Vegan Cooking

When I became vegan I dreaded the idea of giving up my Sunday morning bagel with cream cheese. Fortunately I didn’t have to give it up for too long. When I discovered tofutti brand products I was thrilled, but I wasn’t sure if soy cream cheese could ever be as good as the real thing. Well, let me tell you, tofutti cream cheese is just as good as the real thing if not better. It comes in many delicious flavours, although they have a smoke salmon one that is not vegan. It also comes in plain and non hydrogenated plain. I use the plain cream cheese to make my cheesecake which is a crowd favorite.

I recently discovered Earth Balance products and ever since then they’re the only butter substitutes that I use. They have a variety of products, my favorite being their vegan buttery flavour sticks. I love these for baking because they work exactly like butter. They come in convenient 1/2 cup sticks and each stick has the measurement marks like butter does. What more can I say except you have to try them the next time you’re baking.
The other product of theirs that I really like is the buttery flavour spread. It tastes great, my only beef with it is that it’s kind of hard, so not so easy to spread. Other than that it’s great.

Ever since I discovered veggie ground round, my fridge has never been without it. This product is so versatile and easy to work with, and can be used in any recipe that calls for ground beef. It tastes great and has the same texture as ground beef. I’ve had guests over for dinner who were convinced that there was meat in the dish I served. It’s that good.
It comes in Mexican, Italian and Original flavors. My favorite is the original because I like to add my own seasonings.

I don’t really like to drink plain soy milk so whenever I get the urge for a cold glass of milk, I pour myself a glass of So Good’s strawberry flavored soy milk. It really does taste like strawberry milk. I’ve even given it to my nieces before and they have no idea it’s even soy milk.
They also have a chocolate flavored soy milk which is rich and chocolatey. I’ve tried some other chocolate soy milks and they are usually too bitter for me, but So Good’s chocolate soy milk is just right.

When I first became vegan there wasn’t much of a soy milk selection. It usually came in 1 Litre tetra packs and had a very grassy taste. Today, we have a great selection of soy milks to choose from, they come in 2 Litre cartons and the taste has greatly improved.
Of all the soy milks out there, I personally prefer Silk original soy milk. I think it is the creamiest milk alternative and it tastes great. It’s awesome over cereal and works well when using it as a milk substitute in recipes.