La Vida (Almost) Vegana

I've had to supplement my vegan diet with a few non-vegan foods in order to combat my bone issues (thank you, osteoarthritis, for adding new problems atop the old.) I also have moderate atherosclerosis, so I can't take calcium supplements. Instead I drink two 16 oz. glasses of fat-free milk every day. This gives me 1200 mg of calcium that my body is more likely to add to my bones rather than my already clogged blood vessels. I have to take pills to help me digest the lactose in the milk, of which I'm intolerant, but that's been an issue since childhood.

Sadly drinking milk is not a treat -- I've hated the smell and the taste of it since I was a kid. Basically I hold my nose and drink it as fast as I can, like cough syrup. The things we do for the body in old age.

Aside from the fat-free milk, I still avoid all dairy and egg products products, or use vegan alternatives. Here are three I've found that are actually very good, and hardly different from the real deal.

I love bagels, and Thomas's has some varieties that are vegan, like their whole wheat. Not having cream cheese to put on top of my bagels, however, was a pain until I started testing some of vegan alternatives. Daiya had one that was okay, but Kite Hill is better -- and tastes almost exactly like the real deal.

Most vegan cheese alternatives aren't all that great, and they can be expensive, so I don't invest in them very often. When I make homemade pizza, however, I use Violife mozzarella shreds to top my slices. They have a different texture, but they do taste just like the real cheese.

Not being able to use mayo to make my favorite homemade salad dressing limited me to using vinaigrette, until I discovered Vegenaise. It is exactly like real mayo in taste and consistency.