If you’ve ever shopped for a cheese replacement because of dairy allergies, you were probably as dismayed as I was to find that most all the products out there-soy cheese, rice cheese, almond cheese-contain DAIRY in some form.  Why eat those other cheeses, you wonder?  We did too.  They certainly don’t taste all that great.  And most are NOT low in fat.  That’s a mystery I still haven’t solved.  Onward and upward! I searched and searched and heard rumor of ONE company that did indeed, make a dairy free, gluten free ‘cheese’ replacement.

Yesterday, much to my joy, Daiya Cheese landed at our local health food store.  I’ve been waiting for months after reading rave reviews on the product.  Previously, they only sold commercially, and as those companies used shared machinery with wheat, we couldn’t try them out.  So, where was I?  Oh yeah, so I got the call (I was on the waiting list) and raced to the store.

Yesterday we made pizza.  My kids have been without this enjoyment for nearly a year now, and have their hopes set high on Daiya as well.  I was hesitant, but hopeful.  We made a lovely gluten free crust, layered the ‘mozzarella’ shreds and ‘cheddar’ shreds on top of one, and the same with the additional hamburger-seasoned-like- sausage on the other.  Dinner was served and I heard, “oh mom, this is so yummy!” many many times.  Today we made turkey melts, and cheese fries (not healthy, but fun) and again heard applause and, “oh mom, I’m so glad you found this!”  Nothing warms my heart more than to be appreciated!

The breakdown:  The ‘cheese’ is dairy free, casein free, cert. vegan, cholesterol and gluten free.  It’s made from tapioca flour, and a mixture of oils.  It MELTS.  I couldn’t put my finger on the flavor exactly, but my daughter did.  She said, “tastes a lot like Cheetos.”  That sums it up pretty well!