Finding vegetarian and vegan substitutes for foods I like is so much easier than when I first stopped eating meat decades ago. There's just so many options out there. But I'm not always loving those options. Cheese, for example, is always tough. I've bought so many fake cheeses that I can't even count them. My favorite vegan alternative so far is from Chao, but it's still nowhere near being as tasty as real cheese. But I keep looking.

Fake vegan meats I like are far easier to find.

My latest obsession is Ground Bef (textured soy protein)...

I love it most on nachos...

It's also great on taco pizza and taco burgers because it picks up seasoning so well. I've tried making Sloppy Joes out of it, however, and was not a fan. Any time I put it in a sauce (like a red sauce for pasta) it gets kinda rubbery, I think. I did like it in Chili though.

My next recipe from my childhood I'd like to try is Spanish Rice. Rice, tomato sauce, bef, peppers, and spices. If I can keep it from going rubbery, that will sure bring back memories.

I think.

I haven't had the stuff in probably 40 years.

I have come to terms with the fact that ALL vegan "cheese" is going to suck. Yes... even that vegan cheese you think is awesome... it sucks at being cheese.

Which is not to say that some "cheeses" aren't good in their own right. Like Chao Field Roast. It's not cheese... but I do like it for what it is.

I've tried a few fake parmesans, but they are gut-wrenchingly awful. So I've been leaning hard into Nutritional Yeast, which I love. My beloved Caesar works extremely well with vegan mayo because there's so many other things in that dressing which are vegan and taste great, and extra Nutritional Yeast gives it a cheesy kind of bite...

Soooo... along with the many vegan recipes people have been kindly sharing with me... I think I'm set. No, I am not 100% vegan. I will likely revert back to being vegetarian when eating at restaurants and traveling and such. But I'm "vegan enough" for me now, and not suffering too much. Hopefully there's a health benefit in that.