Vegan Taste Test!

Transitioning yourself to a vegan diet is overwhelming and stressful.  Transitioning your entire family into a vegan diet is INCREDIBLY overwhelming and stressful!  Without getting too deep into our family's transition into veganism just yet (that is an entirely different post for another day....), I wanted to share with you random tips, tricks, recipes, and vegan "substitute" foods that me and my family have tried.  The good news is that there are A LOT of vegan food options out there that are delicious and that could possibly fool your hard-core carnivorous friends.  The bad news is that there are a lot of not so great vegan foods out there.  Foods that you just should not buy or eat ever.  And vegan foods are not cheap folks.  If you find yourself drowning in options at the grocery store and do not know where to begin - I got you covered!

Today, I begin with the only food anyone ever really goes crazy about giving up when going vegan.  CHEESE!  Seriously it is the one thing I was truly honestly worried I wouldn't be able to live without.  I made it my life mission to find a cheese recipe, product, SOMETHING that could take up the place in my life where regular cow's milk cheese used to fill up so perfectly.  It took awhile but I found it!  So here is my new love that I encountered on my cheesy "quest".

Vegan Chao Slices: Made by Field Roast 
Purchased at Wegmans in the natural/organic food dairy case.
Cost $5.99 (I actually think I purchased it for $4.99, but currently is listed at $5.99 on Wegman's website) for 7oz. (which is about 10 slices)



General Review:  This stuff is the BEST cheese in the vegan cheese world.  I did a LOT of research of all the brands on various blogs and YouTube video reviews.  This cheese was repeatedly spoke highly of all across the board so I figured it was a safe bet.  I tried the Tomato Cayenne flavor and it made a cheesy, spicey (think pepper jack zestiness mixed with cheddar tang - truly amazing) gooey in all the right ways, grilled cheese sandwich.  My vegan husband loved it.  My caveman son loved it (he loves meat and cheese and all things not vegan, however will eat anything as long as it tastes good).  The only one who wouldn't touch it is my vegetarian son because he doesn't dig cheese at all. I still am not sure what is wrong with him.  

Ingredents:   Filtered Water, Coconut Oil, Modified Corn and Potato Starch, Tomato Juice, Potato Starch, Fermented Chao Tofu (Soybeans, Water, Salt, Sesame Oil, Calcium Sulfate), Sea Salt, Green and Red Dried Bell Peppers, Cayenne Pepper, Natural Flavor, Olive Extract (Antioxidant Used as a Preservative), Paprika Extract and Beta Carotene.

Contains: coconut and soy.

Buy it or Skip it:  BUY IT!  Whatever it costs you at your local grocery store it is worth it if you are looking for a vegan cheese product that tastes like it is milk-based.  I have yet to try the other two varietes but I am confident they will be delicious and I plan to pick one up at my next grocery store stop.  I heard this product can sell for up to $10 - if that were the case in my neck of the woods, I would still buy it.  Repeatedly.  

For more information on Chao Slices check out the Field Roast website.

You can read your heart out about these and all the other vegan goodies that Field Roast makes.  I have a list of foods from Field Roast I am dying to try and if they are as good as these slices I seriously can't wait.

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The Sandwich Quest

Sandwiches are my most favorite kind of food in the entire world.  Lunchmeat and subs is like heaven to me.  I would much rather order a turkey sub from Subway than go out to a fancy dinner somewhere.  That is just my thing.   After deciding to go vegan I found the hardest challenge to be doing without my yummy sandwiches.

I tried a bunch of recipes for "faux" meat sandwiches and I was not thrilled with the outcome of a majority of them.  They just didn't compare to the real deal in my eyes and I would just rather do without than force myself to eat something that I felt did not measure up.  That is until I came across this gem!

Here is a recipe that I adapted from a few different varieties of the same sort that I came across in my search for the perfect vegan sandwich.  It is easy to make, can be prepared ahead of time, and is super tasty and healthy.

Quick note:  I call it an "egg" salad but obviously, being vegan there are no eggs included and to be honest it doesn't really taste a thing like a true egg salad sandwich.  The consistent of the sandwich filling is what I think makes is look "eggy".

Vegan "Egg" Salad

• 1 cup cooked red lentils (I have also used green and results are the same)
• 1 cup chickpeas, canned (drained)
• 1 celery rib, chopped roughly
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped (I don't always add this in but I do if I have carrots on hand)
• 2-3 green onions, roughly chopped (I sometimes use regular red onion)
• 1 medium pickle, roughly chopped - this is a must!!!!
• 1 tsp dry dill
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 3-4 tbsp vegan mayo 
• 2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast 
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Add all the ingredients into a food processor and then blend into a mushy "egg" like mixture.  I had to stop a few times to scrape the sides of the bowl down before it was the consistency that I wanted.

So looking at it like this doesn't do it justice.  It is so good and tasty.  So good.  

Once you have your "egg" salad mixed up I suggest refrigerating it for at least an hour so it firms up some and the flavors have time to hang together.  

Then I grab some whole wheat bread, here I have a sprouted whole wheat.  Spread the egg salad on the bread (do I really need to explain this part?).  I added lettuce and onion on top this time but in the past I served it with bean sprouts instead of lettuce and it is just so good like that.  

And that is it!  The "egg" salad will keep in your fridge for a week or so.  It is great as a dip as well!

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