Vegan tips please

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

Hello mfp friends:)
I'm noticing some changes in my digestive health since I've turned 41. So, I did some research and decided to give the vegan lifestyle a shot. I've been following the vegan diet for four days and have noticed some positive differences but I'm having a hard time finding a suitable mayonnaise replacement. Also, I am really missing cheese. I would appreciate any vegan tips especially good food replacements.
Thanks y'all:)

nickssweetheart

Some vegans use unsweetened non-dairy yogurt to replace mayonnaise in things like salads.

Personally, I really like Just Mayo, an egg-free mayonnaise from Hampton Creek that's very widely available. Where I live it's even carried at Target and WalMart. I find it indistinguishable from Hellmann's as far as taste goes.

I find that when I crave cheese, often hummus will help. It has that same savory, rich quality to it. I will regularly make a salad wrap of hummus, cucumber, sun dried tomatoes, and red bell peppers in a tortilla. Olives will also often work. Pizza without cheese is still remarkably pizza-ish if you use olives, mushrooms, and onions.

Personally, the cheese replacements I have tried have not impressed me. I have not tried some of the more expensive ones though as I am on a fairly tight budget, so maybe someone else can recommend something.

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

Thank you so much Nickssweetheart. I can't wait to try Just Mayo and I haven't thought of hummus being a replacement for cheese. That's a great tip! I bet hummus would be delicious on a veggie burger. I'm excited to try it! Your tips are very much appreciated:)

kshama2001

What brands of mayo have you already tried? I'm not vegan, but used to live with a lot of vegans, and tried a lot of vegan food. IIRC, Vegenaise wasn't horrible. I see Hellman's has a vegan mayo.

I didn't care for any vegan cheeses that I tried. If you feel the same, try avocado.

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

Kshama2001, I haven't tried any vegan mayo yet because I couldn't find any mayonnaise without eggs at my local supermarket. I'm hoping that some of the bigger chains in my area will carry more vegan products. If not, I'll have place an online order. I'll be on the lookout for vegenaise and I'll try the avocado. Thanks for the tip!

777Gemma888

When I'm feeling like eating all things vegan, I tend to buy Vegan products like Cultured Kitchen. Sometimes Gelsons or Whole foods or even Albertsons will acquire Vegan products like Vbites (UK) and Mozza Risella (Italy).

ETA:. Creamy Risella is SUPER delish. Used to make dips or a creamy garlic sauce pizza base .... Yum!

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

777Gemma888, Thank you, I’ll look for those brands. Btw, I googled CreamyRisella, it looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it!

777Gemma888

You're welcome. Buying them is so much easier than making it yourself. Granted, it fun to do, only that trial and error with recipes and your palettes flavour profile for nutritional yeast quantities can overshadow the vegan experience.

**Tortilla chips with creamy Risella, a spot of nutritional yeast, jalapenos, ground vegan meat substitute, Rotel tomatoes (or fresh) ... Enjoy that with your beer. As close to a Oaxaca cheese over chippies as you can make to enjoy whilst watching baseball, football etc.

** We ALWAYS befriend our store managers. They stock Weet Bix, Vegemite, Marmite, Crumpets et al for us.

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

777, I’m sending you a friend request. I hope you’ll accept. It looks like you have quite a few great vegan tips up your sleeve. I’m just starting out, so I need all of the advice I can get!
...and I’ll most definitely enjoy those vegan nachos with my beer!

Phoenix_312

Veganaise is a great mayo replacement!

Phoenix_312

As for cheese replacement, shredded Daiya cheese is good. I wasn't a huge fan at first but now I am. Pro tip: less is more. Use Daiya sparingly and you will like it a lot better and make sure its melted. My go-to mac and cheese recipe is as follows: boil macaroni, drain the noodles and while the pasta is still hot and in the pot, melt 1 tsp earth balance butter, add 1 tbsp of onion powder, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup Daiya cheddar cheese, stir until melted and add a splash of soy/almond milk. Optional 1 tsp of dijon mustard. I absolutely love it!

As for a cheese to eat by itself or with crackers, I HIGHLY recommend is the "Tree Nut Cheeze" herb and garlic by "Wood and Water." Or just go on Pintetest for veganizing any recipe.

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

Thank you for the tips and recipe, Phoenix:) I can’t wait to try that mac and cheese! I didn’t think I’d get to have mac and cheese again. So, I’m super excited that there are good vegan substitutes.

Sp1tfire

some fat free mayos happen to be vegan!

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

Thanks Sp1tfire, I’ll look into that.
PS. I like your username

apetricek69

Trader Joe’s has a good Vegan Mayo and their vegan cream cheese is my favorite. I’ve tried Just mayo and it’s good. Otherwise I gave up cheese after trying several vegan cheeses. Mostly oil and heavily processed.

777Gemma888

apetricek69 wrote: »

Mostly oil and heavily processed.

@TaconBeerThatsWhyImHere ... If you're watching your fats as highlighted above@quote, you could always look for cheeses made with Rejuvelac (sprouted wheat berries) and NOT oil. We like the flavour and texture of shorter cheese aging using this product, as it resembles the texture and taste of Feta and Goat cheese.

I'm going to accept your friend request right after this post.

fuzzylop72

for cheese, chao slices and miyoko cheese are probably your best options.

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

Yum! Vegan cream cheese! I'm gonna have to find a Trader Joe's! Thanks apetricek69!

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

Thank you again 777. I'll be on the lookout for that. As always, I greatly appreciate your help. I have so much to learn!

tacosnbeerthatswhyimhere

Thank you fuzzylop72:) I will look for those.

Vladimirnapkin

Veganaise is my favorite mayo type spread. It doesn't taste like mayo, but it's pretty good. Also, nutritional yeast helps many foods taste more appealing (in lieu of broth, cheese or meat flavours). And avocados are your friends! Lots of good fats and satisfying calories.

AmandaDanceMore

I like the Hampton Creek mayo.

I’ve been really happy with Follow Your Heart vegan cheese. It melts great on a sandwich (it melts slower, so I’ve lowered the heat from what I would have done a grilled cheese at), and the Parmesan shreds are decent. They at least tickle the parm spot that I need to hit when I use it. I actually hate Daiya cheese, and haven’t found a shredded cheese (other than the parm) that I really like. None of this stuff is so good I want to eat it straight, by itself, from the package....which is totally ok! That was a huge issue for me with dairy cheese.

The only cheese I REALLY miss is high end, fancy cheeses, and I found out that Kite Hill tickles that spot for me.

fitbit9672

For mayo- Follow Your Heart brand Veganaise or Just Mayo. They’re both really good.
For cheese- Chao Original Slices

the8BitGirl

If you'd like to try your hand at making your own mayo, you could always use aquafaba to make it vegan.