Vegan Queso & Vegan Cheese Sauce (2 recipes)

My very young grandson's upcoming visit has me looking at recipes that work for someone dealing with several food allergies. While they are hoping he will outgrow some that he struggles with - wheat, dairy, egg, peanuts, soy and oatmeal - you just never know. I honestly find soy and oatmeal the hardest. Soy is an emulsifier in almost everything including salad dressing, and it's in most breads.  Oatmeal is the main substitute when you can't have wheat. 

They are all arriving 9 days after his one year birthday/ As he is now eating some of the foods from the table, I want to make sure he has many choices as possible that are safe for him. Another issue is that mum is still breast feeding. Some allergies on the list come through the breast milk, and some don't. It's a real balancing act.  I want mum and grandson to be able to eat most things.  

The new reicpe I found that I am sharing first is a green Vegan Queso recipe from Manitoba Harvest. For the one year old I might leave out the jalapenos. If using the sauce for all of us, I will split it in half and make part with and part without as my son-in-law loves food with heat.  The inclusion of hemp hearts also make this version pop nutritionally.  I recommend checking out the other recipes at Manitoba Harvest. There are several that caught my eye.

The previous vegan cheese sauce recipe I stumbled across years ago is at the bottom. It is based on potato, carrot, and nutritional yeast. In the past I could never get it smooth enough. As it had great reviews, all I can guess is I needed a better blender, I am revisiting this one as well to see if the blender I have now does a better job. This recipe is everywhere, so not sure who to credit for first creating it.

As soon as I have feedback on both, I'll post which worked best for me and why.  I just have to wait another 1-2 weeks until my kitchen renos are finished.  Woo-Hoo! If you try making either before I do, please leave a comment on how they turned out for you.  

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Vegan Queso

Ingredients - 

3/4 C                Hot water
1 C                   Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts
2 cloves           Garlic
3 T                   Nutritional yeast
2 T - ¼ C         Pickled jalapeños
1 T                   Brine from a jar of pickled jalapeños
1/2 tsp             Salt, plus more to taste
Garnish with fresh jalapeños if desired.

Instructions - 
Purée in blender until smooth.

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Vegan Cheese Sauce
Note - looked at several recipes and the ingredients that weren't in every one I listed as optional.

Ingredients -

16 oz.                  Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 3 medium) - SAVE THE WATER
1-2                       Large Carrots
1/2 C                   Potato Cooking Water (used to boil potatoes)
1/4 - 1/2 C          Nutritional yeast
2 T                      Lemon Juice

1/3 C                   Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)
1 tsp                    Salt
1/2 tsp                Onion Powder
1/2 tsp                Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp                Brown Mustard (optional)
1/4 tsp                Turmeric

Instructions -
Wash and scrub both potatoes and carrots, peel if desired and chop into uniform pieces and boil for 10 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the veggies to your blender. Add the 1/2 cup potato cooking water and pulse to mix. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy