Are you (or were you) addicted to cheese? Does giving up cheese scare the pants off of you? Sure, vegan food is delicious, but there is no way, no how that you could give up cheese. Right?
If this sounds like you, I can relate. My addiction to cheese was real, and eliminating it from my diet was the last thing I wanted to do, ever.
Cheese was my favourite. I loved parmesan cheese on pretty much everything, loads of mozzarella on pizza and pasta, cheddar on tacos and burritos, ricotta in lasagna, feta directly from the container into my mouth… I loved cheese. Couldn’t get enough of it. I’d say in an average month, I spent over $20 on cheese.
And then I switched to a vegan diet and cheese was no longer a part of my daily life.
It was hard. So, so incredibly hard. I was so addicted to the stuff that it was all I could think about. At every meal, I though “this could use some cheese” and “this is good, but it would be better with cheese”. After about a week into my new diet, I seriously contemplated being vegetarian instead, just so I could get my daily dose of cheese again.
But I persevered. I kept going. Because of all the things that are bad for you, cheese (dairy) is one of the absolute worst. Plus, the animals! Those poor animals. After watching a few documentaries by that point, I still couldn’t get the images of suffering cows out of my head. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go back to cheese.
I remember getting on my computer and looking for a solution. Some support. Someone who would comfort me and tell me that everything was going to be okay.
While I didn’t find exactly that, what I did find was that I was not alone. Apparently, giving up cheese is the most common issue for new vegans (and is the main reason why many people won’t actually switch to a vegan diet at all). I stumbled upon one blog post: I couldn’t give up cheese, so I gave up animal cruelty instead. And it changed my life. I thought I knew how cruel cows were treated, but I was wrong. This blog post scarred me, but in a good way. I’ve never looked at cheese the same way again.
Not only is cheese bad for you, but it’s cruel. That’s enough for me to walk away from it.
After going through cheese withdrawl for about 2 weeks, I finally started to crave it less and less. To help me with the transition, I started trying the vegan cheeses that were on the market. Some of my favourites:
- Daiya Cheese Shreds (Mozzarella and Cheddar were always in my fridge)
- Daiya Cream Cheese (I often used plain for baking and chive & onion for my bagels)
- Tofutti Cream Cheese (I prefer Daiya, but Tofutti was a great substitute when I couldn’t find Daiya)
- Daiya Cheese Slices (I always bought cheddar and used them to make grilled cheese – my kids loved them, too!)
I also started experimenting with my own, homemade cheese recipes, like this vegan nacho cheese sauce (that I seriously put on just about everything), this vegan ricotta cheese, and this homemade vegan parmesan cheese (I put this on everything, too – you can always find a jar full of this cheese in my fridge!).
I purchased this cookbook, The Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook: A Modernist Culinary Approach to Plant-Based, Dairy Free Foods, by Skye Michael Conroy, a few months ago, and have since made Chunky Bleu Cheese Dressing, Extra-Sharp White Cheddar, Cream Cheese, Sharp Tofu Cheddar and Pepper Jack Cheese. All were incredible and all will be made again and again!
I’ve learned that vegan cheese can taste just as good (if not better) than the stuff made with animal products. Not only is it often tastier, but it’s much healthier and doesn’t promote any cruelty. I call that a win-win!
So if you’re struggling with giving up cheese, remember – that overwhelming desire to call it quits and just shove a brick of cheese in your mouth – it will pass. If you’re as addicted to cheese as I was, it will be hard, you’ll be cranky, and you’ll think you’re going crazy – but you’re not. You’ll be fine.
If I can give up cheese (and I ate cheese pretty much every single day for years), you can too! And you’ll be better off without it.
I now live my life completely dairy-free, and I no longer have any desire to eat cheese made from cow’s milk. With all of the vegan cheese available on the market, and all of the delicious cheese recipes I can make at home (many of them are super easy!), there’s no need for me to eat cheese ever again.
No more suffering animals, no more putting garbage in my body, and no more being addicted to something that was unhealthy. I’m better off without it, and you will be, too.
Do you have problems giving up cheese? Or, if you’ve already done it, was cheese a big hurdle for you?
Amberly says
February 1, 2016 at 11:31 PMI’m on day 5 of dairy free after watching “dairy is scary”. Cheese is a tough one but I have a good mindset. My biggest issue is RANCH!!!!
tinktink44 says
February 6, 2016 at 7:52 AMMy biggest issue is also RANCH! They make it fresh at my work’s cafe and OMG–it is great!!! I want to watch Dairy is Scary and the hyperlink to animal cruelty that is in this article. My hubby and I order pizza with Daiya at a couple pizza restaurants, it’s not bad but not great for you at all either. It’s still very processed. Thank you for the suggestions! We can get over dairy together!!
Molly Schwab says
July 3, 2015 at 3:08 PMIs there a way to make a home made velveeta with Daiya cheese? I would love to know.
Jasmin says
April 15, 2015 at 1:27 AMI am so glad I have found your post! I gave up on being vegan after 6 years for cheese. That was 14 years ago, and I am now ready to try and give it up again, but I know I need an alternative to be successful. I’ll be buying nutritional yeast tomorrow! Thank you.
BELLA Casados says
October 19, 2014 at 11:14 PMThank you for this. I am just starting my vegan journey this week and of course at my parents bbq there were cheesy hamburgers. Very hard to look at. But the comment about giving it up because of animal cruelty really touched me. I will keep that in my head as I continue in my journey. I need to learn to enjoy vegan cheese and forget dairy cheese completely. Your recipes look amazing and I literally pinned at least 10 in a row. Can’t wait to give them a try!
Cassie says
October 20, 2014 at 10:38 AMIt’s hard at first, especially in social settings, but I promise it gets much easier with time.
Thank you for the pins!
T. says
October 6, 2014 at 5:27 PMJust one week ago today we passed on the highway a veal farm. We passed it a year ago but I didnt make the connection of what it was. This time I called the SPCA to investigate and they indicated the farmers were following the standards. Their little calf faces are etched in my mind. I have been a vegetarian for almost 25 years but today, the thought of dairy makes me sick. Going cheese free will be easy. I read the article too ‘I couldnt give up cheese so I gave up animal cruelty’. If you are feeling weak and want to eat cheese, google a veal crate, that will set you straight:)
Cassie says
October 7, 2014 at 10:08 AMYikes, that is just awful. “Following the standards” means nothing to me, because the standards are crap anyway. Animals are treated like property, which is completely disgusting an unacceptable. But so many people just look the other way. Sad. 🙁
Nicole @ Vegan Nom Noms says
October 5, 2014 at 3:28 AMI just bought the Non-Dairy Evolution cookbook, happy to hear you liked it! Did you use a high-powdered blender? I don’t have one and don’t particularly want to give up the dough for one at the moment, but it says it’s somewhat necessary. One day I will get a Vitamix, but for now I’m going to try it without I think!
Cassie says
October 5, 2014 at 9:19 AMNecessary? No. Recommended? Absolutely.
I use a Blendtec, but have tried to use my food processor before, and it worked. The cheese doesn’t get as smooth though, so as long as you’re okay with that, then go for it! It would also work in a cheaper blender, but again, it won’t be as smooth.
Moon says
September 30, 2014 at 11:50 AMThe key for me was to give myself about 2 months with no cheese at all – not even vegan versions or recipes trying to replicate the flavour. It took me three weeks to stop craving cheese, and I gave myself extra time to forget the “real” flavour profile so I wouldn’t be comparing the analogues to the real thing. And now I am good to go!
It didn’t hurt that my digestion improved drastically after I gave up dairy. It didn’t occur to me that I wasn’t usually getting indigestion because I was eating too much, but because I ate dairy with almost every meal.
Cassie says
October 1, 2014 at 4:53 PMThat’s a smart idea, too. Just flat out NO CHEESE.
Quitting dairy really does wonders for your digestion! Mine improved significantly when I stopped eating/drinking dairy.
Mercedes says
September 30, 2014 at 10:31 AMI am so with you on this. I gave up cheese about 9 months ago and I am mostly fine but there are the odd occasions still where certain cheeses come to mind. If anyone has a good recipe for a copy of Roquefort I will love them forever.
Emily says
September 29, 2014 at 11:51 PMTrying but it’s hard
Kelly G. says
September 29, 2014 at 9:21 PMI’m lucky, in a way – I’ve been allergic to milk my entire life so never got hooked on dairy cheese. It’s nice to know that all those years of childhood “deprivation” paid off. Now if only I had a time machine to let my little self in on the secret.
Also, that pasta? Yum! Insert drooling Homer Simpson picture here.
Cassie says
September 30, 2014 at 9:53 AMHaha, yes, you got off lucky!
Kelinda says
September 29, 2014 at 7:34 PMWhen I decided to go Vegan, from being a vegetarian , I thought it would be best if I just gave up all the ” guilty ” pleasures of being a vegetarian. Kind of like ripping a bandaide off.. Or quitting smoking. You just have to stop it! I was a cheese eater.. Everyday.. I loved it! So when I started my Vegan Journey I did not substitute my cheeses. That was 2 years ago and recently I’ve started to try vegan cheeses. They are not the same, why would they be?? But.. They are delish! Especially homemade.. Tonight we had a cashew cheeze sauce that was soooo good that my non cashew guy Loved this!! ( I didn’t make mention that he was eating a cashew cheeze.. )
Cassie says
September 30, 2014 at 9:53 AMOoooh cashew cheese sauce is my favourite! There is so much you can do with cashews!
Jewell says
September 29, 2014 at 6:26 PMOMG, I am in the throws of cheese withdrawal right now! I’ve recently begun transitioning to Vegan & cheese is soooo hard to give up. A fellow Vegan said to give up cows milk cheese first and just do Sheep & goat milk cheeses until I have the confidence to go cold turkey. Thank you for sharing your experience!
Cassie says
September 30, 2014 at 9:52 AMDo whatever works best for you! I just stopped all cheese cold tofu (ha!), so it was extremely hard for me. It took about 2 weeks until I was back to “normal”. 🙂
Jill says
September 29, 2014 at 6:02 PMGreat post! Cheese is so addictive! I used to eat it everyday and now only eat it on a rare occasion, and never buy it. I didn’t try to substitute it, just avoided it. I actually just recently tried Daiya cheese for the first time in an eggplant parm! I was impressed with how nicely it melted, and tasted 🙂
Cassie says
September 30, 2014 at 9:51 AMIt’s a great substitute for vegan cheese!
Denise says
September 29, 2014 at 5:05 PMThat pasta looks amazing!
Allison says
September 29, 2014 at 3:12 PMThis is exactly what I needed to read! I too am struggling with the whole lack of cheese thing but cutting all other dairy/eggs is easy peazy lemon squeezy! I just purchased “Oh She Glows” and “The Cheesy Vegan” .. Awesome cookbooks if you haven’t read them already!
Cassie says
September 30, 2014 at 9:51 AMI have not heard of “The Cheesy Vegan”, I will have to check it out. Thank you!