A not cheese I can eat

So I bought some of the daiya cheddar cheese that happens to not be cheese. I've had bad experiences in the taste department with non cheeses before. A lot of the ones many people say are good are for the lactose intolerant - not the no dairy whatsoever community. Even if it says its almond cheese or soy cheese, it often has milk proteins in it still. I cannot have them. At all.


This not-cheese said it doesn't have any dairy or corn. Woohoo! Perfect for me. I figured giving it a try couldn't hurt. I sampled a bit today and...it tastes like cheddar flavoring and not like real cheese. But it did taste decent enough to attempt to make my version of nachos.


I put some black bean chips on a plate, sprinkled the not-cheese on top, and put it in the microwave for a little over a minute. It smelled...burnt. But it wasn't. It tastes sort of like cheddar flavored Velveeta. Not as good as real cheese but it might be a great alternative to all those recipes that call for cheese when I need it.


In related news this article is excellent for anyone who would like to know more on life threatening allergies. My dairy isn't life threatening - yet- although it is debilitating (I will be out of it for three days). My tomato and my buckwheat allergies are life threatening. Both have sent me to the ER more than once. Yes, those of us who have allergies - or have loved ones that have allergies- tend to be a bit militant about it. It's for a very good reason. The article explains some of those reasons well but it comes down to this; many people believe that food allergies aren't that serious. That you are just "making it up" or that you simply are a "picky eater" (I got that one a LOT growing up).


Because of people not taking food allergies seriously -as a life threatening illness- most of us who do suffer from food allergies become very defensive. Food is important in every culture and most cultures have food served at various holidays and other events. Food is the stuffs of society - because of that, many of us that cannot eat what is served often feel that we are "left out" of culturally important events. For Thanksgiving, for example, I need to bring my own turkey, my own stuffing, and whatever veggies I want because I can't eat the turkey that was basted in butter, the stuffing that has cornmeal, or any of the veggies that are covered in butter. This is not my choice - unlike with vegetarianism- but it would make my life - and many other food allergy sufferers lives- so much easier if people would make a list of every ingredient they put into a dish that they intend to share with others. I don't need to know the amount or the order, just what is in the dish. Even if I can't eat the dish, I will be thankful for someone taking the extra minute to help me make that informed decision.