Who (Re)Moved My Cheese?

The title of this should be Who Replaced My Cheese? And the answer would be "I did." I've mentioned before that Rip Esselstyn, whose book moved me to start a vegan diet, is not a fan of cheese replacements. They are still high in fat and some have caseins. However I found one that is pretty durn good melted--in fact I could not really tell the difference when it was melted on my chalupa (or tostada for those of you with New Mexico/California roots).  Here is how it stacks up with regular cheese. The vegan one I chose was Vegan Gourmet's "Monterrey Jack." It is made from soybeans and has no casein. I didn't have any regular Monterrey Jack so I'll compare to the cheddar I had around in the fridge. Here are the stats:

Vegan Gourmet (1 oz) Regular Cheddar (1 oz).

70 calories 110 calories

7 gr. fat 9 gr. fat

0.5 gr. saturated fat 6 gr. saturated fat

0 trans fat 0 trans

0 cholesterol 30 mg. cholesterol

150 mg. sodium 180 mg. sodium

2 gr. carbohydrate >1 gr. carbohydrate

2 gr. fiber 0 fiber

0 gr. sugars 0 gr. sugars

1 gr. protein 7 gr. protein

So it is lower in calories but only a little lower in fat--however no saturated fats, no cholesterol, and it has a smidge of fiber. The chalupas were divine (corn tortillas, vegetarian refried beans, cheese, avocado, tomato, onion, and chopped romaine). Though technically vegan, probably not a Rip Esselstyn approved item because I did fry the tortillas in canola oil. He suggests brushing with oil and baking--which I will try soon. Some things are just hard to give up--like crispy golden tortillas and a Saturday evening vodka and tonic on the back porch.