In the absence of cheese while avoiding dairy, I had to fill that void somehow. Nutritional yeast is my go-to cheese alternative. It’s not exactly meant to be a cheese replacement, but it has a cheezy, nutty flavor that I am crazzzzy about.
I like it mixed with white rice or pasta + pink Himalayan salt. It can also make a rich vegan cheese along with cashews.
As good as it is, it has its limitations. It doesn’t melt and it’s not stringy. Two of the best things about cheese!
The good news is that there’s a vegan cheese alternative on the market called Daiya and it tastes WAY too good to be NOT cheese!
It has some borderline ingredients, like canola oil and pea protein, but we’re talking 1-2, maybe 3 TBSP at a time, not the whole bag.
I don’t have any recipes that use it yet but soon I will. It’s a really good alternative for vegans or anyone just avoiding dairy like moi. I’d eat it even if I wasn’t avoiding dairy! It’s that good.
So far I’ve been eating the mozzarella shreds with the cheddar shreds on standby.
Day 5 of my gluten-free, dairy-free “bland” diet and no signs of improvement whatsoever. In fact, the past few weeks have been worse than ever.
I’ve been doing dedicated 18-hour intermittent fasts every day, which helps. No food or drink = mostly peaceful tummy. But I’ve had relentless heartburn and acid reflux 24 hours a day for weeks now. It’s never been this bad. My regular doc wants me to take Zantac but I’m not keen on that idea. Dustin fears I’m going to go too Steve-Jobs-diet-modification-centric by declining conventional medication too much. I’m not against conventional medicine, per se. I’d rather only take it when it’s absolutely necessary and only if the side effects aren’t worse than the dis-ease. I haven’t completely ruled out the Zantac, though. Not sure how much longer I can tolerate this burning.
In the meantime, I started eating the king of bland food: Farina. Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free rice farina that is.
I wish there was a white rice version. Brown rice isn’t my favorite, but it’s still really tasty… when I add nutritional yeast and pink Himalayan salt to it. Think: Cheezy grits!
The first time I made it was in the microwave. And despite covering it, it still exploded all over the nuker. Messy, messy. Stove top it is!
I’ve also been enjoying freshly juice. I bought a Breville juicer a few months ago and between moving and settling in to our new pad I haven’t gotten to use it as much as I’d like to. But when I do, yummy things come out of it!
Organic carrot + apple juice
4 big carrots, 1 apple
Unbelievably tasty!
I’ve been reading up on a low FODMAPs diet. It’s pretty much what I am doing now only with different fruit + veggie restrictions, plus it allows dairy. I’m thinking about converting to it, only without the dairy. So really the only difference would be the types of fruits and vegetables I eat and the quantities. Other than that it’s pretty much in line with what I’m currently doing. It also restricts honey due to the high fructose content. But I can get over that rather quickly.
I’m willing to try it all. I have to find some kind of relief. IBS is the pits.
Thank you to everyone for your support and kind words. I appreciate it! And thanks to all who participated in my Tropical Traditions coconut oil giveaway! I’ll have more good stuff to give away soon because free is the shizzle.
It’s storming out and Caesar’s freaking out and things are flying around outside. Never a dull moment!
{ 11 comments }
Twitter: avericooks
August 9, 2012 at 6:58 PM
do you read elise/hungryhippie? she started an entire blog devoted to fodmaps b/c she has/had IBS and all kinds of peripheral stuff and then she found that really helped her. she’s also an RN so very clued into it all. Just passing that along.
And that smoothie – that 2nd pic is just so tack sharp I want to go take a bath in that and never get out!
Yes. I do read hungry hungry hippie’s blog, and just today I read several of her FODMAPs posts on her site. Some useful things there, and not much unlike what I am already doing. Heartburn is sooo bad. Want this to go away.
Thanks re: the pic. Outdoor sunlight = better than indoors at my home.
Hi! You sound like a perfect candidate for the GAPS diet, it heals food allergies/intolerances as well as balancing hormones. Very similar to SCD and anti-candida diets & the gluten/dairy free thing your doing now. It’s basically all about healing the gut and re-balancing your gut bacteria. It’s helped me so much! NO more allergies, heartburn (used to have it 24/7 like you), or digestive upsets. http://www.gapsdiet.com/
Thanks, Dara. Yeah, I’ve actually known about the GAPS diet for awhile too. Glad to hear it helped you! How long did you follow it for or do you still follow it? Were/are you very strict with it? GAPS is the most restrictive out of the three similar diets: SCD, FODMAPS, and GAPS. Gah, no potatoes or even sweet potatoes. I’m crying already…
I never did the full-on bone broth-only intro diet. Instead I did the “full” diet, basically I ate veggies, grassfed meats, and tons of healthy fat (coconut oil, avocado) for about 3 months. I had some sweet potatoes & raw grassfed cheese and butter as well as honey/palm sugar in moderation. In the first few weeks I followed it very strictly, but I found that my problems resolved super fast so I tried adding in the sweet potatoes etc.
I still eat mostly grain free, since I found that I just feel better when I mostly eats veggies, protein, & healthy fats. You don’t have to do the extremely restricted version of GAPS, just try eating meats/veggies/fats and no grains for a while and see if it works. Read the book too! It’s full of awesome info and insight into how our diet affects our overall well being.
I’ve never had nutritional yeast or vegan cheese. Both are things I’ve been meaning to try.
I have been suffering from GERD/acid reflux/constant heartburn since my son was born 2.5 years ago. And let me tell you I cannot even look at a pot of beans without having a GERD attack so severe it feels like a heart attack( not that I would know). 30 rounds of Antibiotics and Ibuprofen like candy have fudged me over! Anywho, I discovered digestive enzymes a year ago. I was taking the Rainbow Light ones but I kinda just stop taking them. Last month I had to take Penicillin (yay me) but 4 days in I was dying with sever stomach burning and Acid Reflux….so bad my throat was burned. Anywho, I remembered my enzymes and started taking them but they made it worse!!! WTF? I did research and found my lifesaver. Enzymedica Digest Gold with probiotics. These babys are the mac daddy shiznit! They work so freaking well I cannot believe it. They are spendy, even when purchased on Amazon but OMG, they are awesome. Please keep them in mind if you feel no relief from the ones you are taking. I was feeling them work within after 2 days. I would recommend reading the Gut and Psychological Syndrome book, it is packed full of great info on healing the gut, even if you dont suffer from one of the “conditions” in the book. I am also going Grain Free in an attempt to get my hormones undercontrol. I did it for 6 weeks and could not believe how Everything I suffered from just vanished, But Ilove me some homemade bread and fell INTO the bread wagon…lol
Oh yeah, RenewLife womens Vaginal FLora probiotic is also awesome, I have been on it for a year now.
Please keep us posted on how things are working out for you.
Thanks for the recommendation for Enzymedica Digest Gold! I’m so happy to hear they work so well for you. I’d be happy as all get out if they did some magic on me. And funny you should mention Guy and Psychological Syndrome — just received my copy today! I might have to go hardcore grain-free (and everything else-free) like you did. We’ll see. Right now I’m doing gluten- and dairy-free and going to incorporate low-FODMAPS. This is so complicated! So many variables, so much frustration. I’ll keep updating my results, good or bad. Let me know how you’re doing and if you find anymore “magic.”
Thanks for dropping by my blog. I hope the Digest Spectrum and Digest Gold helps you. I still have some oops moments, but nothing like I used to. Unfortunately, I’m still having heart burn, it’s so much worse when I eat tomatoes. But occasionally, I’ll give in and have spaghetti (with only low FODMAPS ingredients), it’s simply one of my favorites. It’s better if I take the Digest Spectrum, but I often forget to take it when I’m home. I always take it if I eat out….I don’t trust anyone.
I love Daiya Cheese. I went lactose free for a while, but found it wasn’t my problem. Still I’d eat Daiya.
I thought about a site you might like. All vegan slow cooker recipes. She hasn’t posted in a little while because she’s working on a cook book. I’ve been one of her recipe testers for her books. Her website is: http://healthyslowcooking.com/
Good luck on your food journey. I think my food issues will always be changing. (I’m also having trouble with histamine in foods, so I’m trying to follow the anti-histamine diet too….as I said, always changing.)
Hello! Did you juice the carrots and apple or put it in a food processor/blender. It looks delicious!
Hi, Becca — I used my Breville juicer to make the juice. I suppose you could blend it and then strain it but I recommend the juicer route!
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