I had so much fun going the Chicago Gluten and Allergen Free Expo this past April. Expos are so great, because you get to meet so many new companies and try their products before you buy them.
One such company was Chicago Vegan Foods. They make a few different products, but I was most intrigued by their Teese cheese. They were sampling their vegan nacho cheese sauce that was SO good!
They have four different products- nacho cheese sauce, a cheddar sauce that's great for mac n'cheese, and then sliceable tubes of cheddar and mozzarella. I bought one each of the last two to try at home.
I will admit that I don't have to eat dairy free, but I have a few members in my support group that do, plus I'm always up for trying new things to review that my readers might enjoy. Oh, and did I mention that they are SOY FREE too!
So the first thing I tried was the Cheddar Teese. It comes in a tube and even smells a bit like Velveeta. My husband tried a slice of it by itself. Let's just say that it's much better cooked.
I decided to make stove top burritos with them. One of the things that I liked right off the bat was that 1 oz. only had 50 calories. That's half the calories of regular cheese. And you know what that means? Less calories = more cheese on my burrito!
I used the new Aldi gluten free wraps to make dinner. I filled the tortillas with black beans and sauteed veggies, and then topped the whole thing with salsa and a dollop of Greek yogurt. (We never use sour cream anymore.)
This was so good that I did it again the next day!
I used the Mozzarella Teese to make PIZZA! (Of Course!) I used Chebe pizza crust for this pizza, then topped it with homemade pizza sauce, sauteed onions and peppers, and turkey pepperoni. The pizza was supposed to bake at 450 for 15-18 minutes, but when the timer went off I realized that it wasn't set that high. I did roll out the pizza crust pretty thin, so the crust was fully cooked. The Teese didn't spread out well when cooked, but it was tasty. (Disclaimer- The Teese packaging stated the ideal temp for this "cheese" is 450-500. If I wasn't so hungry I would have put it back in the oven.)
I was unsure of how the final product would be, but it was really tasty. Good enough that I had a second piece and my husband had three! My husband's comment about the Teese is that while it definitely doesn't taste exactly like mozzarella cheese, it did taste like cheese.
Since I don't have to eat dairy free, I might not buy this product frequently, but I will HIGHLY recommend it to my gluten and dairy free readers!
You can go to their website to order this online or to find which stores near you carry this product. Also, there is a restaurant locator. Apparently, Crust 54 in Holland,MI and Renee's Pizzeria in Troy uses Teese in their restaurant.Labels: product review
