Matryoshka Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I'm trying to get one of my dds dairy-free, and it would be so much easier if I could find a dairy-free cheese! It seems like all the "cheeses" that are not milk-based still have casein. Drat. It would be fine if I could even find just some kind of shredded stuff, so I could make pizza and tacos for her (the rest of the family will not be dairy free, so I'd love to be able to still make the same stuff and just give her different cheese!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 In a word, no. I'm truly sorry. Really, you can make just about anything without cheese. When my family is having pizza, we get ds' portion cheeseless with plenty of sausage. He loves it. You don't need cheese for tacos either--just load up all the other stuff. When my family has lasagna, ds has pasta with sauce. It's easy to just hold some of the sauce aside for him when I am assembling the lasagna. In eight years, I have never found a dish I couldn't easily alter for ds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojomojo Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The Vegan Gourmet....had to look that one up. I know I had used a casein (and rennet) free cheese before. You can find it here http://www.followyourheart.com/. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Yeah, we call it avocado! No there really isn't any decent vegan cheese, but we don't eat soy so that limits us. You have to learn to modify recipes to do without. Pizza and tacos really don't need the cheese. They are good with cheese, it's habit to put it on, but they can be enjoyed without. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: Oh wait, were you serious? Nope. Not even "Veggy Cheese" or "Almond Cheese." (Who in their right mind would buy "Veggy Cheese" with casein added???? Maybe lactose-intolerant, but there are better cheeses for that....) I have a recipe for a white pizza where it's more of a tofu-cheese type thing, but I haven't tried it yet. Dd hates avocado (and has tried on multiple occasions). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 The Vegan Gourmet....had to look that one up. I know I had used a casein (and rennet) free cheese before. You can find it here http://www.followyourheart.com/. Thank you! I know I could make everything without cheese, but before I tried, I thought I'd try to find something. We eat a lot of dairy here - cheese, yogurt, milk - the latter two are easy to replace. Even ice cream is fairly easy. But cheese - even the dr. who recommended dairy-free (and is dairy-free himself) said no good cheese. Well, it's worth a try. It says Whole Foods carries it - I'll look for it next time I'm there. (and knowing what brand to look for will save time - I knew they'd have some soy/rice/other cheeses, but what a pain to check them all for casein!) Maybe she'll hate it, but who knows - she likes the soy ice cream (and I've heard that coconut ice cream's even better). Her biggest beef is that she'll have to forgo most of the Halloween candy because it's mostly made with milk chocolate. I found a dark chocolate that's not too dark (she thinks my yummy 72% is too bitter) that I'm going to try to trade her for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Is she allergic to just cow milk? I have had good goat cheeses. I personally like the chevre style which is more creamy. I've even seen a cheddar goat cheese. I think that some fetas are made from sheep's milk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojomojo Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I make no guarantee it'll taste good (or melt!) :D It has been a while since I tried that particular brand. I've tried several soy cheeses that taste perfectly fine to me. The issue was always with texture (like the one I tried that tasted and melted fine, but stuck to my teeth :ack2: ). I know what you mean about at least trying to replace it though. There are a lot of foods that can be made without cheese, but sometimes I'd rather just give them up lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hsmamainva Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I've seen rice cheese at Wegmans, if you have one near you! It's made with rice milk and says dairy-free on the package, but I haven't inspected it closely -- I just noticed it was there. They had it in slices, like American cheese, and shredded for pizza, like mozzerella. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 My dairy free DD has been LOVING the goats milk cheeses (cheddars and chevres) and yoghurts from Whole Foods while we were in the US. I've been home 5 hours and I miss Whole Foods already! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoVanGogh Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The critical word is "good" dairy-free cheese. We found numerous dairy-free cheeses when DS was allergic. I wouldn't describe any of them as good. None of them even made it past the initial taste test before being deposited into the trash can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The critical word is "good" dairy-free cheese.We found numerous dairy-free cheeses when DS was allergic. I wouldn't describe any of them as good. None of them even made it past the initial taste test before being deposited into the trash can. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacie Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I'm trying to get one of my dds dairy-free, and it would be so much easier if I could find a dairy-free cheese! It seems like all the "cheeses" that are not milk-based still have casein. Drat. It would be fine if I could even find just some kind of shredded stuff, so I could make pizza and tacos for her (the rest of the family will not be dairy free, so I'd love to be able to still make the same stuff and just give her different cheese!) The best that we've found is Follow Your Heart. And trust me when I say we've tried them all. There are just not that many dairy free, casein free out there. FYH melts well so we use it for pizzas, grilled sandwiches, and nachos. Can I offer some advice? I don't know the age of your child and ease when offered new things, but my best piece of advice is to go cheeseless for at least three months. By then she'll likely have lost the taste of cheese (the real stuff) and her taste buds will be more accepting of replacements. I've done it both ways with all kinds of items such as milk, yogurt, cheese, bread, etc. and this way was by far the easiest. Giving my son real stuff one day and switching to the replacement the next was a recipe for a meltdown. ;) You can always use alternatives that are not cheese, too. We top pizzas with grated carrots and color mayo with a little turmeric for sandwiches. I make GFCF mac and cheese if you'd like the recipe. Good luck with your food changes. It's been a challenge for me doing it with two different kids, but the improvements are so worth it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 My dairy free DD has been LOVING the goats milk cheeses (cheddars and chevres) and yoghurts from Whole Foods while we were in the US. I've been home 5 hours and I miss Whole Foods already! We're trying to eliminate all dairy (and maybe gluten, but she's really digging in her heels at that, so I said we'd do dairy first), then if no dairy makes a difference adding back goat first. We love goat milk cheese here, including the kids. Goat gouda - yum! If goat milk were okay, I wouldn't even mind maybe getting a little goat or two. :001_smile: It's not clear if dairy or wheat or anything else is the problem. They're just two likely problems so eliminating them is a test. She's had ongoing breakout on her face, and seasonal RAD (although the allergy test came back with no seasonal allergies :confused: - but there was a tiny spot for dairy, although that doesn't explain asthma in September every year). Gluten came back fine on that test, but I'm not trusting the skin pricks as being that accurate at this point. There's obviously something seasonal going on. The skin issues are ongoing, though. She's 11yo. I'll try the Follow Your Heart "cheese" if I can find it - if it's icky, we'll go back to the drawing board... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacie Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) I'll try the Follow Your Heart "cheese" if I can find it - if it's icky, we'll go back to the drawing board... We buy it from Whole Foods. They also carry a coconut milk yogurt that my boys really enjoy. It's much better than the soy yogurt. eta: For the Halloween candy, I pick out a few pieces they can have, then have a special gift to trade them. It's something like a new video game, a gift card to their favorite store, new Lego kit...it has to be good to make the trade worth it in their eyes! They don't realize I'd confiscate the candy regardless of whether they get the gift or not, it's just something to smooth the way. Edited October 5, 2009 by Stacie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I have one I get at the local HFS and it's the ONLY I've liked. It's almond cheese and I don't like the cheddar flavor, only the one with sliced jalapenos. It doesn't melt well or taste good on pizza but to cook it inside a calzone or srambled eggs, even grilled cheese, is YUMMY! When I make the grilled cheese I use olive oil and salt and you'd NEVER know it wasn't butter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I can honestly say I have sampled some different almond cheeses at the natural grocery and they were quite delicious. Can't imagine how they would melt, though. And, naturally, I can't remember the brand name:glare:. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 No. My husband and kids are vegan,even though I eat dairy I can't remember the last time I cooked with it. We use these for things like lasagna, chile quiles, mexican sandwiches, basically in recipes where its layered with other flavors and is melted. You can try things like nachos, but I think it's to much out in the open, you really are tasting the cheese on it's own. Follow Your Heart http://www.followyourheart.com/products.php?id=25 Vegan Rella http://www.godairyfree.org/Product-Reviews/Alternatives-Cheese/Vegan-Rella-Natural-Cheese-Alternative-Cheddar-Style-Vegan-Soy-Free.html For grilled cheese try this: http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/vegan-singles-cheese-slices-by-galaxy-nutritional-foods.htm It wont be as good unmelted on a meat sandwich, but grilled with a tiny bit of Veganaise, and a cup of tomatoe soup is decent. Again serving it with soup balances out the flavors, the cheese isn't the main focus flavor. This is what we've been using to make mac and cheese: http://www.teesecheese.com/ Our health food store just started carrying this brand, so I'm still playing around with it. This is a cheese I give my youngest along with some good crackers, quince paste, and fruit. She's the vegan that would be a cheese freak if she ever had the real thing :). http://www.cosmosveganshoppe.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SHEE Here is a decent one for the top of pasta and garlic bread: http://www.veganstore.com/vegan-parmesan-alternative/Page_1/234.html I find that sometimes it's better to use a dollop of sour cream instead of cheese, it's an art to work those flavors to get the most dairy authentic meals. http://www.tofutti.com/ss-hydro.shtml These products are always getting better, but you have to be realistic, it's not the real thing. When I can't take anymore funky cheese in my cooking, I start focusing on foods that don't put such a focus on dairy, like asian foods. My husband has been vegan for maybe 25 years, he thinks this stuff tastes the same as dairy. It was so funny when my girlfriend came in the kitchen the other day and put a big spoonful of mac and cheese in her mouth, the look on her face was hilarious! My husband and kids were so sad, and surprised, like "are you kidding me, that stuff is AWESOME!!" Not quite.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 we use a rice cheese for sandwiches. my Food Lion sells it. it's good....we all eat it. We use shredded or chunks of goat cheese for tacos. we have done pizza with goat cheese mozzarella cheese but didn't care for it much. so we don't do pizza. dairy free hasn't been much of an issue with us once we got used to meals without cheese :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 We buy it from Whole Foods. They also carry a coconut milk yogurt that my boys really enjoy. It's much better than the soy yogurt. Yes! That coconut milk yoghurt is gooooood!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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