Easy ways to incorporate vegan cheese into family meals.

_[AD] There's no doubt that children can be notoriously fussy eaters. It can make meal times difficult for everybody, even more so if you're incorporating a very particular or even multiple family diets. Today with the help of Violife I'm lightening the load and will be bringing you a few tips for going vegan, or incorporating more vegan meals into your family meal. I'll be particularly concentrating on vegan cheese... Because when asked about going plant based what people would miss most, the answer is always cheese!

Tips for incorporating vegan meals into your families life.

1. You don't have to do it all of the time.

I'll be honest straight up and say I'm not vegan. We eat vegan meals at home and are very conscious about our meat intake, however we don't eat vegan all of the time. Some people go vegan overnight, others make the transition slowly and others eat half and half. I can totally appreciate how daunting it can feel going vegan however for some people and some families, going cold turkey (sorry about the pun) isn't feasible. Perhaps taking part in meatless Monday or Veganuary could be a great way to start. It was Veganuary 2020 which actually kick started it for us.

We respect everyones choices and we expand their options. We are 100% vegan, but you don't have to be.

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2. Start with dishes your family already enjoys.

Switching to a plant based or dairy free diet doesn't have to be difficult. You'll be surprised how many of the meals you're already making for your family can easily be made vegan. It might be as simple as switching to a vegan cheese (more about that later) or swapping the protein for beans or soy based foods. I know I was certainly surprised, so I bet you will be too.

3. Welcome vegan products.

For the most part I personally prefer to eat lentils or vegetables over faux meat products. With that being said however I think it does well to welcome vegan products and be open minded about what's out there. There are some great alternatives these days, it'd be silly to limit yourself.

Hopefully you'll be feeling a little less daunted about making the switch. If not here are a few easy ways of incorporating vegan cheese into your family recipes.

Vegan cheese family recipes.

Just to reiterate, you don't need to be vegan to enjoy vegan recipes. Here are a few easy ways you can introduce Violife vegan cheese into your family meals.

1. Margherita pizza.

I say margherita pizza, but any type of pizza is a great introductory way to introduce vegan cheese into your families mealtimes. My eldest loves getting involved with pizza making, so this is a great one for us. You can either buy ready made pizza dough or make your own simply using flour, yeast and water. The science element of making your own dough is a sure fire way to get your kids interested in mealtimes. If you're going simple a tomato puree and vegan cheese concoction works brilliantly. Adding mushrooms or garlic would be amazing though, depends how adventurous your children are. I still remember my sister calling mushrooms slimy slugs as a child. Violife original flavour grated cheese melts exactly the same way normal cheese does making it great for pizza topping.

2. Cheese sandwiches.

Okay, so this might be stating the glaringly obvious, but I'm going with it, because what child doesn't love cheese sandwiches? They're quick, easy and enjoyed by all. I love the Violife cheese slices for my children's sandwiches, we've tried both the original and the smokey flavours. Original went down better with my children and although I could tell because of the slight texture difference, my kids didn't know any different.

3. Risotto.

Both of my children love their carbs. Risotto is something I've made for them for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it's vegan, sometimes it isn't, but a really great way of making it dairy free whilst still packing a punch with flavour is with Violife cheese as a topping. I usually make a garlic mushroom style risotto as a base before adding whatever I've got left in the fridge to it. The Violife cheddar cheese block can be grated on top to give extra pizazz, or vegan cream cheese can be mixed in with the rice. If your families anything like mine, the more cheese the better!

4. Pinwheels.

I've made less pinwheels second time around. I used to make them all the time when my eldest daughter was weaning, but because they're so easy I wanted to include them here. Simply buy ready made puff pastry, lay it out onto a flat surface and cover with absolutely whatever you can find, before rolling and baking for 15 minutes. We typically do cheese and tomato so this is such an easy one for making the switch to vegan cheese. Violife cheese blocks still gives the great creamy texture regular cheese does and again my kids couldn't even tell the difference. My eldest always asks for seconds with these and she did the exact same again.

5. Hasselback (hedgehog) potatoes.

I don't know how many people call them hedgehog potatoes, but we certainly do in our house. These can either be made as an accompaniment to a meal or as the main dish. With both mine being quite young still it's usually the main dish for them, not that my youngest's little tummy can manage a full one. Simply grab a potato, cut ridges in 0.5cm apart (making sure you don't cut all the way through) then slot cheese in between the slices. Slices of meat alternative salami or pepperoni would also be amazing for these hasselbacks too, finished off with a side of sour cream. Yum!

Like I say, these Violife cheese recipes are super simple and really easy for introducing a more vegan diet to your child. My children couldn't tell the difference. I personally preferred the grated as I found this melted perfectly and gave the same texture a dairy cheese would give. As a busy mum it's great knowing there's brands out there like Violife who make going vegan that little bit easier.