It’s interesting to me how people think that the vegan lifestyle is one of major deprivation.  (Although there was definitely a time when I didn’t want to live in a world without dairy cheese or ice cream.)   What am I deprived of?  I honestly don’t miss dairy or meat. Not only am I glad every minute of every day that I don’t support cruelty and unnecessary death, I also no longer crave the animal products that made me me look and feel awful. When I stopped eating dairy, my acne, cramps, headaches and two sizes went away.  Eggs actually used to make me throw up.  Do I want to put those things in my body anymore?  Nope, especially when I live in a world that has Luna & Larry’s Coconut Bliss, Purely Decadent with Coconut Milk, Daiya Vegan Cheese, Dr. Cow Nut Cheeses and Teese!

I no longer crave animal flesh after 17 years as a vegetarian, but I do love Soysage, Tofurky slices and sausages for what they are.  If I wanted to experience the taste and texture of chickens, pigs and cows, I would eat Gardein, LightLife, Match Meats, etc.  I never cared for seafood, so I definitely don’t miss that.

Yes, sometimes I miss out on convenience.  But it’s so worth it!  I eat so much more food as a vegan than I ever did as a meat-eater or even as a lacto-ovo vegetarian.  I actually crave vegetables. I can have kale and brown rice for lunch and feel completely satisfied.  I eat Ethiopian, Thai and Korean food often.  I never would have been interested in those foods before I was vegan.

Since I became vegan, I definitely feel more spiritually connected.  I am more in tune with my body, the planet and my fellow Earthlings.

So, am I angry all the time? Not even close. How often do you see me without a smile on my face? The years I have been vegan have actually been my happiest ever. I can’t imagine ever going back.

First of 30 Products of the Day for September:  Sunshine Burgers http://sunshineburger.com/

2nd of 30 Products of the Day for September:  Parma Vegan Parmesan http://www.eatintheraw.com/

3rd of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @LunaandLarrys Coconut Bliss: http://www.coconutbliss.com/

4th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Dr. Cow Nut Cheeses http://www.dr-cow.com/

5th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @NanasCookieCo Nana’s Cookies http://nanascookiecompany.com/

6th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Fantastic Foods Tofu Scrambler http://tinyurl.com/m6gfjp

7th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Lightlife Smart Deli Pepperoni http://tinyurl.com/mfv8bg

8th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @GoMaxGoFoods Candy Bars http://www.gomaxgofoods.com/

9th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @LaraBar http://www.larabar.com/

10th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @So_Delicious Purely Decadent with coconut milk http://tinyurl.com/6poxxl

11th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @ChicagoSoyDairy Teese Nacho Cheese Sauce http://www.teesecheese.com/

12th of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @VegaTeam Whole Food Optimizer http://tinyurl.com/5gye78

13 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Mary’s @GoneCrackers http://www.marysgonecrackers.com/

14 of 30 Vegan Products of the day:  Tings! http://www.piratesbooty.com/products/tings/original

15 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @DaiyaCheese Vegan Shreds http://www.daiyafoods.com/

16 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @AllisonsGourmet Super yummy cookies, fudge, etc. http://allisonsgourmet.com/

17 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Eco-Planet Cheddar Non-Dairy Organic Crackers http://ecoheavenllc.com/

18 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Field Roast Grain Meats http://www.fieldroast.com/

19 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Glenny’s Marshmallow Treats http://tinyurl.com/c3agzw

20 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Soyatoo Soy Whip http://www.soyatoo.com/us/produkte/

21 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:   Organic Food Bars http://www.organicfoodbar.com/

22 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @LoveStreetRaw Organic Raw Vegan Chocolate Coconut Spread http://tinyurl.com/a5t4d3

23 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Sun Flour Baking Company cookies http://www.sunflourbaking.com/

24 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  @FYHMarket @Vegenaise FYH Vegenaise http://bit.ly/2VSIyW

25 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: Ray’s Seitan http://tinyurl.com/yabe7lw

26 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Road’s End Organics sauces, gravies, pastas, etc. http://bit.ly/2ucff5

27 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Bete Noir Chocolates http://www.betenoirechocolates.com/

28 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day: @JohnMcDougallMD‘s Right Foods http://www.rightfoods.com/

29 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:   Spectrum Naturals Vegan Caesar Dressing http://bit.ly/ky7DB

30 of 30 Vegan Products of the Day:  Vegan Halloween Candy http://bit.ly/w9F8D

For October, I’m recommending 31 Vegan Related Sites of the Day, so please stay tuned to my Tweets!

Well, here’s one more reason why it’s not hard to be vegan.  I’ve talked about Cheezly and Teese before, and both are great products, but Daiya vegan cheese has a few qualities that really make it stand out.  One is that it’s soy free, which is good news for anyone trying to avoid soy or at least cut down their intake.  (Read the ingredients here.)  Another is that it melts and stretches like dairy cheese.  Thirdly, while I don’t think it tastes exactly like dairy cheese, it really does taste pretty darned good, especially the cheddar variety.

I ordered mine from Pangea, The Vegan Store and quickly started making the yummy things pictured below.  It lasted a long time in the fridge too, which was nice since it took me a while to use it all!

I am thrilled that there are so many vegan cheeses to choose from and that more and more keep coming on the market.  Bring ‘em on!  Here’s a list of places to find Daiya.  Hopefully the day will come soon when a pizza place in Nashville will offer Daiya as an option and we can start changing hearts and minds about vegan cheeses.  Hear that Mafiaoza’s or DaVinci’s?

Daiya Quesadilla

Daiya over veggies and rice

Daiya Nachos

Daiya Mini Pizzas on Crackers

Daiya Pizza - Easily one of the best pizzas I've ever made

Daiya Pizza with Lightlife SmartDeli Vegan Pepperoni

My only complaint is that when I’m eating at home I generally avoid sugar and the mozzarella style does have sugar in it for some reason.  I have yet to try the white cheddar style (which doesn’t have sugar), but it’s waiting patiently for me in my fridge.  Looking forward to trying that too.  Any suggestions for a good use?

I also have some Teese nacho cheese sauce waiting to be eaten.  No suggestions needed for that!

For this pizza I started with a Trader Joe’s whole grain pizza crust, spread some Rising Moon vegan pesto on the crust (which was very salty, but also quite tasty) grated half a block of Cheezly over the sauce, then added broccoli, sundried tomatoes, black olives and pine nuts.  I also had a container of Chipotle Cayenne Parma ready to sprinkle on top after cooking.  Yummy.

When I prepare pizza at home, I use the cashew ricotta from Veganomicon, which my husband calls a “vegan miracle food.”  (Actually, we use said cashew ricotta for everything from dip to sandwich spreads to casseroles to vegan sushi to quesadillas.  The possibilities are endless.)

Ok, now I’m hungry.  I think I’ll make myself a pizza with cashew ricotta (or the Teese Vegan Cheese I brought home from AR2008), olives, broccoli, artichoke hearts, garlic, fresh basil and Soysage.  Mmmmmmm.

Vegan Teese Soysage Pesto Pizza