Cream Cheese Alternative
Jane and I read labels now, religiously. Adopting a vegan diet has ensured that we read labels because who knows what they're sneaking into your food! The thing that makes me most insane is the milk product in most soy cheeses. If you're not manufacturing a dairy based cheese, why would you put in a dairy product, thereby alienating a good portion of your consumers!?!
After a while you "know" certain products are ok to eat. Somehow or another, we thought Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese was one of those, but as I was eating my "bagel with a schmear" (NY speak for bagel with cream cheese) for breakfast this weekend, I read over the list of ingredients.
- Water
- PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL
- Isolated soy protein
- Maltodextrin
- Tofu....
GRRRR! We have three containers in the fridge. We love this stuff. It's the container on the left in the photo above.
However, we were able to find "good" tofutti cream cheese at Whole Foods (container on the right in the photo above). The ingredient list reads as follows:
- Water
- Expeller pressed natural oil blend (soybean, palm fruit, and olive)
- Maltodextrin
- Soy protein
- Tofu...
Now, we just have to get our local Trader Joe's to carry the good stuff. Since they tend to advocate healthy eating it shouldn't be too much of a challenge.
If you eat Tofutti Cream Cheese, the "good" product is in a yellow/white container versus the blue/white container the "bad" stuff comes in, an it says "non-hydrogenated" on the lid.
Live long, eat healthy!
Related Information:
I did a similar post on Tofutti and even though the alternative contains no trans fats it still has saturated fat which to me is just as bad. Do you think it’s much to be concerned with?
Hi Angela,
First let me say, I’m not a nutritionist… Cream cheese in it’s traditional form is a “fat.”
Tofutti’s regular Better Than Cream Cheese has 2 grams of saturated fat. I’m willing to have an additional .5 grams of saturated fat per serving (the non-hydrogenated version has 2.5 grams sat. fat) and avoid the trans fats entirely. It’s my (laypersons) understanding that trans fats are much worse for us than saturated fat.
Finally, you have to eat something
I don’t understand. Is there an animal bi-product in the list? Or did you just point it out because it’s a trans fat?
Please let me know because I don’t want to consume any animal biproducts.
Hi Sharon,
I was simply pointing out the trans fats. Partially hydrogenated = trans fats. And since Tofutti offers a version that is trans-fat free, I thought it was worth pointing out.
Hope that helps.
Thanks for this info.
I love Tofutti cream cheese. The city that I live in finally started selling the non- hydrogenated kind!Yay! I wish they all were non-hydrogenated! One of my cats love it!:)lol
Hi Kelly,
The only thing my cats have been interested in since we went vegan, is Earth Balance. Nothing else seems to entice them in anyway. But then again, they’re carnivores…
I found this to taste simply awful! Nasty aftertaste, couldn’t get anyone in my household to even finish the container. There was a company, Playfood, which made “fake” dairy products from cashews, but they sadly seem to have vanished off the face of the earth. Now that stuff was tasty! Maybe someone will figure out how to make “cream cheese” from coconuts, things seem to be leaning that way with so many other dairy alternatives lately: yogourt, milk, etc. That would be yummy! Namaste!
Hi Kimberly,
Different strokes I guess. Jane and I love the stuff. But I’m wondering if age plays into the taste? We recently tried another brand that was close to its expiry and thought it tasted like plastic. I can’t remember which brand it was.
As for the coconut milk… Love the So Delicious yogurt (but not the price) so if they can manufacture coconut based alternatives at a reasonable price, sign me up! Have you considered trying your own? Here’s a link for cashew cream cheese at recipezaar.
I am not a vegan, but I am trying to find ways to lower my cholesterol without having to give up all of my favorite foods.
I find that Tofutti cream cheese, while it does not taste ‘just like’ the real thing, has the same texture, and a similar taste. Overall, I am happy with the product, since I can spread the “cream cheese” on a mini bagel and at least have the overall taste and “feel” of cream cheese.
I have had actual cream cheese taste like plastic, so I think that may happen as it sits on the shelf. (This happens with bottled water, too!)
I am making cream cheese frosting for my carrot cake using Better Than Cream Cheese. It’s a little on the runny side. I was wondering if it’s ok to add cornstarch to thicken it up?
Thanks for any input.
Terri