Need suggestions for cheese alternatives

mikeykhan2003

LIfe without cheese sounds like a life without peanut butter.

It hurts my heart.

MaryJane_8810002

Sea Salt + Olive Oil

MaryJane_8810002

LIfe without cheese sounds like a life without peanut butter.

It hurts my heart.

There is always Almond Butter

christinemadden0223

I also stay away from lactose. Parmesan in small quantities doesn't bother me, so I put that on pasta or veggies. I make tacos and quesadillas and sandwiches without cheese and sub avocado- still creamy. Same with dips- I sub avocado. I make pizza with TONS of veggie toppings and crumble drained can chicken all over the top and then a half cup of real shredded mozzarella for the ENTIRE large pizza- that way you don't eat a lot of it but it looks good and helps hold the pizza together. Avocado instead of cream cheese- spread it and add a slice of tomato or cucumber slices and salt and pepper to a bagel- delicious. Try your casseroles with red sauce instead of cheese. It sounds funny, but its tasty!

amyhaffner

I know where you're coming from, I try to avoid dairy 95% of the time, and it's hard. What I've found helps is to recreate the whole recipe, rather than focusing on just the cheesy parts. If you do a search online for whatever recipe you have and add "paleo," you'll find a lot of dairy-free options! Some of my family members wanted a Paleo Thanksgiving, so I obliged, and the green bean casserole was great!! The recipe used pureed parsnips in lieu of a cream-based soup, and the recipe called for nutritional yeast to give it a cheesy umami flavor (I omitted the yeast, because I could only find it in giant containers) -> http://detoxinista.com/2012/11/clean-green-bean-casserole-vegan-paleo/

Short story, to reiterate what a lot of others have said, there are no "good" cheese alternatives. You're going to have to retool your recipes altogether.

itsfruitcake

I don't think there are any vegan substitutes that match hard cheese in terms of texture, but for melting, stirring it into sauces (e.g. for mac & cheese), etc vegan alternatives such as Daiya should work quite well. There's also vegan parmesan (made from cashews or other nuts) for sprinkling over dishes.

I made my own vegan cheese this week using this recipe: http://www.maplespice.com/2012/11/vegan-unprocessed-cheese-slices.html

Unfortunately, it didn't gel with the agar agar I used, so it's got texture of cream cheese spread now, but the taste was pretty awesome. I used it for a pasta bake (diluted with a little oat cream and water) and it was absolutely perfect. If you use almond milk instead of soya, it's soya free as well, if you don't want to overdo the soya products. It also works out a bit cheaper if you make it yourself.

Dottie27

This site has a lot of helpful, easy recipes that could give you some ideas. http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/03/recipe-index.html

oohah

I am no longer trying to lose weight, and I eat Breakstone's Fat Free sour cream with impunity.

2 Tablespoons = 30 calories!

It's not perfect, but it is pretty good.

When I was dieting to lose weight it was a way to make the food I eat taste like the food I like to eat.

fromnebraska

Normally I don't use cheese alternatives--my pizzas don't have cheese on them. If I'm really needing an alternative then I'll use Daiya or Tofutti products.

cwolfman13

Shredded cheeses - Shredded soy cheeses

Sliced cheeses - Sliced soy cheeses

Sour cream - Greek yoghurt (Most brands contain significantly less lactose than regular yoghurt, try Chobani) Plain greek yoghurt has a sour taste that is very similar to sour cream and is very high in protein.I love the stuff.

Cream cheese - Vegan Cream Cheese brand, like Tofutti

Be careful with some of the Tofutti stuff. We went no dairy for awhile while my wife was breast feeding (kiddo had dairy allergies and is lactose intolerant). Living in NM we make quite a few traditional New Mexico foods which are often served with sour cream. I was buying Tofutti fake sour cream and cream cheese and came to realize that they use partially hydrogenated oils.

I would look closely at the label of any cheese alternative that would have a similar consistency to actual cheese...according to the Tofutti website, it is very difficult to make a cheese substitute without using partially hydrogenated oil (Trans-fat). A lot of dairy substitutes use partially hydrogenated oils.

For us...we just became accustomed to not eating dairy. My wife is no longer breast feeding and we do indulge in a little from time to time, but really...after months of no dairy we've kind of just gotten used to not having it or only having it in very small quantities. I used to scoff at a mere 1 oz of cheese...now I'm like, "holy crap...that's a lot of cheese."

cwolfman13

Bump to be wary of Trans-fats in many cheese/dairy alternatives.

twhaley1990

I'm not cheese free, but I do try to limit my intake because of cholesterol and calories. I sub a lot of foods I like with cheese with avocado, like salads and sandwiches. Same goes with sour cream; I use guacamole in tacos and such instead of sour cream now.

salembambi

daiya
follow your heart/vegan gourmet
tofutti
nut cheeses

lisalsd1

My daughter had a dairy allergy. I had to be dairy-free for months while I was bfing, and then I had to keep her meals dairy-free for months. She has outgrown the allergy.

I could never find a good sub for dairy in recipes. Often, I would just have to leave it out of a recipe or avoid recipes that called for a lot of dairy.

However, I did drink almond milk and coconut milk as a replacement for a glass of milk. I don't know how well these would work in most recipes, but might be acceptable in baked goods.

jmoneycgt

I don't know about the breaking out issue. But for the GI symptoms have you ever tried taking Lactase supplement/Lactaid? I am guessing your doctor would of had you try that. I love dairy too much to give it up and Lactase is the greatest thing on the planet.

MorgueBabe

Shredded cheeses - Daiya Brand - http://us.daiyafoods.com/
Sliced cheeses - Daiya Brand
Sour cream - Not sure
Cream cheese - Daiya Brand

kirdyq

LIfe without cheese sounds like a life without peanut butter.

It hurts my heart.

Very much agreed. Unfortunately. But, it hurts my guts a heck of a lot more that it hurts my heart!!!! Guts for the win!

kirdyq

Thanks for all the great advice everyone! I picked up so Tofutti sour cream and cream cheese tonight. Didn't think to look if they had the hydrogenated oils...grrr. I will give them a shot and see what they are like. I need to stop at the health food store to pick up some Daiya shreds, though. Kroger didn't carry it.

I'm hoping that after I give things a rest for a while, I can have real cheese a couple times a week without incident. I just need to give my guts a rest for a bit, though, I think. I have been about 2 months without drinking milk and almost a month without cheese. I CANNOT believe that I have done this. I never would have imagined I could!

kirdyq

I checked the Tofutti sour cream and cream cheese that I bought. They are non-hydrogenated.

SailorKnightWing

You can usually omit cheeses from everything but macaroni and cheese. Neither my mother nor I really like cheese so we just don't use it when the recipe calls for it.