Carma Get Your Tasty Cheese Alternatives

We've had the pleasure of meeting Charlotte Bates, founder of Good Carma, on several occasions now whilst touring around various vegan fairs searching out new and different foodie treats.  She always remembers us and we always have time for a natter with this lovely lady.  Charlotte exudes passion for what she does and it shows in her simple, wholesome and very tasty products.  She is therefore our kind of person, producing the kind of products we love.

Charlotte started Good Carma Foods in 2013 in rather sad circumstances; her mum had cancer and she wanted to offer her a healthy and nutritious alternative to dairy cheese without sacrificing on flavour.  Out of darkness came light and Good Carma was born.  With its home in Carmarthenshire, where Charlotte lives with her partner and a host of rescued animals, the name Carma also held double meaning.  

Charlotte, a vegan for over 20 years, has a strong understanding and appreciation of wholesome and nutritious food.  Her cheese style dairy alternatives are blended wholefoods and contain no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.  Himalayan pink salt features, with it's purer, more trace mineral giving properties, alongside that vegan B12 staple of nutritional yeast, and almonds; little parcels of vitamins (especially E), minerals, protein and fibre.  It isn't just about nutrition though, taste is a major factor too in what makes Good Carma products so popular.  

The Flavour Fusion range is a dairy free Parmesan cheese alternative and comes in four different flavours; Original, Oregano, Chilli, and Garlic.  Also gluten and wheat free, the Fusion range is packaged in a handy 'shaker' tube to scatter the umami (ooo mammy!) sprinkles over anything that takes your fancy; pizza, pasta, stews, risotto and chilli are just a few examples.  We particularly love them as, with being an ambient product with a shelf life of at least 12 months, one of these tubes has become a constant companion on our trips away in Miles Davis, our camper van.

Spread Sensation is a spreadable cheese alternative made from cashews, miso, lemon juice and yeast flakes.  This palm oil free chilled product comes in Original, Chilli, and Garlic Chive flavours. The simple ingredients belie the strong tangy cheese flavour of Spread Sensation which isn't just for spreading on your favourite cracker or toast.  Once you have tasted it you will look for a multitude of food uses for it beyond a great topping for a jacket potato.  If you are a heat freak, the chilli one will particularly hit the spot for you.  There are recipe ideas available, both from Charlotte herself and some of her fans, on the Good Carma website.  We will take a look at some of these more ourselves at some point but at the moment we are just hooked on sprinkling it and spreading on just about anything we happen to be having for dinner!

If you don't happen to bump into Charlotte at one of the many vegan fairs she attends, you might be able to find Good Carma products at your local health food store (request it if not) or online shop.  Better still, buy direct from Good Carma.  Be quick though if you want a cheesy treat for Christmas as the last posting date from the website is Thursday 19th December.

You can catch up with the latest news about Carma Foods, including which vegan fairs Charlotte will pop up at, on the Facebook page or Twitter.  Our next chance to catch up with Charlotte and stock up is the Stroud Vegan Fair on 25th January.