Is cheese holding you back from transitioning to a vegan diet? Are you wondering what's in vegan cheese? Both personally and professionally, I have done my research and I'm about to share my review with you to answer one of the cheesiest questions to appear on Facebook vegan groups...over and over and over again. Soooo, let's melt it down, shall we??
First off, can I just say this, you don't NEED cheese to live despite what your cravings are telling you!! However, cheese does make living so much more enjoyable... am I right?? Straight from childhood most of us are used to having dairy (yea from a moo moo) in their diet. I personally grew up on #kraft American Cheese Singles and powdered skim #milk that my mom kept in the Stop & Shop brand box under the kitchen sink. So I'm not surprised that many people aren't just ready to cut bait with the creamy texture of animal biproducts. Perhaps, I can persuade you to be more open minded by helping you to understand the #vegancheese market that has become so advanced in todays world
At the end of 2018 I wanted to further refine my #healthylifestyle and enhance my gym workouts so ditched the #dairy and all other animal products from what I was consuming. Even though I had about 25 years of cooking experience at that time, I still needed a few items to transition from what I was used to eating to the #plantbased version I was chasing. #cheese of course was a necessary enjoyable ingredient I wanted to include, plus, it was much easier to convince my 9 year old daughter to eat what I ate with a little cheesy melty goodness.
January 23, 2020 I converted Truth & Tonic Wellness Cafe, A Canyon Ranch Concept, at the Venetian Resort to the first fully #veganrestaurant on the #lasvegasstrip. To make this the most seamless and popular transition, I kept the menu as close to the conventional menu I had that featured items like Avocado Toast, Frittatas, Chicken Wraps and the usual suspects like salads and sandwiches. I substituted plant based ingredients like @eatjust egg made from mung beans instead of chickens. So our frittatas were damn near the same experience. I found a great non-gmo soy based chicken from @raisedbyplants here in Las Vegas. That really just left the big question...what about the cheese????
Well cheese heads, after trying all the major brands like Chao, Daiya, Violife and Miyoko's, I found one brand that out performed them all. Flavor, texture & "meltability" were on my list of 5 necessary characteristics to be my cheesy companion. The other two important boxes to check were price and availability.
And the Winner is..........
Good Planet Foods has claimed it's spot on the menu for Truth & Tonic Wellness Café for all the reasons cheese is loved so much. Let me explain it in more detail
It's Domestic
Originally created in Greece, GPF moved to the U.S. brining it's European cheese making experience to employ US workers and sourcing some of it's ingredients locally as well
It's how it tastes
Simply put, it tastes great! Vegan cheese often has non-dairy ingredients that don't tasted like the cheese from ole' Bessy that we are used to. Good Planet has a very clean flavor that is the most similar to Cheddar, Mozzarella & the Pepper Jack is freaking Amazing!
It's Allergen Free
I might be a little nuts, but the cheese isn't. There are no major allergens used in the making of this cheese. No soy, no lactose, no nuts, no gluten
Meltability (is this even a word?)
One of the biggest turn-offs to me is the mouthfeel of a lesser quality melted vegan cheese. My favorite way to test how a cheese melts is to put it between a tortilla and melt it like a quesadilla. You can open it up and give it a peak inside to see how creamy it is but once it's no longer lava stage, you can taste it and see how clean the feel is. Cheap cheese is like a bad date, it just doesn't go away.
What's it made of?
Well, direct from their website, here is what it is NOT made from. It does include coconut oil, pea protein, potato protein and chickpea protein. Nothing artificial
Order online and have it shipped direct to you
