By Molly Patrick
Aug 2, 2016,
After working for over 10 years in the plant based industry and helping thousands of people take control of their life through changing how they eat, here’s what I know for sure:
1. Transitioning away from animal based foods and processed foods and focusing the diet around whole plant foods allows the body to bring itself back into balance. And the changes that people go through when this happens always extend far beyond what they had originally hoped and aimed for.
2. There is no magic bullet or secret sauce to get these results, and anyone can do it. All you have to do is stop eating animal based foods and processed foods and start eating whole plant foods on a consistent basis.
These two things can be as daunting as they are simple. Here are the most common reasons for that:
1. People go into this thinking it’s all about food. This is not all about food. This is about healing your relationship with food and learning how to trust your body.
You’ve had a relationship with food since the time you could eat. The only relationship that spans longer than that is your relationship with your parents. It’s safe to say there are some cobwebs that need cleaning out. And that can be scary, uncomfortable shit.
2. People are physically addicted to food. Foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat (vegan or not), overstimulate the pleasure center of the brain and we become physically addicted to these foods. Hello potato chip crack pipe.
Cravings for these foods can be so strong that they win out to good intentions each and every time. It’s not that you lack willpower. It’s that the more of these foods you eat, the more your brain becomes wired to need them, not unlike someone addicted to alcohol needs booze. Breaking free of addiction is no easy feat – regardless of the substance.
3. We fear change even when we know it’s good for us. This is because we’re creatures of habit, and consistency is a survival mechanism. Fear of success is usually rooted in there too. If you succeed at this, who will you be? How will it make other people in your life feel? Does it mean that you have to eat kale instead of cheese for the rest of your fucking life???
There are a lot of unknowns that come with change, and fear is a powerful mechanism that can stop you in your tracks from even trying.
4. It’s hard to do this on your own, without support. Most people who jump on the plant based wagon are doing it solo. Their spouses and partners aren’t into it; their kids think it’s weird; their friends have a thousand questions (mainly about protein), and co-workers can be straight up mean. It can be a lonely place, especially when a lot of vegan scenes are full of judgmental ass hats.
5. People eat the wrong foods when they make the switch. Most people who make the vegan switch, innocently and mistakenly think that if something is vegan, it’s automatically healthy. And then they feel like crap (and sometimes even gain weight) and think that eating a vegan diet was a terrible plan. This usually leads to returning to how they used to eat.
I’ve observed these patterns for over a decade and how they stump really smart people who really want to get healthy. What lights me up most in life is taking what I know, and helping people work through these obstacles and arrive on the other side, enlightened, inspired, and excited about their life.
I designed our weekly Plant Fueled Meal Plans specifically to help you get through these obstacles so you can look back at them and say, “yeah – that used to be me. Holy shit – I did it.” All you need to do is follow along and you’ll be golden.
After you sign up, come back for today’s cheesy ass recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups peeled and chopped potato 280g
- 1 cup chopped carrot 130g
- ½ cup chopped onion 65g
- 3 garlic cloves peeled and left whole
- ½ cup raw cashews 70g
- ½ cup nutritional yeast 40g
- 1 tablespoon chopped turmeric 10g / or 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water 475ml
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients into your Instant Pot and lock the lid into place.
- Make sure the nozzle on the lid is in the “sealing” position. Use the "manual" setting and set the timer for 5 minutes.
- Use the natural release for 10 minutes and then do the quick release to release the remaining pressure.
- Allow to cool for about 10 or 15 minutes and then transfer the mixture to your blender and blend until super creamy and smooth, about two full minutes.
Notes
Wishing you a happy week. May it be filled with getting over those obstacles in the easiest way possible.
52 Comments
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I love your cheesy sauce recipe!
Thank you Kimberly! It is pretty damn good 😉
xo
Molly
Do you have the nutritional values? Especially fat per serving (and serving size) you have so many delicious looking recipes, but I’m afraid they may be too high in fat for me, especially with cashews… thanks. And WOW! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ADVENTURE AND MEETING YOUR GOALS!! YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Did you do anything specific to lose arm fat? Looks like you no longer have any!! Yay for you😃
We don’t have that info on our blog. However, we do have nutrition information in Clean Food Dirty Girl. Most of our blog recipes are in Clean Food Dirty Girl as well. Have you started a free trial yet?
The cashews do provide a lot of fat. Typically, people replace half or more of the cashews with cooked white beans and use slightly less liquid. This helps reduce the fat content.
Love my Instant Pot – thanks for the cheesy recipe!
You got it! #instantpotsrockthehouse
xo
Molly
How long will the sauce stay fresh in fridge? I’ll probably only make half of a batch next time as my family is not with me but someday they will be I’m sure of it! 🙂 de-lish!!
It will last for about a week. If you don’t finish it by then, freeze it. It freezes beautifully!
xo
Molly
New to this site. What is an instant pot?
Hi Nina –
Welcome! Be sure to join our private Facebook group as well.
It’s a supportive and kind group of people. You will feel right at home.
Here’s the link to join us.
The Instant Pot is a slow cooker, a rice cooker, a pressure cooker and a whole lot of other things in one electric device. I’m not one for kitchen gadgets, but this a gem!
You can check it out here.
I don’t do cashew’s, what other nut would be mild enough and soft enough to supplement with?
I have used cannellini beans in place of the cashews.
How can you cook without an InstaPot. I do have a manual pressure cooker, but I have not used it a lot.
I know that I should just get one… but wondering until I do.
Hi Rachel,
You can easily make this without an Instant Pot.
Here’s the stove top version.
xo
Molly
Thank you so much (I must not have notices the link to it last night). Very excited to get my mother on board.
Although I love using my Instapot-like pc, how about concocting cfdg’s cheesy sauce by just Blendtec-ing the fuck outa everything, then heating?
Go for it!
xo
Molly
I really want to get your meal plans but I noticed the price went up. Is there any way I could get a monthly meal plan for the old price of $20 per month. A coworker has had tremendous success and I am very excited about trying this.
Hey Sally –
The meal plans are part of our Dirty Girl Membership. You get the meal plans, monthly trainings, weekly emails, accountability partner pairing, etc..
We no longer have the meal plans only. The membership is $29 a month. We would love to have you!
xo
Molly
Was recommended to you bc was saying online that there weren’t enough clean instant pot recipes. I love your site! I’m not vegan but Leaning towards a pegan diet that is high plant food based, low carb, high fat & protein with limited dairy and gluten (I can tolerate fine but I don’t want as staples in my diet). I definitely need more plant based recipes in my life – thank you! Also I adore your authenticity so refreshing!!
I need an alternative to cashews. The hubbles gets sicker than a dog when he eats cashews.
Nelle, you can sub almonds or sunflower seeds for the cashews. 😉
xo
Meghann
Team Dirty Girl
what about white navy beans have seen those used before
White beans should work too. The fat content will be lower so the texture will be a bit more watery but should sub just fine.
Karen
Team Dirty Girl
This stuff is AMAZING!!! I added a teaspoon of white miso before blending last time and it was even better! Thanks!
Melissa that sounds yum! Way to make it your own – thanks for sharing!
hey I noticed that this is an old posting BUT maybe u might see this?
anyhoo I was wondering if there was any possible way to make this and not peel the potatoes?
TIA
Hi Patti,
As long as you have a powerful blender, I don’t see why leaving the skins on would be a problem. It might not be AS smooth, but I think hardly noticeable. Let us know if you try it and how it works out for you!
Karen
Team Dirty Girl
I am allergic to cashews and garlic…anything else I could use?
Hi Lisa,
Sunflower seeds and onion should sub nicely here.
Karen
Team Dirty Girl
I have made a lot of cheese sauces, and this is by far my favorite!
Hello just found your site and could not be more pleased. Have already shared it with some of my favorite groups. I am excited to learn and try new recipes. Have been vegan for many years and eat fairly healthy but I am feeling a difference since adding more Whole Foods omitting most salt and using less of the processed vegan foods I have come to rely on. Thank you????
Welcome, Angela! Glad to have you!
Do you have any potato preference for this recipe? I’m assuming either russet or Yukon gold(?)
Sorry for hopping in here … But saw Brenda’s question about type of potato. I enjoy this recipe frequently and prefer Yukon gold potatoes because I can just scrub and cube them ~ no need to peel. “Cheese” is delightfully creamy.
Hope this helps with your question Brenda.
Totally delicious! Molly said not to try any other cheese sauces and she’s right. Yum!
Oh my!!! I am addicted to this recipe exactly as made. But out of curiosity, has anyone ever added tapioca starch to make a sliceable version?
This recipe has uplifted many of my favorite menu items. Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!
Hey Andrea, so glad you liked it!
We have done many spins off this recipe in our meal plans.
We’ve never been able to get it to slice per se, but we can get it thicker than this recipe.
Super fun!
xo
Molly
I understand the nutritional yeast is for the cheesy flavor, and many vegan recipes call for it, but it is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted. I have always been one to eat anything put in front of me. I have never been a picky eater until I stopped eating meat, eggs, and dairy. It just baffles me that I’m the only one that feels this way. I totally get how you say most people do not eat properly when becoming plant based. I can also see why many lose a lot of weight at first. Is the nutritional yeast solely for the cheesy flavor? If so, can it be left out? I know, this is a cheesy recipe, it needs to taste like cheese, but what about vegan cheese?
Oh Fran, don’t give nutritional yeast another thought. It is kinda like tofu, it pleases your pallette or it doesn’t. True vegan foodies don’t judge. Hope you can find a suitable substitute to mske all your favorite recipes.
Hi Fran, If you are not liking nutritional yeast despite trying smaller amounts / different brands, I would listen to your body and avoid it. For most recipes, including this one, the recipe will still taste fine without the nutritional yeast; although, it will taste different. While flavor is certainly one reason it’s consumed, it is a nutritious plant food and may have other benefits.
For me, nutritional yeast was an acquired taste, I did not like it at first but I do like it now. Nutritional yeast doesn’t taste like regular cheese but it does impart a rich flavor that is different from other plant foods. I learned to like it from eating small amounts sprinkled on popcorn with other seasonings (and spray oil, if I’m being honest). Here’s a popcorn recipe from Molly that you might want to try that has nutritional yeast. You can reduce the amount to see if eating it this way is more appealing to your sense of taste.
Here’s a different version of plant based “cheese” from Molly that doesn’t call for nutritional yeast.
~Karen
I love this recipe! I freeze it in ice cube trays then bag the cubes once they are frozen and just pull out a few cubes whenever I need them. Works great for quick lunches. 🙂
Hi Hope, thanks for sharing this great tip! ~Karen
Would making this without carrots change the flavor? I forgot to buy carrots!
I made this last night and 2 more cloves of garlic and some dijon mustard while blending for extra zing. SO GOOD!! I had it with macaroni for some mac and cheese. It has thickened up in the fridge overnight so I think I might use it as queso with some nachos tonight. YUM
I make this and use it for queso all the time. Such a great snack! We’re so happy you enjoy it. 🙂
This is both crazy delicious and crazy fast. Utter GENIUS
Woohoo! Glad you dig it, Kathy! Thanks for leaving a comment!
How many cups does this yield please?
Hi Jen,
As written, this recipe should yield about 4 cups of cheesy sauce.
Happy eating!
Can you substitute sweet potatoes or purple potatoes for white potatoes?
Hi Annette,
We haven’t tested those so we can’t say whether they’re good swaps, but we’d assume that the flavor change would be pretty significant. If try it out, let us know what you think!
Stephanie