Vegan Living & Ethical Buying

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  • savvy
    savvy Posts: 31,128
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    Just a quick one as busy at the moment...k9s, try this:

    https://vegannosh.me/2009/03/15/lazy-daves-5-bread-machine-turkey-flavored-seitan/

    If it doesn't work just put breadmaker seitan into a search engine and it should come up! ��
    Ah just need a breadmaker lol!! Wonder if it would work in slow cooker?
    Honorary Northern Bird bestowed by Anselm
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  • try this savvy:

    http://catheolson.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/slow-cooker-seitan.html

    I don't have a slow cooker so can't try it out but let me know how you get on :D

    It's seemed like a really long week this week - I love my job but had such a lovely holiday its been painful returning to work!! :rotfl:

    I'm making soup today from the veg I picked up on Thursday - I also have a mountain of onions in the house so will probably make a caramelized onion tart too. I still have a few bits of veg left over from the winter salads that I've been eating most of the week so will probably make a bubble & squeak to go with the tart - I'm determined not to waste anything!! ;)

    I have realised that I am consuming an inordinate amount of latte at the moment - not good for my sugar intake at all so I am going to have to cut that down - plus I'm going to run out of coffee before my next big food order at this rate and I can't cope with that!!

    I've decided that I need to sort my greenhouse out next weekend so that I can use it as my 'drop off' point for deliveries - at the moment, the access to it is a bit difficult and the floor of it is so covered in empty pots/ half dead plants etc there's no way that a box could fit in there!! :o The big shop order won't be a problem as I will take the day off for that but after talking to the companies who deliver the other things, I know that its not possible to get things delivered to work - no guarantees of timing means that they could try to deliver as late as 7pm!! :eek: I really should get it done today but it's cold and I'm a terminal coward!! ;)

    Anyway, better get something done now - as long as it's indoors!! :rotfl:
  • Ben84
    Ben84 Posts: 3,069
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    Ben84 - thanks for your comments - many of the local organic farmers here prefer to use green manures than animal products (although I doubt that they use it exclusively) but I understand your points regarding organic produce.

    While I agree with much you have said, (although I can't agree with your - 'in fact if it costs lots more all I can say is buyer beware, greener options are supposed to be using less of the things that cost - namely energy and material resources, so if the cost goes up a lot you're either using more, not less, or being over-billed for the things you're buying' - unfortunately the basic economy of scale disproves that statement as does the fact that more man hours go into the production of organic products) I also know from my own experience that the land management of those who choose to farm organically is much more sympathetic than those who use general commercial farming methods. While I try to grow some of my own produce, I am realistic about my capacity and therefore have to make a choice - while organic is certainly not perfect, I feel it is a much better option for the way I want to live and where I can reduce my environmental impact I will continue to do so.

    Organic farms also use more land. Depends on the crops, but I've seen studies suggesting large amounts less yield per land unit for some. Not seen any examples where they were the same or made more however. Land is an expensive and limited resource, so that must be reflected in the prices we pay. It is also land that has been taken from other uses, including nature.

    To be objective, land use isn't everything. There are other impacts to weigh up, for example are bigger, but more wildlife friendly farms better than smaller, more efficient, but less wildlife friendly farms? I'm open to possibilities, but it does disappoint me that all the environmental groups and organic organisations material I've seen seems to miss the harder questions about land efficiency, or how they rely on significant material inputs from non-organic farming. How can it be a solution to the problems when it's ultimately an end user of the products? It all feels like it was written to persuade more than explore the idea.

    Meanwhile, conventional farming can adopt new ideas and become greener. It is not a fixed thing, there are good and bad sides and some farms are doing very new things. I saw a non-organic farm that makes lettuce on TV a while ago - it was actually a converted warehouse using grow lights, very dense use of land, reusing an an old building, very little water use, much reduce need for plant food and pesticides, and it was moving the food production closer to the consumers! This felt more like where we should be going to me. Advanced forms of modern farming that maximise efficiency in diverse ways. It makes more sense to have all options open and use them as suited, rather than reduce options in a wholesale, ideological way.

    Anyway, sorry this is the latest reply ever! However, since last post I have become almost entirely vegan. I'm enjoying it so far, but am realising there is a learning curve about the new ways to cook and eat. Sometimes that's fun, and sometimes it's Tuesday evening, I'm home late and it's annoying :rotfl: But that's becoming less and less of an issue as I discover easy things to cook.
  • Just a quick one as busy at the moment...k9s, try this:

    https://vegannosh.me/2009/03/15/lazy-daves-5-bread-machine-turkey-flavored-seitan/

    If it doesn't work just put breadmaker seitan into a search engine and it should come up! ��

    Thank you :)
    GC £150 a month for food, toiletries and cleaning Jan £134.58 Feb
    Forever learning the art of frugality
  • edinburgher
    edinburgher Posts: 13,450
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    As a complement to your green energy supplier, are you looking at reducing your overall energy use? Like so many 'green' and 'ethical' purchasing choices, the best choice often seems to be going without or finding alternatives :)
  • jimjames
    jimjames Posts: 17,532
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    As a complement to your green energy supplier, are you looking at reducing your overall energy use? Like so many 'green' and 'ethical' purchasing choices, the best choice often seems to be going without or finding alternatives :)

    Very good point. The greenest car is not having one at all!
    Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.
  • it's been a busy week!!

    I've had a relative over for the past few days so very little time to get anything done...it's been lovely but i'm glad to have the rest of the weekend to relax ;)

    Ben84 - don't worry about the response time- it's nice to have you back! Nice to hear that you are further on with the vegan journey - I always have a few meals in the freezer for when I need something quick and can't be bothered to cook ;)

    Edinburgher - I am doing what I can think of to reduce my energy use - all my white goods are A+ rated now (when they needed replacing, I insisted on looking at their energy consumption first) and I have finally got into the habit of turning things off at the wall rather than leaving them on standby! Unfortunately, our heating system has definitely seen better days which means that it's probably consuming far more energy than it should but I can't sort that for another couple of years - and it's oil fired which is depressing - but I'm hoping that when we change it we can find something that is electricity based. I'm considering underfloor heating to be honest but don't know very much about it yet - when it comes to the point we are replacing the current system, I'll have to do a lot of research! ;)

    I also try to cook 3/4 days worth of food on a Sunday to help reduce our energy consumption - that way the oven is only used twice a week (Friday is beer and pizza night!), my freezer has 'emergency' meals which keeps the freezer full and the veg all gets used from the farmshare box :D Now that I am back at work, I am expecting the consumption to go down even further ;) Any other ideas are more than welcome!! :D


    Jimjames - you're totally right about the car - we have been sharing a car for years now, although that will change in the next couple of months as my new job is the other side of the city from dh's work and travelling across the city to drop him off/ pick him up is adding hours to our day :( the traffic is ridiculous and our work hours aren't compatible anymore - frankly, I'm fed up of doing 12 hour days!! I live in the sticks so not a hint of public transport unfortunately :( we only use the car to commute to work really - living 20+ miles away from our employment gives us no other options! I'd love to be in a position where I didn't need a car but I'm certainly never going back to being in the burbs so that's never going to happen!! :rotfl:
  • Poppycat1
    Poppycat1 Posts: 376
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    Another vegan here, have been for 18 months. Vegetarian for 20 years before that. I am lucky that I live somewhere that have a great selection of independent shops that sell vegan products. But I am trying to move away from the ready prepared products available and make more of my own.

    I bought some Suma vital wheat gluten today to make some Seitan.

    I have an allotment which helps keep the food miles down and helps to keep me fit - a constant battle.

    Really enjoying reading the posts here.
    Without overpayments: 15 years, 1 monthsBecause of overpayments: 10 years, 10 months left until paid off
  • savvy
    savvy Posts: 31,128
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    Poppycat1 wrote: »
    I have an allotment which helps keep the food miles down and helps to keep me fit - a constant battle.
    Ah I envy you!! What we need is a scheme that marries up those that are green fingered and grow a surplus, with those of us that are not and have dogs that eat/dig up what we DO try to grow, and don't have time to address these problems :rotfl:
    Honorary Northern Bird bestowed by Anselm
    I'm a Board Guide and volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly on Special Occasions, Green/Ethical, Motoring/Overseas/UK Travel & Flood boards, it's not part of my role to deal with reportable posts. Report inappropriate or illegal posts to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. Views are MINE & not official MSE ones ;)
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,713
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    savvy wrote: »
    and have dogs that eat/dig up what we DO try to grow, and don't have time to address these problems :rotfl:

    Labrador or Retriever? ;)
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
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