Going full vegan

One of my commitments this year was a little haphazard. When Sam and I went to the grocery store to pick up some last-minute things for ourselves and prep for our tiny New Year's Eve party, we discovered the cheese we regularly buy (a Cabot 2 lbs block) wasn't available anymore. After a moment of oh my god, we made the executive decision to just give it up. Cheese was the only non-vegan product we used, so why keep buying it anyway?

So we went full vegan.

And thus began our new year. Biggest disappointment so far? My favorite veggie "chicken" nuggets are made with an egg wash. Biggest (also perhaps tastiest) victory? Gardein.

While the "chicken" nugget debacle was disappointing, it hasn't been necessarily hard. The hardest part of going vegan has been (of course) cheese.

Being Italian, cheese has always been a huge part of my life. My Nonno makes fresh cheese every spring, nearly every pasta dish has a healthy dose of pecorino romano – something I loved so much that when I was little, La Befana would bring me a block of it every year. Cheese is a Big Deal.

Upon research, suggestions from friends, and tips Sam picked up working in a vegan cafe we tried multiple styles and kinds of Daiya and Follow Your Heart. Nothing really worked for me. The flavors were okay but the texture was awful – almost tofu-ish (I struggle with tofu too, I'm more of a tempe/setian kind of person), weirdly chewy and then powdery.

I don't want to go back to being vegetarian. Vegetarianism isn't the solution to the animal husbandry industry's problems. Vegetarianism isn't the solution to the abuses and exploitations of capitalism.

So I'm saying goodbye to cheese. I used to really like meat, now I don't crave it or miss it at all. Cheese won't be that different, right? (And I don't want my vegan powers revoked.)