Long gone are the days of having the farmer milk the cow and deliver fresh cheese and milk to your home daily. The world we live in today is all about investing and making that money back immediately. The milk industry has gone high tech, at our expense. Machines now milk cows. Cows are injected with growth hormones so that milk production goes up. More milk is produced at a cheaper rate and a high profit is made.
Doesn't sound so bad, right? Well it is. I'm not PETA so I'm not going to tell you about the cruelties that occur with the animals going through this process I'll leave that up to you to imagine it or research it on your own. However, I will tell you this. If I said to you, "I'm giving out free injections today. The injections contain the same growth hormones that are injected into cows." Would you do it? Of course not, you'd run away so quick I wouldn't even see the trail of dust you left behind. How about this, would you give it to your child? No. So then why would you drink it or eat it? This exact hormone is found in your milk, cheese, and meat.
Scared? You should be. If hormones are growing cows and milk production quickly, think of what it's doing to affect our bodies. In my profession I see children everyday, and just from observation I can see that obesity is a problem. Do I think that it's helped by hormones? Maybe. Yet, even with all that information I still hear people say, "But I could never give up cheese!" That is one of the most common statements I hear. In fact, I used to say it too. I have to admit cheese is good! It's amazing! It goes well with everything. So what is a vegan to do? The fact is there are many other substitutes that taste so good you'd think you were eating cheese!
I wish I could tell you that one day I just woke up and said, "I'm giving up cheese. And I never ate cheese again." It didn't happen that way. It was hard, like an addiction. I first gave it up cold turkey, then I would run back to it at parties, free samples at whole foods, restaurants, etc. and splurge on it like there was no tomorrow. Really, I felt like a drug addict. On my journey I realized later that there were cheese substitutes, some good and some not so good. I can now say, I don't need real cheese and I don't have to sacrifice.
There are many cheese substitutes and I encourage you to try them all until you find the one that's right for you. My favorite is a fairly new cheese substitute called Daiya. Daiya comes in Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Pepper Jack flavors. The cheese comes shredded in 8 oz. packages and is about $4. I use it all the time! It melts nicely and has a very convincing cheese flavor. This cheese is great in pizza, on veggies, nachos, hot dogs, anything! Now I have to tell you it is processed so that may be a problem for some of you. I like it because it's ready made. However if you want something just as similar but really all natural then I have the best recipe for you.
This recipe is amazing. It is very fast and easy to make and comes from a book called 7 Secrets Cookbook by Neva and Jim Brackett. I also, have to send a shout out to my friend Nicoline you gave me this wonderful book. Thanks Nic I love it!
Enjoy!
Simple Cheese Sauce
1 cup raw cashew nuts
2 cups water
1/2 large or 1 small red bell pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 tablespoons food yeast flakes (I bought mine at Henry's/Sprouts in the bulk section)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Blend smooth (about 2 minutes) and then bring to a boil, stirring until thick. Use for pizza, lasagna, burritos, etc.
You'll love this recipe. I add about 2 garlic cloves as well to give it a kick! Try it, and let me know what you think!
Melissa
Our Daily Veg
P.S. Daiya Vegan Cheese can be purchased at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Henry's.
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