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Vegan community thread - Give Peas a Chance
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Helensmith
Member
There's vegan cheese?! That's good news! I might have a problem in that I don't like fruit or veg or beans, but I do like junk food hah.
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement
Availability probably depends on your location, but yes, there are quite a lot of different kinds of vegan cheeses in the world nowadays. Their quality really varies from "this is pretty close to the real deal" to "this really isn't all that much like dairy cheese but it can be still used in place of dairy cheese and tastes more or less ok/good" and "this is horrible crap, dear god why did I put this in my mouth!"There's vegan cheese?! That's good news! I might have a problem in that I don't like fruit or veg or beans, but I do like junk food hah.
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement
If you live in some remote small village in Alaska then I'm somewhat doubtful they'd have dozens of (or any) vegan cheeses in stores near you and I'm not sure if some "less developed" countries like Thailand have lot of vegan cheese offerings even in bigger cities (they might, but I'm not sure how huge the kind of "western" veganism is in non-western countries where people would actively be in need of non-dairy alternatives for cheese and such), but if you live in (western) Europe, Canada or North America, I'm sure at least bigger cities and in some cases even some more remote places have at least some vegan cheeses available.
As far as your dislike of vegetables and beans go, the thing about food is that people's tastes are highly adaptable and there are a lot of ways of preparing things. You might not like a lot of vegetables at first, but if you keep eating them despite that, you can really get accustomed to them (especially as you get older, your taste buds evolve/devolve and you get less childish about trying new things). And you can prepare them in so many ways that even if you don't, say, like broccoli or cauliflower raw or cooked, you can still eat them in stuff like creamy soups without even noticing they have either (since it's all blendered into one homogenous liquid). So that way you get the benefits of super healthy veggies like cauliflower without having to eat separate pieces of cauliflower, if that's what disgusts you. If you don't like beans as they are, then you can use a blender, add some liquid/vegetable creams and spices and get a tasty sauce. Or mush them with a stick blender, add certain incredients and make veggie steaks.
Also, I find it that a lot of the time when people say "I don't like thing X", when it comes to food, it's mostly that they just haven't eaten those things more than once or twice (again, the human taste palette often takes some time getting used to new flavours/textures), haven't found the way to prepare some ingredients that they'd like or that they've eaten badly cooked crap that has scared them into thinking that that's all there is to the vegetable and they don't want to try again. Broccoli might taste disgusting to a lot of people if they've only ever eaten broccoli overcooked into mushy shit with no seasoning, but leave it a little bit crunchy and serve it in a spicy fried rice + veggies combo dish and suddenly you might actually notice it's not that bad. Same goes for mushrooms. Canned mushrooms are disgustingggggg (feels like eating erasers), but cook a batch of your own fresh mushrooms and even a hater might notice they can eat a little bit of mushrooms.
I mean, really, try something like this
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-cauliflower-steaks-recipes-from-the-kitchn-195541
and maybe you might find that there's a form of cauliflower you can actually eat.
One of my friends works for these guys:
http://tvnz.co.nz/seven-sharp/meet-kiwi-woman-making-meat-without-animal-in-sight-video-6509920 (video)
http://sunfedfoods.com/ (official website)
I'm really keen to buy some when they start being sold.
http://tvnz.co.nz/seven-sharp/meet-kiwi-woman-making-meat-without-animal-in-sight-video-6509920 (video)
http://sunfedfoods.com/ (official website)
I'm really keen to buy some when they start being sold.
Hippolnareff
Member
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
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.
Duuuuuude. Thank you!
Got my gf the Thug Kitchen cookbook for xmas, Eat like you give a F*ck and it is seriously awesome.. so good.
Also got her the other highly rated one i could find, Smith and Daughters, A Cookbook That Happens To Be Vegan.
Both of these are incredible and up there with the Oh She glows one if not better imo. Thug Kitchen is obviously just awesome to read and has some neat out of the box stuff... Anyways im looking forward to a year of new delicious meals now!
Also got her the other highly rated one i could find, Smith and Daughters, A Cookbook That Happens To Be Vegan.
Both of these are incredible and up there with the Oh She glows one if not better imo. Thug Kitchen is obviously just awesome to read and has some neat out of the box stuff... Anyways im looking forward to a year of new delicious meals now!
thats so cool. good work! and congrats on the transition. very cool.
not exactly the same, but i recently attended a vegan expo type of thing in my state that was pretty enjoyable. lots of local vegan vendors and rescue organizations. had a killer crustly vegan mozzarella sandwich with tomato dipping sauce that they cooked right there. local vegan cheese that was amazing. they did an aged nut cheese too that was outstanding.
(im way more a fan of cheese now than before i was vegan. wasn't big on it previously.)
https://www.reddit.com/r/veganinjapan/
(lots of resources in the sidebar too if anyone is interested)
theres a growing culture there from what ive been reading. i doubt its any harder than living in some of the more remote, non-city based areas in other countries (like the US for instance), and probably easier if you know what your doing (like being able to speak and read the language), its prob not hard at all. plus being vegan is simple if you just stick to the basics and cook for yourself of course.
There's vegan cheese?! That's good news! I might have a problem in that I don't like fruit or veg or beans, but I do like junk food hah.
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement
luckily for you, there is a shitload of vegan junkfood out there. also, if you're still young, your palate will almost definitely grow. mine has matured a lot with age and with becoming vegan over a decade ago. lots of veggies i used to hate, i love now.
cant imagine not loving fruit though. crazy!
ive made a few things from Thug Kitchen and like them quite a bit. pretty good book.
a recommendation i have is "Isa Does It". i wasnt a huge fan of hers before this book (liked some of the stuff, but wasnt big on a lot of other stuff), but this book is killer.
worth it for the curry peanut sauce and spicy spaghetti recipes alone! those are my go to sauces full stop after trying them. they are both insanely good. plenty of other good stuff in that book as well.
Cheesecakebobby
Banned
How hard it is depends on this question: How much do you like tofu?
Just kidding. In Japan, you cannot walk into a restaurant and expect to find anything vegan. You cannot expect the staff to know what the word means, or even follow your precise instructions. Thus, I pretty much never go somewhere without at least some idea of where I am going to eat.
Having said that, things are getting much easier. Today I went to the supermarket and bought tempeh, soy yogurt, soy ice cream and even shredded vegan cheese, which a Japanese company recently brought out for the first time.
There are also a ton of vegan restaurants in Tokyo and Kyoto, can't really speak for other cities. Gradually, omni restaurants are starting to have vegan options marked on their menus (though the situation I described above is the norm). And the meetups I arrange are getting more popular at least!
Helensmith
Member
Thug Kitchen trailer and website is hilarious! Will take a look at their recipes soon.
anonymous_abc
Member
Lentils and lots of legumes.
Lentils and chickpeas. I could eat hummus all day everyday.
anonymous_abc
Member
psychodino
Neo Member
Are there any good Vegan places that have something that taste like meat? The only one i have found so far is veggie grill
CornBurrito
Member
I think I might be liking mushrooms more than chicken at this point.
I want to try making one of those giant mushroom burgers.
1. What are those huge mushrooms called that people make into burgers?
2. Any recipe for making a tasty one of those?
I want to try making one of those giant mushroom burgers.
1. What are those huge mushrooms called that people make into burgers?
2. Any recipe for making a tasty one of those?
Cheesecakebobby
Banned
For soy products I like tempeh and natto.
I also love quinoa. I'll make a salad with quinoa, tofu, mixed beans and nutritional yeast. I'm worried I'm not absorbing all the protein cos there is a bucket load in there.
CornBurrito
Member
So I'm becoming significantly more lactose intolerant lately. I think even lactose free milk is screwing me up.
I'm all for a milk alternative. I really only drink milk as a source of liquid calories because I'm underweight. What's the best replacement? I've had soy milk and can enjoy the taste, but it seems fairly nutritionally lacking and I don't want to just chug flavored sugar water. For the same reason I'm a bit leery of almond milk.
Would coconut milk be best?
I'm all for a milk alternative. I really only drink milk as a source of liquid calories because I'm underweight. What's the best replacement? I've had soy milk and can enjoy the taste, but it seems fairly nutritionally lacking and I don't want to just chug flavored sugar water. For the same reason I'm a bit leery of almond milk.
Would coconut milk be best?
Soy milk is the closest to cow milk as far as amount of protein goes. It's only, like, 0,2-0,3 grams behind cow milk (per 1dl) so it's not a poor substitute at all, nutrient-wise, especially since pretty much all soy milk options I've seen have added B12 vitamins & such to bring it to the same level as cow milk (in addition to stuff that's in soy itself). And it has the most complete amino acid stuff so it's the best option from that POV as well. Just buy the unsweetened variety to avoid excess sugars. Oat milk is a bit worse than soy milk as far as protein content goes, but not by much so it's still pretty close to cow milk as well. It's more environmentally friendly than soy milk so I tend to prefer oat milk (and other oat-based dairy replacements)
Coconut, rice and almond milk are the poorest vegetable milks as far as protein content goes. But they have the same added vitamins & shit as other veggie milks, so if you haven't gone all nutso for proteins (there's way too much hysteria surrounding protein nowadays, most people get perfectly good amounts of protein even if they'd drink "inferior" milks like rice milk or something), then those can be perfectly acceptable alternatives as well.
Coconut, rice and almond milk are the poorest vegetable milks as far as protein content goes. But they have the same added vitamins & shit as other veggie milks, so if you haven't gone all nutso for proteins (there's way too much hysteria surrounding protein nowadays, most people get perfectly good amounts of protein even if they'd drink "inferior" milks like rice milk or something), then those can be perfectly acceptable alternatives as well.
CornBurrito
Member
Thanks for the info. I guess I'll try unsweetened soy milk and see how I like it. I'd try oat milk but I dont think I've ever seen that in any grocery store. Maybe whole foods.
Not sure how common oat is elsewhere in the world, but it is a really common crop in Northern Europe (it can grow in really modest conditions, so perfect for subarctic regions with poor soil) so there are all kinds of oat dairy-replacing products around nowadays as veganism has become more & more common and inventive people try coming up with dairy alternatives (there are oat milks, creams, ice cream and I think even yoghurts, maybe?). There's this one brand, Oatly, that makes some really good oat products. Not sure how the retail world works so I'm not sure if you could maybe suggest some whole foods store would add Oatly's products to their selections if that kind of (cross-continent?) deal is totally impossible. I think Oatly is a Swedish company.
Just remember that there can be a lot of variety in taste between different manufacturer's milks, even if the main incredient is the same. So one manufacturer's unsweetened soy milk can taste bad while some other tastes good. So you might have to shop around a bit until you find some brand you like.
Also, taste is highly adaptable. Even if something doesn't taste like the most tasty thing ever at first, you might get accustomed to it if you ease your taste buds into it.
I don't drink much milk, but Ripple milk (which is pea-based, but they don't want to call it pea milk for obvious reasons) has a pretty good nutritional profile, and probably is the closest tasting to cow milk I've had. I think While Foods might carry it?
anonymous_abc
Member
Portobello?!
I love me some Portobello mushrooms, but haven't made my own burger with them yet, so please do share if you try something out.
Garcia el Gringo
Member
I finally got around to looking this up, and it's very appealing to me on the screen. Thanks for the heads up, Famassu! I hope I'll get the chance to try it. I'd love to check out the scene in Finland.
I'm def the kind of person who's more excited in learning about/connecting with others over faux meats and veg junk food than the wholesome, homemade stuff I should be eating. Right now, I'm looking forward to indulging with this Daiya cheesecake I have in my freezer. A few weeks ago I had a great Cubano at Champs Diner in Brooklyn. Cinnamon Snail in Manhattan, or closer to home for me when they have their food truck seasonally in Red Bank, NJ, is life. I'm planning on having a hearty meal this weekend at Sprig & Vine in New Hope, PA. There's so many products and spots I could give a shout out.
The dream is to have a veg fast casual place pop up in central NJ. I love the few vegan restaurants I'm lucky enough to have in the area, but I have a "fast" preference. I'd love it if Veggie Grill's expansion brought it over here.
Yes, Ripple milk is great! Pricey though compared to most soy milk. I pick it up at Target (where it's most widely available, I believe) and you can often get discounts on it using the Cartwheel app making it more reasonable if you're planning on buying a lot to gain weight.
matthewwhatever
Member
Ignore what everyone else is telling you. Cashew is the best milk alternative, followed by almond coconut. Also, to echo Famassu, the tastes can vary wildly -- personally, I prefer Unsweetened Original regardless of what type of milk it is, but generally most flavours I've seen come in that plus Vanilla, Original, and Unsweetened Vanilla options. You usually need to try a couple of different brands before you find one that clicks with you.
I recently switched from cow milk to Soy milk, it's pretty great. I have it everyday mixed with peanut butter, oatmeal and protein powder right after lifting.
Speaking of peanut butter, what other vegetarian/vegan foods do you guys enjoy on sandwiches?
HUMMUS for sure. The varieties are endless, too. My favourite is probably edamame-wasabi hummus. Top with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes or other good sandwich veggies.
Would you mind giving an exact recipe for that, please. Sounds delicious.
CornBurrito
Member
What are the most calorically dense vegan/vegetarian foods?
Do you mean non processed/naturally occuring foods or things like faux meat/replacement stuff?
If its the latter I know Field Roast burger patties are wayyyy up there in calories haha. They are also delicious!
CornBurrito
Member
Either, but preference towards natural stuff instead of meat replacement. Aside from peanut butter (which makes my mouth dry so I cant eat much of it at once) I struggle to think of any super high calorie vegan foods. I guess maybe putting coconut oil on stuff but that sounds super gross.
edit: Woah, those burger patties look like real meat...
GoldenCrow
Member
Check out the impossible burger.
I'm afraid I made it up the recipe myself from hearing about it somewhere, and I usually wing the proportions, but here's a rough estimate of everything:
- 1 can of chickpeas
- the same amount of edamame
- one clove of garlic
- wasabi paste or horseradish to taste
- tahini, maybe two-three tablespoons?
- a tablespoon of olive oil
- apple cider vinegar, maybe two tablespoons
- salt
Mix it all up in a food processor until desired consistency is reached.
@CornBurrito, oil and nuts are probably the most calorically dense. This hummus recipes ain't too bad either, especially if you go heavy on oil and tahini.
Garcia el Gringo
Member
You've got the right idea with nut butters and oils. Avocados are heavy. Dried fruit. Starchy vegetables like potatoes. Granola. Rice, pasta, quinoa, and whole-wheat breads.
There's a bunch of vegan junk food (frozen pizzas, ice creams) out there for some of the weight gain if you'd like some unhealthy indulgences.
Beyond Burger is a good alternative to that Field Roast burger mentioned if you're interested in something "like real meat." Slightly less calories and fat, but it's really impressive.
And if you're looking for more nutrients in your faux meat products, like you are with your non-dairy milk, you might want to check out the Beast Burger. It doesn't try to be like ground beef like Beyond Meat's other burger product, and honestly doesn't taste as good (and has even less calories and fat), but it's got more vitamins and has DHA Omega-3. The trade-off.
A calorie-dense bean burger patty might be the more economical option compared to this faux stuff though.
Probably already been posted but does anyone else watch Peaceful Cuisine videos on youtube? Super relaxing, nicely shot, easy to follow, beautiful food presentation; I'm really enjoying them at the moment. A nice change of pace from the quick cuts and frenetic pace of a lot of cooking shows. All the recipes are vegan as far as I know.
https://www.youtube.com/user/ryoya1983
https://www.youtube.com/user/ryoya1983
CornBurrito
Member
So update on the milk thing: Soymilk at my store 100 calories or so per glass. Cow's milk 160. I think I'll stick with cow's for now.
However, I've been cutting my meat consumption quite a bit. Mostly as a way to start making myself eat more vegetables. Still eating fish for now, but I made a vegan (possibly vegetarian, I didnt check the sauce) stir fry last night. My god, shittake mushrooms are amazing. Glorious things. I'll need to stock up. Some noodles + bok choy + mushrooms + tofu + onion.
I need to figure out how to make tofu better though. I bought extra firm, cut it into cubes. Texture and taste were ok, but I want to make it great. Any tips?
Also recipes. Need more vegetarian/vegan recipes. I'm thinking of making this "tuna" salad for lunch tomorrow. http://sweetpotatosoul.com/2015/06/vegan-chickpea-tuna-salad-video.html
However, I've been cutting my meat consumption quite a bit. Mostly as a way to start making myself eat more vegetables. Still eating fish for now, but I made a vegan (possibly vegetarian, I didnt check the sauce) stir fry last night. My god, shittake mushrooms are amazing. Glorious things. I'll need to stock up. Some noodles + bok choy + mushrooms + tofu + onion.
I need to figure out how to make tofu better though. I bought extra firm, cut it into cubes. Texture and taste were ok, but I want to make it great. Any tips?
Also recipes. Need more vegetarian/vegan recipes. I'm thinking of making this "tuna" salad for lunch tomorrow. http://sweetpotatosoul.com/2015/06/vegan-chickpea-tuna-salad-video.html
Yeah. With black salt I can make vegan-style version of this traditional Finnish spread called egg butter that we usually eat with our other traditional treat, karelian pies. The "real" recipe uses boiled eggs + butter, but with mashed chickpeas you get the flour-y boiled egg yolk texture, with tofu you get the boiled egg white type texture and then some vegan margarine does the job of butter, of course. Throw in a teaspoon or two of black salt and it tastes almost like the real thing.
GoldenCrow
Member
Don't consume either they are both nutritionally awful. They do not add anything beneficial. Dairy milk requires more calcium to level out your blood PH than what you get from the product, plus the huge amount oestrogen, cancer promoting proteins as well as the whole mucus thing , massive amount of saturated fats and even if you are lactose tolerant is very hard to process. Soy milk is pretty much water, only benefit is if it is fortified and you get a dose of B12 and Vit D but often filled with processed shite and has the pseudo-hormones (don't seem to do much but there isn't really any good studies either). Purely from a nutritional point of view regardless of ethical view dairy is trash and only good for baby animals and everyone would be better off without it.
CornBurrito
Member
Humans evolved lactaste persistence though. I don't buy that "only human babies should have dairy". You don't typically evolve a trait unless it had an evolutionary advantage.
Also I'm fairly underweight. I need an easy and cheap source of calories that isn't very filling. Liquid calories aren't as satiating as solid calories. Name me a better source of liquid cals than cow's milk.
Have you tried coconut milk? Plenty of calories in that and if you get a nice drinking blend it is delicious in coffee. Not sure how cheap you can get it for locally, if you have an asian grocer you can usually get it for a good price.
I currently drink a delicious almond/coconut blend which is not as calorically dense as coconut milk but I'm not looking to gain weight. I honestly vastly prefer it to regular milk.
CornBurrito
Member
CornBurrito
Member
Update: Made this tunaless chickpea "tuna" salad. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. Even better than actual tuna salad imo.
I did cheat and use "real" mayo instead of vegan mayo, because my roommate had some lying around the house. But I cant imagine it makes a huge difference.
Any kind of vegetable oil obviously (olive oil, coconut oil, sunflower seed oil etc).
If you're talking about more about whole foods, then it would be nuts (especially macadamia nuts) and seeds (and its derivatives, e.g. tahini), legumes (e.g. lentils, tempeh, beans, peanut butter), grains (e.g. oats, pasta, bread etc) and certain fruits like avocados, coconuts, dates, figs, bananas.
Seems a bit needlessly alarmistic.
Dairy milk does have contain some beneficial nutrients including especially calcium and protein, but it's definitely true that the evidence of the harmful effects of large intake of saturated fat remains well documented, so yes there are more preferred sources of calcium and protein than milk from an overall health point of view. There's also an association between dairy and prostate cancer, but it isn't exactly determined if it's a strong causative mechanism that lies behind that.
It isn't true at all that dairy requires more calcium to level out your blood pH, that seems to be a persistent myth. There are 3 buffer systems that keep your blood between a very narrow range around a pH of 7.41 and the buffer system with the broadest range is the one that involves calcium.
Soy milk is fine, it isn't 'processed shite', it's just soybeans, water, typically a thickener and added vitamins and calcium. Soy milk with added sugar is less fine obviously.
Systematic reviews on soy show none to very little effect of phytoestrogens on free testosterone.
On a world population level, most adult humans aren't lactase persistent (about 65% after infancy have reduced ability to digest lactose).
There's no doubt that people with lactase persistence had a clear, evolutionary advantage in pre-industrial times. When resources are scarce new sources of calories are generally helpful. On top of that, people living further from the equator (like in northern Europe where lactose intolerance is the least common) may have (had and maybe still have) a higher requirement of dietary calcium due to having a lower vitamin D-status (due to low sun exposure).
However that doesn't necessarily mean that milk is very healthy (not saying it isn't by the way).
Evolution is all about trade-offs between different selective pressures. It's perfectly possible for certain members of a species to evolve a trait that would be a disadvantage to the respective members their own life.
Vegetable oil. You can for example generously drizzle everything you're eating with olive oil.
R10Neymarfan
Member
Most whole foods plant based veganatics say no oil. But they also say no sugar,salt, and refined white flour either.
Then claim that you can still make great food
CornBurrito
Member
I mean I cook almost everything in olive oil.