To all the Vegetarians/Vegans – AGAIN

[HatterBunny]

Sorry to be starting a new thread on an already discussed topic….. Buuuutttttt……I had a couple of quick comments/questions.

As I stated my husband and I are trying to add more vegetarian meals into our diet. Well, I am really excited because I found the QUORN products at a local store. They didn’t have the greatest suggestion, but hey, you need to start somewhere. I am very excited to start trying these.

Also, I bought some Rice Milk and really liked it. My husband had already tried rice milk and said he liked it too so we are golden there. Now, I guess this leads to the question. What about Soy Milk? Neither of us have tried soy milk. How would you compare it to rice milk? Is the flavor about the same?

My othe question is about cheese. I simply love cheese! I know there is a vegan cheese out there but what is it like? To anyone who has had “normal” cheese and vegan cheese how would you compare it?

Thanks guys!!!

[Sage Cat]

Every one I know that has gone vegan said that cheese was the hardest thing to give up. My experience with vegan “cheese” is that it is horrible. But, that was many years ago – maybe it has gotten better.

Personally I like the taste of rice milk (good to drink, on cereal or to make oatmeal with), but soy milk has a little more body to it (better in coffee). Soy products in general contain lots of estrange. So, if you have health issues like migraines – you want to stay away from it!

[Sonn]

I am not vegan nor vegetarian but I incorporate vegetarian meals into about 80% of my diet.

I love rice milk and soy milk. Soy milk to me tastes a lot more like milk than rice milk but neither taste like milk.

I will say this though I tried vegan cheese because I am a cheese-a-holic and if I ever did go vegan or vegetarian I would rather live the rest of my life and never eat cheese again before eating that stuff again LOL

[HatterBunny]

I don’t know if my husband and I could ever be 100% vegetarian or vegan. We are simply just trying to incorporate more healthy and vegetarian meals. We already eat mostly organic…

WOW, I don’t think I’ll be trying vegan cheese than! I just love regular cheese way too much

[lwayne]

I think the best way (most sustainable) is to do it slowly. So yeah you and your husband are doing a great job of starting to look into alternatives and incorporating more vegetarian meals. It took me 11 years to become vegan (granted I was a kid and my family didn’t like the ‘phase’ I was going through). You may never become vegan and thats ok.

My S.O is a vegetarian (or the kind that eats seafood, but no other meats). He is happy with my vegan cooking and usually only eats eggs/dairy/seafood out at a restaurant. He tried the vegan thing, and it just didn’t work for him, I do say its not for everyone.

The people that usually go ‘cold turkey’ and go from meat eating to vegan in one day seem to me the people that end up giving it up.

[pixiemom]

vegan cheese I thought was so gross!! However I did enjoy the southwestern Quorn nuggets. Had a nice kick to them!

[Minty]

I really like soy milk, I drink the Silk kind. I have tried the original, vanilla, and chocolate and all of them are yummy. Vegan cheese on the other hand…. Disgusting! haha

[MimzMum]

I was a vegetarian for a few years upon turning 20. Kind of gave it up as I aged, but am thinking I should go back to it. If not for the principle of the thing, just for the fact that most meat just makes me sick to even look at these days. It tastes horrible and gives me a foul stomach to boot. Plus you should see the stink eye I get if I bring anything into the bunny room to eat that remotely smells like meat…they all look at me like, “HOW COULD YOU??”

I do drink the Silk Soy Milk. I have always loved it, but have been cautious of it since getting diagnosed with a hormone related cancer. I am in remission though and only occasionally drink the soy milk now because regular milk is as disgusting to me as meat has become.
I think I could probably live without cheese and other dairy products. Most of them are already losing their appeal. It’s the sugar I can’t seem to kick. >_<

The important thing to remember is that you want a complete protein, which can be achieved even without meat products and supplements. However, if you want to be on the safe side, taking a good B12 vitamin is not a bad idea.

Something that it is said most early converts to vegetarianism suffer from is that lack of B12 which helps generate the coverings on the myelin (SP?) sheaths of our nerves. This deficiency can have some nasty side effects. So I would always be sure I’d seen and spoken to my family practitioner about my diet change so he/she can assist you in balancing the new lifestyle properly.

Also it can’t hurt to have a good vegan cookbook. I found “Laurel’s Kitchen” some years ago and have referred to it on and off ever since. In addition to some great recipes, the authors consulted select nutritionists and added all the official tables with the RDA’s for vegetarians. Lots of good info.

[Monkeybun]

Ugh yeah, thats another reason for me to NOT be a vegetarian MM… when I was younger I had a severe B12 deficiency, had to have daily injections of it. Sooo I think I’ll stick to my current non-vegetarian diet if there’s problems with B12. I’m still on the low side as it is for that stuff

PS: Sugar = win! lol

[MimzMum]

My birthmom had pernicious anemia, MB. So yeah, I’ve had to be careful all my life that I never went that way. It’s almost impossible to turn around once you get it, but she’s finally leveled out in her later years.

lolz…Yeah, sugar was definitely on the menu today…I think I bought a few bags of sweet stuff while I was in the store. I don’t know how, it just kind of jumped into my cart, yanno?

(hides candy behind back) What candy? Where? Hm? What? I don’t know what you’re talking about. (nomnomnom)

(wipes mouth on back of sleeve) Sorry…a bit OT there. ^_^ Sugar is BAD for you. VERY bad! (wags finger)

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Working on vegan after 16 years without meat.

Rice milk so much better then soy milk. Soy milk is nutty-fine for coffee, not ok on cereal. Cheese is my biggie, vegan cheese is fine and good in slices but otherwise gross. Eggs are easy to give up but its the products that have eggs in it.

Honestly my only obstacle is I can’t cook to save my life-so I’m working on it. Givng something up-no biggie

[Lis]

I’m actually becoming sort of veggie-curious, after I made 3 amazing, super healthy meals that were veg this weekend. Mostly for the fact that I need to lose weight. Does anyone have any veg recipes they recommend? I simply can’t do the fake meat stuff, though. My veg friend and I made those fake sausages – which she said were the most realistic ones – and I just hated them.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Honestly I LOVE the fake meat stuff-nothing is better then an awesome veggie hot dog

But to be practical-I hardly eat it. I eat sandwhiches (veggie, cheese, mustard) rice, soups (veggie, usually V8 or campbell) and pasta. I don’t eat meat substitutes-not cause they aren’t good (their are awesome ones out there) but because they are expensive per meal and I don’t really need ‘meat’ I love to camp and have a hot dog-but for real meals meat just isn’t on the menu-real or fake But totally the fake is good

[blackfang]

Kokaneeandkahula,

Have you ever tried Morning star BBQ ribs? It is vegan! Yummy!

[4Lily]

I was a vegan, but was almost hospitalized because of severe amnimia! I had to start eating meat again, hate it even after 12 years back eating it! LOL! My diet is still 90% vegan with a serving of meat at supper! I still have to supplement iron daily though! But the iron supplements weren’t enough when I was really anemic! And I supplement protein during the day!

[Lis]

The anemia is the one thing that worries me, especially since I’m not a fan of beans, which are apparently the best source for iron for vegetarians, or so I’m told.

I told my parents on Sunday that I want to try out eating veg for a bit – they were surprisingly supportive. Not something I expected from them, especially my dad. He surprised me even further this morning by handing me a veg cookbook he picked up at Goodwill yesterday while he was looking for fiction for himself. I’ve been going through and tagging things I like.

I’ve found a few recipes already that sparked my interest, and my dad’s a little too. Cheese and nut loaf (like meatloaf without meat, I think?), Artichoke Tart, Winter Squash Gratin, Eggplant Gratin with Saffron Custard, and Artichoke and Fennel Stew all sound really appealing to me.

[4Lily]

That’s awesome! For anemia, get a vegetarian formula liquid iron supplement! Those sound really good! Wish my b/f liked vegies LOL! It’s awesome to have support from family through it! If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the main reason you want to become vegan/vegatarian? (for anyone to answer)

[FlipFlop]

I would love to but for health reasons I simply can’t. I have really bad anemia. If I went vegan/vegetarian it would be really bad for my health- even with supplements. Sucks because I would like to.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Kokaneeandkahula,

Have you ever tried Morning star BBQ ribs? It is vegan! Yummy!

I haven’t -I’ve actually never seen that product line here…but I’ll look online and see if anyone local carries it Thanks!

 

The anemia is the one thing that worries me, especially since I’m not a fan of beans, which are apparently the best source for iron for vegetarians, or so I’m told.

I’m anemic-and was also hospitalized, but not due to dietary loss of iron. Anyways there’s lots of info-I don’t eat beans either and I’m borderline anemic now which is better then before when I ate meat!
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/iron.htm
Protein shouldn’t need to be supplemented, most adults get enough protein in one meal whether it’s meat or veggie. Remember adults only need two servings of protein a day Most people, even vegans, get more then the recommended amount

Oh and for those with anemia who want but can’t-I know what those supplements are like (hard on tummies) so I feel your pain

 

If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the main reason you want to become vegan/vegatarian? (for anyone to answer) 

I’d always considered it from the first time my parents had to answer that the beef I was eating came from a cow (I tihnk we all considered it right? lol). I’d been thinking lots about it, starting right from square one ‘you’re a vegetarian? How can you do that? I could never give up meat!’ …then toyed with the idea. When I was 12 I saw a meat processing program on TV, my parents tried to change it but my mind was made up. They told me no, then told me I wouldn’t be able to do it-and I guess I proved them wrong, sixteen years later lol :p

Now it’s not only just who I am really, but the more I learn about the industry the more I can’t support it. I’m not debating that we aren’t carnivores or at least meant to digest meat, not at all. But the way we do on a large scale, where humane standards are minimum and hardly followed-I just can’t support that.

[Lis]

I have several reasons for going veg.
I seriously wanted to as a kid, but gave up on that notion as I got older.
I really really need to lose serious weight, and this will probably help.
I looked in the fridge last week when my parents went out of town and realized that we eat pretty much nothing but meat here, and it throughly grossed me out.
I realized from my lemon kale chips attempt that I actually can make veggies delicious.

So, while my dad is supportive – mom keeps forgetting. Every night this week, she’s picked me up something with meat predominating the dish – chicken at that which I have NEVER enjoyed.

[Denise12]

I have found soy cheese to be awful. I would rather eat good cheese once in a while.
Soy milk is awesome….i am a fan of the WestSoy brand, plain is better than the flavored ones.
If you are worreid about anemia, just take a multi vitamin AND get all your iron by eating a lot of beans, whole grains (Quinoa is one of my faves), and lots of veggies that you can share w/your bunny (Kale, collards, etc. are a must for me sauteed w/garlic, oil and lemon at least once a week)
good luck!

[Karla]

Anyone of you eating Raw Food? I got a great cook book on Raw Food and we try to eat as much as we can from that one. There are no meat recipes either, of course.

And for anyone interested in reading about the meat industry et.c there is this book: “About eating animals” – I haven’t read it yet, but I have seen tons of positive reviews in various papers. http://www.eatinganimals.com/

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Lis-forgive your mom heheh my mom did that for a bit too and at one point she was cooking veggie for me, atkins for my dad and reg for her and my bro-three different meals three times a day! Mom’s are awesome lol but forgetful lol
And kudos!! And check out the ‘oh’natural’ chicken products-they rock!

I bought vegan cheese but haven’t mustered up courage to try it. The vegan cheese slices-totally great! Probably becasue regular cheese slices are so processed anyways. I really liked rice milk-soy is too nutty for me, but my boss who’s a meatie loves soy lattes

Raw is awesome-soooooo not diciplined enough to do that though. I do a few portions of veggie and fruit a day that’s raw. But totally-phew-I don’t know if I could do only raw veggies/fruit-because you can’t have bread …can you have dairy?

[Sugarbear]

My husband I are not vegan or vegetarian, but we are allergic to dairy and wheat–so we have dairy substitutes. We only buy organic meat when grocery shopping–after seeing the movie “Food, Inc” we made the change. The movie addressed the mainstream raising of animals for meat, i.e. feedlots, etc.
As far as going without dairy, it was difficult at first. The cheese by far was hardest to give up. We switched from soy milk to rice milk and from soy cheese to rice cheese after realizing that soy has plant estrogens–which can mess with your hormone levels. We use the rice milk to substitute for milk in recepies, and eat it over cereal. Horchata is a sweet rice drink-yummy stuff. Rice cheese, however, gives you the “mouth feel” of cheese (to a degree) when using it in conjunction with other ingredients-like in a sandwich for example. No cheese subsitute will taste like cheese by itself. Whole Foods grocery store is a good source for substitution items.
Also, when shopping for cheese substitutes, by wary of products like “veggie slices”. They usually contain casein, or milk protien. We always go for ones labeled “vegan”. There are comprehensive lists online that give all the euphamisims for dairy ingredients-so you know when reading labels. Once you are used to looking for them, it’s a no-brainer.
Good luck. :0)

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

That’s AWESOME!!!
TBH I find no meat substitute the real deal, but I haven’t eaten meat in so long, and the subs are so easy to cook (hey-who wants veggie dogs!) that it doesn’t matter-so why do I expect perfection from cheese substitute? lol I should give it another try…

Sugarbear-what brands did you try? And do you cook with it? Ever do it raw on a sandwhich (like a cheese/cucumber sandwhich?)?

[Karla]

Posted By Kokaneeandkahlua on 06/25/2010 06:34 PM
Raw is awesome-soooooo not diciplined enough to do that though. I do a few portions of veggie and fruit a day that’s raw. But totally-phew-I don’t know if I could do only raw veggies/fruit-because you can’t have bread …can you have dairy?

Yes, you can have bread! Great bread actually. It is just not made of flour, but of grinded nuts, and no milk of course.  I have recipe I got from a co-worker, but I haven’t tried it myself. Also, there are the most delicious cakes as well. The only “bad thing” in them are fruit sugars. They just require a food processor, which I don’t have, so I can only look at the pictures and drewl

And well, I still drink my rice milk..that is kind of raw food, I guess  I wouldn’t know how else to have my musli! But I think the book has a recipe on almond milk.  Also, we do combine eg. Quorn with Raw Food sometimes, so we are most definitely not even 75 % Raw Food-people, but the recipes are great and healthy.

But I wish I could go 100%, but that really requires a lot of time and effort until you get a hang of it. I mean, it does take a while to make your own type of butter, to make your almond milk et.c

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Soo how does that fit with raw though-is it just veggies that are raw? SHARE the recipe!!
Totally on the time and effort-it’s not only the time and effort-but like..Dave doesn’t eat veggies-like at alll…we do seperate groceries so going vegan…difficult

[Karla]

No, all it is still raw – you don’t use any processed ingredients or the pan or oven even for the cakes or bread. For the cakes, for example, it is just grinded nuts, fruits and nectar juice or something like that. I wish I could show you a picture, because they look so nice!! I stick with the salads from the book, because I don’t have the food processor that most of the recipes require.

I just tried to look for the recipe for the bread, and I have to admit that it seems I have lost it. But if I find it again, I will share it with you guys.

But yesterday for lunch, for example, I served “spaghetti with tomato and cheese”…that was grated zucchini, and then with a tomato sauce on top (okay, I cheated, and instead of following the recipe, I had a can of tomatoes that I mixed with basil and salt and pepper) and then the “cheese” was grinded cashew nuts. It looked so impressive. My boyfriend was completely crazy about it (and trust me, he thinks I’m being weird for not eating meat).

Tomorrow, we are supposed to have lasagna. Normally I make that out of quorn with spinach, but in the Raw Food book, it is made out of zucchini, spinach and well, other stuff, I don’t remember right now

Does Dave only eat meat then? Wow, surely it’s a guy thing You cannot sneak in even a tiny veggie in his food?

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Sounds cool!

Does Dave only eat meat then? Wow, surely it’s a guy thing You cannot sneak in even a tiny veggie in his food

He eats corn, iceburg lettuce and green pepper on subway…and he’ll tolerate spinach dip…But yeah he really ony eats meat and I dont so we do our own groceries-just share milk for coffee and sugar

[Karla]

LOL

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

LOL though is that weird? We do our own groceries after living together for four years? Seriously though he eats cookies and junk and I eat raw veggie… ?

[Karla]

Hehe, you sound like a match made in heaven  But seriously, I think it says a lot about you. I’m the type of person, who insists that if I feel strongly about something, so should my boyfriend, so we would argue every day, if he insisted to eat meat, and I would do all sorts of sneaky lobbyism to make him come over to my side. So, it’s just good that you guys are so chilled about being different.

I remember once reading an article on Tommy Lee, apparently he and Pamela got divorced because she is very devoted to her work in PETA and is a vegetarian while he was a big meat lover, and they would fight over this issue constantly. And at the time of the article, they were trying to get back to together, and so he had given up meat for her hehe.

But do you guys cook together then or do you also cook your own food? Because I guess it would be easy to make the same, and just leave out the meat on your plate.

 

[Sugarbear]

Posted By Kokaneeandkahlua on 06/25/2010 07:11 PM
Sugarbear-what brands did you try? And do you cook with it? Ever do it raw on a sandwhich (like a cheese/cucumber sandwhich?)?

   We use Galaxy Nutritional Foods rice vegan slices-my husband uses this for sandwiches in his lunch or we make grilled cheese sandwiches with it sometimes.  They also make them in hunks you can shred it to put on top of pizza.  They are not really meltable, well kinda.  But they definitely don’t melt like cheese. 

We eat Turtle Mountain’s Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream.  YUM!  They have some great flavors.

 

Once we went dairy free, since 2005, your taste buds adjust.  I don’t miss dairy.  It’s funny–whenever we’re out and I mention the dairy allergy, people look at me and say, “Oh, I’m sorry.”  It’s like, “um, it’s ok, really.”  There are societies where they consume no dairy at all-they are not missing out or anything.  I have noticed that we really don’t get colds and never get the flu either.  Dairy helps contribute to congestion in the body-probably giving the germs somewhere to live and hang out for awile. 

 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I remember once reading an article on Tommy Lee, apparently he and Pamela got divorced because she is very devoted to her work in PETA and is a vegetarian while he was a big meat lover, and they would fight over this issue constantly. And at the time of the article, they were trying to get back to together, and so he had given up meat for her hehe.

But do you guys cook together then or do you also cook your own food? Because I guess it would be easy to make the same, and just leave out the meat on your plate.

I learned a looooong time ago arguing will never make a vegetarian So I gave up a loooong time ago. Dave just could never do it-likely he’ll have to give up meat healthwise when he’s older I bet
Also I find people expect you to try to convert them and argue when you’re a vegetarian. Most who eat with me are surprised I’m fine with them eating meat. And I’ve had a crazy number of people go ‘you know I don’t even really like meat, I think I’ll stop eating it’ -my moms friend used to be a vegetarian and was just here for the weekend visiting…guess who’s vegetarian again? We never even discussed it-she just ordered veggie when we went for dinner, we talked about how good the veg chili was-and she’s back on our side again -I think that’s the best route Make no enemies-and a few vegetarians too :p

Nope we don’t cook together-we often eat at the same time-but dont’ cook together. During the summer we do a ‘family BBQ’ on Sundays though, Dave and the dog have steak, we all have corn and garlic bread and I have a veggie hot dog. But otherwise its’ buy your own, make your own
The only problem with eating the same meal as DAve just missing the meat is-he’s often only eating meat…

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

opps-dog does NOT get garlic bread heheh

[Author]

Messages