I often find myself trying to rattle off product recommendations to people who are looking into cutting out dairy, find meat alternatives, or just try out some awesome vegan goodies, which is a big part of why I started this blog. I can’t believe I haven’t done a post like this yet, I guess partly because my list of loves are constantly growing because there’s always something new to try! So here we go, these are some of my favorite replacements and products as of right now:
Almond milk instead of cow’s milk. I love almond milk!! Great flavor, works well in recipes, and way better for you. Vanilla flavored lends itself beautifully to cereals, smoothies, and coffee!
Coconut milk for making ice cream! I was recently gifted an ice cream maker (thank you thank you thank you, JeAnne!), and am pretty hooked. My first attempt made me ridiculously happy ( http://wp.me/p4n65h-3C <– recipe!), and I’m constantly excited to try more. 1 can of coconut milk, a little pure cane syrup, a bit of vanilla, and maybe some mix ins and you have 2 servings of delicious vegan ice cream!
Daiya Cheese! I’ve mentioned Daiya in a few of my recipes before, but have I told you how wonderful I truly think this vegan cheese to be? It has brought vegan cheese to a whole new level, and it’s awesome. It melts, it spreads, it tastes great. You can get shreds, slices, spreads, and each one has things that it seems like it was made for.
Shreds- pizzas!
Spreads- melts beautifully. I love the spreads on sandwiches or even melted over pasta.
Slices- also melts so so nicely. I made a grilled cheese recently with 2 slices of Daiya Cheddar and it was almost too much ooey gooey melty goodness. It was way cheesier than my boyfriends non-vegan grilled cheese!
Follow Your Heart Cheese- Having a block of Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella makes me so happy. It is the only vegan cheese I have found that I will eat as is. I will just slice off pieces and dream of the day they turn it into string cheese!
Cream Cheese- Toffuti!! Available more widely than I expected, I can run to Winn Dixie bright and early before Whole Foods opens if I crave a spread for my bagel.
Daiya- oh the cream cheese flavors they have! So so good, big fan of the strawberry! These are a vegan cheesecake makers dream come true 🙂
Sour Cream- Toffuti! I love having Toffuti Sour Cream on hand for when I randomly decide to make lentil tacos. Again, available at a variety of stores.
Just about anything Gardein. Have someone in your life that loves chicken tenders and you’d love to make them their fave food, but can’t bring yourself to make something as sad as chicken products? Get yourself to your nearest Gardein carrying store (Whole Foods, Roberts at Carrolton and Claiborne, Winn Dixie on Tchoupitoulas) and get their chicken tenders. They’re amazing. I don’t know how they make all of these meat alternatives, but wooo! Absolutely delicious and while I’m not the best judge of how much something tastes like meat, I hear they’re pretty darn close!
Vegenaise– Oh, Vegenaise. You little game changer you! This delicious spread tastes better than mayo without any of the cruelty or cholesterol. Multiple flavors available.
Tofurky products- This could be a whole blog in itself. Tofurky clearly loves us all, have you had one of their frozen pizzas? Ever want a cold cut sandwich but wish that no one had to die for it? Tofurky has you covered with a great selection of vegan deli slices at great prices. They now have pot pies and I can’t wait to try one!
Amy’s Kitchen– Speaking of pot pies, Amy’s has vegan ones! (Watch out though, not all that is Amy’s is vegan!) They have some great frozen meals and burritos, but be sure to read the ingredients, which if you’re vegan your probably do by habit anyway. Their stuff can be a bit pricey, but it’s delicious!
Sophie’s Kitchen– when I was kid I loved fried shrimp! I haven’t had it since I was 11, and while I am of course fine without it, the little shrimp loving kid in me did quite a happy dance when I saw Sophie’s Kitchen’s products. Vegan. Fried. Shrimp. Yep. Vegan crab cakes. There’s more but those are my favorite, and both very much enjoyed by my omnivorous sweetheart.
Field Roast-most veg*ns know Field Roast for their awesome holiday items. If you don’t, I recommend checking em out! In addition to that they have a line of vegan sausages! My favorite is the Apple Sage, although their newly released Apple Maple Breakfast Sausage is pretty fantastic and makes for a great addition to biscuits and gravy!
So Delicious– this brand lives up to their name. Their frozen desserts are amazing.
2 words: Pomegranate. Chip.
those not do it for you? Cookie. Dough.
Mint. Chip.
Vanilla. Bean.
We can keep this going for a while because they have a huge selection of magical vegan ice cream alternatives.
They even have ice cream bars and sandwiches. Things that a lot of vegans probably just never even expected to have again. Thank you, So Delicious. They also have vegan nog, which is lovely, coconut and almond milks, creamers, yogurts, and more. If you haven’t tried out their products, it’s time you do!
GoodBelly– delicious probiotic beverages that I often use in smoothies. Tropical Orange and Blueberry Pomegranate are my favorites.
Earth Balance– my butter alternative favorite. Available in sticks and tubs with a variety of types (olive oil, soy free, omega-3, organic whipped)
They’ve recently come out with your vegan alternative to a certain blue box of mac and cheese you may have grown up with. I love this stuff. It’s something super easy I can pack if I’ll be away from home w kitchen access. This is a new go to for when staying out of town at a friends. Toss it in the bag, no need to refrigerate, and it’s there if I need it!
They’ve also mastered a cheesy little square cracker you may have missed. Absolutely delicious when paired with Toffuti Garlic & Herb Better Than Cream Cheese.
This is just a few of the many amazing things out there making life easier and tastier for vegans. While I don’t recommend basing your daily diet on these foods, and think eating more whole foods is the way to go, these are awesome things to spice up your meals and snacks!
A couple quick links before I wrap this one up that make life easier:
And saving the best for last, if you live in New Orleans or plan on visiting our lovely city, this lady’s amazing blog will be a life-saver. It even has an interactive map!!
New Orleans in Green!
cherryvegan 