HI, I'm new! I'm interested in going vegan, but a priority of mine is to not eat chemicals. I try to eat foods with five or less ingredients.

I was looking for dairy alternatives since I don't care much about meat alternatives (I won't miss it and don't each that much now), and all I've seen is stuff with soy isolate blah blah and some other unpronouncable things.

Does anyone do both of these -- vegan and no chemicals/additives/etc. -- healthyfully?

Thanks!
Erin

With regard to dairy alternatives, this page lists a bunch of vegan cheeses and shows their ingredient lists so you can see what looks good to you. Most of them look like they have more than 5 ingredients, but a couple might fit the bill: [www.vegan-nutritionista.com]

hope that's of some help

Hi Erin,
Congratulations on your decision to eat healthier! I think the most important thing you have already accomplished is knowing that food chemicals are bad for you.

I also avoid processed food and unnatural food-stuffs. The best dairy alternatives would be almond milk (comes in sweetened and unsweetened), rice milk (my kids preference), soy yogurt, or coconut-based yogurts. As far as dairy-free cheeses, I rarely use them. I just don't care for the taste. I do use nutritional yeast for recipes. It's an inactive yeast with a nutty, cheesy flavor and it's a source of vitamin B-12. I buy it in flakes at the health-food store. You can actually make a macaroni and cheese with it that tastes quite good.

For butter/margarine replacement, I use Earth Balance Spread. It's non-GMO and you can buy it in soy-free (red tub) or regular (yellow tub). I find that the regular Earth Balance is best for recipes. If you like to "butter" your toast, you will find this spread very palatable.

I wish you the best,
Jen

Does anyone have on hand the recipe for vegan macaroni and cheese with nutritional yeast? Here's another question: Does anyone eat raw creations here too? I had once this awesome recipe for bread that is raw and it got taken off the blog post; will ask the raw food HappyCow group also and share it back to you. Good luck on the cheese/dairy subs.