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

twinkle_star_2

Kale and watercress are the nutrition daddy-os but generally they're all pretty good.

At the moment I'm buying those big spring green packs that you get at the supermarket. Three big heads of leafy greens for about 70p! But my absolute favourite is the lovely wrinkly dinosaur kale. Whenever I see it at the market I always buy loads.

Red cabbage is great. Makes excellent coleslaw (another good thing to do with greens) and it helps you to eat your colour rainbow of vegetables. In the winter I like to make braised red cabbage with apples and onions. Excellent stuff.

Murrell

NualaBuala wrote: »

That helps a lot - thank you Twinkle_Star! :T I'm definitely going to try those ideas

What kind of greens are the best nutrition-wise? I got some spinach today so will be using that. And some rocket - not sure if that counts as a green for iron etc. It tastes nice though.

I also picked up some nutritional yeast - I put a tiny bit in a blob of oil and lemon juice to make salad dressing and it was nice.

I also got some red cabbage just cos I liked the colour of it. It seems to be the same as white cabbage texture-wise so I was thinking of using it for a funky-coloured coleslaw. Not sure how good it is nutritionally but at least it will count towards my 5 a day (which I hope will become 9 a day).

Kale, green cabbage and brocoli are good nutrition wise, but I think all greens have some good components. Spinach has something in it (oxalic acid) that stops calcium being absorbed from the food its in, same with rhubarb, beetroot greens and chard too. OK to eat though as very nutrious.

This page might be useful, as its lots of questions answered by vegan nutrition experts.

http://vegfamily.com/dietician/index.htm

Will try to think about this more and put my nutrition head back on when visitors have gone home next week!

Sandra
x

NualaBuala

Thank you both!:T:T:T Lots more great info for me to put to good use. I will ask at the market next week for watercress - I really like it so it's a bonus that it's good for me too. I'm still a little bit clueless about what's in season but am learning. I know I've eaten kale around Halloween so I'm guessing it's not in season now but I'll keep my eyes open for it.

I remember reading about the phytates Sandra ... can't remember the details but I will try to find veggies that don't have them. I do like my spinach though!

I made 2 gorgeous salads today. One isn't vegan but I'm wondering how I could adapt it. It's a broccoli, cherry tomato, hazelnut and feta salad. It would be nice without fhe feta although I do like the salty tang it provides so if anyone knows a vegan alternative I'll be delighted. I blanched the broccoli first which made it a super-vivid green, it looked so appetising! I've never bothered do that before but I think it was worth it. And I toasted the hazelnuts which made them even tastier.

And the other was my red cabbage, onion and carrot slaw. I didnt use mayonnaise (never liked it anyway) - just the same oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and lemon juice dressing I had made for the other salad.

I'm still using up all my non-vegan ingredients but I don't think I'm going to miss them at all. I don't think this is going to be any great hardship once I get into the swing of things. Maybe a little bit tricky when I'm eating with friends but they'll get used to it I'm sure.

Murrell

NualaBuala wrote: »

Thank you both!:T:T:T Lots more great info for me to put to good use. I will ask at the market next week for watercress - I really like it so it's a bonus that it's good for me too. I'm still a little bit clueless about what's in season but am learning. I know I've eaten kale around Halloween so I'm guessing it's not in season now but I'll keep my eyes open for it.
Its hard to know whats in season when things seem to be available all year these days. I can get kale from the supermarket at the moment, don't know if its in season though.
I remember reading about the phytates Sandra ... can't remember the details but I will try to find veggies that don't have them. I do like my spinach though!
I was mistaken and meant oxalic acid when I talked about spinach and rhubarb. Phytates areo in cereals, legumes and nuts. Thats why its advisable to soak oats overnight. Also sprouting of seeds, grains, legumes, the roasting of nuts, presoaking beans, and cooking helps.
I made 2 gorgeous salads today. One isn't vegan but I'm wondering how I could adapt it. It's a broccoli, cherry tomato, hazelnut and feta salad. It would be nice without fhe feta although I do like the salty tang it provides so if anyone knows a vegan alternative I'll be delighted. I blanched the broccoli first which made it a super-vivid green, it looked so appetising! I've never bothered do that before but I think it was worth it. And I toasted the hazelnuts which made them even tastier.
Perhaps for a salty tang - olives, tofu marinated in soya sauce I was also going to suggest salted cashews or other nuts, but not sure if this is a good idea with the hazlenuts.
And the other was my red cabbage, onion and carrot slaw. I didnt use mayonnaise (never liked it anyway) - just the same oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard and lemon juice dressing I had made for the other salad.
Sounds good, I might try this with white cabbage, don't like red!
I'm still using up all my non-vegan ingredients but I don't think I'm going to miss them at all. I don't think this is going to be any great hardship once I get into the swing of things. Maybe a little bit tricky when I'm eating with friends but they'll get used to it I'm sure.

Bye for now
Sandra
x

NualaBuala

Thanks a mill Sandra ... I have olives and these will be a staple I think! I also love Greek salad so extra olives will be great in a tofu-less version. I haven't ventured into tofu-land yet but it looks so similar that marinating it should do the job. :T After a quick google, it seems there are several recipes for making vegan "feta" with tofu, salt/soya sauce, a little vinegar and some seasoning. I will have to investigate tofu but I think I want to try tempeh first as I've heard that fermented soy is healthier.

Today I got into my nutritional yeast flakes. I added a little to the salad dressing but couldn't really taste it. But I discovered that I do like the flavour when I added some to my homemade popcorn just now - yum! And I got a dose of B12 and lots of other nutrients so I feel quite virtuous. :A

I really need to get better at meal planning as I'm under pressure to use up all the lovely fresh fruit and veg I bought before it goes off. The rocket and spinach are looking a bit sad and droopy. I used to always use frozen spinach so I'm not really used to having to use up stuff like this so quickly. But I will learn! I don't have a blender but I think I might save up for one or look on Freecycle cos the idea of adding greens to smoothies really appeals to me and would mean no waste.

This is such a great thread - I'm about halfway through now and am learning loads and getting great ideas. So thank you all! :T

dizzy_lizzie

Murrell wrote: »

As you may or may not know Weezl has been putting together a subsistance plan on eating for 80p a day. The first month which was for the meat eaters, although was about 50% vegan has just run with test families and was very sucessful. She and the group are now working on the vegan plan. She is looking for people to test the recipes and give feedback. Then eventually this vegan plan with run for a month with test families. She is also in the process of putting a fab website together which shows the first months plan and the vegan recipes to test.

If any of you wish to help and test the vegan recipes, please visit her website and try them, the ones to test are at the bottom of this page.

http://www.cheap-family-recipes.org.uk/recipes.html

and then go to the tread and let us know what you think of them. Also please feel to subscribe to the thread and give your input.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/32813623#Comment_32813623

Sandra
x

Thanks so much for this Murrell. Made the sweetcorn fritters and feedback to the thread. They were gorgeous!!!

Luvz Dizzy x

Murrell

NualaBuala wrote: »

Thanks a mill Sandra ... I have olives and these will be a staple I think! I also love Greek salad so extra olives will be great in a tofu-less version. I haven't ventured into tofu-land yet but it looks so similar that marinating it should do the job. :T After a quick google, it seems there are several recipes for making vegan "feta" with tofu, salt/soya sauce, a little vinegar and some seasoning. I will have to investigate tofu but I think I want to try tempeh first as I've heard that fermented soy is healthier.

Today I got into my nutritional yeast flakes. I added a little to the salad dressing but couldn't really taste it. But I discovered that I do like the flavour when I added some to my homemade popcorn just now - yum! And I got a dose of B12 and lots of other nutrients so I feel quite virtuous. :A

I really need to get better at meal planning as I'm under pressure to use up all the lovely fresh fruit and veg I bought before it goes off. The rocket and spinach are looking a bit sad and droopy. I used to always use frozen spinach so I'm not really used to having to use up stuff like this so quickly. But I will learn! I don't have a blender but I think I might save up for one or look on Freecycle cos the idea of adding greens to smoothies really appeals to me and would mean no waste.

This is such a great thread - I'm about halfway through now and am learning loads and getting great ideas. So thank you all! :T

I have woke up with my nutrition head on this morning and relised that I meant oxalic acid when I was talking about spinach the other day, told you I wasn't thinking straight! Still phytates was another thing to consider and i've corrected my last post. Concentrations of oxalic acid are pretty low in most plants and plant-based foods, but there's enough in rhubarb, spinach, chard and beetroot greens to interfere with the absorption of the calcium these plants also contain.However, the oxalic acid in vegetables is broken down in cooking and doesn't interfere with the absorption of calcium present in other foods. certainly wouldn't avoid spinach or other leafy greens because of the oxalic acid effect. Spinach has a lot to offer nutritionally: it's an excellent source of folic acid, potassium and magnesium, as well as vitamin K, carotenes, vitamin C and lutein, important for healthy eyes.
Good luck with your experiments with vegan feta. Perhaps you could make soup or stew with your veg thats turning and then when you next purchase veg, steam and freeze some in advance and leave some for salads.

Feel free to continue to ask any questions. I have been vegan for over 17 years. I did start a vegan nutrition course when I lived in America 14 years ago, but gave it up when I moved back to the UK. I have also read up a lot on it and try my best to get all nutrients in my diet.

Anyway, better get ready for work now.

Sandra
x

twinkle_star_2

Hey Nuala,

I got a blender on Amazon for about £20 and it has managed to blend everything I've thrown at it so far. Obviously it's not as powerful as the super-duper american blend-tec (many hundreds of pounds) but it definitely blends kale just as well as my Mum's expensive KitchenAid one. Plus as mine is plastic it's about a million times easier to wash than the super heavywieght glass kitchen aid.

Hope that helps.

NualaBuala

Morning folks!

I think I do need to reassess my need for kitchen gadgets. In general I prefer to do things by hand as a) I need to lose weight so energy-saving isn't a good thing for me! b) I am trying to be green and not use so much electricity c) I have better things to spend my money on. But the pestle and mortar hasn't been doing a great job of grinding my flax seeds. I think it used to - maybe it's that I'm weak and fatiged these days cos of illness. Anyway, a hand grinder would be ideal. There are some on ebay but not as cheap as I'd like so I'll have to keep my eyes open.

Thanks for the Argos suggestion twinkle_star - they have a cookworks smoothie maker for just over €20 which is quite good price. But as I am [STRIKE]stingy[/STRIKE] frugal I think I might be able to use my ancient stick blender. I just need to find a container tall enough for the contents not to sploosh out of while I'm blending.

dizzy_lizzie wrote: »

Thanks so much for this Murrell. Made the sweetcorn fritters and feedback to the thread. They were gorgeous!!!

I just looked them up and they look lovely - I'll definitely be trying them!


Thanks for all the info Sandra. I remembered that rhubarb leaves have oxalates/oxalic acid - didn't know it was in other stuff too. But I am learning. That's so interesting that roasting nuts helps - makes them taste even more delciious too. But I think I heard it damages the oils in them. I'm not going to get too hung up it - I'm just going to do the best I can, hopefully learning as I go.:)

twinkle_star_2

I would stay away from smoothie makers if I was you. They tend to have those weird tap things that get clogged. A generic jug style blender is best as it can be used for all sorts of things. I reckon a stick blender in a big plastic jug should work though.

I also have a a little spice/hand blender - it's invaluable for flax seeds as nothing else grinds them properly. I love my pestle and mortar but those seeds are damned hard!


I shall have to give those sweetcorn fritters a try, so many people have been raving about them.