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

beautifylife

Hi, I know this thread has been going for ages, and it's good to see so much interest in vegan eating/lifestyle.

I haven't gone through all the posts but from what I have looked at there seems to be some info missing. If it's already been discussed apologies in advance but want to support your transition.

I followed a raw vegan diet for about 6 years. This means vegan and no cooked foods. I did transition from a high veggie diet so it was a little easier. I think transitioning is always a good way to go it give the body time to adjust to the changes without lots of detoxing problems.

Nature is slower but it's always easier and less stress on the body.

Here are some key essentials you need to make sure you are getting often overlooked and not given as much concern as the levels of protien but are vital, I know through personal experience and they are talked about rarely:

B12 - you'll need to supplement very difficult to get on a vegan diet

Omega 3,6,9 fatty acids - these are essential as the body cannot make their own, especially 3 are less common. Flax seeds are a good source (2 tablespoons per day) can go in smoothies, soups, on salads. You can buy the omega blended oils from health food shops.

Vit D - get lots of sun shine (10mins a day is best) and take liquid supplement to top up

Also watch your iron levels - it is easy to become anaemic - optimum levels are 15mg day, 25mg if you have a problem. (recommended by Patrick Holford nutritionist)

Iron sources: Pumpkin seeds, parsley, almonds, prunes, raisins, dates, brazil nuts, cashews (iron is best absorbed with Vit C) - pumpkin has the highest

You also may need to consider strengthening your stomach acid, when we eat meat it stimulates more stomach acid, when you eat a less acidic diet more plant based then it creates more alkaline enviornment in the stomach. This can affect absorbtion and the ability to break foods down. One way of doing this is to drink a tablespoon of unprocessed vinegar in water before you eat.

Digestive enzymes can also be helpful for absorbtion but see how you go. As we age we lose the ability to produce these enzymes, and cellulose is more difficult to digest. So it is a good idea to eat blended foods too. Soups, smoothies etc as it breaks the cell wall down.

I'm not big on recipes, but I do think sprouting is very cheap, nutritious and easy way to add lots of enzymes and nutrition througout the year. Making your own nut milks, almond, cashew, are good ones I have found. Much cheaper than buying ready made rice milk, oat milk. I have also made oat milk in a blender to and it works ok but you would need to source "oat groats" not the type in the supermarket.

Anyway those are some really important things I wish someone had told me on my journey.

If you want to know more let me know, if I think of anything else I'll post more.

Congrats on your new lifestyle.

VfM4meplse

Seeking some help fairly urgently with a vegan baking q.

I soaked 4kg of fruit in port and Cointreau for Christmas cake 3 weeks ago, although no longer a vegan I still don't drink milk and really don't want to go anywhere near eggs so thought would like to make a vegan version. Cue recipe suggestion: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/249299 - see posts #241 and #246.

I was concerned about the ratio of fat to flour (1:7) - I don't want to end up with a dry old scone, or worst still a cake that will end up mouldy before Christmas! - and so doubled it to 2:7, rubbed in the dry ingredients which was a task in itself due to the huge quantities involved. I haven't yet added the fruit, but spilt everything into 2 equal parts last night ready for 2* 12" cake tins and have everything ready for the big final mix this evening.

My concern is that I have spent so much on the ingredients, I cannot afford a disaster cake. Have found 2 other recipes with a similar method, but varying levels of fat to flour:

• Suma - c1:5 - again a low ratio
• The Hungry Veggie (apparently adapted from a Rose Elliott recipe, which gives me some confidence) - 1:2, which is closer conventional cake proportions.

Has anyone had any experience of making a vegan Christmas cake that actually works, and what proportion fat to flour did you use? I am more than happy to buy another tub of Pure if it means I can rescue the recipe at this stage.

And are there any comments on the amount of bicarb to be used?

Justamum

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I was concerned about the ratio of fat to flour (1:7) - I don't want to end up with a dry old scone, or worst still a cake that will end up mouldy before Christmas!

Sorry, not sure about how to remedy it, but I would have trusted the recipe - it wouldn't have been dry because of the moist fruit and booze. Also the booze would have meant that it wouldn't have gone mouldy - especially if you had kept feeding the cake. I'm sure someone else will be able to help with your query.

VfM4meplse

Justamum wrote: »

Sorry, not sure about how to remedy it, but I would have trusted the recipe

The recipe was posted by someone else so I was a little concerned that there was a transcription error . I've been baking for years but never seen anything like this.

Ok, I'm going to be brave and go for my 2:7 as it's not that far from Rose Elliott's 1:3.

ThriftyFelicity

VfM4meplse wrote: »

My concern is that I have spent so much on the ingredients, I cannot afford a disaster cake. Have found 2 other recipes with a similar method, but varying levels of fat to flour:

• Suma - c1:5 - again a low ratio
• The Hungry Veggie (apparently adapted from a Rose Elliott recipe, which gives me some confidence) - 1:2, which is closer conventional cake proportions.

Has anyone had any experience of making a vegan Christmas cake that actually works, and what proportion fat to flour did you use? I am more than happy to buy another tub of Pure if it means I can rescue the recipe at this stage.

And are there any comments on the amount of bicarb to be used?

I don't often bake things, but my blog pal Jeni Treehugger does, and she made a recipe for Christmas cake last year that she really liked. It was basically the same as the Rose Elliott recipe, so a 1:2 ratio on the fat to flour.

OTOH, I found the same low-fat recipe as the MSE one HERE, and the person that posted it says it is the one their family has always made and the recipe was originally from a vegetarian cookbook.

Let us know what you decide, and how it turns out!

VfM4meplse

ThriftyFelicity wrote: »

I don't often bake things, but my blog pal Jeni Treehugger does, and she made a recipe for Christmas cake last year that she really liked. It was basically the same as the Rose Elliott recipe, so a 1:2 ratio on the fat to flour.

OTOH, I found the same low-fat recipe as the MSE one HERE, and the person that posted it says it is the one their family has always made and the recipe was originally from a vegetarian cookbook.

Let us know what you decide, and how it turns out!

Big thank you for this, btwn you and Justamum I am getting there!

The clues are there - the recipe does say that it's not as rich or heavy as some fruit cakes - mine are usually crammed with fruit and minimal crumbs to hold them together! I'm happy with my proportions, but have decided to use 3/4 of the dry mixture for a denser result. I'll turn the rest into vegan rock buns .

PS Jeni Treehugger - fabulous pseudonym!

Justamum

VfM4meplse wrote: »

I'll turn the rest into vegan rock buns .

They sound yummy

VfM4meplse

Quick update on the vegan Christmas cake recipe - I made 2 huge cakes using a normal cake tin, and a smaller one (same width but half the depth using a silicone caketin) and have been feeding them with whisky regularly.

Last night I had friends over and we started on the smaller one. It was tasty enough, but still very dry (bearing in mind I used twice the fat the recipe stated and added plenty of alcohol). Using a silicone caketin was a big mistake however - the sides and bottom are overcooked, chewy and if I'm honest tastes a little burnt although the centre is fine.

I'm chewing on a piece now but feel a bit embarrassed that I sent my friends home with large chunks of it last night! I hope the ones made in traditional cake times work out better...

Justamum

If anyone is interested I've found the best vegan yorkshire pudding recipe yet. I've tried others but they've been very heavy. This one tastes just like I remember yorkshire puddings should taste http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/food/recipes/egg-substitutes/yorkshire-puddings.aspx

The recipe says to put fat in all 12 muffin holes, but I only got 7 out of it. They've gone down well with the family!

Sorry if this has been posted before!

shandyclover

Thanks Justamum!

I was just today wondering how I was going to make vegan yorkies.

What do you use for 'white fat'?

Where do you buy 'whole egg replacer'?