I like a little creaminess with my crepes, and have been experimenting with various tofu- and cashew-based “creams” with fairly decent results. I decided to give it a try with soy yogurt, then shortly thereafter found Emilie’s post on The Conscious Kitchen about soy yogurt “cheese”.
I hate to use the word “cheese” here because this is nothing like cheese, but it’s what Emilie calls it and it’s the closest word I can think of to what this is like. The concept is simple:
Place some plain soy yogurt in a fine mesh colander for a few hours. The liquid will strain out and you’ll be left with really thick soy yogurt. Mix the result with yummy savory or sweet seasonings and use it as you would Greek yogurt, cream cheese, or other soft cheese.
Emilie’s got a couple great variations, including herbed soy yogurt cheese, and sweet soy yogurt cheese. I mixed mine with agave nectar, lemon zest, lemon juice and cinnamon, then used it as both a crepe filling and a crepe topper. I loved it! It’s also really good plain with fruit, and when eating it out of this ramekin, I wondered if I could turn it into a creme brulee. But that is an experiment for another day.
Food and Exercise Log | Sunday, June 21, 2009
Calories In: 1,553
Calories Out: 2,150
Deficit: 597
Breakfast #1
Vegan Cornmeal Crepe with Marmalade, Fruit, and Soy Yogurt “Cheese”
A light breakfast to get me through my swim. One cornmeal crepe with a dollop of soy yogurt “cheese”, a bit of fresh fruit, and a decaf coffee.
Calories: 195
Protein: 8g
Fat: 3g
Carbs: 37g
Swim
1750 meters / 55 minutes
Calories burned: ~250
Breakfast #2
Vegan Cornmeal Crepes with Fresh Fruit, Toasted Almonds and Soy Yogurt “Cheese”
Done with my swim and time for crepes round two. This time I filled the crepe with banana and toasted almonds. I had this with a healthy dose of the soy yogurt “cheese”, lots of fruit, and more flaked almonds. SO good.
Calories: 241
Protein: 9g
Fat: 8g
Carbs: 37g
Walk
Three laps ’round Clissold Park with Tim. About 4 miles.
Calories burned: ~300
Lunch
Black Beans and Raw Kale Salad
This picture doesn’t really represent my lunch because I didn’t end up eating that patty-type object shown on my plate. It was a black bean burger pulled from the freezer, but I overcooked (i.e. burnt) it and it was kind of dry and tasteless anyway. So I opted for 2 ramekins (about 200 grams) of black beans, along with my raw kale salad dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper (I love this).
Calories: 414
Protein: 21g
Fat: 11g
Carbs: 61g
Random Snackage
Grapefruit, More Black Beans, and a Brazil Nut (not shown)
Calories: 267
Protein: 11g
Fat: 4g
Carbs: 50g
Dinner
Veggie Pizza with Marinated Italian Grilled Tofu and Broccoli
To me, it is not the cheese that makes the pizza, but rather the delicious ingredients that go around the cheese. Thus, I bring you the easiest vegan pizza around. Don’t bother with cheese substitutes, just put on lots of nice veggies. Here I did grilled zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, garlic and tomato sauce. It was SO good. Served it with Italian Grilled Tofu topped with marinara sauce and a bit of blanched broccoli on the side.
Calories: 434
Protein: 16g
Fat: 19g
Carbs: 56g
I’m with you about the pizza. Usually I end up scraping most of the cheese off because it’s just way too overpowering.
I’ve tried making yogurt cheese before with regular yogurt and it works really well! Tosca Reno uses it in quite a few recipes in her Eat Clean Diet Cookbook.
Sagan, I’m fascinated by this regular yogurt cheese. I must try it! I want to check out that book as well..
Beans and avocado are delicious. Have you ever tried putting cumin on top?
I love beautiful, simple, and vibrant your photos are! Really makes the food come alive. And thank you for the recipes!
Always excited to see and try new things! I am glad it is soy based and not milk based, that definitely makes it tempting 🙂
I love what you said too about the pizza and how it is not the cheese that makes it! That is so true. When I used to eat cheese, probably like most people I thought too that was what made it, but it so isn’t. That is just our fascination I think or perhaps addiction to the fatty foods. The ingredients are definitely what really make it! I love experimenting and putting on new veggies and mushrooms, mmmmm!
Wow, your photos are getting better and better! Your crepes look amazing – such a tease!
@maris – You are too kind. =)
@Evita – Interesting point about our addiction to fatty foods… or is it the salt? I still love fat, but I’d take avocado over cheese most days, especially on sandwiches!