I love pizza. It’s one of my favorite foods. The first being macaroni and cheese. Macaroni and cheese is very easy to replicate as a plant based food. Pizza, however, is a little trickier. So far, I’ve made my own vegan style pizza (pizza dough recipe here). While Daiya is the most familiar brand of vegan cheese out there, it does have a distinct flavor, so I can always taste when it’s used.
Obviously, a Daiya pepperoni pizza is going to have the distinct taste of Daiya. (Do you say day-ah? or dye-ah?) I have tried a few vegan pepperonis, and the attempt by Daiya is the closest to what I remember pepperoni tasting like. That said, this pizza is better fresh baked from the oven.
The crust on this is disappointing. I don’t like a majority of the gluten free options available because they often have little to no flavor. This is no different, unfortunately. The cheese never really melts either, it just kind of goops. Which isn’t bad, just a little off putting.
This pizza does not warm up well if you don’t eat the whole thing. The crust turns soft and the toppings become kind of mush. All in all, I am not a fan of this pizza. But I’m not against trying other kinds of the Daiya brand pizza. Maybe this one wasn’t the best because I expected familiarity with the pepperoni, and there are some meats you just can’t fake. Lucky for me, Target stocks this pizza regularly in their frozen section for a lot cheaper than other places.
I give this pizza a 6/10.
A small update on my progress. I hit the ground running last week and only had one bite of cheese at a party for a friend. I had a KFC biscuit last night, but it was drier than I remember them tasting, so I didn’t eat any more. I haven’t had any sugar past what is in fruit, and some of my already purchased stuff. I don’t actually have that much in the way of processed sugar, which is interesting. I did take my Christmas candy to work, which hurt my heart a bit. Chocolate is a comforting food for me. But I’ve noticed a huge difference in my cravings. I did have the one bite of cheese, but I didn’t want more. It was a new feeling when normally I’d go wild and eat a whole block of cheese without hesitation.
My food has been mostly whole food, plant based, as much as I can get it. I did finish off a package of vegetarian friendly sausage, and a package of Gardein chicken strips, both of which I don’t think I’ll purchase again. But I’ve eaten a lot of rice, and broccoli and cauliflower. It’s a challenge to find stuff I like to eat because I’m not a fan of vegetables.
One of the things I’ve been telling myself is to eat what I know I like. I made a tray of roasted vegetables with broccoli and cauliflower, and I tossed in some brussel sprouts. Turns out, I really don’t like brussel sprouts. But I do like peas, carrots, corn, green beans. It’s not difficult to eat foods I like, so I decided to make it a goal to eat more of the vegetables I do like in order to train myself into eating better. I don’t like salad, and I don’t like weird textures vegetables can sometimes get when they’re roasted or cooked.
So my advice is to eat what you know you like when it comes to “healthy” food. If you eat more of it, eventually you’ll come to crave it.
salisbury.fake 