Meat & Dairy Substitutions
I still use all my old recipes more than the vegan specific ones and just substitute with the vegan options available. Meat and dairy are obviously the biggest ingredients to substitute but you can get a substitute for just about everything!
Meat Substitutes
Meat is a protein so you need to subtitute with a protein you like.
You can do this with tofu, seitan, tempeh, beans, lentils, nuts...you get my drift.
Tofu - is a product made from soy. It comes in all sorts of different varieties and generally has no flavour, so you can make it taste however you like. All tofu can be frozen EXCEPT silken tofu (I made this mistake, it separates and goes chewy but is great for scrambled eggs).
Silken tofu has the consistency of yogurt and is great for desserts, smoothies, scrambled tofu.
Medium tofu is great for moulding shapes such as for tofu turkey.
Hard tofu is great for slicing and frying.
Fried Tofu - this is the spongy tofu you find in laksas, I buy mine from the asian grocer (in Australia) and is awesome in curries because it soaks up the flavour.
Seitan is made from wheat gluten, used for mock meats such as "gluten duck" and most of the mock meats in the supermarket. Have a look in the tofu section of the supermarket.
Tempeh is made from soy also but has a very different taste and texture to tofu. It tastes very nutty and has a very maluable texture so it's great for making your own mock meats and for binding.
TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) or TSP (Textured Soy Protein) - can be found in the supermarket and is dried but when you add water or stock it resembles mince meat. It has no flavour so you can add it to anything to beef it up (no pun intended). I use it in spag bol and lasagne.
In the US I've found it in the Health Food stores, I've seen it made by Fearn's Soya Granules & Bob's Red Mill TVP
Butler Foods makes soy curls from SVP!
Mock Meat - you can buy mock meats ( predominately seitan) in the supermarket and organic stores. Asian groceries usually have a great selection, such as CitiSuper in Sydney. Mock meats usually have a wheat protein or soy protein base.
Some brands of mock meats available in USA through supermarkets, online and specialty stores;
El Burrito's SoyTaco & Soyrizo, Helen's Kitchen Mince & Plain Veggie Dogs by Lightlife are vegan meats and available in the US through supermarkets and specialty health stores.
Beyond Meat - an amazing range or gluten free vegan chicken strips, beef hamburger patties and ground beef. They "raw" beef burgers and sausages are SO good!
Bounty Burgers - vegan hamburger patties
Cheatin' (by Redwood)- makes a bunch of luncheon meats (ham, bacon, pepperoni, chicken etc)
McCormick Bacon Bits are vegan, plus there is Coconut Bacon Bits by Phoney Baloney if you want a healthier options!
Vegi Deli (by Redwood)- Makes dinner time meats (hamburger patties, sausages, schnitzels etc
Fry's Vegetarian - available in selected Coles, Woolworths and IGA stores
Sanitarium Vege Sausages, Veggie Roast, Bacon & Lunch Meat Slices - some contain eggs so read the ingredients, available in the tofu section of the supermarket
Linda McCartney - makes a range of mock meat products but some have milk & eggs so read the ingredients. Her sausages are fantastic!
Gardein - have some great vegan products such as the burgers, patties, fillets and crispy chicken strips - really taste like chicken, I'm so addicted to the vegan gluten free beef grounds! This company was just bought out by Bird's Eye tough which is sad :(
Amy's Kitchen - some of the mock meat products are vegan - the website has a vegan section
Bahama Rice Burgers - are vegan
Sophie's Kitchen - makes a great range of vegan seafood (including smoked salmon!)
Field Roast - makes a variety of vegan deli and gourmet meats
Viana - makes a selection of vegan meats and ready to go meals
Qrunch - Quinoa burgers - I'm am totally addicted!!
Dr Praeger's - makes veggie patties but the Perfect Burger rivals Beyond Meat's burger for sure!
Some brands of mock meats available in Australia through supermarkets, online and specialty stores;
Spoons Vegetarian Butcher - if you're lucky and live in Sydney this new vegan butcher is amazing and they deliver!
Lamyong - make mock meat in all forms (incl fish & prawns!), not all vegan so check the website or the label.
Cheatin' (by Redwood)- makes heaps of luncheon meats (ham, bacon, pepperoni, chicken etc)
Vegi Deli (by Redwood)- Makes dinner time meats (hamburger patties, sausages, schnitzels etc
Fry's Vegetarian - available in selected Coles, Woolworths and IGA stores
Sanitarium Vege Sausages, Veggie Roast, Bacon & Lunch Meat Slices - some contain eggs so read the ingredients, available in the tofu section of the supermarket
Linda McCartney - makes a range of mock meat products but some have milk & eggs so read the ingredients. Her sausages are fantastic!
Bounty Burgers - vegan hamburger patties
Vegan's Choice Grocery - sell their own brand of mock meat in all forms (used in their restaurant The Green Gourmet) from their store in Newtown, they also deliver.
There a lot of vegan mock meats available at Asian grocery stores in the freezer section, but always check the ingredients list.
Woolworths have just brought out their own brand of vege meats - some are vegan.
Beans are great for soups, salads, mexican dishes.
Lentils are great for soups and as a filler but most kinds need overnight soaking (or sprouting) so you need to prepare in advance. Chickpeas can be used in salads, soups or to make hummus or falafel.
Nuts/Seeds - ground nuts are great for making stuff too - Nutloaf is a Xmas Day staple.
Walnuts & Flaxseed (Linseed) are high in omega 3.
Raw vegans use ground nuts in instead of tofu, so if you're allergic to soy there are still plenty of options.
**Vitamin B12 is only available through animal sources. It's needed for brain function so it's really important but our body only needs a small amount and stores the excess. Make sure you buy a suppliment of B12 or buy B12 enriched milks. (I've met vegans who seem to get the right amount from vegetables but it's better to be safe than sorry).
You can a free blood test at your GP to check your levels on occasion as some forms of B12 are absorbs better than others.
You can also get a monthly B12 injection from your local medical centre if you're no good at taking pills.
Make sure the B12 you get is derived from methylcobalamin and not cyanocobalamin.
Milk Substitutes
In the long life milk section of the supermarket you will find;
Soy Milk - made from soy beans has a strong soy bean taste and turns most people off giving up dairy - but there are so many other options! Silk Organic Soy Milk and Mocha Mix taste like milk - they are really good
Almond Milk - made from almonds, sweet and nutty. Good for baking.
Rice Milk - made from rice, has a very mild flavour and is watery like skim milk.
Oat Milk - made from oats, I've heard it's very nice. Good for baking.
Flavoured Milk - there are a variety of flavoured soy milks in the supermarket but if you want individual serves for children Zen Soy makes many flavours available from the online or specialty stores.
Coffee Creamer - some great vegan coffee creamers are Silk Soy Coffee Creamers, Mocha Mix and So Delicious Coffee Creamers. Although a note that So Delicious has just been bought out by a large dairy corporation...boo!
Note: Silk and So Delicious are now owned by a dairy company :( BOO!
Baby Formula - I couldn't find any baby formula that was exclusively vegan because the FDA regulates the D3 coming from lanolin.
Here are some formulas that are close to vegan though;
Earth's Best Organic Soy Infant Formula
Baby's Only Organic Soy Toddler Formula
Cheese
I was definitely one of the "I couldn't never give up cheese" people, but you don't have to!
There are plenty of vegan alternatives!
Galaxy Nutritional Foods (USA) makes Vegan Mozzarella & Mexican Cheese shredded & slices as well as plain and flavoured cream cheeses. I love the Vegan Shredded Mozzarella - delicious and melts really well.
Tofutti - make sandwich cheese slices, cream cheese (incl flavoured varieties) & sour cream and they are really good! Most you can get in the supermarket but otherwise try the specialty or online stores.
Notzarella - a new Australian brand of melty vegan cheese! Yay! (personally I think it tastes very similar to Cheezly)
Cheezly - make vegan cheese in many different varieties and this melts fairly well also. Good for pizza/nachos etc
Sheese - make vegan cheese that is hard (and cream cheese), great for crackers. They come in all different flavours like smoked cheddar & blue cheese! Made in Scotland. (They are around $8 each from Funky Pies, Sydney or The Vegan Store, Brisbane - both sell online Australia wide).
Teese- Similar to Cheezly, they make melty cheeses such as mozarella & edam.
Daiya - makes a range of cheeses, cheese slices and cream cheese.
Follow Your Heart - make a range of vegan cheeses, spreads and sauces (I live on the tarar sauce!). These cheese slices are amazing for grilled cheese.
Field Roast - now making Chao Vegan Cheese Slices...yummy!
Go Veggie - makes a range of vegan cheeses and cream cheese. Be aware that they make vegan and vegetarian products so check the ingredients.
Looking for artisan cheese to have on a platter...
Dilectio (in Australia only) - artisan cheeses
Virgin Cheese (USA) - artisan cheeses
Vegcuisine - offers a soy feta and blue cheese.
Miyoko's Kitchen - famed author of Artisan Vegan Cheese is now selling her AMAZING artisan cheeses online. So amazing, you'll never miss another cheese and wine nights again!
Dr Cow Nut Cheeses - make deli style aged cheese from nuts
Ste Martaen - (USA only) makes a range of vegan cheese platter cheeses
Rebel Cheese - (USA only) artisan vegan cheese, meats and hard to find vegan gourmet from Texas
Feta Cheese -To-Fetta Deliziosa makes vegan fetta but it's also easy to make yourself.
Ricotta Cheese - Tofutti now make a vegan ricotta cheese, available from the the Cruelty Free Shop, Wholefoods and health stores but there are also many recipes online for vegan ricotta.
Nutritional Yeast Flakes- are are a great product that can be turned in to vegan cheese sauces and dips or just sprinkled for that extra cheesy flavour! You'll find they are called for in a lot if your using vegan recipes. You can also use Nutritional Yeast to make cheese sauce or melty cheese for nachos etc.
Parmesan Cheese - Parmazano and Parma make a vegan Parmesan cheese as is available in specialty and online stores. Galaxy Nutritional Foods makes vegan Parmesan which is delicious! Follow Your Heart makes a powdered and shredded Paresan cheese which is really good!
Other Dairy Substitutes
Ice-cream- almost all sorbets will be vegan - just read the ingredients to make sure they are dairy-free and don't contain gelatine. There are quite a few non-dairy ice-creams in the supermarket such as SoGood, but if you want something a bit fancy try your nearest specialty store. I saw some exciting vegan ice-cream sandwiches and choc tops by Tofutti
at Taste Organic in Crows Nest!
CocoLuscious - is an Australian brand of vegan ice-cream - also nut, gluten and soy free and 12 flavours (oh my). Check the website for your local stockists.
So Delicious makes a range of dairy free ice creams, their Purely Decadent range is amazing. Unfortunately So Delicious has recently been sold to a large dairy corporation so I'm not sure I'll be buying their brand anymore! When good brands go bad!
Amy's - Amy's brand has a vegan ice cream range
Nada Moo - delicious gourmet vegan ice-cream
Dream - range of vegan ice-cream made from cashew, soy, almond and rice milks
Yogurt - SoGood & King Land brands are available in the supermarket (Australia) - I've only ever seen fruit flavours so if your after natural yogurt and can't find it try using Tofutti Sour Cream and adding a hint of lemon juice.
So Delicious, Whole Soy & Co., Silk, Almond Dream, Amande (USA)- yogurts are available in heath food stores.
I love Kite Hill Almond yoghurt because it's so creamy and the unsweetened is great for "greek" style yoghurt recipes.
Butter - Nuttalex & King Land come in a few different types and are perfect for all your buttery needs.
Earth Balance is great and comes in a large variety. I like the buttery sticks!
Cream - Soyatoo make aerosol whipped cream, coffee creamer, soy cream & rice cream and are available from your local organic/health/specialty store. Some are for coffee, some for soups, some for whipping. Coconut milk works perfectly well in most things too but has the coconut taste.
Here's an easy recipe for coconut cream.
Condensed Milk - Soymilke makes condensed soy milk which also comes in caramel flavour. There are also many recipes to make it yourself. Great for making fudge or caramel slice!
Custard - Orgran, Foster Clarkes & All Natural Custard Powder make instant custard powders that are available in the supermarket.
The UK brand Bird's Custard Powder is vegan, available in Australia through British Sweet Treats. I've seen it in the USA supermarkets also.