Except for soy milk, I don’t use a lot of dairy substitutes. I’m pretty happy eating whole natural foods without trying to substitute ingredients to conjure up the flavor of, say, sour cream. It has taken some time and practice to arrive at this place though. And there are some days and weeks where I just want to eat something that feels and tastes like cheese or mayo or whatever. The products below are – IMHO – the best out there. (Believe me – there are some bad ones out there too!)
1 – Vegenaise – Mayo Substitute
Unbelievably good. This is my husband’s favorite stuff in the world. He likes it better than mayo. This is saying quite a bit – as he wasn’t quite as exhuberant as I was about going down the vegan path. Vegenaise is amazing on tomato sandwiches. There are also lots of recipes on the web that use this as an ingredient.
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2. Earth Balance – Butter Substitute
This is truly one of those cliche “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!” products. Very tasty. It melts well. It spreads well. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Note: Don’t get fooled by “Smart Balance,” which has dairy (and chemicals) in it.
Note: It takes us about 8 months to go through one of these little vats. We forget to use it! That’s because the very best substitute for butter can be had by following these 4 steps: 1. Get a small glass or porcelain container with a lid. 2. Fill it about two-thirds full of olive oil. 3. Freeze it overnight. 4. Take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge. Use as a butter spread when needed. An olive oil purist will faint at the thought of freezing the stuff. But believe me, you’ll love it instead of butter.
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3. When I drank milk, I only drank Organic Valley. It’s a great company/co-operative of organic farms. They have great products. So, when they came out with soy milk, I was thrilled. And it’s simply the best soy milk around. I get the unsweetened kind. It comes in Vanilla, Original, Unsweetened. (And I think there’s Chocolate too.) Try it. It’s amazing. And it makes for great smoothies too! It’s only in the refrigerated section – so you won’t find it in the aisle with all the other soy milks.
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4. Vegan Gourmet – Cheese Substitute
Chris commented on the last post about Vegan Gourmet Cheese. It’s his favorite. I like it too. (Though the text on the package says “It Melts!” – which I’ve never quite figured out how to make happen!) Lots of soy cheeses are just horrific. This is one of the good ones. Mozzarella or Monterey Jack are the best. I like it because it’s kind of a softer cheese texture. (Think “feta.”) And it works in small strips in salads, and sliced in sandwiches. It’s one of those soy cheeses that makes me wonder, “How long did someone have to experiment to make something this completely perfect?” It’s a good cheese. I mostly eat it plain when I’m having a “comfort food” attack!
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5. Soya Kaas Soy Cheese (not 100% vegan) / Vegi-Kaas Soy Cheese (vegan)
Soya Kaas is the best melting soy cheese around. It has casein (milk protein) in it – so it’s not vegan. Vegi-Kaas, made by the same company, is vegan. It’s harder to find though. But it gets a huge thumbs up for vegan cheese. Here’s my rule with soy cheeses: Never buy anything yellow or orange. Yuck. It ruins them. Soya Kaas’s best flavors are Mozzarella (Don’t get the non-fat kind. Double yuck.) and Monterey Jack. (American Chedder is in the picture only because I couldn’t find any other flavors in photos!) I have a cheese grater that’s a spool with a crank. That grater is truly the best thing in the world to grate soy cheese. And I’ve made the best pizza in the world with Soya Kaas and my little crank spool cheese grater. I’ve fooled even die-hard cheese lovers with Soya Kaas. It’s good. But since I learned that Soya Kaas contains casein , I am learning to make things with Vegi-Kaas.
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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve tried a lot of veg products in my 12 years as a vegan (four years vegetarian before that). You made some great suggestions and I’d like to second them, and add a few items to your list. (I have no financial interest in these companies; I’m just a fan.)
1. Vegenaise is indeed the best “unflavored” not-mayo. You might want to try Wildwood’s Garlic Aioli or Sun-dried Tomato Aioli. To die for.
2. Earth Balance is the best but I’m looking forward to freezing olive oil!
3. Vita Soy makes good soy milk. I use their unsweetened and it’s much better than it might sound.
And if your cereal is sweetened, you probably won’t notice the milk not being sweetened. They also have vanilla and chocolate flavors. I can even find vegan “egg nog” during the holidays!
4/5. Yeah, there’s no great vegan cheddar yet but vegan cheeses (and other vegan products) have gotten much better and continue to improve. Vegan Gourmet is the best I’ve tried. As for “cream” cheese, Tofutti’s Better Than Cream Cheese is superb and comes in several flavors. They also make a bunch of tempting desserts.
Speaking of which, Turtle Mountain’s Purely Decadent line of frozen dessert (non-dairy “ice cream”) is lip smackin’ good. How can one pass up flavors like Chocolate Obsession, Peanut Butter Zig Zag, and Cherry Nirvana?
Note that these aren’t fat-free or low-calorie foods so folks should use good judgment when deciding on portion size.
My vegan friends would agree with you, Christine, that being vegan isn’t about sacrificing. It’s about living mindfully and feeling good about what you eat.
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I’m seriously considering making this change…I think it will be so much better healthwise. Thank you for the encouragement!
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thanks for all the great suggestions john! a friend of mine makes this fabulous dip from the tofutti cream cheese and something else (i can’t remember what.) i’ve gone in and out of the whole icecream thing with non-dairy stuff. but since i created my own raw non-dairy icecream recipe (with thai coconut), i haven’t wanted to eat anything else for dessert!
thanks christi – i’m glad to know it’s encouraging you. let me know how it goes!
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I have a stupid question. I know that my health should be the most important thing I spend money on, but was wondering how much more groceries cost on this type of diet. I live in a small Midwest town, and I am not even sure I would know where to start looking for some of the products.
I was just wondering if anyone had a ballpark idea of what the difference in cost has been since you made the switch.
Thanks!
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hi whitetshirts — well, here’s the thing: a long time ago, even when i was making minimum wage as a nanny, I decided that my first priority was going to be my health – and that included eating well. And that meant organic. And it meant spending more than i would spend if i were buying processed food with coupons, etc. So – that being said – I find the vegan food options pretty budget conscious. Raw food, however, can get very price-y, especially when you consider that organic almonds are $18/pound – and you gotta keep making almond milk! but let’s say you have some stir-fried tofu and steamed broccoli for dinner — that’s way cheaper than eating out most anywhere. it kind of depends on what you’re used to spending and what your intentions are. what might be “cheap and simple” for me – might be completely overpriced for you. i’d recommend that you make a decision about this outside of the money issue first. and then work with the boundaries that you’ve created for yourself. i hope that makes sense!
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Who knew there were so many good substitutes out there? I’d never even heard of substitute mayo.
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Smart Balance is vegan, kosher, and lactose-free, depending on which variety you buy. There is no lactose in in the Light, Trans-fat free version, and the Light Buttery Spread version is listed as Kosher/Pareve, with no dairy (whey or casein) in it. Also, if you check the Smart Balance list of ingredients, anything you might perceive as a chemical, is simply not. The ingredients such as Palm Fruit oil and other ingredients are simply dirived from natural sources. Just thought I’d point that out
It’s delicious, and very similar in taste and consistency (such as when cooking) to butter. The Earth Balance spread tastes good as well.
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Hi Christine,
But now I’ve found Vegi-Kaas online which may work out, but haven’t been able to find any more info on it besides the name! Is there a website with more info, i.e. an ingredient list? Where is it sold? Who makes it? Thanks for helping if you can!
I stumbled across your blog while frantically looking for more information on Vegi-Kaas. I discovered last year that I am intolerant of gluten, soy, dairy, and eggs and haven’t had cheese since!
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Question about freezing olive oil – do you only take it out of the freezer when you plan to use it or do you just need to freeze it once and then it stays solid in the refrigerator?
Also, can you use a plastic container instead of glass?
Thanks!
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Christine, I just wanted to thank you for posting this information. Like someone else mentioned, I also have been informed of several allergies…milk, wheat, peanuts, walnuts…among others. I only found out last Wednesday and adjusted on Thursday…and haven’t eaten very much since then. I really, really, really want to make my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (or some variation that I can eat) and needed a substitute for butter. Your site not only provided me information on that, but also educated me on other names to avoid (casein). I am very grateful and looking forward to going back to the store tomorrow and trying to find products again. I’m starting to think I wont starve to death after all.
Kim
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Can anyone help? Where can I buy organic gourmet cheese in the UK. I can’t find a stockist. Even online the stockist’s only deliver in the US or Canada. Thanks.
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I have to issue a word of caution for those with food allergies. Sometimes we avoid
dairy products for other reasons than because we are vegans.
There is something worse than lactose intolerance called milk protein sensitivity. Some products that are advertised as dairy free still contain a milk protein under various names.
This is vary harmful for the allergy sufferer. I don’t know if a product exists that is totally free
of some form of milk. If I am wrong, please tell me where to find it,
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Christine Kane Reply:
April 13th, 2011 at 4:03 pm
Thanks Cam! I have since stopped using any and all dairy replacement items for the very reasons you wrote about here!
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Hi could anyone out there tell me where I can buy the product vesenaise mayo , earth balance spread whipped ,vegan gourment monterey jack.
This is all new to me, I have decided to change my esting habits due to a health issue.
Thanks you for any help given.
I have tried the inter net but noy to good at finding products.
Glenys
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Christine Kane Reply:
July 16th, 2011 at 9:43 am
Glenys – you can get all of this at whole foods.
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Thanks for all the great product imput! I wanted to point out that follow Your Heart Veganaise mayo also makes what they call a salad dressing and sandwich spread which is called “regular” and another product which is a mayo. I would recommend the product that specifically says salad dressing on the front label. The other one has a stronger soy aftertaste. I find the salad dressing to be as close as you can get to Best Foods or Hellman’s without the soy aftertaste that the regular has. It is dairy free, gluten free and egg free.
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