I used Daiya shredded "cheddar" for the first time last night, and it is pretty awesome! It melts much the same way that cheese with a very low fat content would (still resembles cheese shreds, even after melting). The taste is a bit stronger/sweeter than typical, so less is more with this stuff, but that's okay, since it's $4.99 for 8 oz. We are hoping to find coupons for it, but if we can't, it's no big deal. I won't use it for much, anyway.
I used it on enchiladas last night. I just wrapped refried black beans in tortillas, covered them in medium salsa, and sprinkled the cheese on top. Baked for an hour at 350 just to give them ample time to get crisp on the bottom, but soft everywhere else. For the side, I just sauteed onion, garlic, mushrooms, and about 1/4 cup of corn and mixed it with rice, and seasoned it all with some chili powder. That is definitely a keeper here! I thought I would miss sour cream with this recipe, but I really didn't. I'm going to look for raw cashews so that I can try to make some vegan sour cream, but until then, last night's meal was good enough to stand on its own. Whole family loved it!
Okay, about the shopping bill! I know we're new to this, and our grocery bill will invariably change from week to week, but our goal is to keep it under $75 a week, with only a $10 "extra" allowance. Feeding a family of four for $75 a week!? Can that be done!?
Yep! Yesterday, the shopping bill came to $74, and that got us EVERYTHING for the week: LOTS of produce, vegan pastas, healthy treats for the kids, baking items (for more homemade bread), dried fruit/nuts for granola bars, vegan cereal, frozen veggies, $10 worth of vegan "cheese," etc. etc. etc... One of the stigmas associated with vegetarianism/veganism is that the cost of food will be out of control, but it's not, at all. It was nice to completely bypass the meat/dairy sections yesterday, for sure!
I think tonight I am going to make orecchiette with mushrooms, carrots, and spinach. That sounds entirely satisfying :)
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