Cheese

I'm in a 30 day group and one of the things we're doing is avoiding dairy (cheese) and then add it back in to see if it affects me. The milk is no problem because I like almond and coconut milk but I'm looking for a good substitute for cheese. Any recommendations?

Replies

  • emilymean
    emilymean Posts: 159 Member
    Avacado? I guess it depends on what you need cheese for.
  • LoriCARoberts
    LoriCARoberts Posts: 32 Member
    I use avocado a lot and love it but last night I made gluten free pizza with some Daiya brand shredded "mozzarella" and I did not like it at all.
  • LoriCARoberts
    LoriCARoberts Posts: 32 Member
    The crust was Chebe pizza crust mix and it was really good.
  • emilymean
    emilymean Posts: 159 Member
    I don't really bake on paleo, I know....boring, but I plan to try some recipes I've pinned after Jan 31 (reset ending date). Here's a recipe you might want to try out, it looks like a lot of work, but hello, pizza!!

    http://www.paleocupboard.com/paleo-pizza.html
  • ScotinSeattle
    ScotinSeattle Posts: 62 Member
    I'm confused with the cheese thing. Some books/websites say YES to cheese as long as it's grass fed. I also tried almond cheese which is pretty good on it's own to snack but it melts like plastic. I have Kerrygold cheese right now but to honest it just makes me fart. Sorry, but it's true. I don't eat any other kind of dairy anymore.. But that pizza looks amazeballs.
  • Quinnstinct
    Quinnstinct Posts: 274 Member
    edited January 2015
    It's really up to you what you want to put in your body. My choice would be the best whole milk cheese I could find (raw if available) for pizza topping and have it as a treat.

    That vegan cheese has weird stuff in it:
    Filtered water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and /or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein, salt, vegan natural flavors, inactive yeast, vegetable glycerin, xanthan gum, citric acid (for flavor), titanium dioxide (a naturally occurring mineral).

    Then again, I ate Steak N Shake's cheese fries like they were going out of style so . . . lol!
  • pope705
    pope705 Posts: 109 Member
    There is something called nutritional yeast that I found in the health food section of my supermarket. I bought it on the recommendation of other bloggers I follow. It's supposed to be a suitable Paleo-ish stand in for grated Parmesan. I don't know if it's just taste you are searching for or the melts goodness of cheese. I don't think the meaty good ness can be replaced by anything but real cheese
  • GrokRockStar
    GrokRockStar Posts: 2,938 Member
    Because I have lactose issues, I have to avoid most cheeses. I've had vegan cheese once made out of cashews, it was quite good!
  • lotekgirl
    lotekgirl Posts: 84 Member
    i scoured the earth high and low a couple of years ago for a high quality cheese alternative that matched the flavor and texture of real cheese as well as not being made of weird stuff i wouldn't normally eat.

    sorry to say that i wasn't happy with a single thing i tried. there is nothing on earth that can match the taste and texture of a real block of cheese!

    i'm currently doing a whole30, which not only excludes cheese, but cheese alternatives as well since they all contain soy, canola oil and other non-compliant ingrediants. i've found, 14 days into this, that i feel much better without the cheese and i no longer have cravings for it. if i can't find a recipe that would be good without the cheese, i just don't make it.

    have you ever tried pizza without cheese? it's actually quite good on a thin crispy crust! sorry if you're not finding what you were hoping for!
  • ortega1990
    ortega1990 Posts: 236 Member
    Vegan cheese sounds horrid. I don't know how you can substitute the goodness of creamy, whole milk cheese whether it's cow or goat!
  • homesweeths
    homesweeths Posts: 792 Member
    I read a recipe recently about making cheese out of vegetables. Really! It was supposed to taste like cheddar. If I find it again, will post a link.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
    I'm confused with the cheese thing. Some books/websites say YES to cheese as long as it's grass fed. I also tried almond cheese which is pretty good on it's own to snack but it melts like plastic. I have Kerrygold cheese right now but to honest it just makes me fart. Sorry, but it's true. I don't eat any other kind of dairy anymore.. But that pizza looks amazeballs.

    Whether cheese (or any dairy) is "kosher" on a given Paleo plan depends on what the plan is based off.

    Anything that follows Cordain's guidelines will say no to all dairy, though a lot concede to ghee/clarified butter (as it removes 99.9% of the stuff that Cordain speaks out against dairy about).

    Anything that follows more Weston A Price or Primal Blueprint will say yes, usually with the caveat that it's raw and/or fermented (I think WAPF says don't touch it if you can't get raw, but PB is more pragmatic and says do the best you can).

    Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) is its own beast, but says no to dairy, due to it being a common allergen and autoimmune issue trigger.

    Personally, I say for the course of the 30-day trial, just don't do things like pizza. It's only 30 days, and I agree with the Whole30 folks that trying to find substitutes for everything kind of misses the point of doing a Paleo challenge (and just about any other "radical" food challenge), which is to break old habits. Embrace this challenge as a way to find new go-to foods and recipes.

    Besides, knock-offs are almost always disappointing. Just ask the gluten-free crowd about bread.
  • homesweeths
    homesweeths Posts: 792 Member
    Google "zucchini cheese" for AIP cheese.
  • tat2cookie
    tat2cookie Posts: 1,899 Member
    I love nutritional yeast!! I found an awesome "cheese sauce" on Pinterest that uses cashews. Makes a great dip or in zucchini lasagna. I like goat cheese, or I make my own mozzarella with grass fed raw milk when I can gets my hands on it.
  • LoriCARoberts
    LoriCARoberts Posts: 32 Member
    I did make another pizza with no cheese and it wasn't too bad. Thank you all for the suggestions and tips. Its a learning process. :smile: