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

sunshinesheli

Hello I've just been browsing this thread (not read all of it though!! Would take me months ) as I'm considering seriously reducing the amount of meat and fish I eat - not that I eat loads at the moment, but more than I think I would like to, mainly for health and environmental reasons.

The recipe links are amazing so thank you to whoever sorted that out and everyone for sharing their recipies!
I'm going to try the shepards pie later this week, and falafels look interesting!

Does anyone have any tips for making the transition easier? I won't be going completely vegan, but I am planning on cutting out a LOT of animal products, so any tips would be greatly apreciated

twinkle_star_2

Hello all,

I'm posting this from a very slow connection in the depths of mid-wales at my conference thing. The food (which i was warned about) has gone from a delicious first meal (yesterday lunch) to absolutely dire today so I'm very glad for my secret stash of goodies. Didn't have time to go shopping so just ended up bringing some krisprolls, nut and dried fruit mix, bits of chocolate some crisps and fresh fruit. So far it has served me well! Mash pots or some kind of pot noodle would have been useful but didn't have any in the house. Anyway...

DrD - if you don't want to use soya products there are plenty of alternatives out there. Oatly do both oat milk and oat cream and you can ever get milk-making machines to make your own plant milks out of other nuts/seeds etc that are more ethically farmed. As for flavoured milks and puddings you can flavour them with something like crusha or make puddings at home.

Taye - lots of veggie burgers/chickpea burger type things are really easy to make. It's mostly just a case of mashing everything together, forming it into burgers and frying it. Also nut/lentil/bean loaves (like meatloaf but non-meaty:rolleyes:) is quite quick and easy.

sunshineshelli - you may find it easier to use replacements for a while (e.g. veggie sausages, soya milks etc) and phasing one thing out at a time. Try replacing one recipe you frequently make with a veggie alternative so you don't suddenly feel like you can't have anything you like to eat. E.g. make a spaghetti bolognaise with veggie mince rather than beef or make a vegetable curry rather than a chicken one.

But you should probably also try out new recipes in between so you can learn more about vegetarian cooking and explore ways of cooking without relying on meat substitutes.

If you combine those two methods e.g. veganizing (or veggifying) one meal a week and trying one new recipe a week (or whatever timetable suits you) you'll have changed your diet before you know it. Hope that helps.

VeganClaire

Dr D - as other people have said there are alternatives to soy. However alpro specificially says there soya beans are not farmed in the rainforest and are not GM ([URL="http:///www.alprosoya.co.uk/caring-for-our-planet/soya-bean-sourcing.html#c100"]alpro website[/URL]). I think I would find it difficult to be vegan without soy (I try to always buy organic). The vegan society has some infomation about how soya is grown in the rainforest for animal feed. Hope this helps!

Joyful25

Wow!! :j:beer::j:beer::T:T well done twinkle_star on the links to recipes, at least now I don't have to cut and paste my faves!! And thanks so much for putting mine on there, am blushing and very chuffed my Oh joked about whether I'd put a cake recipe on there....sadly I've tried two Sarah Kramer cakes and they've turned out pants....he didn't try my chocolate cake back in Feb which was posted on here very early on by OWEI so it's back to that one I think.

Yet to read the posts, saw that one first.

Joyful25

Justamum wrote: »

I've been waiting for these to come out for ages! I bet our local supermarket and Tesco won't bother stocking them though - I'll just have to hope H&B do.

Me too, will take a special trip to Asda this week me thinks!

Joyful25

Dr D: A friend of mine works in the health food trade industry magazine, er, industry. She has assured me Alpro does what it says it does, and as she's pretty darn good at seeing through bullcrap, I keep on using it. I've started to by Mr. S own brand soya milk as it's cheaper and still has the b12 and calclium levels we need to keep ticking - I find I'm going through a lot of it lately - but I also buy Alpro yoghurt.

As an aside, did you know Provamel and Alpro belong to the same company; I think Provamel is the organic 'arm'.

sunshinesheli: hey there! If it's any good advice, my transition was only on Jan 1st so am still a newbie. I was an omnivore before, but over the last year I definately pared down my meat consumption to nothing really beyond chicken and fish and the odd sausage. Cheese was a bit of a downfall, and of course I would eat all kinds of snacks and desserts which have animal products. It wasn't necessarily to consciously prepare for coming vegan - I think, and I'm not religious, it must be like finding religion, it happens and you go with it and by last October I'd decided that in the new year it would be my way of doing things.

If you've got the time and inclincation to look at the beginning of the thread, we all have a story which will hopefully inspire you!

My recent vegan experiences have included:

Last night, I was at a work do which involved a buffet. Although I didn't really have any intention of eating (had enough to snack on in the office if needed) the lovely ladies organising it made sure I got a plate of me-friendly food; very soft nut roast thing, asparagus, beetroot and salad veg. Was very filling and I had the rest for lunch today (with lots of salsa which my belly really hasn't enjoyed...).

Anyway, not only was I pleased, but it prompted a couple of people to question why the "special treatment". I tried to explain without putting them completely off their cheese sandwiches, and one particular guy was very receptive and happy to hear my points.

Last weekend, I spent a night in a Cotswold hotel (it was free, yay!! :money:). Nearby we went to watch the footie at a pub, and they were doing a BBQ. Suffice to say, I didn't think they'd be up to much, but they made me veggie kebabs, had plenty of rice on the go, plus potato wedges and salad so it was quite a feed in the end.

The hotel we were in did a hot and cold buffet breakfast. I'd taken my own soya milk, so had some cornflakes, and prunes (mmmm), then had baked beans, mushrooms and hash browns. Very unlike me to have a hot breakfast (and one so fibreous, uh oh) but thought I'd take advantage.

Also, a friend at work as been an on and off vegan and I think (or hope) I've inspired him to get back on it. We text each other our meals every now and again, and last week decided to set up the VNP - yes, the Vegan National Party, along with my colleague who is also vegan (although she will be an honorary member). Of course, it was all a bit of a joke, but it made us chuckle.

Speaking of politics, we had the Animals Count party stand in the Euro elections in the East of England.....did anyone else?

BilberryCharlotte

Hi all. just a quick question, is it ok to use Pure spread? I have been told that it is manufactured by Bernard Matthews.

Thanks to everyone for all the recipes, not cooking at the moment as I have had an op, but looking forward to trying them out soon.

Dr_DiNg_DoNg

Thanks for the comments about Alpro, thats good news

suep

Joyful25 wrote: »

Me too, will take a special trip to Asda this week me thinks!

It was in the cheese aisle, near the baby bells and cheese strings,dont know if it will be the same in all the shops though.

suep

BilberryCharlotte wrote: »

Hi all. just a quick question, is it ok to use Pure spread? I have been told that it is manufactured by Bernard Matthews.

Thanks to everyone for all the recipes, not cooking at the moment as I have had an op, but looking forward to trying them out soon.

OMG :eek: I hadn't heard this before, I hope its not true, will go on the website and see if I can find anything out.