Field Roast Vegan Chao Cheese Slices

Chao is the new Vegan cheese from Field Roast. It was announced out of the blue a couple months ago and I have been anxiously awaiting its arrival. One of the cool things about Chao is that they are pre-sliced and sandwich ready. The three flavors are Creamy Original, Tomato Cayenne and Coconut Herb. The cheese is called Chao because that is the name of the fermented tofu used in the making of the cheese. So now that I have all three flavors of Chao in my possession, it's time to chow!

I really enjoyed all three cheeses, but I think Creamy Original was my favorite. It's the string cheese of the bunch. You can nibble on this stuff all day. A nice mellow flavor that has a butteriness to it. You just eat it. And eat it.

Tomato Cayenne is similar to a cheddar with some kick that would spice up any sandwich. Nice little bits of red and cayenne pepper inside the cheese.  Of course my thoughts turn to dicing the cheese up and putting it on nachos, but that's just me. It melts, just like the other two cheeses but be careful not to overdo it. Melting takes only a couple seconds.

Coconut Herb is an interesting mix -- coconut flavor infused with herbs and black pepper. I feel like yellow mustard would be a good accompaniment on a sandwich. Definitely the weirdo of the three, but in a good way.

Field Roast is pretty ingenious in general and Chao Slices are no exception. Artisan Vegan food continues! Go seek it out and as always, let me know what you think.

Fritos Corn Chips

My favorite chip growing up was Fritos. Sure, Cheetos and Funyans weren't too far behind, but Fritos and I have an emotional attachment. I vividly remember being at my Grandmother's during the summer, running through the sprinkler, eating popsicles and Fritos. Of course, growing up in the Cornhusker State, anything with corn was super popular. Years later I became a Chili Cheese Frito fiend (I'll admit I miss them.) And I've also had a couple Frito Pies in my time.

Chicago Vegan Foods even put a Frito Pie Kit with Teese in the Vida Vegan 2013 Swag Bag! How rad is that?

Another thing I love about Fritos is the size. They are tiny and manageable. Eat them one by one or by the handful! Now for the sad news... I'd love to eat Fritos more often than I do, but there's a little problem, GMO's. Frito Lay uses GMO corn for Fritos.

I don't talk about GMOs much because most of the stuff I review is Organic or Non-GMO. I don't know if you've noticed but I don't usually review products that use GMOs, so I would feel weird posting these Fritos without mentioning it. And while we're at it, if you love Fritos and would like to see Frito Lay stop using GMO's, here is a link to contact them. Every little bit helps! I know there are a couple Non-GMO Frito alternatives out there like the Trader Joe's Organic Chip Dippers, but it's just not the same.

So, now my love of Fritos is known and I'd love them even more if they were GMO Free!

  

Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella Cheese Shreds

I don't know about you, but Follow Your Heart Cheese was the first Vegan cheese that I really liked. Before that, there were numerous blocks of orange-ish clay that called themselves "cheese" but tasted like salted play-doh. Vegans at the time just accepted that Vegan cheese would taste a little funky. Follow Your Heart cheese really changed that (it melted!) and I'm forever thankful. In the last five years though, brands like Daiya and Teese have taken away some of Follow Your Heart's shine. So for me, it's exciting that Follow Your Heart has introduced three new shredded cheese products. For this review, I'm only sampling the Mozzarella, but the other two flavors are Cheddar and Fiesta Blend. And the best test for mozzarella is pizza, right? I think so!        

I've got the cheese all ready to go, but now I need a couple toppings. One of my favorite faux meats is Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Sausages. If you've never had it, you're missing out big time 'cause it's tasty as heck. As for a veggie topping, I'm gonna be lazy and throw some black olives on this thing. I love my black olives. In a perfect world I would have had green pepper on hand, but alas...

As you can see the cheese melted nicely. I used the broiler for a couple minutes after the pizza was done to melt whatever cheese hadn't already melted. Texture-wise, I liked it more than the recently reviewed Trader Joe's Mozzarella Style Shreds. This was thicker and more cheese-like. It doesn't have the elasticity that Daiya does, which  I don't mind, but some of you might. Taste-wise, it was richer than I thought it would be. Not as rich as Daiya, but not as mild as the Trader Joe's. It has nice mozzarella flavor, maybe a hair salty, but still good. I liked that the flavor didn't overpower the pizza, kinda like Daiya sometimes does. But even though it was a dream melted on the pizza, eaten straight out of the bag it was a little blah. And I know you might be curious, yes it does have palm oil, but thankfully it has been sustainably sourced and bears the Rainforest Alliance certified logo on the packaging.

Overall, I was very satisfied with the mozzarella and I'm excited that Follow Your Heart finally has a shredded cheese on the market. It's a nice alternative to the other Vegan shredded cheeses out there.

Daiya Mushroom & Roasted Garlic Pizza

The newest entry into the Vegan frozen pizza world is from Daiya. Not content with conquering the Vegan cheese world, Daiya has four new pizzas that have been highly anticipated ever since they were announced. I chose to review the Mushroom & Roasted Garlic Pizza, but you can also get the Cheeze Lover's, Margherita and Fire-Roasted Vegetable. One of the main selling points of these pizzas is that they're gluten-free. While I'm not gluten-free, I think it's exciting Celiacs and wheat-sensitive people have four brand new pizzas to choose from.

Right off the bat, I have to address the cost and size of the pizza. The pizza box gives the illusion that the pizza is bigger than it really is. In reality, the pizza is 12 oz, or the same as an Amy's Pizza. Also, the Daiya Pizza is a little bit pricier compared to Amy's or even Tofurky. In Daiya's defense, I'm sure the gluten-free crust is costlier (the Amy's gluten-free pizza tends to cost more) and therefore, they must charge more. But I think most people will probably complain about the $9.99 price. Ok, but how does it taste?

Well, I was a little disappointed. I felt the flavor was a bit muted. I would have liked some more sauce or something to give it a little zing. Or possibly more toppings. Texture and style-wise, the pizza reminded me of a Tofurky Pizza. The crust is thin and the veggies are diced. You get two styles of Daiya cheese, with the right amount. As for the crust, I thought it was just ok. A little too thin for my taste.

In the end, I'm glad there's another Vegan pizza choice out there, but the price is high and the flavor isn't as compelling as I would like. It's not in my upper echelon of favorite pizzas, but when it goes on sale I'd definitely like to try the other flavors.

Daiya Jalapeno Garlic Havarti Style Wedge Cheese

Last year at the Toronto Veg Fest, I stopped to by the Daiya table and tried a sample of their newest cheese, the Jalapeno Garlic Havarti Style Wedge. I was really impressed with the flavors! The garlic and jalapeno obviously stood out. I told myself that if and when it showed up in Omaha, I would buy one and blog it. Guess what I saw on the shelf last month?  

I think the great thing about the Jalapeno Garlic Havarti is its versatility. I've been using it for sandwiches, nachos and even just on crackers. The creaminess is exceptional and I love the bits of garlic and jalapeno floating in there. People who still eat dairy might be impressed by how delicious Vegan cheese can be. So if you don't have an aversion to garlic or jalapeno and you don't mind a little kick in your cheese, the Dayia Jalapeno Garlic Havarti is an outstanding choice!

Trader Joe's Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds (plus John's Laziest Pizza)

Trader Joe's has a new Vegan cheese and it's not Daiya! Trader Joes's Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds are basically Galaxy Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds, which I've never had before. Since it's Mozzarella, I thought I would put it to the true test and try it on a pizza. Lazy pizza anyone???  

I keep my pizzas pretty simple. First, I procured some Whole Foods pre-made dough and marinara sauce. Both are super tasty and obviously very easy to work with. For toppings, I grabbed Tofurky Pepperoni Slices and some black olives. The Tofurky Pepperoni Slices are great if you miss that old pepperoni flavor. I normally would do green pepper with the olives but I totally forgot. Now let's see how the cheese and pizza turned out!

The Trader Joe's Mozzarella was really interesting. If you eat it raw, it honestly doesn't taste very good. But when I melted it all over the pizza, I found it to be quite good! When it melts (and it does melt), the mozzarella gets a bit gloopy almost like a glaze. It's definitely a different beast than Daiya. So if love Daiya and think it has no faults whatsoever, this probably isn't the cheese for you. I like Daiya too, but I find it to be too rich in large quantities, the flavor taking over whatever you put it on. It's just nice to have another option out there. This cheese is pretty mild and didn't overwhelm the other flavors. The pizza itself was great and I really love those Tofurky Pepperonis.

In closing, I'm always happy to see new Vegan products, especially cheese. I thought the Trader Joe's Mozzarella tasted great when melted and had a nice neutral flavor. It is almost an anti-Daiya cheese, which I feel the world needs.

Dr. Cow Aged Cashew and Macadamia Nut Cheese

Earlier this year, I had Dr. Cow Aged Cashew Cheese for the first time. I'm not much of a hard cheese connoisseur, but I was seriously blown away! The Aged Cashew Cheese is so delicious, I knew I had to buy some more so I could blog about it. To up the ante, I also purchased some Dr. Cow Macadamia Nut Cheese to compare. Dr. Cow promotes their cheese as Tree Nut Cheese, which is a cute way of saying it's Vegan without scaring off non-Vegans. Dr. Cow Tree Nut Cheese is also organic, raw, unpasteurized and gluten-free.  

I could probably eat the cheese by itself very easily, but I decided to pair it with some Late July Classic Rich Crackers. Classic Rich Crackers are very buttery, just like Ritz. A great organic cracker that I find myself buying all the time.

The Aged Cashew Cheese has some salty ranch notes. I can taste the cashew flavor, but it's so refined, you might not notice. Comparing it to real cheese, I would say it has a smoked Swiss flavor. I'm in love with Aged Cashew and will go on the record as saying it's (presently) my favorite cheese. Aged Macadamia Cheese has some fruity notes. I got a strong macadaminan flavor. Very tangy and a little mustardy. I found it a little softer than the Cashew Cheese, which isn't a bad thing.

So if you love hard cheese or cracker cheese, I think you'll really enjoy Dr. Cow. I can recommend the Cashew and Macadamia for sure, and I hope to try the other varieties soon! If you can't find it in your area, Vegan Essentials is having a 10% off sale for the entire month of October, using coupon code "mofo!"

Nutty Cow Nut Cheese Spread

Nutty Cow recently sent me some of their new Nut Cheeses to try out. As I always say, the more Vegan cheeses the better! These are more of the spread variety, for sandwiches, chips and crackers. Dare I say the consistency is almost hummus like. The main ingredients in these spreads is soy beans and cashews, plus they are gluten free.

There are three flavors, Maple Pecan Spread, Ricotta Style and Garlic Herb Spread. The Maple Pecan was my favorite of the three. I really enjoyed the desserty aspect of the spread. It was sweet and perfect for a toasted bagel. Ricotta was nice and creamy. I've never had dairy ricotta but imagine it must be something similar to this. I bet it would be good in a sandwich or lasagna. The Garlic Herb has some nice flavor going on. It would be great on some crackers or chips.

So be on the lookout for these three new Nut Cheeses, three more cheeses closer to Vegan cheese domination!