The weaning off cheese / dairy support-thread

[bex123]

Hi there,
Ive been a vegetarian for the past 19 years, but recently i have decided to become a vegan. The main problem is i love all food stuffs with cheese in (vegetarian of course!!!) and am worried that i will give in!!! Can anyone suggest any tips on how to slowly change my diet, or am i best just changing my diet straight away!!! Any help would be great!!! Thankyou!!!

[sandra]

Hi bex123, anytime you feel you want to eat cheese just think of the lives of the dairy cows and their calves, that should put you off. Through time any 'cravings' will fade and hopefully even the smell of cheese and butter will become distasteful to you, I know it has for me. I wish you all the best and I'm sure you'll get lots of advice from others on the forum!

[yasha]

blah I crave cheese a little bit sometimes (but I have only been vegan for a month.) I hope it stops.

[Pob]

The different Cheezley flavours are all pretty good. OK they're not exactly like cheese, but they can help to make you miss it less. Mix some grated Cheezley with some chopped spring onion, some sweetcorn, stir in some garlic Plamil vegan mayonnaise. Lovely as a sandwich filling or on a baked potato.

Try eating some fatty or salty tasting foods when you have a cheese craving - avocado, hummous, peanut butter, olives, yeast extract (good on toast with peanut butter).

[puffin]

Just stick with it. I used to love cheese but i promise the cravings dont last long at all. Just think that you cant eat it, it isnt an option for you now, that worked for me anyway.

[CEH]

I'd definitely recommend Cheezely too - not on its own (yeuch!) but it gives you a sort of cheesy taste if you have with other things - I like it grated on a veggie chilli or in sandwiches with pickle and lots of salad. I went from omni to vegan overnight 5 months ago and I can honestly say that I haven't struggled to give up cheese so I'm sure you can do it.
Best of luck. Chloe

[Lilac Hamster]

I'd recommend Scheese, personally I prefer the taste to Cheezly, although both are very good.
We find Cheezly is easier to get hold of as it is available in more of the health shops than Scheese.

Lesley

[nervine]

Tofutti do great vegan cheese too and they're a non-profit organization.

http://www.tofutti.com/hardcheese.0.asp

If you want ice cream look out for Swedish Glace.

[sugarmouse]

If it helps,I promise you the cravings just go!
Sometimes,if i have no soy milk and want a cup of tea ,I think evennow, ah sod it I will use my lodgers (cow) milk,it wont cause much harm...I justify it to myself and I even go to get it and look at it and just think 'EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!'
Similar to what Sandra said I think! You just begin to think of it as an item you simply cant have because you see it as gross, or just not a food item

Same with cheese and butter.
When I first decided to go vegan,I had normal margarine onmy bread or toast just a couple of times for convinience sake, and afte the first couple of times I used to go to eat it, or evenjust look at it and think 'that dont look right, I cannnot eat that!! yuck!;
they just go after a while.Its very true that.
The thinkin of animal suffering if you ever feel yourself succoming to cravings,is also a good one
good luck
sugarmouse xx

[Melanie]

Thinking about the horrible ways in which the cheese, etc. is produced got me weaned off of it.
Also, for the cravings, if you like pasta...
Cook some pasta, add a sauce (tomatoes, onions, courgettes etc) then add...
PARMAZANO!
Helped me anyway
Love Melanie
~xx

[howdawg]

I also used to love cheese, but as others have said, it's gotten to the point that I find it repulsive.. The smell puts me off, and even fake cheeses don't look as appetizing to me. I do use nutritional yeast flakes, and depending on what you do with them, they can kind of take the place of lot's of cheeses!! Good luck!

[Tigerlily]

I really like salted avocado for cheese cravings. Doesn't taste like cheese but it hits the spot and usually works to curb cravings. Dairy cheese is salty and fatty, and salted avocado is salty and fatty too!

[VeganGreta]

I, too, was a vegetarian (ovo-lacto*) for some 20 years before going vegan... the minute that I learned about the life of milking cows (even free-range ones) and, especially, animal rennet (baby cow guts) in cheese.

* only free-range

And, I LOVED cheese! I was so irritable at first having to avoid so many joyous foods that contain or are of themself cheese. (And, readily available chocolate too!)

To my surprise/relief, the cravings -- in a few months -- have all but gone.

I actually would recommend avoiding cheese substitutes -- at least at first. By selecting them, you reinforce your craving for and relationship to "cheese". And, they are a big disappointment -- taste nothing like real cheese.

Alternatively, I try to select and savor other joyous foods -- avocado being a great example, as others have noted, because it too is very fatty and satisfying.

Other dairy staple substitutes that I have found not-at-all a compromise:

• Vegannaise (mayo sub. -- grapeseed version the best/healthiest)
• Earth Balance vegan "margarine"
• Soy milk (not all created equal, so don't give up until you find one to your liking).
• Vegan chocolate

[VeganGreta]

The repulsive factor works well for me, too.

Some cheeses (soft cheeses) are made with plant rennet, rather than animal rennet, but it is difficult to impossible to discern that from the label. Label most often reads only "rennet".

(Don't even bother asking your favorite restaurant about their cheese. They probably won't even know what "rennet" is, let alone care what kind is in their cheese.)

So, just assume that if you eat cheese, you are eating baby cow intestine. That should work, right?

Webster Dictionary:
rennet = "the membrane lining the stomach of an unweaned animal"