it for a reason. You may have asked yourself; Is a satisfying life without cheese even possible? I’m here to tell you that it is. Whether you’re cutting back on ethical grounds, for health reasons, or for the environment, I have some tips for satisfying substitutes, none of which are packaged vegan cheeses. Not that there’s anything wrong with packaged vegan cheeses but let’s be honest – most of them are gross.
To understand why these substitutes work, a wee bit of background will be helpful.
I had been vegetarian for over 10 years when I finally decided to cut dairy from my diet. I had always avoided veal on ethical grounds, but when I finally realized that veal was a byproduct of the dairy industry, I just couldn’t consume dairy in good conscience anymore. A solid “why” made my decision sustainable, but it didn’t free me from the craving I would experience as I made the transition.
Then I learned two things that helped me immensely, and I think they might help you too.
First, according to the federal government’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, cheese is the number one source of saturated fat in the American diet.
Second, cheese is one of the top 10 sources of salt in the American diet.
These two little pieces of info helped me realize that when the desire to dive into a cheesy pizza welled up inside me, I could satisfy that craving with salty fat.
Salty fat! That’s what cheese had been providing me, that and casomorphins, an addictive chemical in cheese that makes you crave it fortnightly, but that’s another story.
Sorry, that quote echos through my mind whenever I think about how addictive cheese feels 🙂
Knowing that I could appease and please my tastebuds with sources of salty fat lead me to experiment with the following things, and I have to say – they have worked like a charm. They even helped my cheese hog of a husband go vegan with very little fuss. So here you have it friends;
5 Salty Fat Substitutions for Cheese.
This list is in no way exhaustive, but it’s a good starting point!
Avocado
Slice avocado and layer it into a burger, add it to a veggie wrap, stick it into a burrito. Chop avocado and add it to your salad. Smash it onto a piece of toast and add a pinch of salt and cumin. Avocado can be used for so much more than guacamole! It’s creamy, fatty texture is a dream, and when you sprinkle in a bit of salt, it can really hit the spot.
Try this Avocado Chimichurri Wrap or Quick and Simple Guacamole to put on top of Chilli.
Olives
Olives are a particularly useful substitute in Italian food, but they can be used elsewhere as well. Add kalamata olives to your lasagne or put them in your pasta sauce. Top your pizza or focaccia with olives. An olive tapenade can be a great addition to a sandwich, burger or wrap when you need some salty fat to round out the flavours and boost the satisfaction factor.
Try this Lasagna Soup recipe. It incorporates both olives and a tofu-ricotta. This Green Olivey Couscous comes together very quickly and is delicious!
Nuts and seeds
The possibilities here are truly endless, but here are a few of our favourites. Whiz up 3 ingredient nut-based parmesan to sprinkle on pastas, pizzas or casseroles. Try making Quick Almond Feta to spread on crackers or dollop over the top of a casserole. Add cashews to your curry. Make a simple peanut sauce for noodles. Snack on nuts and seeds straight up!
This is on of my absolute favourite recipes: Baked Almond Feta
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention this Chipotle Nacho Cheese Sauce. People ask me for this recipe every time I serve it.
There are also some great nut-based cheeses on the market. This one is my all time favourite.
Tofu
Surprised to find tofu here? So was I. Tofu can be whizzed up into a very satisfying ricotta replacement for pasta dishes, as mentioned above with the lasagne soup recipe. Tofu can be used to make a creamy, tart, protein-packed yogurt substitute, as well as yummy, cream-cheese like spreads. Most tofu is set with calcium so you’ll meet part of your calcium needs with it, as well as receiving a good dose of protein.
Try tofu in this Creamy Lumaconi with Leeks recipe. Feel free to substitute a different kind of pasta if Lumaconi is hard to find!
Potato chips
Yeah that’s right, I said potato chips. When you’re in the grip of a cheese craving that has you about to head out into the night for poutine or mozzarella sticks, dive into a bag of potato chips. I can almost guarantee you that they’ll get you through your craving, and help you to get one day further away from your last cheese binge.
Remember the caseomorphins I managed earlier? I wasn’t just being cheeky. There are many out there who argue that one of the reasons we love cheese so much is because there is literally an addictive, opioid-like chemical found in cheese. If you have intense cravings, that may very well be a part of it! And as anyone who has ever kicked an addiction knows, the more time you put between you and the addictive substance, the less power it has over you.
Alcoholics are given the green light to eat extra sugar when they’re kicking booze. It helps appease the craving during the difficult transition period. Similarly, we can give ourselves the green light to use potato chips and other salty, fatty snacks to help us pry ourselves out of the grip of dairy.
But what about the expense?
Some of you might say, But avocados and nuts and seeds are expensive! I hear you. In my experience, cutting meat and dairy out of the grocery bill has allowed room for these things. Added to a grocery bill that includes meat and cheese, it would would definitely get expensive. But when meat and dairy are out of the budget, or drastically minimized, it creates a large gap in the grocery bill that allows for these things. If possible, shop for nuts and seeds in bulk to get the best price. Be sure to store them in the fridge or freezer for maximum shelf life.
What about the environmental costs?
These things require a lot of water to grow! Again, I hear you. It is true that avocado production, as well as almond production, require a lot of water. That’s one of the big reasons we don’t drink almond milk in our house. But let’s consider what we’re using nuts, seeds, and avocados to replace. Raising cows for milk requires an incredible amount of water, as well as space. Cows be thirsty. Cows take up a lot of space, and they consume a staggering amount of resources. There’s also all of the water that’s used to clean the equipment that milks the cows, and the equipment that is used to make cheese. Then of course there’s refrigeration and refrigerated shipping. There’s just no denying that dairy production is incredibly taxing to the environment.
That’s never been the clincher for me though, and that’s where getting clear on your “why” is important. For me, it’s about the animals. All day every day. If I can choose the path of less suffering, I’ll choose it every time, especially when delicious and healthy alternative are abundantly available.
I hope that you’ll find these substitutions useful and satisfying! Please remember that most changes are made in stages. All-or-nothing approaches are not often helpful. Consider taking baby steps. Make small substitutions, one thing at a time, if that’s what works for you.
Small actions accumulate over time and can add up to powerful shifts for the animals, for the environment, and for your health!