Pantry Makeover: Part I

Since the end of last school year, I have been cooking completely without animal products.  Yes, that's right, the dreaded V word: vegan.  Before I go any further, I feel I should give a disclaimer.  I am not a true vegan because I am not a full-time vegan. I still have a weakness for Chick-fil-a that I give in to about once every two weeks, and if I go to someone's house I will not turn down a dinner with meat in it.  It's hard (sometimes downright impossible) with my crazy schedule to always plan ahead for healthy meals, and fast food it is.  However, for my own health I've been trying to rid my house of animal products and processed foods.

Except honey.  I just can't go *that* far.

My motivation had less to do with the compassion side of things than it had to do with my own health.  Since becoming more aware of exactly what's going into my body, I have lost 40 pounds.  I also have rheumatoid arthritis and have discovered that my joints feel better and my medication seems more effective when I eat a natural, plant-based diet.

A good friend of mine saw my Facebook post last night about the dairy-free cheese sauce I'd made to go on my black bean enchiladas and asked for the recipe.  She has Crohn's disease and has a love-hate relationship with dairy.  We are disease cousins, as both of our diseases are autoimmune problems.

So, here are some dairy-free recipes I've been using, for the most part without soy.  Soy is great but it mimics estrogen and too much of it can be a bad thing!  I can't claim credit for these recipes, so I will post them with my own tweaks and give credit to the websites where I found them.

Vegan "Cheese"Sauce:


1/4 C cashews, soaked for a few hours and rinsed
1 1/4 C water
1/4 C oil
4T Nutritional Yeast (available at most health food stores, this is what gives the flavor, so don't leave it out!)
1 t salt
2T corn starch, OR 4T flour
1/4 c diced red bell pepper (for color and a little kick)

1. Put everything but the corn starch in a blender and blend on high for a minute or so.
2. Put in a saucepan and add corn starch/flour.  Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick.

inspiration from: Vegan Grandma


Almond Milk: I can't do any better than the recipe and instructional video from My New Roots.  So go watch that and enjoy.  As soon as I finish writing this, I'm off to make my second batch of almond milk.

Almond Cheese:


Leftover pulp from almond milk
1/4 c oil
1/4 c lemon juice
Salt to taste
Fresh dill to taste

1. Combine it all, preferably in a blender.
2.  If you want to, you can ferment this stuff, then drain off some of the liquid and press it into a more cream cheese-like texture.  Or you can just put it in the fridge and dip veggies and crackers into it.   I took it for lunch the other day with some crackers and veggies and it was fabulous.  It's also very filling.

My New Roots has some more recipes with almond pulp, as well as links, here.

Also try the raw tacos (with a dairy-free sour cream sauce), here.

While you're there, check out the other posts.  This blog has been a huge source of recipes and inspiration.  I love it because not all of the recipes use things that are obviously trying way too hard to be like meat.  Everything is made from natural, whole foods.

One challenge I have faced is keeping all of my food organized in my pantry and keeping it bug-free.  When you buy fresh ingredients in bulk at the health food store, they are in those little plastic produce bags and attract bugs.  Of course the bugs get into the plastic.

Tomorrow I'll post Part II, which is how I finally got all this stuff organized and into containers that were bug-proof.

Off to make almond milk!