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

Kittikins

Vitalite is also vegan and is cheap:) But, like fayhare said, putting something else on the bread/rice cake is an idea too- squished avocado is pretty yummy too

Justamum

Zahava wrote: »

Justamum Nooooo!! I didn't even know they did them, I want some now! It's really difficult to find vegan burgers, I have just been using the granose burger mix and making them myself but they go a little crumbly, did you get them in H&B?

Sosmix and burgermix _pale_ Yuk!!! I got the Redwoods ones in H&B. They are only a recent addition I think.

Zahava wrote: »

Juliapenguin - I use Rakusens Tomor kosher margerine, I really like it it's my favourite one and also marks and spencer dairy free marge I like too but I will only use the pure out of desperation.

I wish I could get Tomor over here :rolleyes: I've not tried the M&S marg - didn't know they did a vegan one. I get a bit put off their food hall because it's always packed with people, and it's bl**dy freezing in there! :rotfl:

Zahava wrote: »

Do you all know that starburst are vegan?

I won't buy anything made by Mars because they do some horrendous testing on animals. Why on earth would they want to inject chocolate in the hearts of rabbits?

Kittikins wrote: »

Vitalite is also vegan and is cheap:)

I know it says dairy-free on the tub, and they were supposed to be getting the Vegan Society logo on it, but there was some problem about it and the Vegan Society haven't authorised it yet (it might have been something to do with the Vitamin D source, I can't remember). I think it's got an odd taste to it though.

Kittikins

Oh dear, I didn't realise about the Vitalite (not that I'm vegan yet, just in training as it were...).

Why on earth do food manufacturers feel the need to do any animal testing? Crazy world....I've been watching the current Jimmy/comedian chap bloke programmes about what makes up many popular foods and it's really turning my stomach. I'm so pleased that DD (age 4) has never shown any interest in wanting to try meat, in fact when we go shopping, she very loudly reminds me (as if I needed reminding) that they sell meat on particular aisles and we don't eat meat as WE'RE VEGETARIAN!! Bless her little chops x

Does anyone live near Brighton? Have you tried Heather MM's cafe? I'm curious about it, but having looked at the website am a bit put off by the amount of fake meat/fish products she uses, for me not eating meat doesn't make me want to have pretend bacon/ham etc as I was never a big fan of them when I was a child. Just curious for any recommendations as we might venture down there on Sunday if its a nice day, take the bikes and go for a meander by the sea

Justamum

Kittikins wrote: »

I'm so pleased that DD (age 4) has never shown any interest in wanting to try meat, in fact when we go shopping, she very loudly reminds me (as if I needed reminding) that they sell meat on particular aisles and we don't eat meat as WE'RE VEGETARIAN!! Bless her little chops x

When my DD1 was about 2, I was shopping with my mum, and my DD was in my mum's trolley while I was in another part of the shop (Morrisons). I heard this voice loudly say "yucky meat!". Yep, it was my DD :rotfl:. I still chuckle about it and she's 13 now (and is very proud of the fact that she's never eaten meat). I'm still trying to persuade my DH and children to ditch the eggs and dairy though :rolleyes:

Kittikins

DD gets so sad when she asks what beef or pork is and I explain to her. I don't get overly moral about it, I just say that some people like eating meat and that beef is a cow etc.

It's another good reason to be a single parent, as my ex is a complete carnivore, he reckons he's allergic to vegetables and I'd cook separate meals every day for us. Thankfully he left before I started weaning DD and has always accepted that she does not eat meat.

DD is also convinced that all sweets contain "ham or gelatine", so whilst she will very occasionally have a bit of chocolate, she won't touch chewy things thank goodness! I'm going to get some carob bars and see how she likes those as when I was non-dairy eating in my late teens, I loved the Pl*mil bars, I can taste them now...

Justamum

Kittikins wrote: »

DD gets so sad when she asks what beef or pork is and I explain to her. I don't get overly moral about it, I just say that some people like eating meat and that beef is a cow etc.

I've always told my children where meat comes from, and my DD2 (age 4) recently asked me why people eat pigs, cows, etc.

Kittikins wrote: »

DD is also convinced that all sweets contain "ham or gelatine", so whilst she will very occasionally have a bit of chocolate, she won't touch chewy things thank goodness! I'm going to get some carob bars and see how she likes those as when I was non-dairy eating in my late teens, I loved the Pl*mil bars, I can taste them now...

You can get vegan chewy sweets, which are very nice, but horrendously expensive. You're lucky your little one doesn't want to eat them though - they're very bad for the teeth! My own children have never been given sticky sweets and have never had to have any treatment on their teeth. When I was a child our dentist told my mum that if she wanted to give us sweets to only give us chocolate as that doesn't stay on the teeth. This was over 40 years ago!

415SanFran

I hate to sound like a boaster here but my twins (15) have never needed any dental work at all.
I put that down to both being vegan from birth.

Justamum

415SanFran wrote: »

I hate to sound like a boaster here but my twins (15) have never needed any dental work at all.
I put that down to both being vegan from birth.

:T:T

I'm sure my children will catch yours up eventually - mine are 13, 10 and 4.

My 4 year old was looking at some pictures the other day of bears, and there was a panda. I told her that they are not really bears, and that they are vegan 'just like mummy', so she said "I wish I was vegan" - so it's an easy transition to her becoming completely vegan as 99% of what my DH and children eat is vegan anyway (the cheese is the biggest obstacle for them).

415SanFran

I have been wondering what to do with a large bag of mung beans.
I have used it as a sort of mince substitute and that turned out pretty good.
As my boys do not like "pretend meat" I was wondering if anyone else had done this with success?

twinkle_star_2

I've made khichidi which is a sort of Indian comfort food of rice and mung beans. There's a nice vegan recipe here.

I've also sprouted them a few times as they are the beans most commonly used to make beansprouts for stir-frys. I then either stir fry them (most excellent) or chuck them into soups, salads or sandwiches. HTH