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Vegan community thread - Give Peas a Chance
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anonymous_abc
Member
Nothing specific I just went to a big shoe store and asked for man made materials. The shopkeeper went through the aisles with me to check the labels and we came up with a small selection of options.
There are also dedicated vegan shoe stores in LA (and online) but not local to where I am, so I didn't bother going there.
just found this company...
https://keepcompany.com
they have some cool looking vegan shoes. Ad Rock from Beastie Boys just released a pair he designed.
https://keepcompany.com
they have some cool looking vegan shoes. Ad Rock from Beastie Boys just released a pair he designed.
Not sure if they're weather sealed but I'd assume so but I have two pairs of Doc Martens and they're awesome (and the Vegan versions), they've yet to let water in.
Man, I really want to switch to veganism after being vegetarian for the past six months. I've cut out most dairy but I don't think I can give up cheese too easily. Also, I do not want to be a burden to others with my self-imposed dietary restrictions.
EDIT: Also, what is it with soy and could inhibit protein absorption? I lift weights a lot and have replaced milk with soy milk.
EDIT: Also, what is it with soy and could inhibit protein absorption? I lift weights a lot and have replaced milk with soy milk.
I just make/take my own vegan food whenever I know there's a gathering where food is involved, no matter whether that's the family's Christmas meal or a friend's birthday party. That way I know I'll have something to eat and if I make something delicious, it might help push other people make more of an effort choosing non-animal foods when they know how good they can be, even if they don't become full-time vegans or even vegetarians.
Where have you read this? Soy does not inhibit protein absorption. It's obviously a good source of protein on its own.
It doesn't, AFAIK. Goes into the same category of "SOY IS BADZIEZ FOR U" hysteria as "men will grow boobs and it will destroy your thyroid" stuff does.
anonymous_abc
Member
No need to be dogmatic about it.
Ease off over time, be vegan whenever you can, and don't beat yourself up when you're out of vegan options.
I consider myself strict vegetarian and vegan as much as possible. At home for example 100%.
The bit about protein absorption is not true. Soy protein is well-absorbed and contains all essential amino acids.
The bit about mineral absorption has a degree of true, but should be in put in context:
Like most other legumes, nuts, seeds and cereal grains, soybeans do contain phytic acid which has a strong binding affinity with iron and zinc and can therefore act as a chelating agent and prevent absorption of iron and zinc. However, because soybeans are a very good source of iron on their own, and a good source of zinc and because cooking/processing partially breaks down the phytic acid, you'll still get net bioavailable minerals from soy. It is certainly not like soy is going to 'leech' minerals from the body or something, it's just that not all of the minerals it contains are bioavailable.
And it's important to note that while phytic acid reduces mineral absorption, it has a lot of beneficial effects:
- intake of phytate is correlated with better bone density in post-menopausal women (1), may prevent osteoporosis (2)
- blood glucose control (3)
- possible colon cancer inhibition (4)
- inhibition of kidney stone formation (5)
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20515779
(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22614760
(3) http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/38/6/835.full.pdf+html
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17044765, http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/133/11/3778S
(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17127264
Soooo, there's this new vegan fad that's apparently sweeping Finnish/Northern European vegan circles right now. It's "carrot lox". Gravlax is traditionally a fish dish, here's wikipedia's description of it:
"Gravlax is a Nordic dish consisting of raw salmon, cured in salt, sugar, and dill. Gravlax is usually served as an appetiser, sliced thinly and accompanied by hovmästarsås (literally steward sauce, also known in Sweden as gravlaxsås and in Denmark as rævesovs, literally fox sauce), a dill and mustard sauce, either on bread of some kind, or with boiled potatoes."
Now someone has come up with a vegan version that uses carrot. What you need...
4 carrots (thick/big ones)
about 1kg of crude sea salt
2tsp Liquid smoke
1tsp White wine vinegar
1Tbsp Rapeseed oil
So... first you bake the (unpeeled but washed) carrots covered in the crude sea salt (first pour some salt on the oven pan, then throw the carrots on the "salt-bed" and then pour the rest of the salt on & around the carrots) for 1,5 hours (at 175*C). Then you take them out of the oven and out of the salt-cover and let them cool. Once cooled, peel the carrots and use a cheese-slicer or whatever to make thin slices out of it. Put them in the marinade made of liquid smoke, ww vinegar and rapeseed oil and let them be in the fridge for 1-2 days. The end result is this:
Which is apparently surprisingly close to the real gravlax (in both look & taste/texture):
Here is the recipe from its original source (funnily enough, NOT from Northern Europe but from the US):
http://olivesfordinner.com/2015/03/carrot-lox.html
"Gravlax is a Nordic dish consisting of raw salmon, cured in salt, sugar, and dill. Gravlax is usually served as an appetiser, sliced thinly and accompanied by hovmästarsås (literally steward sauce, also known in Sweden as gravlaxsås and in Denmark as rævesovs, literally fox sauce), a dill and mustard sauce, either on bread of some kind, or with boiled potatoes."
Now someone has come up with a vegan version that uses carrot. What you need...
4 carrots (thick/big ones)
about 1kg of crude sea salt
2tsp Liquid smoke
1tsp White wine vinegar
1Tbsp Rapeseed oil
So... first you bake the (unpeeled but washed) carrots covered in the crude sea salt (first pour some salt on the oven pan, then throw the carrots on the "salt-bed" and then pour the rest of the salt on & around the carrots) for 1,5 hours (at 175*C). Then you take them out of the oven and out of the salt-cover and let them cool. Once cooled, peel the carrots and use a cheese-slicer or whatever to make thin slices out of it. Put them in the marinade made of liquid smoke, ww vinegar and rapeseed oil and let them be in the fridge for 1-2 days. The end result is this:
Which is apparently surprisingly close to the real gravlax (in both look & taste/texture):
Here is the recipe from its original source (funnily enough, NOT from Northern Europe but from the US):
http://olivesfordinner.com/2015/03/carrot-lox.html
So, after having dabbled with veganism over the last year I decided to go all in for 2017. Currently soaking a batch of cashews for my first go at making vegan cheese using the Artisan Vegan Cheese cookbook by Miyoko Schinner. Hope that it turns out good because so far I haven't been a fan of any vegan cheese I bought and I always knew that giving up cheese was the hardest part of fully transitioning to vegan.
matthewwhatever
Member
Aww, I missed this thread for a few weeks, so I missed this question. Tofurky is kind of lunch meat-like in its consistency, but they kind of have the vegan roast market to themselves, at least where I am in Canada. Gardein has done some weird restructuring, and (for now, at least) they've decided to cut 17 of their products, including their holiday roast. If you can find their turkey substitute, stock up, because that may be harder to come by. Field Roast has a delicious roast, but they stopped shipping that to Canada after they were briefly blocked from exporting their products here a few years ago.
If you're handy in the kitchen, you may want to try making your own. If you Google "vegan roast" you can find a few. Isa Chandra's recipe, for example, is bound to be great, seeing as she's one of the best vegan cooks around, but there are alternatives if that's not your thing!
First try at making "aged" vegan cheese failed miserably. After two days of letting the mixture sit I still couldn't detect any changes in flavor and when I checked on the evening of the third day, everything was covered in a thick layer of fluffy mold. I think I might have simply let it out a bit too long because I wasn't quite sure what taste I was looking for. I will try again with the "Sharp Cheddar" from the same book. Apparently this one will keep ripening in the refrigerator so maybe that will keep me from having another mold accident (Cashews aren't all that cheap and having to throw away two entire cups really hurt)
On a more positive note, while I was waiting for my cashews to become... well moldy I guess, I got impatient and tried a more direct "cheese" recipe:Vegan Richa's Green Goddess Gouda. And while the result probably won#t sway any real cheese connoisseur, it was still damn tasty. Tasty enough in fact that I haven't any of it left to shoot a photo for this post. But I made another batch based on the recipe but used my own spices.
On a more positive note, while I was waiting for my cashews to become... well moldy I guess, I got impatient and tried a more direct "cheese" recipe:Vegan Richa's Green Goddess Gouda. And while the result probably won#t sway any real cheese connoisseur, it was still damn tasty. Tasty enough in fact that I haven't any of it left to shoot a photo for this post. But I made another batch based on the recipe but used my own spices.
The link doesn't work :/
And hey, welcome to the vegan community! Living without cheese can be a bit of a challenge at first depending on your background, but a few months in I got completely used to it. Vegan cheeses and other fatty spreads got me covered in almost all cases where I used to eat cheese. Good luck and keep us updated with recipes and such!
The link doesn't work :/
And hey, welcome to the vegan community! Living without cheese can be a bit of a challenge at first depending on your background, but a few months in I got completely used to it. Vegan cheeses and other fatty spreads got me covered in almost all cases where I used to eat cheese. Good luck and keep us updated with recipes and such!
Fixed it!
anonymous_abc
Member
We are going to do two weeks of only fruit and veg green smoothies.
Any particular favorites you all would recommend?
Any particular favorites you all would recommend?
CornBurrito
Member
Not a vegan myself, but I recently discovered shiitake mushrooms which are super amazing. I currently only cut them up and add them to ramen or soups, but I want to use them for more things. Any ideas?
Not a "green" smoothy, but I like this particular concoction:
1 cup spinach
1 cup coconut water
1cup frozen berries
2 tablespoons (or a bit more) diced beets
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tablespoon almond butter
Blend the spinach and the coconut water first then add the rest and blend again. I'd check out the "simple green smoothies" website, they have tons of recipes.
Nothing overly fancy but they really do go great with any kind of stir fry. I like to simply fry them with a little bit of salt, garlic and shichimi togarashi.
1 cup spinach
1 cup coconut water
1cup frozen berries
2 tablespoons (or a bit more) diced beets
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
1 tablespoon almond butter
Blend the spinach and the coconut water first then add the rest and blend again. I'd check out the "simple green smoothies" website, they have tons of recipes.
Nothing overly fancy but they really do go great with any kind of stir fry. I like to simply fry them with a little bit of salt, garlic and shichimi togarashi.
I hope this isn't for any detox or other kind of "we want to clean our body" stupidity?
matthewwhatever
Member
Probably not the right season for it, but they're shockingly good in barbeque. They taste amazing grilled!
Helensmith
Member
Hi all, never noticed this thread before! For ethical and animal welfare reasons, I tried vegetarianism for a week and would like to try to be as vegan as possible, for example five days a week? Is that hypocritical or better than zero days a week...?
Anything is better than the mentality of eating meat as the de facto food with each meal. Good luck in discovering a brand new range of food tastes. You will enjoy it!
anonymous_abc
Member
No, I am aware that detox as such is baloney, nevertheless we want to use the opportunity to cut out on sweets, caffeine, processed foods and such.
Ok. I'd still advice to add some lentils & stuff to the smoothies to get more complete nutrients, instead of purely just veggies & fruits that can be a bit lacking in certain aspects unless you use very specific veggies & fruits. Not sure how well lentils work with smoothies, but they shouldn't affect taste all that much and they add some protein & other nutrients.
Yeah, what V_Arnold said. Be a full-time vegetarian/vegan if you can, but if you can't, it's still a lot better if you can diminish the amount of meat & dairy eating to just one or two days a week. Who knows, maybe as time passes by you'll notice you can actually go a whole week or two without those. And then a month and so on and so on. Especially as vegan alternatives of some of the more hard to give up foods get more common & improve. The vegan cheeses we have now are already a lot better than 5 years ago (at least where I live).
CornBurrito
Member
People (mostly those that eat meat) will call you hypocritical and imply that hypocrisy is the worse sin you can commit, but the truth of the matter is that nobody can be perfect and doing something to alleviate a problem is better than doing nothing to avoid perceived hypocrisy.
Fuck what other people think, some change is better than none. The vast majority of people do nothing so you're already better off.
Hippolnareff
Member
Never noticed this thread before. I've been Vegan for the last couple months (some slips in to vegetarianism) - I'm doing it for Environmental reasons.
I haven't suffered from it really and I'm enjoying it but I do run out of recipe ideas often :/
Could someone advise me of some bases to always have in my house? As in things that you can always make a meal out of.
I haven't suffered from it really and I'm enjoying it but I do run out of recipe ideas often :/
Could someone advise me of some bases to always have in my house? As in things that you can always make a meal out of.
gate stormer
Member
In all seriousness though, I can respect vegans as long as they don't push their vegan propaganda on someone else. If people do it for health reasons (or not) I can totally respect that.
Garcia el Gringo
Member
Sounds delicious. Beyond Burger is the best faux meat. I've eaten more of those than I can count in the past few months. I like it more than the Impossible Burger I had at Momofuku Nishi, though I hope Impossible Foods brings their product through to grocery stores soon so I can experiment with that.
I'm eager to find out what the next big incoming faux meat product is to anticipate. Anyone know anything cool coming out in the US soon?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CWNo6ZvWoAA1ybz.jpg
In all seriousness though, I can respect vegans as long as they don't push their vegan propaganda on someone else. If people do it for health reasons (or not) I can totally respect that.
The Artisan
Member
i went to this vegan juicebar joint, I thought it was called bequ? i actually liked that shit
Cheesecakebobby
Banned
I always feel happy when this thread gets a bump. I've come a long way since my first post a year or so ago, when I was interested in switching from being vegetarian. Now I'm one of the organizers for the largest vegan meetup group in Tokyo!
Anyone else involved in meetups, things like that?
Anyone else involved in meetups, things like that?
I'm an organizer for one of the Portland vegan meetup groups, which is how I met my wife. It's how I met most of my friends here as well.
Cheesecakebobby
Banned
I've heard Portman is one of the best, if not the best, vegan cities in the world. Hope I can attend one of your events some time!
I love this city. It's super vegan friendly, with a great community. These days, I'm just hosting a monthly vegan comic book club. At some point, I might try hosting some board game potlucks again. What types of events do you host?
Cindi Mayweather
Member
There's a vegan thread?? My people!
Weeelll... off the top of my head
The absolute basics, most of which don't spoil too quickly so you can stock up on these or at least have a package or two around at all times:
lentils*
chickpeas*
a sortment of beans*
soy granules and other kinds of "soy meat"
seitan incredients (gluten flour, chickpea/gram flour, soy flour)
soft and firm tofu
breadcrumbs (useful when making falafels, soy-burgers and such)
bread flours (rye, graham, dark wheat, whole wheat etc.)
active dry yeast
vegetable stock cubes and powder
nutritional yeast (preferably one that has added B12 vitamin and such)
corn or potato starch
onions
garlic
potatoes
rice
pasta (there are some legume-based pasta where I live so I often buy those)
lasagne noodles
vegetable creams (I use mostly oat nowadays, but I'm not sure how readily available that is worldwide, might use coconut cream for more eastern flavors)
soy sauce
rapeseed oil
olive oil
red whine vinegar
apple cider vinegar
tortillas
rye, wheat, oat etc. brans (porridge and homemade breakfast cereals <3)
+ a vast sortment of spices
The above stuff is a great base for all kinds of cooking and other than onions & garlic, most of these stay perfectly fine for at least 1-2 months, some even years (and even onions & garlic can be freezed if you find you've accidentally bought 10kgs at once
). Just add some fresh veggies and varying mix of spices and you can cook all kinds of foods from soy steaks to soups to sauces to macaroni cassarole + have some homemade bread on the side.Some more special ingredients I usually have at least one or two jars/packages but might go some time without them:
sun-dried tomatoes
crushed tomatoes
tomato pure
a sortment of nuts (cashew, hazelnut, peanut etc.)
red curry paste
dijon mustard
peanut butter
agave syrup
vegan cream cheese
Fresh veggies/stuff that I buy often
Carrots
Red Bell pepper
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Herbs like till, basil, coriander
Cucumber
Chili
Broccoli
Avocados
Cauliflower (this and broccoli are a lot of people's least favorite veggies, but the trick is to not cook them too much to leave some crunch to them + putting them into heavily spiced food, though I feel broccoli works really well in salads raw when cut/ripped into small pieces)
Cabbage
Chinese cabbage, iceber lettuce and/or some other fresh green stuff for salads
+ I have 3-5 different kinds of fruits & berries at hand everyday (berries I usually freeze, fruits I eat fresh). Grapes, bananas, mandarin oranges, strawberries, lingonberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, pears, kiwi and usually try to put emphasis on whatever is in season.
*I have both dried and ready-to-use packages of these. Dried for when I want to make bigger batches of these and when I aren't time-starved to prepare them, ready-to-use packages for when I want to just make a quick batch of falafels or such.
Weeell, I like to cook for friends and call them over (or go over to their place to cook). Other than that, no. I have thought about just making a general query to facebook peeps in my friend list if there's interest to wanting to learn to cook more veganly.
"Pulled oat" is like pulled pork, I'd imagine that could catch on worldwide if it starts spreading. Probably doesn't have to be oat, I'm sure the manufacturing practices can be applied to other vegan protein sources as well. Not sure if it's currently available anywhere else than Finland (it's a Finnish innovation and they still struggle fulfilling the demand here) but I'm sure it could catch on if there are adventurous enough vegan enterpreneurs elsewhere who create their own similar product.
Cheesecakebobby
Banned
Those sound great! We occasionally do a regular book club with novels or non fiction that has some connection to veganism, don't know if there would be interest in something more general like comic books. We have the problem of trying to keep all events bilingual so non-Japanese speakers and non-English speakers both feel welcome. I'd also love to do something like a board game night, space is something of an issue though.
Every month I arrange a gathering at a nearby vegan restaurant for Meat Free Monday. There is enough space for around 16 people. We also have a long-running monthly buffet which attracts around 50 people. Trying to branch out into more kinds of events, such as a singles party around Valentine's Day.
anonymous_abc
Member
CornBurrito
Member
I can't even imagine what a nightmare it must be to try to eat vegan in Japan. Doesn't a ton of their stuff have fish-based flavorings added to it?
Mmm... Not a huge smoothie maker/drinker and have never lived purely on smoothies so haven't had to think about them needing to have a super balanced nutrient offering, buuuuuut... Use fresh herbs like mint if you feel it'd fit whatever you're making. A generous handful of those can contain quite significant amount of some daily vitamins and other micronutrients and they taste good too. Spinach is good for a wide variety of smoothies, since it's really healthy and fairly neutral in taste. Since you're only eating/drinking smoothies that are often quite low on fats, I guess a little bit of olive oil or something might not be a bad idea to add to your smoothies? For the milk, if you plan using some, preferably use something else than rice, coconut and almond milk since those are relatively low in protein. Soy is best for protein content, oat is better for the environment but a bit lower in protein.I was considering adding lentils and shiitake anyway
Any other suggestions?
A delicious chocolate mint smoothie I like to make has soy or oat milk, fresh mint leaves, frozen bananas, raw cacao powder, red lentils and some unflavored vegan yoghurt. Occasionally throw in a spoonful of peanut butter if I want a bit of nutty flavor.
I was considering adding lentils and shiitake anyway
Any other suggestions?
Flaxseed is always awesome in smoothies. Frozen bananas + seedless grapes + flaxseed + cacao + soy milk = "ice cream" for breakfast!
matthewwhatever
Member
In all seriousness though, I can respect vegans as long as they don't push their vegan propaganda on someone else. If people do it for health reasons (or not) I can totally respect that.
Thank God we have your respect. Glad you felt the need to pop into the vegan thread to tell us to stop pushing our beliefs on you.