Easy Peasy Tip: Give (Non-Dairy) Cheese a Chance
Easy Peasy Tips are simple actions you can take to make small shifts towards more plant-centered eating that lead to big health gains over time. When you’re making changes, it may take a few times to get your taste buds shifted to new flavors, but once you’ve rounded the bend, it’s easy peasy to enjoy!
If you're like pre-plant-based-me, you really don't want anyone trash-talking cheese. Your love for cheese runs deep and giving it up pretty much seems like a dietary non-negotiable. This transition took a bit more education before I was ready to jump in to the wonderful world of non-dairy cheeses. But learning more about the health challenges dairy-based cheese can bring and experiencing the very real benefits of this seemingly undesirable transition - as well as experiencing how easy it actually was to transition out! - is super helpful in understanding how this can be one of the best foods to chase out of your diet to help you feel great and better support your long term health.
This Easy Peasy Tip is about taking a bit of time to learn about the health implications of cheese. There are a lot of qualities to consider including casein, hormones, fat, sodium, and the addictive nature of this often favorite food. A lot of marketing money also drives the promotion of cheese products making it even more difficult to imagine a life without cheese as we've come to know it. I wanted to highlight this as an Easy Peasy topic because there a couple of quick, easy opportunities right now to learn more. Neal Barnard, MD, FACC of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine is one of the best resources on this topic. He recently published a book titled, "The Cheese Trap" (a great resource, find it in the TOOLKIT!). But if you prefer the "cliff notes" version, there are two timely opportunities to learn more online. A recent Physician's Committee's Exam Room podcast features Dr. Barnard discussing the addictive qualities, health considerations, and institutional driving forces around cheese. Additionally, Forks Over Knives is hosting a free online webinar featuring Dr. Barnard titled "Cheese: How Breaking a Surprising Addiction Can Revolutionize Your Health" on February 22nd at 4:00 pm Pacific. I love hearing Dr. Barnard talk about nutrition. He's got all of the science on "food as medicine" at his fingertips and speaks to it in such a straight-forward, relatable manner. I always walk away feeling like I have a whole lot of rich, practical, evidence-based information to lean on and am better prepared for taking next steps.
While this is a longer-than-usual Easy Peasy post, I want to make sure to include a few easy cheesy ideas to get you started. Make a goal to try one this week!
Alternative Cheeses: Check out some alternative cheeses at your local store. Daiya is easy to find at almost any mainstream grocery store (and a Little Earthling favorite in our house!) and stores like Whole Foods and Lazy Acres have an awesome variety of vegan cheeses including Kite Hill and Miyoko's. Field Roast's Chao makes a great cheese too as do Follow Your Heart, Heidi Ho, Punk Rawk Labs and Treeline. Trader Joe's has their own vegan version too! You can get a local brand Cultured Culture at Ah Juice on Haley Street - pretty cool! (Plant-based note: Kite Hill, Miyoko's, Punk Rawk Labs, and Treeline all have oil-free cheeses but be sure to double check the labels, each flavor can be different.)
Nooch: Nutritional Yeast is a fun topper for pasta, salads, veggies, and popcorn to give it a cheesy twist. Ground up with nuts is extra yummy.
Recipe Resources: There are some awesome cheesy recipes resources. Check out my recent post "Top 10 Reasons to Eat More Plants: You'll Still Enjoy What You Eat (Seriously!)" for a sampling of plant-based and vegan recipe websites, many of whom have various vegan cheese based recipes. Additionally, there are a couple of books in the TOOLKIT that are all about making vegan cheese! Check out This Cheese is Nuts by Julie Piatt and Artisan Cheeses by Miyoko Schinner and Dreena Burton has some great cheese recipes in the back of Dr. Barnard's The Cheese Trap! So much fun to be had making cheese and cheesy recipes at home!
Avocados: Also, be sure to check out my Easy Peasy Tip on Avocados for using this magical fruit as a cheese sub in so many recipes!
So consider letting the baby cows drink their mama's milk, check out Dr. Barnard's resources, and open your mind to some healthier alternatives. Give (non-dairy) cheese a chance! :)