All of my life I have been absolutely crazy about cheese. All cheese. Shredded sliced melted grated you name it I'd eat it. I used to gnaw on a block of cheese every night in bed while watching Netflix kinda obsessed and no meal was ever complete without a heap of cheese thrown on top. (I used to put cheese in my cup of soups lol) Ok so now that we have the full picture of how deep this love went I'm sure you will be shocked to learn I gave it all up in my journey to be a healthier version of myself. Though never have I ever given up the desire for cheese in my life. What is life without cheese anyways!? A sad one if you ask me!
Cute picture of the three of us, mostly Kai though cause he's so darn cute, getting vegan pizza... Because... Well... Pizza... Cheese. You got it. Lol.
Ok so to elaborate on why I gave it up first I will say that my health was getting quite poor, I had constant back and joint pain, next to no energy, headaches almost all the time, and just felt completely awful. I was really at a point where I just wanted to feel good and was ready to try anything so this wonderful man who is now my husband introduced the idea of veganism into my life and I thought hell why not and boy oh boy was it life changing. I started to feel incredible! Little by little my body and mind were working like never before and my energy levels started rising without coffee! What!? Wasn't really thinking this was going to happen and couldn't go back after experiencing such a wonderful change but what about my first true love.... CHEESE!?
and myself on my first big hike after going vegan and feeling fantastic!
I started watching lots of documentaries about veganism which helped me not only learn about the health side of things but also about the ethical side as well such as cowspiracy, earthlings and one of my favorite videos called dairy is scary by Erin Janus, yet I still had this incredibly cheesy frustration wash over me regularly! Gggrrrrrr!
I was finally at a point where I not only felt that putting it in my body was harmful to my health but I also felt so intensely negative about the dairy industry that I simply couldn't support it so what's a crazy cheese obsessed girl to do!? Light bulb moment! Make your own cheese Jamie! Duh! But where to start!? Pinterest of course! After researching lots and lots and LOTS of people's recipes I finally found a few I liked, then meshed them together, tweaked them a bit and bam my own vegan cheese sauce was created!
I steam or boil potatoes and carrots, 2/3rds potatoes and 1/3rd carrots, throw them in a blender once they get all nice and soft with some coconut milk, lemon or lime juice, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, cayenne or chili flakes and a few drops of apple cider vinegar and blend till smooth. I keep adding these ingredients little by little till it is the consistency and taste I want. Sometimes I add a little tumeric and pepper, sometimes I add jalapeños, sometimes I add bell peppers. It all depends on my mood and what I using it for but the base remains the same and is absolutely delicious! Hope you all enjoy it as much as my family and I do!
