To eat cheese as a vegan?

[Sparksi]

I’ve been vegan for 5 years. I’m 8 weeks pregnant and craving cheese triangles. There isn’t a vegan equivalent anywhere. Vegan cheese is not the same. I haven’t had any dairy for years and read somewhere you can develop a bit of an intolerance to it if you’ve not had it for a while - if this is true it would be silly to succumb to the craving if it’s only going to upset my stomach.

I do feel a bit icky if I think about the morals as to why I have been vegan for so long, and definitely wouldn’t be making any permanent changes. I am wondering if it’s my body telling me I need something, though!

WIBU to have it or should I find something else?

Cheese - hard cheese anyway - doesn't contain lactose though. So usually people are ok with cheese.

Milk and yogurt are different.

OP, it's a dietary choice, not a religion.

Eat the cheese and then choose what you want to do when the cravings go.

Humans are not perfect. Whoever expects us to follow anything to perfection is unrealistic. You can be vegan and occasionally eat something non-vegan, whatever the frothing-at-the-mouth obsessive people say.

I don't really want to start a debate on here - but you can be malnourished on any diet. Speaking from my own experience, I was absolutely malnourished growing up. Raised on an omnivorous diet but my parents knew nothing about nutrition and didn't care to learn. Lunches would be a sandwich, crisps and chocolate. Typically ate one vegetable a day at dinner time (usually peas). Sometimes it would just be super noodles and no veg at all. Went to uni and it got worse if anything as I was trying so hard not to spend money so probably underate.

Vegan now for four years and my skin, hair and nails are healthier than they've ever been and I'm no longer told I look pale and anaemic. I've also had no trouble putting on muscle since joining gym classes after lockdown.

That's not just from being vegan though, of course. It's from eating a variety of fruit, veg, healthy proteins, fats, etc. I think it should be everyone's responsibility to learn about these things for the benefit of their kids, no matter whether they follow a vegan diet or an omnivorous one.

Tell that to my body. I can't eat any dairy unless I take the enzyme or it is explicitly processed to be lactose-free. 🤷‍♀️

You'll be lactose intolerant for sure. It's not an allergy. Either take lactase tablets or just eat a teeny bit of cheese to start and build it up.

I honestly can't tell the difference with some vegan cheese now

The mcplant in McDonald's just tastes like any other burger to me

Vegan mac and cheese tastes like any other now

Pizzas with vegan cheese taste the same to me

If you taste a difference I reckon it's a craving specially for something the cheese has in it not the cheese as such

However, just eat the cheese if you want

I wanted to eat a rug pregnant... the colour of it matched a food that when I found it was the same shade as the rug became better than chocolate 😂

Yes, and goat's cheese is low in lactose.

My vegan friend says she knows a few people who are ‘cheegan’. Nothing animal based at all, except cheese.

Your baby needs something in those triangles so eat for your baby.

I reminded of when Phoebe was pregnant in friends and the babies wanted meat so Joey went vegi so there would still be the same number of animals killed.

For me it is the ethics of real life. Jews and Muslims are allowed to eat foods that are normally off limits if it is an emergency.

Many people accept vaccines that have been grown using eggs or contain animal products. People who don't drink are usually OK with an alcohol swab before an injection.

Also this... if you're going to eat cheese, get some M&S Cornish Cruncher and some crackers and thoroughly enjoy it!