Easy Vegan Swaps for Cheese

So many vegetarians and omnivores tell us: “I would go vegan, but I couldn’t give up cheese!”. Don’t worry, we totally understand! Cheese addiction is real – thankfully, once you break free from it, the cravings stop.

Chemically speaking, though, why is cheese so addictive?

What makes cheese so addictive is the extremely high concentration of the milk protein casein that, when digested, results in casomorphins. Casomorphins are addictive and if you suddenly stop eating cheese, you might experience uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms and strong cravings. However, it doesn’t take long for these feelings to go away, and you can make the transition easier by replacing cheese in your diet with the plant-based cheeses we have listed below.

Vegan cheese gets a bad rap because when it first hit the supermarket shelves it was, let’s say, not the best-tasting alternative to dairy cheese. Nowadays, however, you would often be hard pressed to tell the difference!

It takes about ten pounds of milk to make a pound of cheese and it’s mostly water that’s lost in the process. That means cheese is very high in protein (casein) compared to other dairy products. The more casein you eat, the more casomorphins are produced and the harder it is to give it up. Cheese isn’t as strong as other opiates but science shows casomorphins can cross the intestinal wall and enter the bloodstream so eating cheese will have noticeable effects – especially if you suddenly decide to stop.

Opiates in general also slow down bowel movements, which can be a desirable effect in newborns prone to diarrhoea, but they almost always cause constipation in people. I’m sure many cheese lovers would agree.

Of course a huge part of our cheese cravings is also the fact that cheese is high in fat and salt, which is the magical combination that humans respond to with voracious appetite. Think crisps, chips, bacon, everything cheesy, salted nuts and fried savoury foods (basically all junk food). This is because for a long time in humankind’s history, food wasn’t always abundant, so our bodies evolved to recognise fatty foods as good energy sources and developed a taste for them. Even though most of us now have more than enough food on a daily basis, our bodies still crave fats and cheese is a prime example of it backfiring.

All you need is willpower!

1. If you can’t go cold turkey don’t worry,just try weaning yourself off slowly and pick a few days where you’ll go without cheese. Increase these days over a period of time and eventually you’ll be happily cheese-free!
2. Try adding nutritional yeast to your food. It Gives a lovely, cheesy, nutty flavour and can be sprinkled over soups, salads, pasta,pizza… pretty much anything (one of the Viva! team eats it straight from the tub!)
3. You don’t have to switch immediately to vegan cheese. Vegan cheese now has incredible flavour and texture and there’s an amazing selection out there that you’ll almost certainly grow to love. This can take time when you’re used to the flavour of dairy cheese and it might be worth having a period without any cheese for a few months. You can actually retrain your brain to like certain tastes by eating them more frequently.
4. Try making your own nut-based cheeses: this can be lots of fun and the flavours are great!
5. Try some delicious cheese-free recipes from our site.

So there you have it! If you stay away from cheese for a few weeks, one day you’ll realise the desperate craving’s gone. If it’s the naughty salty fat taste you’re after in the meantime, go for chips or crisps (within reason!), olives or anything with a strong flavour.

Vegan cheese gets better all the time. While vegan artisan cheeses are still pretty niche, they are on the cusp of moving into the mainstream. Home-made nut cheeses are pretty easy to make too and very tasty but if that’s too much of an effort, there are plenty on offer in the supermarkets and health food shops!

Bute Island generally makes all of the supermarket own brands which currently supply a wide range for Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Ocado and occasionally Lidl. Here are some of our favourites but to be honest it was a tough job choosing as they’re all really good!