Going vegan......old style?!

O.W.E.I

Hi - some good tips on this thread.

It took me ages to get used to soya milk, I think I've tried more or less every brand since becoming Vegan (in the 80s).

I use Sainsbury's own brand unsweetened for cereal and sauces, but beware - they seem to use budget price closures and the contents can leak.

Tea and coffee - have it without milk!

Good luck!

frugalmumof4

JUSTAMUM both tescos and sainsburys milk are fine in coffee, i just put in lots for my husband as thats how he likes it!its usually as he is in a rush! i use normal amounts in my drinks and they are fine.

denimmaterial

I was browsing the web last night trying to find out what exactly carlins were (a sort of dried black pea) and came across this blog written by a vegan - recipes and ideas. http://thecatofstripes.blogspot.com/
Hope this helps with ideas.

sarah2000h

I've been vegan a few times and vegetarian most of my life. I didn't feel any healthier by being vegan or lose any weight. What I did find is that my diet isolated me socially and if you travel abroad it's almost impossible. So good luck with the new diet and I hope it works for you. Keep us posted.:j

Doom_and_Gloom

sarah2000h wrote: »

I've been vegan a few times and vegetarian most of my life. I didn't feel any healthier by being vegan or lose any weight. What I did find is that my diet isolated me socially and if you travel abroad it's almost impossible. So good luck with the new diet and I hope it works for you. Keep us posted.:j

The only reason that I find it socially isolating is if you let it or if your friends do not understand your choice. All of my friends understand my choice and are very accommodating of it. Yes okay so if we eat out I usually have a salad and chips/baked potato but that is exactly what I had when I was veggie before hand lol. I’m usually the one to host parties/get together so that I know what foods are okay (my parents or partner will buy foods that are not vegan) and sometimes we order food from a take out that I know what foods are okay as I know the place. It isn’t as socially isolating as some people assume to be honest.

I've been to Poland and France since being vegan and had no trouble with it. In Poland I even found a vegan restaurant with a take out option so I didn‘t have to eat there but could enjoy Poland as I wished to. My friend was shocked but before going I did a bit of research into places there and where I could eat. There are an amazing amount of veggie and vegan places in Poland and it puts the area I live in (Kent) to shame lol.

Also I don’t see veganism as a ‘diet’ I see it as a way of life. I’m happy with the way I live my life, lol.

dustyparasol

twinkle_star wrote: »

Hello people. Well I've recently made the rather unexpected decision to become vegan. :eek: I say unexpected because I was not, nor have I ever been, a vegetarian beforehand so I'm jumping in at the deep end. I realize that veganism is rather an extreme diet to most people but once I settled on the idea it felt right for me so I’m happy with it.

Now, up until this point I’ve been trying to be as OS as possible, cooking meals for myself and OH from scratch, meal planning, budgeting and making a few meals for the freezer. I’m hoping to continue doing this as much as possible as make the transition into my new diet and I thought I’d try to keep a little chronicle here in case anyone is interested and also because I’d really like some recipe suggestions and free help!

I think it should be fairly in-keeping with old-style because although veganism may seem a little odd it is in fact fairly frugal (no expensive meat, milk products or eggs) and low fat (same reasons) and requires plenty of pre-planning and home cooking (there aren’t too many vegan meals provided at my work or most places).
I hope people won’t be too weirded out by this diet. I’m hoping that I’ll generally be making recipes that can easily be adapted for meat/dairy eaters (my OH is a confirmed milk and meat lover) and they should be pretty tasty.

Also, when I mentioned this plan to my district nurse she was a little horrified so I've been doing a fair amount of nutritional research to ensure I don't make myself ill from lack of vitamins and minerals and I should be able to post some nice geeky info along the way.:D
Before I disappear from my first post I shall quickly post this link to the first vegan recipe that I tried and that persuaded me that veganism might be tasty. The lovely Weezl74’s lentil pate. Proof, I hope, that even meat eaters can enjoy a vegan delight. (Yes, weezl is my MSE hero and I have stolen and adapted many of her recipes! Thanks Weezl :T:T:T). Right, epic first post over.

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hi,
great decision! I have been a vegan since i was 11 years old and i am now approaching 39! i can highly reccommend www.rebeccas.cakes.co.uk as a provider of mail order cakes and breads etc, available on facebook and ebay!

Watch out for animal by-products and E numbers on food packaging hidden under their chemical name and buy a book called E for Additives!

SAINSBURYS label their food suitable for vegetarian/vegan so that cuts down on label reading times.

Good luck and if you need any advice on anything get in touch - good luck on your brilliant decision- best one i ever made! x

VeganClaire

Congratulations!

My tips for being a vegan on a budget:

Tesco Value soya milk is organic (look at the ingredients).

If you want to take a supplement the vegan society veg1 is a mulivitamin that contains extra vitamins vegans might be low on e.g. vit B12.

Lentils beans and tofu (am sure you know this already).

When making cakes I find its best to use a non-fan oven, and if adapting a non-vegan cake recepie reduce the oven temp slightly.

For a cheesy flavour try nutritional yeast - really nice and quite cheep, lasts a long time.

Marigold organic Reduced salt swiss vegetable boulion is vegan, so does not contain lactose like some other veg stocks can. Its a bit more expensive but a little lasts a long time.

Also vitalite is now vegan (cheaper than other soya marg)

Good luck

Forgot to say
When drinking tea put the soya milk in first and pour in tea from a pot this stops the soya milk curdeling.

mobilecat

I will also be watching this thread with interest. I find it funny that so many veggies annd vegans cook meat for their families though - really really weird!

I have been veggie for 20 years and I gave up fish a long time before that. I have been married to a meat eater for 9 years and I have never ever even considered cooking anything that wasn't veggie. We take turns to cook and cook together and only cook veggie. If hubby fancies some fish (often) or meat (rarely) then he cooks it himself! He would never ever even consider asking me to do it for him - I wouldn't know where to start as I have never ever done it.

Our son, now 6, is not a veggie (at the moment). We have decided that we will let him make the decision for himself and I know he will go my way soon but I have never influenced that. At home, he is almost entirely veggie as I do most of his cooking but he has some meat and fish if hubby is making it. At school he has a balanced diet including fish and meat and when with his grandparents he also occasonially gets meat or fish. He knows I am veggie and I only cook veggie and never questions that.

I will be looking forward to seeing lots of cheap veggie and vegan food on here.

twinkle_star_2

Hello all,

I'm very excited to tell you that thanks to all your lovely discussions and helpful hints this thread has been named Old Style 'Thread of the week' in Martin's money saving tips email! :j :T

Thank you all!:beer:

vixtress

congratulations!!
i am not a vegan but have been lurking and reading this thread a lot. i am trying to be more healthy and am picking up lots of tips and recipe ideas from you all,
keep up the good work x