The Vegan Cheese Experiment

Today my mum and I had "the talk":

Mum: So... you're not going to eat chicken anymore?
Me: No mum.
Mum: ... what about eggs?
Me: Well that's off the list too.
Mum: Oh. Well you realize that means you'll be cooking for yourself mostly then.
Me: I assumed as much.

It was actually pretty sweet; we then went on to talk about the reasons why I feel that this is the right path for me. She admitted that yes, I seem a lot happier and my skin has been better, etc. I think for the first time since this process started a month ago, she's started to get it. She may not understand why I'm doing it, but at least she knows I'm not joking around.

In other news, I'm glad to announce that today was the start of the vegan cheese experiments! So today's vegan cheese was "Chreese" cheddar cheese style mix. Basically it's this sketchy looking package of powder that you mix with soymilk or water to make into cheese sauce. I thought this would be perfect as the one thing I'm defo going to miss about dairy is being able to whip up a box of kraft dinner mac and cheese (which does not make my body happy as I'm lactose intolerant) when I need to eat something in a hurry.

So off I went making my pasta and making this chreese sauce that I was very afraid of. Now I'm going to set the record straight here... I'm afraid of vegan cheese. Like, really afraid. I'm convinced it's all going to taste like bitter, salty rubber and will make me want to cry. I've been mostly dairy-free for the last year and I've still managed to avoid vegan cheese products until today. So I dumped all the pasta into the "cheese" sauce and my mum, who is watching the whole thing with my sister, says, "Wouldn't you rather just taste it first to see if you like it before you ruin all your pasta."  Oh no. If I'm doing this, I'm doing it hard-core, okay? Bring on the fucking chreese!  I sit down at the table with two sets of eyes staring me down waiting for gaggy faces (my family is scared of vegan cheese too) and without flinching I take the first bite.

I must admit, I was extremely pleasantly surprised. I was expecting something equal on the horror scale to being tied down and having somebody cover my nose so I can't breathe through it while "Eye of the Tiger" plays in the background (a personal fear of mine which I'm not going to explain) but instead discover that it actually tastes pretty freaking good. Perhaps not super "cheesy", it has a mildly cheesy taste, a nice creamy texture, and a hint of garlic that is reminiscent of alfredo sauce. The only downside is that there was a strange, albeit very mild, after-taste going on post-nom nom nom. Despite the mild after-taste, it's definitely something that I would make again when I'm in the mood for mac and cheese. It was quick, easy, and tasty. It felt so indulgent and naughty that I topped off my meal with a glass of chocolate soy milk and with my feet propped up and a smile on my face said, "Fuck you dairy. Imma be okay!"