Vegan Cheddar Cheese Ball

I'm going more and more days at a stretch just eating vegan food. I'm not being strict or completely cutting out eggs and dairy. I ate a Girl Scout Samoa, today, but I genuinely put in an effort and thought into almost everything I eat. I think the most difficult thing about moving to a plant based diet is realizing how many dairy products are actually staples in your diet and how to replace them without being absolutely miserable and starving.

I've been mostly vegetarian for over 20 years! For a few years, now, I've been trying to eat more and more vegan, but I feel like cheese was one of the things holding me back UNTIL NOW!!! :)

I just recently learned how to make this Vegan Nacho Cheese Dip and now I made my very first vegan cheese ball from Vedgedout.com. I was a little skeptical at first, but let me tell you, this ball has grown on me, so much so, that I've had some for breakfast lunch and dinner.

I had housekeepers here, yesterday, mopping my kitchen because my pregnancy has caused pinched nerves in my spine and ligaments pulling in my inner thigh (3.5 weeks til my due date, YES!) and after I ate my cheese, I put it aside in the family room, intending to put it back in the fridge when the floor was dry and I forgot. I LEFT IT OUT AND RUINED MY PRECIOUS LITTLE PIECE. I almost cried, today, when I came back from pre-school with my son and it was not in the fridge.

I'm making another cheese ball, tomorrow. My picky hubby and picky son don't even want to try it and I don't care because it means more for me. Neither of them would eat regular cheese ball, either, Picky boys! And for a self-professed (former) lover of dairy cheese, I just don't care about that anymore, either. I really don't feel like I need it at all now that I have my new BFF. The vegan cheeseball.

Vegan Cheddar Cheese Ball Recipe adapted from from VedgedOut.com

What you need:

1 1/2 cups cashews soaked in water for at least 2 hours or overnight
3 Tbsp chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil (shake off most of oil)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp white miso
3 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp paprika or smoked paprika
1/4 tsp turmeric

1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup liquefied coconut oil

sliced almonds (optional) to roll in

What you do:

Rinse your soaked cashews.

Put soaked cashews, sun-dried tomatoes, nutritional yeast, miso, apple cider vinegar, salt, onion powder, mustard powder, paprika, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and coconut oil in a food processor until smooth yet thick scraping down the sides as needed. If you are having difficulty blending, add a tiny bit of water. 

(I should note at this point I have actually used it as a dip!)

Place mixture in covered container and refrigerate for 4-6 hours until it is firm enough to be formed into a ball. Roll the ball into a dish of sliced almonds or serve as is with cheese knife and crackers.