SPEAKER_01: 0:00

I was straight up addicted. And you could start feeling guilty about that, but we want to set you free from any guilt that you have around it and also help you realize it's not hard to get free from the addiction. But I want you to understand why. I mean, there really is a physical addiction that goes on. Why is that? What's happening there underneath the surface when we eat these foods on the regular? I think the first problem with Hey sister, welcome to the Power on Plants podcast. Are you tired of staring into the fridge wondering what to eat so you can just feel better? Do you want to avoid spending hours in the kitchen making complicated meals in the name of health? Would you love to leave fatigue behind and finally have the energy to do all the things you want to do? Hi, we're Sheridan and Eatery Sale Christ followers, healthcare professionals, parents of four, and big fans of great tasting food. We too tried exercising more, eating natural and clean foods, but we still found ourselves struggling with what we thought were changes that come with age or bad genes. And we weren't finding answers the traditional route, so we dug into the research and created our secret nutritional weapon, sustainable plant-based living. The truth is you can eat more whole plant foods, and it's not hard. You just need the way that's realistic and delicious so you never feel deprived. If you're ready to enjoy your meals, no longer be held back by your health struggles and actively live your life, then you're in the right place. So grab your favorite plant-based cup of happy, pop in those earbuds, and let's get started. Have you heard the one about the Dairy Queen? Yeah, I used to be that girl. So in case you're new and you've never heard the situation I put Jared into at the grocery store checkout line, there's a story here. You want to tell them?

SPEAKER_00: 1:49

Would be delighted to.

SPEAKER_01: 1:51

I bet you would.

SPEAKER_00: 1:52

Well, this was quite a while back where I was going through the grocery line, had a number of groceries that were on the conveyor belt. And I don't know, they could have been 90% dairy. And I remember the cashier kind of looking at it saying, Wow, y'all got a lot of dairy there. It's like, I know. We probably should just own a cow. It'd be a whole lot cheaper if we just had a cow and made our own. Although I don't think it would be as quick. So it was that aspect of it, too.

SPEAKER_01: 2:16

Yeah, he was on an errand for the Dairy Queen. So what on was on that conveyor belt at the checkout line? Sour cream.

SPEAKER_00: 2:23

Yeah, that was a while ago. So I don't remember specifically.

SPEAKER_01: 2:26

I bet you can name it.

SPEAKER_00: 2:27

Given our history, sour cream, butter, ice cream, yogurt. Could be multiple types of cheeses on that.

SPEAKER_01: 2:36

Yeah, you got smoked gouda, you might have some velve, you might have some sharp cheddar.

SPEAKER_00: 2:41

Sharp cheddar was a staple.

SPEAKER_01: 2:42

Listen, seriously, you would not believe all the cheese I used to eat, but it wasn't just cheese, it was all the dairy. Milk, like Jared said, the sour cream. So if you are a cheese lover, this episode is for you. We want you to have hope and understand you don't have to feel like I could never go plant-based if only I didn't have to give up cheese. Please know you're not alone if you feel this way. Because I was there. But you can do this because there are some incredible replacements. We're just gonna go over five really great ones here to get you started because we want you to start taking the steps that are gonna get you to the place where you can understand that you will love this way of living when you find your new favorites, your new substitutes that you're going to like just as much or even better than your old favorites. And therefore, you're never going to feel deprived. And this is how you do it, and you make it stick. And as you find them, what are you gonna do? You're going to put them on your favorites list. Always write them down. I know you think you're not gonna forget, but you will. So write them down on that list so you can always go back to it. It's gonna save you so much time. And then make a post in it in our group at powerimplants.com forward slash pie when you fall in love with your favorites list and you're going, Anita, this saves me hours of my life. I can't wait to celebrate with you because you're gonna love this.

SPEAKER_00: 3:58

And I will tell you, sometimes it's the simplest solutions to your problems that are the best one. Because you think, like Anita said, you're not gonna forget. You will, because there will be a certain amount of time that lapses, and you'll think, what was it that we loved last year around this time? Oh, I don't know. Don't make it complicated. Either put it on notes on your phone or get a piece of paper somewhere where you will be able to find it very easily. And it really is just that simple.

SPEAKER_01: 4:24

And you might be tempted to think, I feel guilty about this cheese issue I have because you're like I was, and you look at the groceries coming in and you're going, I have a lot of dairy here. Not just the cheese, but dairy in general. And you start looking and realize, yeah, we eat a lot of dairy.

SPEAKER_00: 4:40

So you may not even think a lot of dairy. You might be thinking, I got a problem here.

SPEAKER_01: 4:45

I was straight up addicted, and you can start feeling guilty about that, but we want to set you free from any guilt that you have around it and also help you realize it's not hard to get free from the addiction. But I want you to understand why. I mean, there really is a physical addiction that goes on with dairy. Why is that? What's happening there underneath the surface when we eat these foods on the regular?

SPEAKER_00: 5:09

I think the first problem with dairy itself, though, is that it has casein in it. Right. And that gets converted in our bodies to casomorphine, which acts on our brains like morphine. But then when you look at our modern cheeses, they have oils, they have salt that are added to them, and those give a bit of a dopamine hit. And so then you have that, oh, that feel good. And that keeps you coming back again and again.

SPEAKER_01: 5:33

And doesn't it make you wonder why is that even in there in the first place? You want to think about milk and how it functions. So it was originally created to do what? To feed a calf to where it would grow into a cow. And so we're eating dairy and we're holding on to weight and we don't understand why. And this is one of the reasons.

SPEAKER_00: 5:52

And how big is that cow? Is it the same as a human as far as size and mass? No, it's very different, it's much larger. So then when it has that effect on the human body, we really shouldn't be all that surprised.

SPEAKER_01: 6:03

So we have this casein in there that our body then turns into casomorphine. And like Jared's saying, it has this dopamine type effect on our brain that keeps us coming back for more. Why is it in there? Again, to draw the calf back to the cow. So it has that same effect on you, drawing you back in time after time to the cheese. The manufacturers realize this so much that what do they do? Jared, what do they do? What happened to you when you were at work one day and saw a non-dairy creamer sitting there on the counter?

SPEAKER_00: 6:31

I saw it and I noticed it had a warning that said it contained milk. But on the front of the label, it said non-dairy creamer. Like, wait a minute, how can non-dairy creamer have milk in it? That's messed up. So I turned that puppy over, looked at the ingredient list, and when you go down the list and go through all those chemical names you can't recognize, you see casein. That was it. That was the quote unquote milk that was in the non-dairy product.

SPEAKER_01: 6:56

So they basically pulled this protein out of the cow's milk that we know God put in there to keep bringing the calf to the cow, and it's addictive for people. It keeps drawing us back to dairy. The manufacturers have realized this now, they insert it into non-dairy items to keep you coming back to their product again and again.

SPEAKER_00: 7:15

It's a protein. Now, in the context of a coffee creamer, I can't really imagine that casing would add a whole lot of creaminess to it because they put a lot of palm oil and things like that in there. But I suppose from the manufacturer standpoint, oh, it's just a protein. It's in milk. Milk's good for you. So they don't necessarily feel guilty about adding it in there, but they do know this is not without them understanding that it is going to draw you back, it is going to have that addictiveness to it.

SPEAKER_01: 7:44

And we've shared all this so that you can start understanding and gaining some insight because this is not the only place where this kind of thing happens.

SPEAKER_00: 7:51

Oh no, we've seen it in other products.

SPEAKER_01: 7:53

No, and so you're seeing this happening again and again on a regular basis. You don't know this is going on behind the scenes of things that you're eating on a regular basis, and you wonder why you crave them and you're drawn to them so much, and you keep eating them no matter what you do. But there's a way to break free of that, and it's finding your new favorites one at a time and replacing them. So today we want to share some options that are truly non-dairy, no casein added, so that you can start enjoying these things and getting the replacements in there. Today we're focusing on cheese, but understand that there are things that you can use for sour cream replacements that are just as good, if not better. And milk replacements. If you have not yet gotten our perfect plant milk recipe, go to our website at poweronplants.com. You can get that and start making it today. Tweak it to your taste. Milk tastes a little sweet, so we have a little date in there. It tastes a little bit salty, so you can add the pinch of miso for a healthy salt as well. And I would recommend white miso paste for that. Of course, always buy organic because we want to do that anytime we're eating a soy product. I won't go into why, but just trust me on that one. You want to start getting these replacements for dairy into your life one by one. So what you do is you take the one thing out that you know is harming you and not good for you, and you put the one thing back in its place that's gonna make you feel amazing, that's going to love your body back, but that you also love. Because if you put something into its place that loves your body back, but you don't love, guess what's gonna happen? You're gonna either hate it and resent it, or you're just not gonna do it for long term. You might do it long enough to get some result, but after that, that's it. It's done.

SPEAKER_00: 9:27

I think we're gonna call this episode How the Dairy Queen Detox Cheese. That's a good one. It may feel like that for a day or two, but trust us, it is possible you will love these replacements, but more importantly, these replacements will love you back.

SPEAKER_01: 9:42

Yes. So first we want to talk about cashew cream. Now, I know when I say cashew, you may be thinking, oh no, I can't eat nuts because nuts are fattening. If you've heard much in the plant-based space, you've heard this, but it's not true. It's just not true. You don't want to be pouring it onto everything in large quantities, but you can certainly eat cashew cream. There are other ways that you can also replace some of the cashews in it, like adding white beans and things like that, that it will still taste just as creamy, but it'll cut back a little bit on the nuts that you're consuming, which can be a good thing, but it's not that you need to be worried about your weight with these things. Dr. Greger's put that myth to rest with several videos he's done about nuts and weight loss. You can look that up at nutritionfacts.org. So cashew cream is one of your first go-to's for replacing dairy. It makes a great base for salad dressings, it makes a great base for so many things.

SPEAKER_00: 10:35

It's extremely versatile.

SPEAKER_01: 10:36

It's unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00: 10:37

You use it in a number of things, and because it has a fairly neutral flavor, it just makes it extremely versatile.

SPEAKER_01: 10:43

I call it the secret handshake into the plant-based kitchen. I mean, it's pretty much what it's like.

SPEAKER_00: 10:48

Once you have it, you're in the club. There you go. You know what to do.

SPEAKER_01: 10:51

It's a great thing to make, and it is not hard to make. It's silky, creamy, rich. It's great to use on pastas and soups. You can use it in casseroles. You can use it to make, we even have a gravy recipe, my Southern Pan gravy that has kind of a base of cashew cream. It tastes just as good. And seriously, I grew up in my parents' southern restaurant, and this gravy is so good. Like I could put it head to head with my mom's any day, and you would not know. It's beefy, it's creamy, it hits all the right notes. For someone who wants gravy, it's just so good.

SPEAKER_00: 11:24

You won't miss the dairy version at all.

SPEAKER_01: 11:26

And it makes a great base for creamy salad dressings as well.

SPEAKER_00: 11:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 11:31

And it's just literally a couple of ingredients, and you hit the blender, boom, it's done. I mean, it just pulverizes everything when you have a high-speed blender. And within minutes, this is like an under five minute sauce. I'm talking it is so simple, it's not hard to do at all.

SPEAKER_00: 11:46

We actually call this one in our cookbook the two-minute cashew cream.

SPEAKER_01: 11:50

Yeah, it's the fastest you can even imagine. So you can get this in the Power Implants cookbook, our specific one that we use. There are also recipes out there online, but I'm pretty picky about recipes, and Jared can tell you I have tested and perfected until we all love it.

SPEAKER_00: 12:05

Until it's perfect.

SPEAKER_01: 12:06

Until it's perfect.

SPEAKER_00: 12:07

She is very discerning. So just so you know.

SPEAKER_01: 12:10

That's a nice way.

SPEAKER_00: 12:11

We've never mentioned it before.

SPEAKER_01: 12:12

That's a nice way of saying I'm picky because I want my food to taste amazing. So you can get that in our original cookbook bundle at poweronplates.com forward slash cookbook. That is there if you think, you know, I just don't know where to start. And I want one that I know that's been tested and that tastes great. That's where you can pick that up. The second is ricotta cheese. If you originally liked ricotta, this one is going to put a big smile on your face. If you never liked ricotta, I can tell you this one also could put a smile on your face because my son hated ricotta. I mean, we used to make lasagna. I used to stuff shells. He didn't like it. I loved ricotta because I'm just a cheese fan in general and I liked all things cheese and dairy, as you well know already. But this one to me tastes almost identical to ricotta, but there's some underlying cowiness or something. I don't know what to say that he would pick up on in regular ricotta that is not there in this. And so he loves lasagna now and he loves manicotta now because we can make it with our ricotta, but people that are used to eating dairy never would know there was a difference because the way mine is made, it's creamy, it's delicious. It's so good. This one's also in our original cookbook bundle, and it will put a big smile on your face if you like ricotta for making lasagna, making manicotti. The other thing we love to do, you can stuff the manicotti shells or the jumbo noodles, but you can also, if you think, I don't have time for lasagna, Anita, are you kidding me? Like, I don't remember the last time I made that because I've got a business I'm running, and I just don't have time for that. You can take and just make lasagna in your bowl. So all you do is boil the whole grain noodle that you're using. You can even use zoodles, honestly. So you put it whatever you're using for your pasta in the base of the bowl, layer the ricotta on there, and then you just put your favorite sauce. I like our bolognese sauce because it's meaty, it's absolutely delicious. That's definitely a recipe you're gonna want to try. And it is in our original cookbook bundle as well at powerandplants.com forward slash cookbook. So those are ones that just pair great together, but that will save you so much time if you think I don't want to layer a lasagna or stuff the noodles. Everyone can serve their own bowl, their favorite pasta on the bottom, the layer of ricotta, and then you just layer the sauce on top and it's done. You don't even have to bake it. It's all stovetop and super simple and quick.

SPEAKER_00: 14:26

That one is extremely quick because you can make the bolince ahead of time. Then if you go over to somebody's house or they're coming over to your home, then you can make the pasta. Well, also too, you'd have to make the ricotta ahead of time as well. But have those both made, put the pasta, then the ricotta, then the bolinase, and then maybe another layer or two on top of those.

SPEAKER_01: 14:43

Oh, you could layer it if you wanted to. We don't usually do that, but that's a great idea. You totally could make two layers in your bowl.

SPEAKER_00: 14:49

Think about our son. I think he takes after you, Anita, because I can't say that I have ever, when I've eaten ricotta cheese, detected any cowiness.

SPEAKER_01: 14:59

He does. He picked up on it and he said, no, this this cheese is not for me. That was years ago when we ate cheese. Of course, we don't eat it anymore, but he did pick up on it. He would not touch cheese. That's funny.

SPEAKER_00: 15:09

We didn't like it, but I didn't know why. I didn't know it was because it was kind of cowie. But I know what he's talking about. I've not experienced that, but there are times whenever there's these off flavors that you may pick up on.

SPEAKER_01: 15:17

There is a back-end aftertaste to dairy. Yeah, there really is. But you know, it never bothered me enough to not eat it. So that leads us to cheese option number three.

SPEAKER_00: 15:26

Nooch.

SPEAKER_01: 15:27

Nooch. That's nutritional yeast. Now, maybe you come into the plant-based space and you're going, what are they talking about? Nooch. I have never heard of this. It's just short for nutritional yeast. This is a product that you can buy, and I'll tell you, we didn't eat it for a long time. It gave me headaches. I didn't feel good after I ate it. So notice how you feel after you eat this one. But what I found was it's the synthetic vitamins that were added to it to fortify it. So if you buy it and you have trouble with it, buy one that is non-fortified or just start with a non-fortified because really it just made me feel bad. And what it all boiled down to was the fact that it had the added vitamins. So now that we eat it without the added vitamins, I like it. I'll tell you.

SPEAKER_00: 16:09

Yeah, we haven't had any problems with it.

SPEAKER_01: 16:10

You think about the stinky feet, cheesy taste of sharp cheddar. It kind of has that stinky feet flavor. So if you're looking for the stinky feet flavor that you used to miss in your, I can't tell you any other way. I know that sounds so weird. Like, why would anybody want to eat something that tastes like that? But that's kind of the taste that's in sharp cheddar cheese.

SPEAKER_00: 16:28

Yes, minus the revolting aspect. It does have a little bit of that cheesy flavor. Uh, some have said stinky sock. I don't know that I necessarily feel like it's a stinky sock.

SPEAKER_01: 16:40

I'll be honest, I don't like a lot of it in my food.

SPEAKER_00: 16:44

There are certain places where it does add that cheesiness, and I do enjoy it there.

SPEAKER_01: 16:48

But we see people just pouring like a cup into their recipes.

SPEAKER_00: 16:52

And I would say videos on YouTube.

SPEAKER_01: 16:54

Yeah. A half a cup, a cup. I would say start light and don't make this one of your main fillers in any dish. One to two tablespoons is going to make things very cheesy for you. So start light on this one. And also, it's not really a whole plant food. So we say just use it as a little bit of a flavor bump, but don't think of it as, oh, I'm gonna add a whole cup in here because it's really not necessary. And I think just sticking with more of the whole plant foods is the better way to go. But if you're a cheese addict and you really want to get some cheesiness in there that's more like sharp cheddary, this is something that you can try. Again, just opt for non-fortified. Next, nacho cheese sauce. We all have to have some ooey-gooey, melty, cheesy. This is like ballpark. Think of ballpark nacho cheese. You know how it doesn't really have a strong sharp cheddar flavor. It's more bland, but it still kind of tastes like cheese. That's how this is. It tastes like that.

SPEAKER_00: 17:50

I would say this is a great replacement for something where you would want that type of cheese product.

SPEAKER_01: 17:56

Think of this as one of those oozy, melty comfort foods that you might use at a football party or on Taco Tuesday to drizzle over your bean burritos or your tacos and things like that. It really is so delicious, and it is crazy what it's made out of because it has potatoes and carrots and spices, and you just blend it together. And it's like, again, it's one of those things that's done in minutes. But I'm going to tell you a secret to this one because you might have tried it before. Blend it a long time. I have the perfect recipe. I've nailed it down. We've tried it over and over again. I tweaked it, tweaked it, tweaked it, and it's one of the best ones I have ever tried. And this one is actually also in the original bundle. Always a great place to start. Thrive has a ton of great recipes, but get this bundle, you're not going to be disappointed because you're going to get the nacho cheese sauce in there as well. And the secret is blend it a long time. Blend it longer than what you think. These are the kinds of things I learned growing up in my parents' family restaurant, standing by their side, learning things like, hey, don't over blend your mashed potatoes. Have you ever overblended mashed potatoes? You know what happens? They get kind of stringy and goopy.

SPEAKER_00: 19:10

It's starchy.

SPEAKER_01: 19:11

It's yucky. You don't want that in your mashed potatoes. But you know where you do want that? In your nacho cheese. Okay. I bet nobody's shared this with you before, but when you have a nacho cheese recipe that has potatoes, you want to blend it longer. Okay. Yes, because it's going to give you that little bit of stringiness, a little bit, it's not stringy like melted cheddar cheese, but more like ballpark cheesiness. It just does something extra special to it when those potatoes hit the blender and you overblend them. So blend it a little longer and see what you think. And fifth, last but not least, we have Velnita cheese. Now, if you were like me and you like the processed cheese that wasn't really cheese, but it tasted cheesy, you're gonna love Velnita. This is one that I came up with after testing and trying and perfecting things in the kitchen because I wanted something that was like Velveeta cheese. And I said, I've got it. This is like Velveeta cheese. And my daughter, our youngest, that was 12 at the time, she said, Mom, you should call it Velnita after Anita. And it kind of stuck. So we call it Velnita cheese. And this recipe, you can find this one in our Thrive Cookbook bundle. And it is one that's gonna make you smile if you liked Velveeta cheese. We spread it on things like sandwiches and wraps, and we drizzle it over our potatoes. You could put it over a rice bowl. There are so many ways that you could use Velnita cheese. It's really a fun one, and it does not disappoint. And then we're giving you a bonus. So there's a sixth one because guess what? You're still here, and we love bonuses. So we're gonna give you this one. And this is something you may not have heard of, but I actually like it better than nooch or nutritional yeast. I like it much better. But people get confused because they named it so similarly. But this is basically dried out miso. It's naturally salty, but it's not salt, but it's salty because they dry out the miso. It's like miso paste, if you've ever tried that. But this is almost like it's one of the closest things that I've ever tried to Parmesan. People are using nooch to make parmesan replacements and with nuts and things like that. But I want you to try this. It's called Miso Nooch. It's a little bit expensive, but it is so worth trying. And you get it at Wilderness Poets Online. That is the company. Wilderness Poets, it's not nutritional yeast, it's not nooch, it's Miso Nuch. And they, as far as I know of, are the ones that came up with it. And I don't know anybody else who sells this. So you want to try it if you're a cheese lover because it's gonna give you that cheesy flavor that you've been missing, and you can sprinkle it on things instead of salt sometimes, like your baked potato.

SPEAKER_00: 21:54

We've used all kinds of stuff.

SPEAKER_01: 21:56

Yeah, we really like it for different things. Like I'll just add a little bit into a sauce or something that I'm doing. If I want it to be a little bit cheesy and a little bit salty, but just remember it tastes a little salty, so you don't want to add a lot of it. But if you mix that with nuts to make your parmesan replacement, it is going to make you happy if you're a cheese lover. That one is definitely worth a try as well. Friend, the big takeaway here is God did not design us to live feeling deprived. He has filled this world with an abundant, flavorful array of whole plant foods that heal our bodies and make us feel amazing so we can fully enjoy living our dreams.

SPEAKER_00: 22:36

Here's our challenge to you. Pick one of these swabs and try it in place of dairy. Maybe it's nacho night with Power on Plants Nacho Cheese or a drizzle of cashew cream over your baked potato. Just start with one.

SPEAKER_01: 22:50

And then come into our exclusive community at poweronplants.com forward slash PIE. That's poweronplants.com forward slash pie and let us know how it went. We can't wait to get to know you more and hear all about it. Friend, we hope you're having an amazing week. We have loved hanging out with you again today. Always remember that you are loved, you are prayed for, and we look forward to spending more time with you again very soon.