REMEMBER THOSE DAYS OF DAIRY WHEN CHEESE MEANT THE WORLD!!!Well the dairy industry is corrupt and thus most milk products are tainted with hormones and the kind of stuff that wrecks havoc on your body. I'm not saying all dairy, but the majority of it is tainted. In Ayurvedic medicine, dairy is considered sattvic, meaning that it is a great food item for stilling the mind, and adheres to the principles of Sattva (purity).
In Ayurvedic medicine however, the milk is't tainted with growth hormones, and so its use is actually healing to the body and mind. Although some types of milk are still conducive to healing and health, at the LTF home kitchen studio, we've managed to find alternatives for the dairy and cheese cravings. One thing that we've found works great is cashew cheese. It's rich creamy texture gives way to amazing satiation on the taste buds.
Here is a great recipe for the cheese itself.
Vegan Cashew Cheese
Makes 4 cups
1 1/4 cups raw cashews 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (depending on the saltiness, use more or less according to taste) 2 teaspoons sea salt 2 teaspoons garlic powder 1/8 teaspoon chilli powder 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 3 1/2 cups plain unsweetened almond milk 1 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) agar agar flakes 1/2 cup canola oil 1/4 cup yellow miso 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
How to do it:
1) In a Blendtec, ground the cashews (do not allow the cashews to turn into a paste). Next, add the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt, chill powder, and white pepper. Pulse 3 more times to blend in the spices.
2) In a saucepan, place the almond milk, agar, and oil and simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and continue to simmer for 10 minutes, until all the agar is combined with the milk.
3) Keeping the Blentec running, gradually add the almond milk mixture through the feed tube and into the cashew mixture. Blend for 2 minutes, the mixture will be a creamy smooth consistency, once this is achieved, add the miso and lemon juice. Readjust the seasoning if needed.
You can use the cheese as is, or place in the fridge until a harder cheese is formed.
The cheese lasts for 4 days, in the fridge