Product Review: Daiya Deliciously Dairy Free Provolone Style Slices

Product Review: Daiya Deliciously Dairy Free Provolone Style Slices – $4.99+

Grilled cheese sandwiches.

They are one of my favorite go-to comfort foods.  Seriously.  And so easy to make too.  Put anything inside with the cheese of your liking and you have yourself a gourmet sandwich good for breakfast, lunch, and yes…even dinner.

Cheese and I don’t always get along though.  But that is where vegan and lactose-free cheeses come into play.  Granted, most of the time, these cheese alternatives lack in the stretchy, ooey-gooey nature of cheeses.  But, over time, it is something you do get used to.  Not saying I don’t miss it…but…you work with what you are given.

That being said, not too long ago, Daiya introduced their slices of vegan cheese, perfect for sandwiches.  I mean…perfect.  Now, it took awhile for these to hit the market around here, but I spotted them at Whole Foods.  And, while I had wanted to start with the cheddar flavor, they were out of that one, so I grabbed the Daiya Deliciously Dairy Free Provolone Style Slices to have on my grilled cheese sandwich I intended to make for dinner on…my birthday.  Yes…my birthday.  This also means you can tell I am about a month behind on my blogging.  Trips and a busy training schedule do that.  But I’m catching up…kinda.

First of all, I love that these slices come in a resealable package.  YES!!  No need to dig out a storage bag to ziplock around the container.  Nicely done, Daiya.  I also love the promise that these slices will stretch and melt like real cheese.  And that they taste like real cheese.  It was enticing…and I really wanted to try them.  So, on my birthday, with no money in the budget to go out and plenty of food in the pantry, fridge and freezer to use, I did up a gourmet grilled cheese sammie (complete with spinach, tomato, and yes…Diaya Provolone Style Slices) with a heaping side of steamed corn from my CSA bin.  Hey…no one said that the birthday dinner had to be fancy.  And, I have gotten amazing reviews of my grilled cheese sandwiches.  I have finally mastered the art of making them without burning one side.  The key…I don’t distract myself with too much else in the kitchen while making them.

While I won’t go as far as to say that the Diaya Provolone Style Slices melted and stretched like real cheese (not even close!), the taste had that nice sweetness that provolone provides.  I was so incredibly happy with the way it flavored the sandwich itself.  A little buttery golden crust on the outside of my gluten-free bread, some sweet cheese, and healthy vegetables sandwiched in between…gourmet grilled cheese it was.  The flavor of the cheese itself once again has that distinctive Daiya cheese flavor.  It doesn’t taste plastic-y like some vegan cheese, but it does have that distinctiveness to it that if you take a bite, you know at once you are eating Daiya cheese.  And I love Daiya.  I wish it had really melted and stretched as the packaging promises, but in the end, all I can ask for is a safe and delicious cheese alternative.  And that’s exactly what these slices are.

Daiya Deliciously Dairy Free Provolone Style Slices are made up of filtered water, tapioca starch, palm fruit oil, expeller pressed non-GMO canola and/or safflower oil, coconut oil, pea protein isolate, natural vegan flavors, vegetable glycerine, brown rice syrup, sea salt, xanthan gum, lactic acid (for flavor) carrageenan (NOOOOO!!!!), titanium dioxide (naturally occurring mineral), and vegan enzyme.  So…again…not a huge chemistry experiment, but not all-natural either.  Then again, it’s vegan cheese…how natural can it be?

Nutritionally speaking, a serving of Daiya Deliciously Dairy Free Provolone Style Slices is one slice of cheese.  This one slice will serve you up 70 calories and 5 grams of fat.  Each slice is also cholesterol-free, sugar-free, and contains only 85 mg of sodium.  One slice does not provide any fiber to your diet and only 1 gram of protein.

These are definitely not a bad option for the lactose intolerant or those who are vegan and gluten-free.  These Provolone Style Slices are lactose-free, gluten-free, casein-free, and soy free.  They do make a great alternative to cheese if you find your system unable to handle the real stuff, as mine sometimes does.  Diaya is one of my favorite companies to turn to for allergen-free vegan cheese alternatives.  And I appreciate all the effort they put forth to make sure their products remain top-of-the-line.  It’s why I continue to return to their variety of cheese-y good products time and time again.  Another win, Diaya!