My MM: Greta’s Meatless Menu
Meet Greta, and her fabulous meatless menu. She’s trying to cut out dairy, but has an (understandably) hard time parting with cheese. In my experience adding a drizzle of olive oil with some nutritional yeast can really curb the craving. Anyone else have tips for quitting cheese?
Name: Greta
Location: metro-Detroit, MI
Dietary Leanings: Omnivore, and trying to eliminate dairy due to a sensitive stomach (tough for this cheese lover!). Heavy on the fruits & vegetables. I go through vegan phases regularly, and tend to favor fish/seafood when I’m eating animal products.
Fave vegetable: Gimme greens! Collard and kale make regular appearances around my house.
For breakfast it was…
A bowl of oatmeal, chopped apple, cinnamon, almond milk, and roasted pecans. It’s loosely based on Alicia Silverstone’s Kind Diet oatmeal, and I love it! To drink, I switch back & forth between coffee and tea depending on my mood, and this morning was Chocolate Puerh by Numi Tea. Mid-morning, I had another cup of tea (Trader Joe’s Organic Mint Melange), with a grapefruit.
At lunch…
We ordered out from the office – there is a fantastic Lebanese restaurant around the corner, so a couple girls and I split an order of baba ghanouj dip, falafel, and fattoush salad, with plenty of pita bread. I also had a cup of vegetable soup on the side. I like to finish lunch with something sweet, so I had a piece of dark chocolate.
(My afternoon snack was chopped celery sticks and grape tomatoes, with guacamole and a bit of leftover pita.)
For dinner I had…
Roasted vegetables, including potatoes, onion, carrots, green beans, and cauliflower. I also sauteed some collard and mustard greens with olive oil, garlic, and spices, and served everything with orzo. Then, because I couldn’t resist, I sprinkled some soft goat cheese on top (going dairy free is a process!).
Then a little dessert of…
A handful of chocolate chips and almonds
I’m inspired to get back on the collards – they make great wraps, especially if you blanch them.
Re: the cheese quitting, I agree w/A about the nutritional yeast. There are some good “nut cheese” recipes out there that call for the yeast. Unfortunately for me, my system doesn’t like yeast any more than it likes cheese, too bad because it’s delicious.
Isa at the Post Punk Kitchen makes a cashew queso that will satisfy your cheese cravings! I’ve made it as a queso dip (wanted to marry it) and I also make it just with the cooked onions and garlic, cut the cumin, add extra nooch and use it as a cheese sauce on things like broccoli and use it as a base for mac & cheese with pureed butternut squash. It is really, really, really, really good. I’m so glad I found this recipe because I really hate vegan cheeses for the most part.
http://www.theppk.com/2011/11/cashew-queso/
Avocados and almonds have really helped me stay away from cheese. Almonds for a snack instead of cheese and crackers, or apple with almond butter. And making meals where cheese would be weird to add, but sliced avocado, and a drizzle of hemp oil and braggs complement it perfectly. Also I found a cheese sauce recipe that uses tahini and miso along with nutritional yeast so it really has that “sharp” cheddar flavor that I miss, but its much more versatile and nutritious.
I’m thinking of cutting out cheese too (have already cut out most other dairies already a long time ago) and I’m a cheese lover (and I’m French so that means I’m a BIG cheese lover!!). What I find helpful is to think of where the rennet comes from (calf’s stomach lining or other young ruminants’). And, if the cheese is rennet free, think of how cows are made to milk and milk through their entire life: basically, their babies are just taken away each and every time (=slaughtered) so that we can keep the milk for ourselves.
Yuk.
Hope that helps :D
Thank you to Greta and NMDL for posting this tasty and filling menu. MIddle eastern, Indian and Thai restaurants always offer a lot of varied veggie dishes.
I’ve been vegan for 3 years, and the hardest thing to quit was cheese. It took me about a year to stop missing the gooey goodness. Avocados are amazing on everything from salads, sandwiches, pasta, pizza… mm, avo on pretty much anything is good stuff :) And even though it’s not the healthiest choice, Daiya brand \cheese\ on pizza is DA BOMB DOT COM. Good luck on your dairy-less journey!
My meals/leanings are near identical to yours. Although I have kicked the cheese. My trusty recommendations:
1. Don’t keep it in the house, period. No exceptions.
2. Read The China Study. Seriously, it will scare the heck out of you about dairy products forever.
3. Go cold turkey. Casein has mild addictive qualities in the same family as morphiene. Even just a little will make you a cheese monster.
4. I agree about the substitue recs here…and will add that I think cheese cravings need to be hit with salt and spice. Olives, salsa etc. But for a good dairy and soy free sub, try Daiya cheese (most stores have it now). Comes in pepperjack, cheddar, and mozzarella. The funny thing is, I got these when I quit cheese, and I still buy them sometimes, but I have totally lost all of my cheese cravings and hardly think to use them!
Good luck!
Hey Greta! Just wanted to say I live in the metro Detroit area too! How surprising :)
I also am mostly vegan but lately I have been eating much more cheese lately than I used to :/ Today for instance I’ve been CRAVING it (and I caved)! It’s weird because when I decided to try cutting out all dairy I pretty much went cold turkey and it wasn’t very hard for me, but now I catch myself saying, “eh, a little here and there won’t hurt”. I think I just give in easily–my boyfriend and I will go get some pizza pretty often. But I still don’t BUY it myself; I still live with my parents so if it’s in the house it’s their fault! I always buy myself Daiya when I need to. Does anyone go in and out of phases like I do? I am totally fell out of my healthy eating habit the past month and it really bothers me :(
Good luck to you, Greta.