living like a kid again... vegan style



I have to admit, I stoled this pic from the innernetz. My camera phone just
wasn't flattering enough. But this is what mine looked like!!!!


Last night, and this morning, I had an undying craving for a toasted cheese sandwich. How does a gluten-free vegan make a toasted cheese, you ask? There are ways. And the ways that I found were undeniably tasty. Even an omnivore wouldn't be able to tell the difference.



I used Udi's Gluten-Free White Sandwich bread, because in comparing the label to the Whole Grain version, I found that the whole grain bread contains 20 more calories, more sugar, and more sodium than the white bread loaf.

When I went to verify this on Udi's website, the website blatantly lied about the nutritional differences in the two loafs, claiming they are the exact same in nutritional value! Where there is a tiny marker next to the calorie content of the Whole Grain Bread Loaf labeled "140", I drew a line because I was going to point out that the calories should be 160, but I realized I don't actually have a loaf to look at here, so I couldn't make the corrections.

One of the other main issues I have with the health-meter of Udi's bread is the sodium content. The sodium alone in each slice of bread, as you can see in the info to the left, is 135mg per slice. The way I have taught myself to see it, by reading and by experience, is if your food has more milligrams of sodium per serving than it does calories, it is a high sodium food - therefore, it should be eaten in moderation. Just in bread alone, I consumed 540mg of sodium... and I haven't even gotten to the cheese.

Either way... besides my annoyance with Udi's, I made toasted "cheeze" sandwiches using the best cheese substitute I have found thus far. It's a cheese shred called Daiya, and it is 100% vegan - unlike many dairy substitute cheeses that still contain casein. (casein is a protein in milk that some people are still highly allergic to. A dairy substitute, in my opinion, should not contain any dairy additives or by-products whatsoever.) I love this cheese because it is a soy free vegan alternative (how many of those are really available?). Daiya is soy free, gluten free, dairy free, corn-free, and it's still amazing. It even has the color, taste, and feel of real cheddar.

Again, the biggest issue I have with a lot of vegan and gluten free alternatives is the sodium content. In my experience so far as a vegan/vegetarian (I am eating eggs now, so knock me back down to level 3 vegetarian) is that you (and ME!) really need to read your nutrition labels when you're eating food. Any food. Your foods can have fat and carbs and protein, but they shouldn't have trans-fat, too much sodium, too much sugar, or corn syrup of any kind. For an in depth lesson on reading nutrition labels and what to avoid, check this out:http://www.sheerbalance.com/nutrition-section/nutrition-tools/nutrition-labels/


All in all, the toasted cheese sandwiches were delicious, though. Matthew and I had each had two (the bread was small!) and we taste tested Daiya cheddar shreds up against Vegan Gourmet Cheddar - Daiya definitely won. Nutritional Breakdown of the sandwiches was around 350 calories each, probably around 450 mg sodium per sandwich. Ever wonder why you're so thirsty, or your pants are tighter than normal? Start watching your sodium. :)