A strange thing has been happening since I've made the switch to being completely vegan. The one food I thought I couldn't live without, the food whose gooey goodness was the main ingredient in many of my favorite dishes (you know it, cheese!) is no longer as appealing to me as it once was.
For a long time, the obstacle that kept me vegetarian rather than vegan was giving up ice cream, eggs and, especially, cheese. In the beginning of this journey, it was a little challenging to ask for the cheese to be removed from, say, my favorite sandwich at Ingredient. But now I don't even have a craving for it. This happened to me back in February with sugar. I cut out refined sugar for 2 months and I did not even want any after a couple weeks. It's amazing what your body does to recover from eating things that are not so great for you!
Cheese contains casein, a protein found in cow's milk. I've read in several places that casein is addictive, much like sugar. When I was initially sampling what I thought were vegan cheeses, I found out that some of them do contain casein because it serves as a binding agent. So those cheeses were not completely vegan. I have found one, however, that I do like very much and is certified vegan. It is called "daiya" cheese. As with some vegan food substitutes, you cannot go into tasting daiya cheese with the expectation that it is going to taste just like that Wisconsin cheddar you buy at the grocery store. But we have used it in black bean quesadillas and to top off some veggie dishes and I highly recommend it!
Here is a link to their website...
Lately I noticed when I smell cooked chicken or meat it turns my stomach. Recently during lunch at work one of the girls had a BBQ Chicken Pizza, something I used to love, I had to move it away from me. It is amazing to me how that works. The body will adapt.
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