Any Vegan/Vegetarians Out There?

Wow! didn't realize there were lots of vegans/vegetarians in the group! :) please keep sharing anything like a recipes, books, etc you guys like, maybe the story of why you made the switch, how long it took, how do you deal with eating out etc.

A bit hard for me because I live with two heavy meat eaters but... I look at it this way, if I could quit smoking I can do this! just gotta find what my taste buds like and experiment :)

I'm doing this for a few reasons actually.
1. health benefit - When I did it for a month I just finally understood what people were saying when they say "listen to your body, it'll tell you what it wants" I just didn't feel weighed down, and I had a lot more energy.
2. I kinda looked at my cats and thought to myself "I wouldn't eat my pets, so why would I eat a cow, chicken, pig, etc?"
 
I'm not fully a veg or vegan. I eat a vegan diet about 90% of the time. Other 10 s chicken or fish.
 
Try chicken fried tofu with vegan gravy. Or how about Moroccan stew? Its a bean and sweet potato type soup. I can make tofu tips over rice that are heavenly. You freeze the firm tofu, then thaw it. It gives the tofu a nice spongelike texture. Many have told me that they have never had such tender beef. ha! We also love tofu salad sandwiches on pita with baby greens. Scrambled tofu for breakfast? A simple dinner of vegetables properly prepared is just wonderful.

I also think you may enjoy a simple cooking booklet for vegetarians called Burgers, Fries and Cinnamon Buns. Its yummy and very easy with easy to get ingredients.

Sigh. Here I am living with a cowboy. Our local cafe thinks chicken is a vegetarian option.... eh...
 
LadySolitary85, Borders is going out of business and I snapped up some vegetarian cookbooks. Maybe you can find some at your local Borders. Or look for some to copy from at the library.

Already I am drooling over some of the recipes!
 
Also, is there a rule when cooking tofu? (how its cooked, what for, differences between each type of tofu, other substitutes for those who might not like the spongier texture)

<--- poor deprived child never in her life cooked beans or made REAL soups or anything beyond white rice.... terrified and excited but fear not! I have yet to burn water! lmao
 
Firm tofu is nice as a meat substitute...in stirfry or sauces etc.

Silken tofu is better as dessert...I blend it with ice and berries and soygurt for a nice smoothie. Yum yum. Or I buy just the flavoured silken tofu desserts (almond, coconut, banana etc) and just eat them as is :)

I think tofu can be eat raw (I think) so you don't worry about undercook. It takes on the flavour of what you cook with it so pretty versatile!
 
ladysolitary85 said:
Also, is there a rule when cooking tofu? (how its cooked, what for, differences between each type of tofu, other substitutes for those who might not like the spongier texture)

<--- poor deprived child never in her life cooked beans or made REAL soups or anything beyond white rice.... terrified and excited but fear not! I have yet to burn water! lmao
Click to expand...

there's no rule. Tofu is incredibly easy and flexible just like spam because both food can be eaten cooked or raw and both can be used in just about any food.

there's mostly 2 types - firm and regular. My favorite is regular tofu. I can eat tofu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner :)

I would say - stick with firm tofu for now because of food you're used to Americanized food such as salad, wrap, vegetable, stir fry, etc. Once you have an acquired taste for tofu, then try regular tofu (spongy type) - raw (or boiled if you like). I eat it with just soy sauce mixed with chopped green onion and sesame oil. You can simply google for tofu recipe and there are hundreds of them. All are very easy to make.
 
ladysolitary85 said:
now what about broths in soups? any thats unfriendly?
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Beef flavor. Chicken flavor.

Watch out for cheee, too. Rennet came from the stomachs of cows so look for vegeatarian cheese or kosher cheese. Enzymes can be either animal or vegetable - I think. Pepsin came from the stomach of pig, sheep or cow.
 
ladysolitary85 said:
now what about broths in soups? any thats unfriendly?
Click to expand...

Check for beef flavor or chicken flavor.

Also check cheese for rennet, pepsin. Enzymes might be either veggie or animal. I like to take kosher cheese as they don't mix animal with milk.

Edit:
Sorry for repeating as I thought I lost the first post. Didn't realized it went to the top of new page.
 
totally cool Buffalo, and omg yuck! its seriously amazing what people eat and not realize whats in it.

My biggest thing honestly thats going to be the hardest is dairy products. While I don't drink milk straight (makes my stomach do weird things, besides, I love chocolate silk anyways lol I do need to figure out what to use for a substitute for cheese also.... cheese is my biggest thing <--loves cheese to pieces. or when making a white creamy sauce for pasta. I'm trying to learn all the lingos since theres a lot of things I haven't even heard of before.
 
I actually liked some almond cheese better than soy cheese but if you are used to or want "Velveeta-style" melting for things like mac and cheese or cheesey baked potatoes or something - then the soy cheese may be better.
Technically, Jello, most sugar and honey are also not vegan.
Kanten <http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Gelatin-Substitutes-for-Vegetarians> can be used as a vegan sub. for Jello.

Eden brand soy milk has a recipe on the back of their plain unsweetened original soy milk carton for a cream-like vegan pasta sauce, which I did try when I was made some baked pasta casserole and I thought it turned good.
 
You can use vegetable broth instead of beef/chicken broth.

Tofu can be eaten as is, or dolled up with a marinade. If you marinate the tofu, make sure you cut it up in slices and use paper towels to absorb some of the liquid. It will absorb the marinade better that way.

Spaghetti squash is good... I'd say try something new each week. You'll find that there are a lot of great tasting vegetables put there.

I second the comment about the rennet. Some cheese has vegetable rennet, which is fine to eat.

I've been a vegetarian/borderline vegan for 23 years. Everyone else in my family eats meat.
 
I will say, as lover of all things tofu/soy, that tofurkey is GROSS. Avoid. Run other direction from tofurkey.
 
dogmom said:
I actually liked some almond cheese better than soy cheese but if you are used to or want "Velveeta-style" melting for things like mac and cheese or cheesey baked potatoes or something - then the soy cheese may be better.
Technically, Jello, most sugar and honey are also not vegan.
Kanten <http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Gelatin-Substitutes-for-Vegetarians> can be used as a vegan sub. for Jello.

Eden brand soy milk has a recipe on the back of their plain unsweetened original soy milk carton for a cream-like vegan pasta sauce, which I did try when I was made some baked pasta casserole and I thought it turned good.
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised how many products have gelatin in them (primary ingredient of jello). Gum, candy, marshmallows, mints, sour cream, yogurt etc. Pectin is a good gelatin substitute.
 
As for the milk and dairy question. I am allergic to dairy.

I have been trying all kinds of dairy free cheeses and I have to learn to forget what I remember from regular cheese or I will be disappointed. Once I get rid of that, I can deal with it, but not as a slice on a sandwich or veggie burger. It has to be in a casserole or mixed in like that.

For milk, I drink Silk's Dark Chocolate Almond milk. Their regular is also good. To cook with, I use rice milk. It has the consistency of a skim milk and does well for a lot of things, including baking my own bread and rolls, Mac & shreeze (brand name, can't remember right off) and other things I would cook with milk. My ice cream and treats like that are coconut milk ones from So Delicious.

I use The Best Life stick "butter" for cooking and then a Smart Balance for spreading. I also use Tofutti brand for cream cheese and sour cream.

Whole Foods has a good selection of soups that are cream style with no dairy in them. Last week we had a lemongrass and leek. This week, I have butternut squash. I just got a recipe off Whole Foods website for a Kale Waldorf Salad with no mayo in the dressing. Sounds fantastic and I can't wait to try it.
Kale Waldorf Salad | WholeFoodsMarket.com
 
yes, you are right, CSign - many products do!
I end up avoiding most of that by coincidence as I don't eat most of those things ....gum, marshmallows etc. Once in a while part of organic or Fair Trade chocolate bar though:) Omahene is one of my favorites. There's some nice vegan chocolate bars available too but harder to find the ones in dark chocolate here < I prefer dark chocolate>.

I've tried Tofurkey and I didn't mind it but it's not something I'd go out and buy, didn't think it was that good.

Veggie broth is a good idea, also I just saw some mushroom broth which may be good if you want a richer/darker taste to a dish.

I had some really good tofu meatballs the other night. Nate's.
 
Like Kristina, I'm allergic to dairy. I really like the Almond Breeze unsweetened chocolate milk or any of Eden's. Almond Breeze also has almond-based "ice cream" sandwiches. There's also a new almond-based yogurt Amande Cultured Almondmilk yogurt that I had recently that was very good, just wish they'd make a plain or use agave in it as opposed to the fruit juice.
 
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