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 Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 8:29 am
As a long-time vegetarian and a relatively new vegan I would love to have a discussion thread where we can share recipes, hype about new vegan products and provide answers to people's questions.
I added a little info here so that some most common questions get answered right away.
Who? What?
Vegetarians are a very large group, and have very different views. Some are pescetarian, meaning they don't eat land-dwelling meat, but still eat fish. Some are lacto-ovo-vegetarian, meaning they don't eat meat or fish, but still use dairy and eggs.
Vegans are at the extreme end. They eat no meat, no dairy and no eggs. Most vegans also refuse to use insect-derived products like honey.
What all vegetarians have in common is that they do utilize a lot of diverse vegetables in their diets.
Why?
The reasons also differ a lot. I've met people who are vegetarian or vegan for very different reasons.
- Some do it to be environmentally friendly. The CO2 emissions of meat are very high. To add to the environmental effects, a lot of forest gets chopped down to make space for grazing cattle and to farm all the food they eat. All the waste from the meat and dairy factories also tends to seep into the local soil and contaminate natural water sources.
- Some do it to be animal-friendly. Modern mass-producing meat factories are very unethical places; they are not the local, animal-friendly farms that used to be the norm 100 years ago. The animals don't get to go outside, they get beaten, they can't move, and body parts are removed without anesthetic. Small, ethical farms do exist but they are not that common.
- Some do it to be human-friendly. Raising cows, pigs, sheep etc takes a lot of food. A lot. So much soy and grains go just to fattening an animal that only feeds a few people. While millions of people are starving, the privileged keep eating meat that takes loads of food and water to produce.
- Some do it for health reasons. Vegan diet, if practiced correctly (diverse use of vegetables, nuts, seeds), can be very healthy. It is low in fat and also brings down the cholesterol.
- Some do it because of their religion. Buddhists avoid causing suffering to any living creatures, and that's why Buddhist monks tend to follow a vegetarian diet.
--> As you can see, the reasons are many. Whichever is your reason, you're heartily welcome here!
NOTE! Even if you don't want to give up meat or dairy completely, you could still have one day per week for eating vegan food. Meatless Mondays have become very common among omnivores who want to be environmental-conscious. Doesn't hurt to try something new once a week!
You can also support local farms who handle their animals with care. Their meat is also less likely to be pumped full of growth hormones and other chemicals, so it will be healthier, too.
Now, some ground rules:
- No trolls, no flame wars. I know that veganism gets to be a very heated subject sometimes. Meat-eaters rage that they will keep eating meat no matter what, vegans scream that they are cruel murderers... Let's NOT have a fight here. Everyone is entitled to their own lifestyle. This is a place to discuss vegan / vegetarian lifestyle, NOT to hate on everyone who is or isn't vegan.
--> You can ask questions and discuss everything, but please keep it civil and don't insult others! I want this to be a friendly discussion with a pleasant atmosphere. 3nodding
So let's discuss!
Are you vegan or vegetarian? What made you become one?
Do you know someone who is vegetarian?
Do you know any great vegan or vegetarian recipes? Please share!
What are your favorite vegan products? Even Oreos are vegan, so it doesn't have to be healthy!
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 8:37 am
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2016 8:39 am
Aaand done! Open for dicussion!
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2016 2:49 am
Hello! Cant sleep tonight so i am piddling around looking for interesting posts, i am a meat eater, due to health and limited funds, ( food stamps) i dont have much choice right now.
I had a coworker who was vegan, i surprised him one time for his one year anniversary by getting him a full vegan lunch. We have natural food stores with vegan items, the authentic kind. I had eaten some vegan foods at that time so i knew the tasty kinds. Some vegan doesnt taste good and some does.
He was so grateful, i learned from him his reasons and it was out of regard to the animals that suffer in common farms. Some of the things farms do to animals was quite shocking.
Thanks for posting this. heart
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Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2016 11:34 pm
Excelscia Hello! Cant sleep tonight so i am piddling around looking for interesting posts, i am a meat eater, due to health and limited funds, ( food stamps) i dont have much choice right now. I had a coworker who was vegan, i surprised him one time for his one year anniversary by getting him a full vegan lunch. We have natural food stores with vegan items, the authentic kind. I had eaten some vegan foods at that time so i knew the tasty kinds. Some vegan doesnt taste good and some does. He was so grateful, i learned from him his reasons and it was out of regard to the animals that suffer in common farms. Some of the things farms do to animals was quite shocking. Thanks for posting this. heart
There's a few restaurants with vegan options in my city, but not many, so it would be difficult to get a ready-made vegan lunch during a workday. Luckily the university cafeterias have a vegan option every day! I get a healthy vegan meal every day for just 2.60€. *o*
Aww, I understand. : ( We're a student couple so we're not swimming in money either. Thankfully the cheapest meal I know is can of crushed tomatoes + dried soy or lentils + spaghetti. We have it at least once a week. x'D I often add dried herbs for a fuller meal. Dried soy and lentils are relatively cheap and have loads of protein and one package makes many meals so they're totally my go-to student ingredients. >.>
I'm happy that even if you eat meat you know how some things really are terrible at farms. People generally tend to make fun of vegans or roll their eyes at "animal cruelty", saying it's only natural.
I saw a 15-minute video from animal production and cried 14 minutes of it. .___. The animals screamed so much that I couldn't take it. I think that was the last straw that made me go from vegetarian to vegan. It's so sad how money rules the world! If they didn't try to maximize profit, they could at least give them decent lives.
I totally agree with you though, some vegan stuff tastes good, some certainly doesn't! A Swedish company makes AMAZING vegan burger patties that they sell here and they're honestly the best burgers I've ever had. I talked about them at work last year and every meat-eater who had also tried them praised them to heavens. On the other hand sausages are usually meh but taste fine enough if eaten in buns. And tofu and soy really depend on how you make it. I've had both amazing soy dishes and horrible soy dishes. x'D
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Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 7:03 am
So let's discuss!
Are you vegan or vegetarian? What made you become one?
Well, I'm mostly vegan. I don't get crazy searching out the egg in things - I have found egg to be the most pervasive animal-based item in baked goods and in meat substitutes for its sticky properties. I don't eat eggs as eggs and eat very little egg otherwise. I also don't call myself a vegan because there is so much more that goes into the lifestyle that, well, it seems to be an "all in" kind of label.
I eat vegan and try to be mindful to cruelty for all of the above reasons.
Do you know someone who is vegetarian?
I know a fair number of people who have tried vegetarian diets and I know a few people who are vegan to some extent. I don't know any overt activists - most are very low-key about their non-animal consumption.
Do you know any great vegan or vegetarian recipes? Please share!
Oh, gosh, yes. I'll get to it. I think I've posted some over in a thread in the cooking forum of the guild.
What are your favorite vegan products? Even Oreos are vegan, so it doesn't have to be healthy!
Lol, I don't eat Oreos - full of sugar and I have a hard time with a lot of prepared foods. I love nut-based "cheese" spread - I could live on Heide Ho's Ne Chevre (tends to keep better than Miyoko's Creamery). I eat a fair amount of Daiya and, if you like spicy cheese substitutes, try Chao Tomato+jalapeno. This latter is coconut-oil based, though.
I eat a lot of Soy Boy prepared tofu - the smoked is to die for and is the starting point for vegan bacon (in the cookbook "Baconish"). Comes in teriyaki and Italian spiced. I can nibble on it or make a sandwich from it.
Well, that's a start! Sure, love to talk vegan stuff.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 11:04 am
havenne17 So let's discuss!
Are you vegan or vegetarian? What made you become one?Well, I'm mostly vegan. I don't get crazy searching out the egg in things - I have found egg to be the most pervasive animal-based item in baked goods and in meat substitutes for its sticky properties. I don't eat eggs as eggs and eat very little egg otherwise. I also don't call myself a vegan because there is so much more that goes into the lifestyle that, well, it seems to be an "all in" kind of label. I eat vegan and try to be mindful to cruelty for all of the above reasons. Do you know someone who is vegetarian?I know a fair number of people who have tried vegetarian diets and I know a few people who are vegan to some extent. I don't know any overt activists - most are very low-key about their non-animal consumption. Do you know any great vegan or vegetarian recipes? Please share!Oh, gosh, yes. I'll get to it. I think I've posted some over in a thread in the cooking forum of the guild. What are your favorite vegan products? Even Oreos are vegan, so it doesn't have to be healthy!Lol, I don't eat Oreos - full of sugar and I have a hard time with a lot of prepared foods. I love nut-based "cheese" spread - I could live on Heide Ho's Ne Chevre (tends to keep better than Miyoko's Creamery). I eat a fair amount of Daiya and, if you like spicy cheese substitutes, try Chao Tomato+jalapeno. This latter is coconut-oil based, though. I eat a lot of Soy Boy prepared tofu - the smoked is to die for and is the starting point for vegan bacon (in the cookbook "Baconish"). Comes in teriyaki and Italian spiced. I can nibble on it or make a sandwich from it. Well, that's a start! Sure, love to talk vegan stuff.
Also sorry for 4-day delay, spent a lot of time at relatives for the holidays and barely got back. sweatdrop
I haven't had a tough time avoiding eggy products, but I see milk powder in almost anything I pick up. We're lazy during weekday mornings and thus tend to eat cereal often, so I've looked through a lot of cereal packages. Over half of them contain milk powder, even when the flavor is just plain, not yogurt or chocolate or anything! It's crazy. I've been meaning to toast my own granola from oats, nuts etc but still haven't gotten around to it. >_<;; My husband also loves the occasional chips, and those very often also contain milk powder, for whatever reason. Jalapeño flavored potato chips? Yep, milk powder! Wow.
I haven't heard of any of those products you mentioned, but that's probably just because they don't sell them in Finland. They sound amazing! Sounds like you get some great variety! Also looking forward to hearing about your favorite recipes. :3
Luckily they at least sell a few cheese substitutes here too, a smokey flavored one is my favorite. There's also a wonderful oat spread by a Swedish company called Oatly (and their chocolate milk is the best). I also make hummus a lot since chickpeas are so mega healthy. And the vegan parmesan recipe is great! I added it to the recipe section. I put half cashew, half peeled almond since then I think the sweetness of the cashew is balanced well.
What lifestyle things do you consider as part of being vegan that you refrain from using the vegan word?
I think it's okay to call yourself vegan even if it's only the diet, I think it's called "dietary veganism". For me it has been just about the diet, although it's been easy to avoid leather or fur products since I never owned any of either. I'm trying to get into shampoo, conditioner and soap that with 100% probability haven't required any animal sacrifices.
But I don't agree with some things that for example PETA or some vegans are adamant about. I think having animals as pets is fine as long as you take good care of them, making wool is fine as long as the sheep are well taken care of, and I think using honey is fine since it does not particularly hurt the bees in any way.
I don't want to be an annoying vegan though, the kind that makes their visits difficult for everyone and has everyone rolling their eyes at them. I haven't been very vocal about my veganism (this thread is the first place where I decided to talk about it openly), and I don't like to preach. When went over to a friend family over the new year's for several days, I said some eggs and fish sauce is fine (she cooks Thai food so practically everything contains fish sauce anyway). I took a lot of food over though and cooked some of the meals to make it easier for them.
For me being vegan is what I buy from stores, make at home or eat in restaurants by my own choice, and I'll eat a bit of eggs or dairy if it's prepared by family and friends. Luckily it's not too often, and I don't ever have to eat meat! I'm happy as long as food doesn't go to waste. Nothing is worse than wasted food. : (
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 6:42 pm
Amitia Wooo! Happy to hear this! Welcome to the discussion!
Also sorry for 4-day delay, spent a lot of time at relatives for the holidays and barely got back. sweatdrop
I haven't had a tough time avoiding eggy products, but I see milk powder in almost anything I pick up. We're lazy during weekday mornings and thus tend to eat cereal often, so I've looked through a lot of cereal packages. Over half of them contain milk powder, even when the flavor is just plain, not yogurt or chocolate or anything! It's crazy. I've been meaning to toast my own granola from oats, nuts etc but still haven't gotten around to it. >_<;; My husband also loves the occasional chips, and those very often also contain milk powder, for whatever reason. Jalapeño flavored potato chips? Yep, milk powder! Wow.
I haven't heard of any of those products you mentioned, but that's probably just because they don't sell them in Finland. They sound amazing! Sounds like you get some great variety! Also looking forward to hearing about your favorite recipes. :3
Luckily they at least sell a few cheese substitutes here too, a smokey flavored one is my favorite. There's also a wonderful oat spread by a Swedish company called Oatly (and their chocolate milk is the best). I also make hummus a lot since chickpeas are so mega healthy. And the vegan parmesan recipe is great! I added it to the recipe section. I put half cashew, half peeled almond since then I think the sweetness of the cashew is balanced well.
What lifestyle things do you consider as part of being vegan that you refrain from using the vegan word?
I think it's okay to call yourself vegan even if it's only the diet, I think it's called "dietary veganism". For me it has been just about the diet, although it's been easy to avoid leather or fur products since I never owned any of either. I'm trying to get into shampoo, conditioner and soap that with 100% probability haven't required any animal sacrifices.
But I don't agree with some things that for example PETA or some vegans are adamant about. I think having animals as pets is fine as long as you take good care of them, making wool is fine as long as the sheep are well taken care of, and I think using honey is fine since it does not particularly hurt the bees in any way.
I don't want to be an annoying vegan though, the kind that makes their visits difficult for everyone and has everyone rolling their eyes at them. I haven't been very vocal about my veganism (this thread is the first place where I decided to talk about it openly), and I don't like to preach. When went over to a friend family over the new year's for several days, I said some eggs and fish sauce is fine (she cooks Thai food so practically everything contains fish sauce anyway). I took a lot of food over though and cooked some of the meals to make it easier for them.
For me being vegan is what I buy from stores, make at home or eat in restaurants by my own choice, and I'll eat a bit of eggs or dairy if it's prepared by family and friends. Luckily it's not too often, and I don't ever have to eat meat! I'm happy as long as food doesn't go to waste. Nothing is worse than wasted food. : ( I didn't really think I had that wide a selection of food, living in a smaller city and all. My town even has a couple vegan restaurants and several that I have found vegetarian-friendly. I can get substitute food that's really pretty good. Guess I can feel lucky! The first part of the total "vegan" thing that I just can't do is shoes. I need good shoes, not necessarily fashion, and that means leather. No plastic. And there are five pets, two dogs and three cats, at my house so I am all in favor of companion animals. There are a lot of reasons to not eat meat and be compassionate about our fellow beings. "Do no Harm" is part of yoga, for example. And animal farming, at least in the states, can be very harmful environmentally. I started by giving up dairy products for my health and I think it has made my arthritis better to do without. Since I'm getting away from "substitute" food I'm eating more beans and tofu made into things at home, and I'm eating from cuisines that are naturally vegan or easy to make vegan such as oriental styles, Indian food and some Mexican.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 12:22 am
havenne17 I didn't really think I had that wide a selection of food, living in a smaller city and all. My town even has a couple vegan restaurants and several that I have found vegetarian-friendly. I can get substitute food that's really pretty good. Guess I can feel lucky! The first part of the total "vegan" thing that I just can't do is shoes. I need good shoes, not necessarily fashion, and that means leather. No plastic. And there are five pets, two dogs and three cats, at my house so I am all in favor of companion animals. There are a lot of reasons to not eat meat and be compassionate about our fellow beings. "Do no Harm" is part of yoga, for example. And animal farming, at least in the states, can be very harmful environmentally. I started by giving up dairy products for my health and I think it has made my arthritis better to do without. Since I'm getting away from "substitute" food I'm eating more beans and tofu made into things at home, and I'm eating from cuisines that are naturally vegan or easy to make vegan such as oriental styles, Indian food and some Mexican.
Ah yeah, I can understand that. I'm not entirely against leather since it's mostly a byproduct of meat production and it lasts such a long time. Husband has gotten a few leather belts as presents over the years and he will use them up so they don't go to waste. Although it's really creepy that China is the biggest exporter of leather and some of that leather is made of about 2 million cats and dogs... .___. And it's only labeled as "leather". I'd like to see some transparency and better practices in leather production as well! I think there are some organic leather manufacturers?
Yeah I think having pets is very common among vegans (at least in Finland), only PETA seems to be against it. To be honest PETA seems like a bunch of nutcases. >.> They had a campaign against Mario's tanooki suit as well as a campaign against Pokémon... I don't see a problem with either. And they are also against animal testing for medical purposes. I don't approve of animal testing for cosmetics but if the cure for deadly diseases can be made with animal testing, I think it has to be done. Sometimes there is no other way.
Indeed, I think I read that 14.5% of co2 emissions originate from animal farming, if even more! Not to mention the huge amounts of methane... It's really bad.
For me giving up dairy has made me less bloaty, and the white marks on my nails have disappeared. My hemoglobin has also gone up to a normal level (used to be really low). So it seems that my colleague at work might have been right when he was thinking that adults are probably just not fit to consume dairy. It's a pretty recent phenomenon anyway, it's not like 100 years ago adults drank milk and ate yogurt all the time. Wow, as I wrote that I tried to look up when the whole dairy propaganda started, and bumped into this instead. Very glad I left dairy behind!
Yeah I try to use more vegetables too. Substitutes only 1-2 times a week and the rest of the time I make the above linked vegan lasagna (it's super healthy and delicious), bean burritos, soy bolognese, chickpea curry etc. I'm also looking for some more oriental recipes to try out, so if you come across good ones, link me too! And I got a julienne cutter as a Christmas present so I'll be making a lot of noodles from zucchini and carrot soon. : D
P.S. Awesome avatar!
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Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2017 5:25 pm
I looked at the lasagna recipe to see how it varies from how I do it. I make tofu ricotta with miso, garlic, Italian herb mix and some olive oil for consistency. I usually use a vegan mozzarella that is strongly flavored as one of the layers, also. A small amount of vegan parmesan would work, also.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 7:38 am
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:26 pm
Now, tonight for dinner I had the last of some high-protein tofu. I sliced it (it's really really firm; you can make quarter-centimeter slices no problem) and marinated it in some tamari and garlic with herbs. I coated it with corn meal and fried it! It was very good....dipped in sweet and sour sauce.
well. almost anything dipped in sweet and sour sauce is pretty good but some of my tofu things are really good.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2017 3:06 pm
I am an omnivore, but I do really enjoy vegetarian and vegan food. I eat tofu fairly often when I go to restaurants that offer it, and we go through periods where we eat an awful lot of it at home, too. I actually grew up thinking I hated tofu, because my only experience of it had been my grandmother mixing plain/unflavored soft tofu into any and every dish that had cheese. Macaroni and cheese? Plops of bland tofu all in it. Squash and cheese casserole? More bland tofu quivering among the pieces. xd Any resistance from anyone was met with, "Oh, you can't even taste the tofu! It takes on the flavor of whatever is with it!" Right, Mamaw. There must be some other reason why your mac and cheese suddenly started to taste like cardboard! rofl
After I finally had some tofu that was properly done and matched the flavors of the meal, I decided I liked it. I tried to go vegetarian once (my goal was a month), but I didn't last very long. sweatdrop I think even if I managed to give up meat, I would not be able to give up cheese.
My husband and I don't really eat very much red meat. We do eat a good bit of turkey and chicken and eggs, sometimes fish, but red meat is less of a staple. I do wish that animals were raised and slaughtered in a more humane fashion; I hate that our food has to come at the expense of quality of life. I'd much rather eat a cow or pig or goat or chicken that had a good life, was well fed and cared for and happy. If we're going to raise animals for the purpose of killing and eating them, they deserve to be honored and respected for that sacrifice while they're alive. My friend raises goats and is going to have to slaughter a few of them soon because of space issues, and I'll be happy to eat them because I know they have been very happy and loved since they were born, like livestock deserve to be. 3nodding
I'd probably eat vegetarian or vegan more often if I lived in an area where those kinds of restaurants were more accessible. It *almost* makes me want to move to Athens (Georgia, where my husband is from) so I can visit The Grit more often (we do have their cookbook, though.. should use it more).
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 4:35 pm
Daffodil the Destroyer I'd probably eat vegetarian or vegan more often if I lived in an area where those kinds of restaurants were more accessible. It *almost* makes me want to move to Athens (Georgia, where my husband is from) so I can visit The Grit more often (we do have their cookbook, though.. should use it more). I had to go look up The Grit - as soon as I saw the menu I know I have looked at it before, just not sure why. I wouldn't have thought "vegetarian" and "southern" would have gone together (I've heard finding Italian food can be hard some places, too). Looks great! Cookbook???? I can venture that this is a college town? One of the most famous vegetarian restaurants, the Moosewood, is in Ithaca, NY - several volumes of cookbooks. The drive to get there is too far for a casual visit but I have eaten there. Ithaca is the home of Cornell University. There is actually a vegan restaurant in the city I live in, close to the university, of course. The partner and I regularly go to a restaurant, the Distillery, that notes the vegetarian options on their menu.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2017 4:39 pm
Amazon carries the cookbook, too......
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Reply
