Vegetarian / Vegan Foods Thread

[alogical]

been vegetarian for just about two years now, thanks to my girlfriend. I'd say it's definitely one of the best decisions I've made for myself, I feel much better about what I'm eating and where it's coming from. Whole Foods/Trader Joe's are my go-to places. I haven't gotten sick as much, either. It's a good choice to make if you're willing to do so, watch Food Inc. or just read stuff about the environmental impact. 

[BuzzersonKillwell]

Diaya cheese really isn't great. Honestly all the fake cheese is pretty lousy and none of it is great for you.

I found cutting out dairy really want very hard after a time. Especially if you have a long break and try some again. It makes you feel pretty lousy. At least for me. Meat was much harder.

[isavedlatin54]

What vitamins or supplements do you take, if you don't mind me asking. 

 

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/15558960120239346479?q=vegan%20vitamin%20supplements&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41248874,d.b2I&biw=1168&bih=680&sa=X&ei=uGP7UICMK4ei2QW0wIGIBg&ved=0CGUQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers

 

 

these. cheap, and pretty great.

[isavedlatin54]

Diaya cheese really isn't great. Honestly all the fake cheese is pretty lousy and none of it is great for you.

I found cutting out dairy really want very hard after a time. Especially if you have a long break and try some again. It makes you feel pretty lousy. At least for me. Meat was much harder.

 

meat was so easy for me to give up. dairy was harder. 

[harryq]

meat was so easy for me to give up. dairy was harder. 

 

cheese is the only thing keeping me from going vegan... I cut soft drinks out of my diet cold turkey five months ago, so I'm sure I could do the same with cheese, but I'm not sure I want to yet.

[smash2pieces]

cheese is the only thing keeping me from going vegan... I cut soft drinks out of my diet cold turkey five months ago, so I'm sure I could do the same with cheese, but I'm not sure I want to yet.

 

I actually went vegan when I was still living at home, but moved out about 2 months later. Since then, what has made the diet change so easy for me was being in control of ALL of the food that I buy, since it's just for me. That includes soda, which I would drink sometimes since we would have it around the house.

[smash2pieces]

There was a lot of different things, mainly being exposed to the treatment of animals in slaughterhouses. I knew as soon as I found out about it that I had to start taking steps to be vegan. I just can't be a part of something that is so awful and barbaric. My fiance and I also want to start being healthier people so this seemed like a great thing to do. My main reason is the treatment of animals though. 

 

I am really excited about it and can't wait till summer so I can cut out meat altogether. I think the hardest thing for me is going to be cutting out cheese, but Giant Eagle carries Daiya cheese so the next time I am down that way I am going to grab some and try it out. 

 

That's awesome man! I definitely did it completely for animal rights. Like I said before, cheese was definitely the hardest thing for me (my weakness being pizza). I think the most important thing is to discover all of the awesome combinations of the foods you do have. It has given me a completely new view of nature, and just how amazing it is that we can grow food that tastes great and is nutritional.

 

On that note, have any of you heard of the debate about whether to consider vegetarianism/veganism a "religion"? http://www.care2.com/causes/is-veganism-a-religion-court-considers-claim.html

[smash2pieces]

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/15558960120239346479?q=vegan%20vitamin%20supplements&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.41248874,d.b2I&biw=1168&bih=680&sa=X&ei=uGP7UICMK4ei2QW0wIGIBg&ved=0CGUQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers

 

 

these. cheap, and pretty great.

 

Thanks for this! I think I might try them out 

[suchashorttime]

cheese is the only thing keeping me from going vegan... I cut soft drinks out of my diet cold turkey five months ago, so I'm sure I could do the same with cheese, but I'm not sure I want to yet.

Daiya makes a pretty good tapioca-based cheese.  cheese was my biggest reluctancy before going vegan, and i really don't miss it so much.  i do occasionally miss cheese pizza, but there's a restaurant by me that makes pretty good vegan pizza.  also, the tofurky frozen pizzas are good enough for an occasional pizza fix.

 

the worst thing you can do when switching to a vegan diet is supplementing what would have been your typical diet entirely with vegan substitutes.  most of the foods are full of soy and still fairly processed, lacking in nutrients, and bland.  spend some time putting together a repertoire of vegan recipes, plan, and cook a couple times a week.

 

here's one to get your started.  these lentil burgers are incredible, totally filling, and very nutrient rich.

http://scottjurek.com/eatandrun/recipes/

[thebiglebowski]

I'm just curious why you think you need vegan specific vitamins? Your general over-the-counter multivitamin is supposed to have everything a human being needs pretty much. 

[suchashorttime]

I'm just curious why you think you need vegan specific vitamins? Your general over-the-counter multivitamin is supposed to have everything a human being needs pretty much. 

many (most) vitamins are made with a coating / binding agent that is made of gelatin, i believe, which isn't vegan.  

[thebiglebowski]

ahhh gotcha

[suchashorttime]

Diaya cheese really isn't great. Honestly all the fake cheese is pretty lousy and none of it is great for you.

I found cutting out dairy really want very hard after a time. Especially if you have a long break and try some again. It makes you feel pretty lousy. At least for me. Meat was much harder.

whoops, didn't see this up there.  Diaya is the least evil of vegan cheese substitutes.  you are right, though, none are really good for you.

[smash2pieces]

The next thing I was going to post on here was asking if anyone had any favorite recipes haha. I've made dishes with lentils, and burgers with garbanzo beans, but never burgers with lentils. Anyway, I agree with the point you made about the supplements/everything soy. That's what I like about Dr. Campbell from the movie Forks Over Knives: he always says that he'd rather not use the term "vegan", rather he promotes a "whole foods, plant-based diet", which in my opinion is what a vegan diet really should be.

[thebiglebowski]

If a mosquito lands on you and starts sucking your blood, do you kill it or let it take your blood and fly away?

[BuzzersonKillwell]

I have a lot of pretty good vegan recipes at this point. I'll try and write some down and share them here over the next few weeks.

[smash2pieces]

If a mosquito lands on you and starts sucking your blood, do you kill it or let it take your blood and fly away?

 

I usually just chop that part of my body off and let it go. In all seriousness though, I'd smack the shit out of it.

 

I'm still not sure how to feel about insects, most of the time I'll just throw them outside, but spiders bother me a lot.

[SeeMoreGlass]

That's awesome man! I definitely did it completely for animal rights. Like I said before, cheese was definitely the hardest thing for me (my weakness being pizza). I think the most important thing is to discover all of the awesome combinations of the foods you do have. It has given me a completely new view of nature, and just how amazing it is that we can grow food that tastes great and is nutritional.

 

On that note, have any of you heard of the debate about whether to consider vegetarianism/veganism a "religion"? http://www.care2.com/causes/is-veganism-a-religion-court-considers-claim.html

 

 

Yeah, I bought a few cookbooks that I am going to start working my way through once I get through this last semester of college. I am really excited about it. 

 

I didn't hear about the vegan religion debate, but I hope no one declares it anything like that. It is a lifestyle choice, like being straight edge. I think once anything becomes a movement or organization like that it starts to get kooky. 

 

I am more interested in the debate about honey and whether or not it is vegan...I mean...are the bees in any kind of pain or anything while they are making honey....very interesting....

[thebiglebowski]

Yeah, I bought a few cookbooks that I am going to start working my way through once I get through this last semester of college. I am really excited about it. 

 

I didn't hear about the vegan religion debate, but I hope no one declares it anything like that. It is a lifestyle choice, like being straight edge. I think once anything becomes a movement or organization like that it starts to get kooky. 

 

I am more interested in the debate about honey and whether or not it is vegan...I mean...are the bees in any kind of pain or anything while they are making honey....very interesting....

 

I'm not a vegan but I like contributing different viewpoints to this thread. I think this is taking it way too extreme. As human beings, our existence damages the environment and is detrimental to animals. We breath in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, which helps to melt a tiny little ice cube off the north pole and hurt polar bears.

 

Those records we all love so much? They are made by petroleum, some of which causes massive spills when people eff up. Your mailman probably kills more bees on the windshield of his truck than you would taking honey in your tea.

 

Your dining room table? It was once a tree home to squirrels, birds, and a lot of insects until someone cut it down. I could go on and on.

 

The only way to cause zero harm to animals would be to end your life (which no one should). You could also go buddhist and give up all possessions and meditate under a tree for 12 hours a day to minimize your impact on the environment. If you aren't going to do that, then I think the right thing to do is to not sweat the small stuff, whether honey is OK for vegans being one of them.

[smash2pieces]

Yeah, I bought a few cookbooks that I am going to start working my way through once I get through this last semester of college. I am really excited about it. 

 

I didn't hear about the vegan religion debate, but I hope no one declares it anything like that. It is a lifestyle choice, like being straight edge. I think once anything becomes a movement or organization like that it starts to get kooky. 

 

I am more interested in the debate about honey and whether or not it is vegan...I mean...are the bees in any kind of pain or anything while they are making honey....very interesting....

 

I have the book that goes along with Forks Over Knives, and it has a cookbook in the back, but thats it for me. I usually just stick to trying to find stuff online. I'm not too good with cookbooks for some reason.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure what to make of the whole thing. I don't think she should be forced to consume animal products, but I'm not sure calling it a religion is going to turn a whole lot of people onto it. I think it would lead to exclusion (like other religions) and would turn it into one of those "I'm better then you" type of things.

 

I know a lot of companies with the "leaping bunny" logo (I think that's what it's called) on their products will have something in the FAQ section of their websites that will say something about how the bees weren't harmed...if they have beeswax as one of their ingredients. A big one for example is Burt's Bees. I bought a pack of their chapstick a while ago, before I realized that that was one of the ingredients. I still use it, but probably won't buy it again. However, it's probably better then the "Chapstick" brand, since they are run by a company that Does test on animals. 

 

You might be interested in these:

http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/companiesdonttest.pdf

http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/companiesdotest.pdf

 

I think that both of those lists get updated pretty much daily too.

[smash2pieces]

The only way to cause zero harm to animals would be to end your life (which no one should). You could also go buddhist and give up all possessions and meditate under a tree for 12 hours a day to minimize your impact on the environment. If you aren't going to do that, then I think the right thing to do is to not sweat the small stuff, whether honey is OK for vegans being one of them.

 

I've thought about this a lot, and agree that no one should have to hold themselves to such a high standard that they're beating themselves over a small thing like that. It's also important to point out that sometimes (depending on location), vegetarians/vegans end up contributing to environmental destruction more, i.e. in the case of Soya brand and deforestation. I also recently just read an article about the skyrocketing cost of quinoa due to demand causing the people who grow it, and it is a staple for, to not even be able to afford it which is really a scary thought.

 

So you're definitely right, it is such a complex issue that sometimes it is very difficult to know where every last ingredient and product you by came from, how it was produced, etc. Personally, I'm trying to simplify my life by buying a lot less "stuff" all together, have been buying clothes from American Apparel (off eBay!!), and try to be a responsible consumer. If you've ever heard of the UFC Fighter Mac Danzing, he's a vegan and I think has a great viewpoint on the "vegan consumer". 

[harryq]

I'm not a vegan but I like contributing different viewpoints to this thread. I think this is taking it way too extreme. As human beings, our existence damages the environment and is detrimental to animals. We breath in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, which helps to melt a tiny little ice cube off the north pole and hurt polar bears.

 

Those records we all love so much? They are made by petroleum, some of which causes massive spills when people eff up. Your mailman probably kills more bees on the windshield of his truck than you would taking honey in your tea.

 

Your dining room table? It was once a tree home to squirrels, birds, and a lot of insects until someone cut it down. I could go on and on.

 

The only way to cause zero harm to animals would be to end your life (which no one should). You could also go buddhist and give up all possessions and meditate under a tree for 12 hours a day to minimize your impact on the environment. If you aren't going to do that, then I think the right thing to do is to not sweat the small stuff, whether honey is OK for vegans being one of them.

 

in my opinion, it's a matter of intent.  animals are born and bred for the sole intent of making food or whatever, whereas your examples are all unintentional.  the bee/honey thing seems like humans exploiting bees for our own gain, so I'd think a card-carrying vegan would have to avoid honey.

[isavedlatin54]

I think my favorite thing is introducing my girlfriend to all the options that are out there (as far as substitutes go.) I take her to a (now one of our favorites) vegan Ice cream shop and she had vegan gummy works for the first time... She loved them. As you can tell she is not vegan or vegetarian, And she's a picky eater, but most everything I have gotten her to try, she has loved. 

[isavedlatin54]

in my opinion, it's a matter of intent.  animals are born and bred for the sole intent of making food or whatever, whereas your examples are all unintentional.  the bee/honey thing seems like humans exploiting bees for our own gain, so I'd think a card-carrying vegan would have to avoid honey.

 

 

you have a valid point on the honey thing. I can honestly say that I have never met someone who called themselves vegan, and ate honey. also, can someone point me in the direction of cheap, easy, and healthy vegan/vegetarian recipes?

[thebiglebowski]

It's all perception. I can't tell you what's right and wrong like you can't tell me. 

 

But I don't think that animals who have harm done to them by people care about what your intention was. They don't care whether it happened in South America to produce the raw materials for the possessions you own or at your local farm. They just care that their life is being harmed or ended.

 

So if the whole point of being vegan is to not intentionally cause harm to living things, if you are driving in your car and accidentally smoke a deer and are vegan, wouldn't it be fine to eat under a vegan code? It would be wasteful not to, and waste is bad for the environment.