What's better than a new recipe post? A new recipe post with a GIVEAWAY! Hooray! Are you as excited as me? I know giveaways are super dope and you can't wait, but first...a review and a recipe! So, here's the story. In my omnivorous days I loved me some cheese. Big time. Blue cheese, brie cheese, parmesan cheese. All the cheeses. Oooo, gouda cheese! It's safe to say I had a thing for stinky cheeses, m'kay? As a vegan, I thought cheese was just one of those things I had to give up. Not so says Daiya, maker of delicious vegan mozzarella and cheddar cheese. I was thrilled to have both these lovely cheeses back in my life, and let me tell you I can pound some Daiya...that sounded better in my head...Anyways, I've been using nutritional yeast as a replacement for parmesan and have even seen a couple of recipes for homemade vegan parmesan floating around. But let's get real, I don't have time to make parmesan cheese right now. Maybe one day. One, glorious day...but not now.
And then, like a gift sent down from heaven, a cheerful yellow tub of vegan Parmela Parmesan Style Aged Nut Cheese arrived at my doorstep and all was well in the world. I was pumped, obviously but then I thought, "Could this really taste like my beloved, dearly departed parmesan cheese?" I couldn't wait to find out.
My friends, I want to stop and take this time to have a serious moment with you. Parmela's vegan parmesan cheese...it takes like actual, straight-up legit parmesan cheese. I would like to add that I AM NOT compensated for this review. I just really, really love it. If there was a blind taste test between the two, the only difference would be that the vegan cheese doesn't really melt. As for taste, it would honestly be very close. In truth, I had a hard time stopping myself from eating it all straight out of the little tub. Shameful.
Parmela Parmesan Style Aged Nut Cheese
What: Parmela Parmesan Style Aged Nut Cheese is a parmesean cheese replacer. It comes "grated" in a little tub and just use it anywhere that you'd use grated parmesan cheese. Parmela is a vegan fermented cheese made from almonds, cashews, nutritional yeast, soybeans and tamari. No dairy! I love that it's actually aged because many vegan parmesan cheese replacers are not, and they just don't seem replicate that unique parmesan taste. I actually asked Todd with excitement and wonderment after tasting it plain, "How do they do it?!" Magic. That's how. 1 tsp. contains 13 calories.
Why: Because parmesan cheese is freakin' delicious but it's not vegan and honestly it's not all that good for you no matter how amazingly tasty it is or what the National Dairy Council says. Did you know they use cheese mites and maggots to get that "aged nutty flavor" of some aged, hard cheeses. It's actually a proof of it's quality. I'm sorry, in case you missed that...mites and maggots may be in part what makes that hard cheese you're gnawing on so delicious. Maggots, people! While the maggot process may not be bad for your health, it certainly strengthens my decision that I don't need to be eating cheese anytime soon. I'll stick to Parmela instead. Also, all ingredients are GMO-free!
How: According to Parmela, "The formation of Parmela's authentic rich cheese flavor occurs during fermentation, which is also where the soy is broken down into a form that is more easily digested." No mites or maggots needed.
Where: Online, Parmela can be found at VeganEssentials.com, Food Fight! Grocery, Pangea and Spencer's Market. To see if it is available locally in your area, click here.
Cost: Online, Parmela retails for $3.50-3.99 for one 2.3 oz. tub.
Recurrence: No more plain nutritional yeast for me. When I need parmesan cheese, I'll reach for Parmela.
--- At the bottom of the page, enter the giveaway to win your own adorable tub of scrumptious Parmela! ---
To showcase the amazing power of Parmela I needed a most awesome recipe and this Cheesy Broccoli-White Bean Soup fit the bill perfectly. It's a wonderfully cheesy and creamy broccoli soup. Perfect for a night in.
Cheesy Broccoli-White Bean Soup
Inspired by Whole Living
Serves 4
- 1 head of broccoli, florets chopped and stems thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed (I used Great Northern White Beans)
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 2 tsp. Parmela vegan parmesan cheese
- splash of soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Parmela for sprinkling
- fresh lemon thyme leaves, or herbs of choice for garnish (optional)
First, wash and chop the broccoli and steam it for about 5 minutes or until it's just softened and still brightly colored.
Dice the onions and mince the garlic. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil with the turmeric and then add the diced onion. Saute for a few minutes or until tender, then add the minced garlic and saute a couple more minutes, until fragrant.
Next, add the rinsed white beans and the vegetable stock to the saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir in the salt, pepper, 2 tsp. of Parmela and the soy sauce. Once it's reached a simmer remove it from the heat. Allow to cool slightly.
In a blender add all the steamed broccoli and then the contents from the saucepan. I did this slowly in one big batch while leaving the lid off the blender (I live on the edge). Alternatively, it can be done in batches, but whatever you do make sure to allow steam to escape or the top of the blender could blow off. No, this has never happened to me personally (maybe because I don't use lids), but I have read horror stories.
Garnish generously with more tasty Parmela and a sprinkling of fresh herbs. Voila! The taste of parmesan was never so good, or good for you.
- 1 head of broccoli, florets chopped and stems thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 tsp. turmeric
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 15 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed (I used Great Northern White Beans)
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 2 tsp. Parmela vegan parmesan cheese
- splash of soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Parmela for sprinkling
- fresh lemon thyme leaves (or herbs of choice) for garnish (optional)
- Steam the broccoli for about 5 minutes or until just soft and still brightly colored.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil with the turmeric and then add onion. Saute for a few minutes then add minced garlic and saute until fragrant.
- Next, add beans and stock to saucepot and bring to a simmer, stir in salt, pepper, 2 tsp. Parmela and soy sauce. Once at a simmer remove from heat.
- Blend everything in a blender. Allow the steam to vent. Can be done in batches.
- Garnish generously with more tasty Parmela and a sprinkling of fresh herbs.
*This Giveaway Is Now Closed*
That's right folks, win your very own Parmela! Say it with me, "We love giveaways!" There are five different ways to enter, do all of them and you'll have five entries! Congrats to Jeanne! She is the winner of the Parmela Cheese giveaway!
