Buy These 5 Plant-Based Products This Week, Chosen by The Editors

When you decide to try to eat a mostly plant-based diet, the first question is: Where do I get my protein? (That's easy: Plants have plenty of protein. Check out this list for the 20 vegetables with the most protein per serving.) The next head-scratcher is usually: What should I buy? Shopping for healthy, plant-based, dairy-free or fully vegan items can be overwhelming.

Here's our strategy: First hit the fresh produce aisle, and buy everything you love. Check out The Beet's list of hundreds of delicious recipes for what to make, including dinners, snacks, desserts, and every type of food you love, from Italian to Thai, and more. We publish a recipe of the day. If you have not signed up for the newsletter, do so now!

Here's where we can help: Before you go to the store or shop online, check out these favorite items to add to your cart. We have reviewed hundreds including the best vegan cheeses, the best dairy-free creamers, the best vegan snacks.

Each week the editors of The Beet do the shopping and taste testing for you, so you can know which items are worth it and which ones are a pass. Here, we recommend our favorite items (and the ones we like to buy ourselves). Some are treats or indulgences, but they are healthier treats, so decide for yourself how many or how often to eat.  Get ready to love every plant-based bite!

Okay, I am the first to admit it: I love pasta. But I don't love whole wheat versions, much as I have tried. Enter Caulipower, the new pasta made with cauliflower, with more fiber and fewer carbs than the pasta we grew up eating. This stuff is so good my husband got excited to make pasta night his evening to cook. He added his bolognese to it and I made Cacio E Pepe using my favorite vegan cheese. It's impossible to tell the difference.

A healthier pasta: At just 230 calories per serving--the lowest in calories of any pasta in the grocery store--Caulipower is a great source of fiber, with 48 percent more fiber than regular pasta. Plus it's gluten-free, for anyone staying away from wheat. Prepare for Caulipower the same way you would your usual noodle dishes, with Pesto or Putanesca sauce. You don't even have to tell your guests it's Caulipower, but you'll want to, and save the box since they won't believe it, and then they'll all want to know where to buy it themselves. The answer is here.

If you've got ultra-sensitive skin like me and are searching for a facial moisturizer that's worth its weight in gold, dermatologist-formulated brand Alchimie Forever just launched the Kantic Light Clarifying Cream, a facial cream version of the fan-favorite Kantic Calming Cream.

Alchimie Forever spent two years intentionally crafting this holy grail product. With a lightweight texture, this formula includes good-for-you ingredients like jojoba and rosemary extract to promote healthy, even skin and quell blemishes.

I was lucky enough to test out this product and after just a few days I saw a noticeable glow while waking up every morning after applying it before bed. It's the perfect thing to use whenever you need to boost radiance and even out texture, and it took only a couple of weeks before I ran through the whole tube because I had been using it so religiously. It's not just me who is raving– there's a very good reason that this product has a five-star review.

Purchase the Kantic Light Clarifying Cream here on Alchimie Forever's website.

The kind of mouthwash you use matters more than you think. While most people rinse for fresh breath, there are many other health benefits often overlooked. These included fresh breath, removal of germs, plaque, and food that can cause disease. Most mainstream can accomplish some of these goals, but they contain harmful chemicals, alcohol, and other chemicals. Whether or not you think about these issues as you swish the minty liquid, a small amount ends up swallowed, affecting your microbiome and your immune system. Therefore, invest in a trusted mouth wash brand like OLAS Wellness, a dentist-formulated, all-natural, alcohol-free, and 100% vegan product founded by renowned Dr. Chrstopher Perez, dentist to the stars including Cara Delevingine.

OLAS mouthwash has a subtle, sweet, mint flavor with slight notes of vanilla. When you take your first sip, you will notice the difference between the artificial flavoring in the mainstream mouthwash brands versus the organic, natural taste created with real ingredients from ocean plants. Olas requires only a small amount to cleanse the mouth and gums.

Perez created the company with his patients at the forefront. How could he recommend or use mouthwash in his practice that not only tasted artificial but was full of harmful ingredients? So, on his day off from cleaning teeth, he caught a wave on his surfboard in Long Island NY, and was inspired to incorporate plants from the ocean to create OLAS Marine Bio-Active Mouthwash.

The ingredients include blue-green algae and seaweed extract to provide antioxidant support and strip away harmful bacteria as well as vegan marine collagen that supports healthy skin, gums, and teeth. Other ingredients include seaweed extract, natural sea salt, and essential oils for a refreshing taste.

Not only should OLAS Mouthwash be part of your bathroom essentials, but it should also be part of your daily ritual for treating yourself to a refreshing taste with health benefits.

To purchase a bottle of OLAS Marine Bio-Active Mouthwash, click here.

I love taking my favorite meals and putting a plant-based spin on it using different dairy-free and vegan ingredients. This past week I "veganized" a tostada recipe using mixed veggies, beans and Forager Project's Queso Fresco. It was my first time using this dairy-free cheese and let's just say I've never tasted a dairy-free Queso Fresco that melted so well and mimicked the real thing.

Forager's Queso Fresco is made with cashewmilk yogurt as the base which makes it just as creamy and melty as real queso fresco. This queso fresco is a versatile dairy-free cheese that comes in a crumble and a block. The crumble is the perfect topping to any veggie tostada or burrito bowl. Make an elevated cheese quesadilla by melting sliced strips from the queso fresco block and adding avocado and tomato for a satisfying, healthier twist on a classic.

Queso fresco makes it easier to transform your favorite Mexican dishes or classic American food into a dairy-free, vegan dream. Along with Queso Fresco, Forager has 3 more dairy-free and vegan cheeses including Jack Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan Cheese.

Forager Project's vegan cheeses will be available at retailers such as Stop & Shop and Sprouts this spring for $5.99.

Tons of people I know find trouble using Daiya's block cheeses, but sometimes all it takes is patience. The block cheeses take a little longer to melt, but when they melt they create the perfect consistency for a creamy, delicious mac & cheese. The Jalapeno Havarti style block is my favorite of Daiya's range because personally, I like some spice in my macaroni. The Daiya block once melted down can be supplemented with plant-based milk and another shredded dairy-free cheese. The melted cheese that you get can be mixed with a roux to give a thick, hearty cheese sauce perfect for macaroni.

Daiya recently released its own Cheezy Mac to make a plant-based cheese more accessible, but personally, I like making my own roux, and the cheese blocks work well if you have the time to make some homemade mac & cheese. Once the cheese blocks meltdown and you've added your plant-based milk, you can flavor the macaroni to your liking. Whether it's for a thanksgiving meal or a hearty side for some BBQ Jackfruit, the Jalapeno Havarti cheese gives the perfect flavor profile for a spicy macaroni.

The Jalapeno Havarti is my personal favorite, but the mac & cheese works with all the other flavors that Daiya offers including Gouda, Medium Cheddar, and Monterey Jack. Often I will use more than one flavor in a mixture to have a multi-cheese dish.