Suggestions for good vegan food/recipes?

[postmanshere]

Breastfed newborn has CMPA and I’m gutted. I love pizza and cheese. And a decent cup of tea. Any suggestions for good dairy-free recipes or products for a vegetarian (I say vegan but egg is still okay so actually not vegan… but I feel like “vegan” products are more common than “dairy-free vegetarian”).

Faithfully, a cheese lover in mourning.

Mushroom risotto https://healthylivingjames.co.uk/creamy-vegan-mushroom-sage-risotto/

Sticky soy sesame tofu https://www.sainsburysmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mains/sticky-soy-and-sesame-tofu-with-broccoli-rice

Jamie’s best vegan burger https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables/the-best-vegan-burger/

Aloo gobi traybake https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/aloo-gobi-traybake.html

Tofu stir fry https://madeleineolivia.co.uk/tofu-noodle-stir-fry/

Peanut butter noodles https://healthylivingjames.co.uk/speedy-satay-sauce-noodles/

There are some very realistic vegan cheese alternatives. Try Applewood smoked cheddar; you’ll be hooked!

The happy pear -look on their instagram, amazing looking food.
Bosh-some of their recipes look so delicious.

I’m a very lazy cook though so have earmarked loads of recipes from both but have only tried a couple, and none have been pizza (although a quick Google says they have recipes)

If there's one thing the internet is not short of, it's vegan recipes. Whether written or videoed.
A new one to me at least is Dr Vegan. haven't used them but look quick and easy.

Check out drvegan on instagram. I know it’s vegan but the recipes are delicious x

Apologies, just editing to say that I missed the bit about being vegetarian, so omit anything animal-based below.
Egg mayonnaise (with home-made mayonnaise), spinach and new potatoes.
Salmon, asparagus and new potatoes.
Dhal (home-made), cucumber salad and rice.
Thai green curry with tofu and vegetables.
Crudites with hummus (home-made).
The reason I am suffixing things with home-made is so that you know what goes into the food.
Roast with anything you like, except cauliflower cheese.
What about cheese/milk from sheep or goats?
Pasta with pesto and salad.
Fish fingers, peas and new potatoes.
Sausage, salad and mashed potatoes (use mustard, tahini or olive oil in place of butter).

My suggestion, initially at least, would be go cold turkey on cheese for a couple of weeks rather than go straight to a replacement. The vegan Cathedral City I think is really good, but it’s not going to taste the same initially. You do really lose the taste for dairy, a few months of oat milk, and cow milk will smell as vile as it is 😂

Are you a vegetarian household but now need dairy free?

There is a vegan section on here which can be useful. Having been vegan for nearly 4 years and trying lots of milk and cheese alternatives my preferred ones are:

Cathedral city cheddar
applewood smoked cheese
Boursin garlic and herb
Violife grated for melting but I haven’t found anything that melts really well

Alpro or oatly oat milk, I prefer the whole/creamy versions

I use unsweetened soya milk if I want to make any kind of white sauce.

Alpro Greek style plain is my favourite yoghurt. Tesco plain is good to use in dips etc.

Im not vegan so this might be unhelpful but I think if I ever needed to give up dairy (I eat a LOT of dairy) I wouldnt want substitutes, I would just have to not eat it. In your case Im guessing you'll go back to it after a few years?

So making things out of coconut milk or chickpea juice etc is fine but processed substitutions seem more difficult. Can you use silken tofu for 'creamy' things, Ive been reading about this but havent tried it, not sure how to use it.

If you can afford it (works out about £7 a portion, though they are very generous portions so often leftovers) Planthood meal boxes are brilliant and make vegan meals super easy. They always have sign-up offers on the first couple of boxes so might be worth a try for a few weeks. I am not even veggie but eat vegan 4x a week because they’re so good.