cheese

[rachelmh]

I think I was a mouse in a former life. I made it through one week at 100 percent raw, but I am totally craving cheese. I imagine that isn't the cheese I am craving, but the nutrients. I see the cheese-like recipes, but I am a bit afraid to make them. Anyone have a recipe that will quash this craving?

[dreamrawalwz]

You could be sensative to the milk in the cheese and at this point you're just detoxing it out of your system?

[Rawkinlocs]

I really like both the nacho and cheddar cheese recipes in Alissa's book.

But if you're a little leary about making nut/seed cheeses, make half the recipe and if you don't like it, dehydrate and once dry, crumble into salads or perhaps you'd even LIKE it better dehydated than as a sauce.

If you don't have Alissa's book, there is a similar recipe here to her cheddar cheese posted by Doe:

Cheddar Cheese¨

Blend until creamy:

§1 large red bell pepper
§¼ c water
§1 c raw cashews
§1 T tahini
§3 T nutritional yeast
§1 ½ tsp. sea salt
§1 T minced onion
§1 clove garlic
§2 T lemon juice

You could convert this to a nacho cheese type by adding some jalapeno to taste.

[rachelmh]

Thanks everyone. I do have Alissa's book, so I will test some out this weekend. Interesting point on the sensitivity to lactose. I never thought about it that way. Although, I used to drink at least one glass of skim milk and eat cheese everyday. I never thought I had a problem. Hmm .. go figure.

[banana shake]

Hi! Have you tried anything with nutritional yeast? It has a very cheesy flavor. I've made a "parmesan" (can be crumbled; almost like a flaky, very cheesey cracker) by mixing (in food processor) equal parts soaked macadamias & water, add nutritional yeast to form paste, and then spread on teflex & dehydrate until cracker texture. Very strong flavor, but that's what I'm into right now.

[Cinnamon]

The Cheddar Cheese recipe that Rawkinlocs posted above is one of my favorites. I eat it as a pate or it can be dehydrated into cheese-like slices. The nutritional yeast really does add a nice cheesy flavor. Hope you find something that you'll enjoy!

[Guppy]

Here's my favorite cheeze recipe. It really takes care of those cravings!

Nut Cheez recipe from Raw Food, Real World:

Macadamia Cheese

1.5 cups chopped red bell pepper
3 T lime juice
1.5 tsp sea salt
1.5 cups macadamia nuts (I used cashews b/c I didn't have macadamias)
1 T nutritional yeast (optional)

Process all in food processor until well-combined but still a little chunky.
Spread about 1/2 inch thick onto Teflex sheets
Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 4-6 hours
Once top has dried, break into shards and flip over to dry the other sides another 1-2 hours
Store in an airtight container for a few days or longer in the fridge.
(Then the recipe says "See if it lasts even a week before you eat it all".)

Good luck!
emily

[Shona]

I think nut cheezes are delicious ... spread some on celery ... great snack!

[Eveleaf]

I really like both the nacho and cheddar cheese recipes in Alissa's book.

But if you're a little leary about making nut/seed cheeses, make half the recipe and if you don't like it, dehydrate and once dry, crumble into salads or perhaps you'd even LIKE it better dehydated than as a sauce.

If you don't have Alissa's book, there is a similar recipe here to her cheddar cheese posted by Doe:

Cheddar Cheese¨

Blend until creamy:

§1 large red bell pepper
§¼ c water
§1 c raw cashews
§1 T tahini
§3 T nutritional yeast
§1 ½ tsp. sea salt
§1 T minced onion
§1 clove garlic
§2 T lemon juice

You could convert this to a nacho cheese type by adding some jalapeno to taste.

Hi Rawkinlocs!

I tried making this cheese recipe this afternoon. Sometimes a girl just needs some cheese, ya know? However, I found the flavor a tad too heavy on "veggie" and light on "cheese" if you know what I mean. It was tasty, but I still thought I could improve on it! (I'm horrible that way!)

Anyway, I took about half of it out of the blender, then added 1 cup MORE cashews, another tsp. of sea salt, and about 1 T of olive oil.

Wow oh Wow! The result was much thicker and more "cheesy." If you haven't already, you really should try this!

And thanks so much for posting the recipe in the first place!

[Rawkinlocs]

Hi Eveleaf,

Glad you liked the recipe (modified)...I, too, now add waaay less red bell pepper (IF any at all) to about maybe a slice or piece of it.

I now make my cheeze sauce with cashews, pine nuts, lemon juice (sometimes nut. yeast), a piece of red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, sea salt, (sometimes a little garlic powder) and water to desired consistency in the Vitamix. My youngest daughter and baby boy LOVE it!