Grocery List
Posted by jessesmum on Mar 16, 2006 · Member since Mar 2006 · 1088 posts
Hello! My family has recently made the switch to vegan diet & it was a lot easier than I thought it would be (we were, gasp... meat eaters :o) My hubby loves everything that I put in front of him & I can be assured that my son's meals are now, not only filling but good for him as well.
I have had the hardest time finding vegan cheese, so I've avoided any recipes that call for it. No pizza :( & no mac & cheese :'(....we're dying for some macaroni & cheese. I would appreciate any help you can give. Store names, brand names...keeping in mind that we're in southern Niagara. I've checked health food stores & everything they sell has caseinate.
Thank you.
IMO, the two best replacements for cheese are guacamole & homemade pesto. Guac for things like sandwiches, Mexican food & pesto for things like pizza, pasta, sandwiches.
Follow Your Heart makes a decent vegan cheese but is not readily available. Maybe your HFS would special order it for you?
http://www.followyourheart.com/products.php
I never liked cheese even pre-vegan days and have never tried the vegan fakes, so I can't help you there (although most people seem to think Follow Your Heart is at least ok).
This is my favorite recipe for mac and cheese on this site (it's not in the macaroni section that Sandhya posted):
http://vegweb.com/recipes/quick/5150.shtml
It's super, just keep in mind it isn't going to taste like dairy mac and cheese. It's more like a delicious "cheesy" macaroni casserole.
BTW, if you make that recipe, silken tofu works fine even though the directions say not to use it. Also, some of the reviewers suggested using melted Earth Balance (non hydrogenated vegan margarine) for all or part of the canola oil--it's a good idea for a richer dish--I usually do 1/2 and 1/2.
Elizabeth
hi :)
i'm about 30 mins from toronto, and here i can get vegan cheese made by 'galaxy nutritional foods' at my local health store (harmony food market) and zehrs supermarket.
the products they have here include some cheese slices (like kraft slices) in mozzarella flavour and american flavour, and a finely grated parmesan alternative which is sold under the 'soymage' label through 'soyco foods' (its a subsiduary of galaxy and the label looks exactly the same just has different logos on it!) the cheese slices are ok, they taste really strongly cheesey and a little synthetic to me which freaks me out a little (i have a dairy allergy and haven't had real cheese for 15 years so i forget what its supposed to taste like, lol) but are great for putting on vegeburgers and in tacos etc, and the parmesan alternative is nice on well, everything , lol.
i haven't tried putting them on pizzas etc, as i can't have wheat either, but they do melt a little less than i remember real cheese doing.
i guess vegan junk food is junk food still, but if you crave something on the synthetic side of things they'd work, lol, they do for me. the products come in packaging with a bright purple label with yellow details, and they are definately casein and lactose free, and vegan.
the company address is:
galaxy nutritional foods inc.
soyco foods (amex:gxy)
2441 viscount row, orlando
florida 32809
they also have a website: www galaxyfoods.com
or call: (407) 855 5500 ( i guess for stockists details)
hope this helps :)
Hey, are you in Niagara, Ontario? I live near Welland, so if you're in the area, let me know and I can give you a list of all the local stores where I buy my goodies.
Of the top of my head, I can think of a store called The Healthy Cupboard which carries Follow Your Heart vegan cheese...there's a Healthy Cupboard in Port Colborne, and I believe there's one in Pelham or Fonthill.
Sobey's (also in Pelham or Fonthill...I always get those two places mixed up!) has frozen Amy's pizzas (but it's cheaper to make your own ;)) as well as other products like vegan ice creams, etc.
The Asian grocery stores in St Catharines (Dinh Dinh's, Tony's Fish Mart, and the Angkor Foodmart) have plenty of vegan things like soy jerky, tofu, almond soymilk mix, coconut soymilk, dried bean curd sheets, agar flakes, longan fruit, soft banana rice cakes, sesame cookies, and all sorts of other goodies.
The Bulk Barn (Seaway Mall in Welland, Fairview Mall in St Catharines, probably the Penn Centre too) has cheap nutritional yeast, tahini, King's Mill egg replacer, soy milk powder, instant TVP chili, and all sorts of other things like flours, dried fruit, etc. Just don't get the instant tabbouli mix, it's pretty gross.
The only vegan "macaroni and cheese" I know offhand is a brand called Macaroni and Chreese, which I've been unable to locate in Niagara, but I have tasted it before when I was in New Jersey, and I think it tastes a lot like the macaroni and nutritional yeast sauce recipes you can find on this website. You might be further ahead making your own nutritional yeast sauce, or picking up a block of Follow Your Heart cheddar from The Healthy Cupboard (if they don't have it, ask and they'll order it and call you when it comes in).
So yeah, lemme know if you're in Canada and if there's any other products you're having trouble finding, or if you have any other questions about veganism at all. Cheers!
Hi Katica, yes I'm in Niagara, Ontario...in Port Colborne to be exact. Thank you for all you help. I was having a heck of a time finding nutritional yeast & any kind of egg replacement. Now I can go shopping. :)
Thank you also to Hopfrog & Sandhya for the recipes. I haven't tried any mac & cheese recipes from this site yet but when I get the nutritional yeast, I will be making it.
I'm loving all the recipes on this site.
Thanx again & take care ;D
Hey, I'm in Port Colborne too! Weird! Never thought there'd be another vegan around here :o
Feel free to e-mail me, if you want. Kayleen_E(at)hotmail.com
Anyone mention Follow Your Heart faux cheese? It's the best vegan cheese I've ever found, and it melts really well. I usually find it in health food stores and holistic groceries down here in The South
I made this mac-n-cheese recipe & it was pretty darned good!
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8295.0
Make sure to read all the comments & choose how you may want to modify the recipe, or make it as is first time & make changes later. I didn't add any salt. Instead of oil, I used 3/4 cup of Earth Balance. I didn't add the water & but I added 1/2 a block of tofu instead of 1/3 of a block. It turned out a little dry, but not too bad, so I think 1 cup of water may be too much. Also, I used a one pound bag of pasta. Definitely add the mustard. Dijon would be good too.
It's very easy. Cook the macs, toss the other ingredients in a blender. Mix the blended cheese sauce into the pasta, pour into a baking dish & you're done.
I have found the cheese substitues to be ok, but I seem to enjoy food better without using them. I had a craving for pizza recently and ordered one from my local pizza place...(after checking that they didn't use any dairy in their crust) with no cheese, but loaded with yummy veggies. It was so tasty, I didn't even miss the cheese. I think a cheese substitute would have just detracted from the good crust and veggies. And they didn't mind doing it at all...didn't even act like it was a strange request.