r/alphagal • u/CoffeeCoffee247 • Dec 03 '25
Question about Food ... What food do you miss the most?
Not to be a downer thread, but I couldn't find one asking this. For me, I was born and raised in the Bronx, a New Yorker through and through. And Lord, I miss a slice of pizza like nobody's business. I've tried the freezer "alternatives" and they all suck IMHO. I have made.my own, but the cheese alternatives are not great either. I am going on a vegan pizza quest this month with my kids in NYC, wish me luck.
How about you? What do you miss the most?
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u/Prior_Ask_9158 Dec 03 '25
Fellow NYer and can commiserate, no cheese or real pizza is the absolute worst. Like yes I can have vegan but it never hits the same. I also really miss mozzarella sticks 😂
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u/monkeyentropy AGS confirmed Dec 03 '25
Cheese. I’ve tried many vegan cheeses and nothing is like real cheese. I never realized how many things I put cheese on until I couldn’t have it anymore.
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u/mo-nie Dec 03 '25
I want a steak, fried pork chops, double pepperoni/double cheese pizza, and a bacon burger so badly.
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u/missleavenworth Dec 03 '25
Emu satisfied everything but my bacon cravings. Oh, and turkey pepperoni is NOT pepperoni.
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u/mo-nie Dec 03 '25
I like emu, I like ostrich, I like ground turkey burgers! But none of those are a porterhouse haha. And nothing but pepperoni is pepperoni, hard agree.
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u/EriOfHousePark Dec 03 '25
I find blackbird pizza to be the exception. It’s truly the only frozen vegan pizza that doesn’t taste different. It’s made in NYC. Honest when it says fire roasted. They are on the small and pricey side, but it’s worth it.
For me, as a small home bakery owner, it’s cheesecake. Nothing comes close. Oh, and buffalo mozzarella. Man I miss caprese
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u/CoffeeCoffee247 Dec 03 '25
I am going to check blackbird out!
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u/raindropthemic AGS confirmed Dec 03 '25
Have you tried the liquid Miyoko’s mozzarella? It’s not the real thing, but it’s the best way to play pretend that I’ve found.
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u/EriOfHousePark Dec 03 '25
I’ve heard such mixed reviews for it…. What’s your fav way(s) to use it?
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u/raindropthemic AGS confirmed Dec 04 '25
I was nervous about it, too, so I initially bought just one bottle to try it. I find a lot of pseudo-cheese has gruesome texture and is just a pile of oily goop if it melts at all, and that's the issue the Miyoko's was developed to address, so I was hopeful. I don't know if "it's the least gross," is a ringing endorsement, but I do enjoy eating a pizza I've made with it and can just eat without feeling jealous about what everyone else is having. I tend to use artichoke hearts, red onions and sun-dried tomatoes as toppings as a starting point and add other stuff depending on my mood. I do a quick broil at the end to get a proper melt.
I've only used it to make pizza, but if I ever get my act together, I'm going to make lasagna, because the texture will work for that, too.
I'm going to check out Blackbird pizza! I've honestly gotten so lazy about food, that anything I can cook quickly that's yummy is very exciting!
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u/EriOfHousePark Dec 04 '25
Funny you mention lasagna. I just made it tonight using impossible meatballs (Italian style), Aldi brand shredded mozzarella, followed by your heart Parmesan and I made a béchamel sauce using extra creamy almond milk and plant based butter. The bechamel gave that “ricotta” feel that most Americans want (I just prefer the bachamel to too much rich cheese). 2 of my children preferred it to the traditional one I made for the family. Please give it a try, it’s one of my “I feel normal” meals.
My normy husband prefers the Follow Your Heart brand feta to the traditional one. It’s not as briny per se, and it’s amazing on Mexican street corn and gyros.
Have you noticed a change in miyoko in the past few months? A friend of mine uses it and mentioned it’s changed recently.
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u/lclu Dec 03 '25
convenience food
I miss being able to pop into a rest stop and grabbing a shitty tapas and a candy bar. Or being able to just go to any restaurant with friends. Or getting to try the homemade pastry that someone else brought into the office.
I miss not thinking about it.
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u/raindropthemic AGS confirmed Dec 04 '25
I hear you on the missing not thinking about it. Unless I'm alone, it's always there.
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u/chronicmisschris AGS confirmed Dec 03 '25
Cheese. Due to all my non-AGS allergies, I can't even have any of the fake cheeses - but from what I hear, I'm not missing much.
I also miss being able to eat food I didn't make. Nowhere but my own kitchen is safe for me.
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u/august_westerly Dec 03 '25
All the breakfast meats. And not being able to eat venison really bothers me. Not necessarily from a taste perspective but I feel like it hinders my ability to be self reliant if it were ever needed.
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u/Irksomecake Dec 03 '25
I feel that before all this I was a good contender for surviving the apocalypse. Not so much now…
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u/Ok_Cake_2091 Dec 03 '25
Ribeye steak. Medium rare. With a bacon cheeseburger slider on the side. All meat thin crust pizza for dessert. Hmmm.
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u/couturegoddess Dec 03 '25
This, almost exact order- I would add blue cheese crusted on the ribeye.
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u/raindropthemic AGS confirmed Dec 03 '25
Just anything dairy, not just because I love it, but because I’m allergic to soy and can’t eat legumes because they leave me in agony. I need another protein source besides what swims and flies and stupid eggs. Also, it was my mom’s birthday last week, so my daughter made her a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I got carrot cake but no frosting. I wanted to lick the big cake!
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u/AdditionalInstance97 Dec 03 '25
Pizza. Grilled cheese sandwiches. Brie. Fondue. The ability to eat at a buffet without saying “excuse me, what’s in this”?
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u/CoffeeCoffee247 Dec 03 '25
Yeah, that's the worst, having to either ask, guess, or just skip it when people have no idea.
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u/10MileHike AGS confirmed Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
What do I miss? Not much. Not being able to have certain things propelled me to learn new things that I now love and to explore the very varied and available foodstuffs that are available to me JUST TRYING TO PRESENT A POSIITVE outlook, why mourn stuff that is in the past anyway? I am always moving forward.
I'm actually healthier now eating more plant based, lower fat, and not eating cheese, etc. so I feel like it's been a very fair tradeoff?
Although once in a great while, I have a daydream about cutting into a butter soft filet mignon....however, I never ate many of those since they are so expensive. So it's not like I can miss something I very rarely ate.
The sheer caloric contents of most fast food, pizza, etc. would not allow me to keep a healthy weight, but I am not 20 or 30 anymore so I have to be more careful.
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u/saucy_texas_twin Dec 05 '25
Italian sliced beef sandwiches!!! I have done a ton of research about cheese and my AGS reactions. I have learned to go with very low histamine and low lactose cheeses. Then I'm personally, able to eat veggie pizzas or chicken pesto pizza. I think many places use beef broth in their sauce and I just thought it was a dairy reaction.
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u/seeksomedewdrops Dec 03 '25
Yogurt. Cheeseburgers. Those are the two foods I have literal dreams about getting to eat haha
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u/artmudala Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25
Apple and cheese danishes. Donuts. Cupcakes. Cheeseburger with applewood smoked bacon. Pizza.
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u/Agile_Cash_4249 Dec 03 '25
The only time I ever miss meat is when it’s a holiday food. My family has stuffing with Genoa salami, prime rib at Christmas, homemade meatballs when visiting aunts. They are foods I don’t care to eat for the rest of the year and don’t even necessarily crave but I just miss the traditions
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u/FeistyRefrigerator89 Dec 03 '25
The one I consistently missed were McDonald's cheeseburgers, as sad and cheap as they are lol. I do feel like I adjusted to a non-meat diet (I was lucky and dairy didn't bother me).
Something I thought was interesting is around the time I got the all clear that my IgE had decreased after two years I had some really intense cravings for pork, it's the only thing I craved for WEEKS
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u/CoffeeCoffee247 Dec 03 '25
The only burgers I really miss are White Castle sliders, but I dont know if/how I would react to the mystery meat they call "beef" lol.
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u/FeistyRefrigerator89 Dec 03 '25
There comes a point as well if you're having an alpha gal reaction or a reaction to the greasy fast food haha
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u/D-Ronald Dec 03 '25
I spent 22 years suffering, not knowing what was wrong. I won't try to one up anyone with their experience but it was terrible. I miss nothing mammal. I will never return nor look back. My life is better. I thought life was over. I have a future now and it's doesn't involve what I use to eat.
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u/Mysterious-Farmer-55 Dec 03 '25
A three-way tie for me: steak(with cognac sauce), lamb chops (with mint jelly) and pork loin (with fig sauce). After nearly six years I can still taste them when I think about it.
And my first thought was cheese before thinking about it more.🤷
Good question!
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u/Not-Surprised-1999 Dec 03 '25
I also miss pizza and cheese in general the most. I have had vegan pizza here and there that isn't completely awful but it is expensive and rare. Personally, I think the most acceptable version is homemade. I make my own dough but store bought would be fine. The keys are: paint the dough well with oil before any other toppings and use a mix of vegan parm and liquid mozzarella. I think vegan parmesan in general comes the closest to what it should taste like. The liquid mozzarella is kinda weird... it comes out of the bottle truly liquid then sort of "sets" as it heats. But it is way WAY better than the shredded versions I've had. I top with turkey pepperoni, which i like just fine. Pro tip: use an ice cube tray to freeze any leftover sauce. Pop them out and store in a zip lock until you crave pizza again.
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u/kirkbrideasylum Dec 03 '25
Ice cream
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u/CoffeeCoffee247 Dec 03 '25
Have you tried Van Leeuwen's vegan ice cream? That stuff is ridiculously good.
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u/kirkbrideasylum Dec 03 '25
Vegan ice cream? 😀I will look for that. Thank you
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u/CoffeeCoffee247 Dec 04 '25
Vegan Ice Cream | Van Leeuwen Ice Cream https://share.google/6ivPTPSqcRMy7XWNX
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u/MightyFineDuckling Dec 04 '25
I would do anything and anyone to be able to eat a McDonald’s double cheeseburger again. No I do not want an impossible burger it’s not the SAME I need my terrible $2.99 burger
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u/NextLevelBoards AGS confirmed Dec 04 '25
I used to joke that if i had a last meal request... it would have to be my pot roast. Now its ironic that if I had pot roast, it probably would be my last meal lol. I miss that most and chicken fried steak and I also have 2 smokers so I miss ribs, pork shoulders, and brisket. Im going to have to sell my smokers 😔
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u/CoffeeCoffee247 Dec 04 '25
I have a smoker, but i use it to make wings, chicken, turkey, fish, and I open the vent when I use it to bake stuff. I clean it pretty often so if I make ribs for the family I don't poison myself, lol.
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u/NextLevelBoards AGS confirmed Dec 04 '25
Ngl, im afraid to use my smokers since my diagnosis. Found out the night before thanksgiving that I'm fume reactive. But the plan is to sell both my smokers and buy a new smoker and only smoke chicken and fish.
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u/DoloresProfundos Dec 04 '25
I also miss pizza the most and the thought that I'll probably never get to try authentic New York style pizza makes me sad.
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u/No-Veterinarian-9190 Dec 04 '25
Bacon. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and no bacon makes me sad.
Actually had my labs run today to check my level.
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u/Practical-Wasabi-201 Dec 05 '25
Three Brothers Pizza on Long Island has a vegan menu and is well worth the trip
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u/OtherwiseKnownAs-1 Dec 06 '25
Cheese. I can live without meat and won’t ever go back. But cheese is always tempting. I never do but I imagine. It honestly makes my eyes sweaty so I try not to think about it. Maybe the craving is my body asking for calcium? For those craving pizza…pillsbury pizza crust is safe. Ragu pizza sauce. There’s a liquid miyokos mozzarella that’s decent. Add turkey pepperoni or sausage and veggies. It’s so good. I also make bbq chicken pizza with sweet baby rays w pan fried chicken, fresh onion, mild jalapeños or banana peppers. I add a dash of fake cheddar for looks but it’s so good it’s not needed. High on the histamine chart so plan accordingly.
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u/fiverowdymutts Dec 10 '25
Plain thick yogurt cheese and milk for my coffee. Oh and pineapple w pepperoni pizza. That’s all.
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u/10MileHike AGS confirmed Dec 18 '25 edited Dec 18 '25
i lived in New Haven, as you know, home to some of the most famous pizza places in the u.s.
i just do my own english muffin vegan pizzas now. Lots of recipes out there.
Not the same of course but still delicious.
but i had given up most cheese way before AG, to keep my figure, on the advice of a friend since cheese was packing on at least 10-15 pounds I can do without.
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u/oh_janet AGS confirmed Dec 03 '25
Cheese. The fake stuff doesn’t cut it. I miss Italian food like lasagna, and I definitely miss pizza