Vegan Cheese, Why Buy It?

Four years ago when I was a raw vegan I discovered an addictive condiment with very few ingredients. It was Parma. A raw, vegan parmesan cheese substitute. Very expensive, at about $7.99 per container, I looked at the ingredients and decided to make my own. So simple, so much more cost effective. The ingredients are Paleo-friendly and I make the original version, not the spicier variety. 

"Parmesan" "Cheese"

-3 oz raw organic Walnuts

-1 1/2-2 TBSP  nutritional, or brewers yeast flakes ( the Parma uses Red Star)

-ground pepper

-Celtic sea salt

In a food processor combine all ingredients and chop/grind until it looks like this.


I'm going to try to make this with black walnuts and see how it turns out.

The Better Roasted Seaweed Option

Just as I have been eating shirataki noodles since before it became a trend. Honestly The Hungry Girl thinks she is fucking Christopher Columbus when it comes to low-cal food, kind of annoying. Also none of her recipes qualify for the food category since she regularly bakes with diet soda.  I have also been eating roasted Nori packets for awhile. When I first started eating them the only place you could buy them was an Asian supermarket and the unfortunate thing about the kind you find in an Asian supermarket is they tend to be made with soy oil or corn oil. Gross.

A year ago I discovered that they sell packages of roasted seaweed at Trader Joe's, but after mulling over the ingredients they too have a bad ingredient. Canola oil, which to me is as disgusting as corn or soy oil. I only eat the ones from Trader Joe's once in a while, like once a month or if I go on vacation. I found an alternative brand, SeaSnax that is so much healthier and tastes so much better. I discovered them at the Sweets and Snacks Expo in Chicago last May.  They are by far the best brand I have ever tasted and they use olive oil. At the show they gave me a deal and I was able to buy two cases of their snack packs in Onion and Classic and then a case of their packages of big sheets. This product is far superior to any other brand I have ever tried. They were so nice they also gave me a lot of packs for free, some were Chipotle, etc. Great company and a great product.

Next best thing would be Nori roasted in lard, lol.

Game Meat Spaghetti

One of the things I dearly miss since being on a healthier diet is my mama's spaghetti. Yeah I'm a Jew, yet I miss an Italian dish. My mama's spaghetti is by far the best spaghetti on the planet. It is so fucking delicious, it is orgasmic.

Well the moment I turned Paleo-esque I asked my mama for her recipe and she gave me the rundown. Super simple, I doctored it, made it way more fibrous. Swapped out some ingredients. Instead of canned tomato paste that contains citric acid and comes in a BPA-laden can, I use Bionaturae tomato paste that comes in a glass jar, the only ingredient tomatoes. Instead of using beef, I use bison, elk, ostrich, venison goat, or pasture-raised veal. Any ruminant meat will do. I would never use turkey or poultry of any kind. Of course grass-fed beef is great too.

I batch cook veggies for the week, so of course I include some of these as well. This recipe makes one small serving

Game Meat Spaghetti

-1.5oz pastured game ruminant meat of your choice

-60g cooked finely chopped veggies (I use bell peppers, rapini a.k.a. broccoli rabe, broccoli, zucchini, red onion, whole garlic cloves, portabella mushrooms, celery, artichoke hearts)

-35g tomato paste ( a big tablespoon)

-fresh basil

-garlic powder

-water as needed

Basically I stick all the ingredients in a small pot, turn onto low heat, add enough water to make it just the right consistency and stir until soft, but not so brown that the meat is over- cooked.

I serve this over shirataki yam noodles and eat it with my own butternut squash muffin, a package of roasted Nori seaweed, additional veggies (like curry roasted cauliflower), and perhaps some of my own vegan "cheese" or these kale chips crumbled on top.

Just so you know, I started eating shirataki noodles ten years ago, before anyone other than Asians were eating them. So all of those companies that think that they discovered something and now are overcharging people up the whazoo, think again. You can buy them here or here for cheap. 

Recipe for vegan cheese is here