Fellow Vegans or wanna-Vegans?

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  • MardellD
    MardellD Posts: 42
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    It's good to see so many people trying to come to the Vegan side. On the mock cheese, it's amazing how much of it is not vegan, which is something just completely befuddling to me. Why bother making mock cheese if it has dairy in it anyways (I understand lactose intolerance, but they'd really open their markets up to those with milk allergies and vegans if they went without and mass marketed it).

    Also, I want to applaud all the new vegans and those attempting to be, you're making a great step in the right direction for your health and the environment.

    Side note: Am I the only one who sees Activia commercials and laughs at them? Dairy to help digestion? Come on. Hooray for being vegan and never having digestion issues or irregularity.





    I have to say that I agree. Been vegan for years and can't understand why so many companies claim to make vegan food just to find that there is cassine in it! Cassine is a skim milk powder meaning dairy.... don't claim to be vegan or to make vegan food if you are still using dairy. Just my opinion I guess. All I can say is do your research as to what you are really eating. I actually posted on my blog a list of products that are vegan that may surprise you, alot of them are accidentally vegan but it sure helps to keep life tasty. I know that personally I stay away from alot of the processed foods, however there are some real vegan cheese' that I use to make pizza, can't give up everything I guess.

    Kudos to all the fellow vegans out there and good luck and happy eating to all the newbie vegans!!!
  • crossarmant
    crossarmant Posts: 26 Member
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    All I can say is do your research as to what you are really eating. I actually posted on my blog a list of products that are vegan that may surprise you, a lot of them are accidentally vegan but it sure helps to keep life tasty.

    There are a lot of surprisingly vegan things you wouldn't expect... like off-brand bacon bits, Oreos, cheap Kroger brand Mushroom Gravy, a lot of cheap Walmart "Buttermilk Biscuits", etc. It's cheaper and easier to make vegan food like that, just be vigilant. Anyways, it always benefits the consumer to read labels anyways.
  • JaMaBa
    JaMaBa Posts: 2 Member
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    So awesome to see so many vegans on here! I sometimes feel very alone in my veganism (most likely due to my omni boyfriend).
    My creds: vegetarian for 12 years, vegan for about the last 3 (I strayed occasionally in the beginning but now don't crave any of that!)

    Regarding finding vegan products, it is depressing to see how many things aren't vegan but also cool to see what is. Poptarts, the unfrosted variety, for example, are vegan. Of course they aren't exactly great for us (also see Pirate's Booty).

    I concur on the Diaya thing - even my SO liked it.

    If you haven't stumbled on it or if it hasn't' been mentioned, Trader Joe's maintains of list of vegan products they carry. Great time-saver: http://www.traderjoes.com/pdf/lists/list-vegan.pdf .

    Before I moved to a more Veg-friendly place I also took advantage of mail-order. You have to pay extra for cold shipping but it is definitely worth it. Vegan Essentials website is a great place to start.
  • emarcia28
    emarcia28 Posts: 140 Member
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    Im been looking into and reading about becoming a vegan & I want to do it. Does anyone have any suggestions on how i should start it or what are main things i should buy besides a bunch of veggies, tofu, protein powder and such....

    Also what are ingredients i should watch out for when reading labels to make sure im not having animal products!

    Thanks!:flowerforyou:
  • BMW6Series
    BMW6Series Posts: 124
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    I started 2 weeks ago today. There has a produce sale, and I bought fruit and vegetables and juice. Make sure to get from fruit, because fruit tastes wonderful.

    BMW6Series
  • sally125
    sally125 Posts: 40 Member
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    I am a vegetarian and I would like to be vegan but not there yet. My whole family just became vegetarians this year including my three little ones. I would like to be vegan but I think I will do it slowly.

    We can help each other for sure.
  • madcatwechanged
    madcatwechanged Posts: 35
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    A good vegan diet book I have just found is "The Engine 2 diet". I love this book and it makes things sound so easy.

    I hope nobody minds if I put some request out there for some vegan support!
  • Jain
    Jain Posts: 861 Member
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    Long time veggie here (18 years & counting) and most day's I eat vegan. I very rarely use eggs, or milk but I do use honey and much as I'd love to give up cheese, my will power is just not up to it! But I'm working on that one.
    I dont use TVP, it has an unfortunate effect on my digestive system, but I do use Quorn. I know that's not vegan, egg white is used to bind it, but my Hubby likes it, he's an omni but he's happy to eat veggie in the house. I like & use tofu, but the DH wont touch it, so I only cook with that when he's away with work.
    It's good to know there's so many Veggies & Vegans here for support.
  • BMW6Series
    BMW6Series Posts: 124
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    I did find a couple of suitable alternatives to Gardenburger. Amy's makes a couple and I can't remember the other brand.

    I have been making burgers and using whole wheat english muffins that are vegan and also free of high fructose corn syrup.

    BMW6Series
  • madcatwechanged
    madcatwechanged Posts: 35
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    I love all of the Amy's burgers. They had a quarter pound burger that was awesome but now it's hard to find by me.
  • BMW6Series
    BMW6Series Posts: 124
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    Been eating Chez Gourmet Oregon Harvest Veggie Burgers recently. They are good.
  • BMW6Series
    BMW6Series Posts: 124
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    Check out www.tastybite.com. They have a lot of great vegan indian and thai food. The prices are cheaper than in the grocery store and if you order over 65.00 dollars worth the shipping is free.

    It is about time for our family to place another large orders.
  • crossarmant
    crossarmant Posts: 26 Member
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    In terms of making vegan burgers, a great way of doing so is boiling equal parts of red lentils / TVP with what ever seasoning of choice until it absorbs all the water and makes a nice gooey slop. Then you mix in finely diced veggies of choice (I use onions, peppers, peas, broccoli, carrots, etc. but you can be adventurous). Then I add a good amount of rolled oats and panko bread crumbs and tamari soy sauce. You pat those into patties and pop them in the oven at 400 degrees and flip them once. Awesome natural(ish) ingredients, healthy, and packed with veggies. They taste great on some wheat bread with tomatoes, onions, and pickles.
  • BMW6Series
    BMW6Series Posts: 124
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    Thanks for the recipe. I have been experimenting with vegan burger patties.

    My current recipe is
    1 cup tvp
    1 cup hot water
    1 15oz can of beans, or mixed veggies your choice
    1/3 cup whole wheat flour
    1 jalapeno pepper finely diced
    4 garlic gloves finely diced
    1 tablespoon of vegan worchestershire sauce.

    I blend it with a egg beater. Dollop patty sized amount into a fry pan. Fry both sides and then cook it through in the microwave. I get about 6 patties this way.

    I am going to keep on experimenting until I come up with something super excellent.
  • BMW6Series
    BMW6Series Posts: 124
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    My mom is awesome. She took my out for lunch this morning. I got a nice garden burger and she gave me a garden burger recipe book.

    http://www.amazon.com/Veggie-Burgers-Every-Which-Way/dp/1615190198/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289261869&sr=1-1

    Looking forward to trying lots of them. About half of them are vegan. There are directions how to take egg out of many of the vegitarian versions.
  • caitlinclock
    caitlinclock Posts: 528 Member
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    I was vegan for 11 months and absolutely loved it.

    Unfortunately I am not in the position to buy my own food at the moment but it is something I want to do again someday in the very near future. If anyone wants to add me, feel free!
  • TheMaidOfAstolat
    TheMaidOfAstolat Posts: 3,222 Member
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    In terms of making vegan burgers, a great way of doing so is boiling equal parts of red lentils / TVP with what ever seasoning of choice until it absorbs all the water and makes a nice gooey slop. Then you mix in finely diced veggies of choice (I use onions, peppers, peas, broccoli, carrots, etc. but you can be adventurous). Then I add a good amount of rolled oats and panko bread crumbs and tamari soy sauce. You pat those into patties and pop them in the oven at 400 degrees and flip them once. Awesome natural(ish) ingredients, healthy, and packed with veggies. They taste great on some wheat bread with tomatoes, onions, and pickles.

    Oh...that sounds to freaking tasty! :love:
  • PNCTink
    PNCTink Posts: 232 Member
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    Hi everyone! I have only read the last page so far and those recipes sound great! I've been vegan now for almost a month (and keeping things really low fat too), due to health issues. I'm loving it more than I thought I would! I have been wondering what other vegans eat on holidays?
  • PNCTink
    PNCTink Posts: 232 Member
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    I've just finished reading through the whole thread. Whew! I'll admit to being a cheese lover, but have only used in sparingly a couple of times. I have chronic pancreatitis and need to avoid dairy, caffeine, most beans, soy, and I'm trying to keep the sugar down too since pancreatitis can cause diabetes. I've been using http://vegweb.com/index.php?action=recipecategories for most of my recipes. I've tried getting my kids away from chicken nuggets by using Vegan Dad's recipe http://vegandad.blogspot.com/search?q=chicken+nuggets , but it was a no-go. They love fruit so we give them loads of fruits to eat, but i do have to sneak in the veggies. Anyway, my goal is to add more vegan foods to their diets and even DH has tried a few things that I've made, but his versions have had cheese.
  • BMW6Series
    BMW6Series Posts: 124
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    Wow, no beans either? That would be very very difficult for me to do. Hmmm. Trying to think of a bean/meat substitute. I will be back later if I can think of anything.

    What are your favorite fruits and veggies that you can eat?

    Bmw6Series

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