The Vegetarian & Vegan Thread #2

[lucy92]

here is my photo of some vegan chocolate chip cookies i made recently. i found the recipe online here supervegan.com/blog/entry.php?id=1471

the recipe was really easy, btw.

 

[Vega Magnus]

This technically isn't vegetarian/vegan, but it's close, so I'll go ahead and post it. Anyway, I mentioned a few pages ago that I was unintentionally pescetarian; basically meaning that due to health and convenience related reasons, I was eating only fish, but not for any sort of moral reason or anything of that nature. Well, I quit doing that back around September. It was around this time that my skin started to not look so good. It wasn't incredibly bad, but I was consistently having mild breakouts all the time. Initially, I thought I was having an allergic reaction to Fiber One brownies; which I still think was occurring: so I quit eating those, but there wasn't a great deal of improvement. I started to get quite frustrated. I tried altering my face regimen, washing my face earlier in the day, and altering my eating habits somewhat, but nothing was working consistently. Recently, I decided to start eating pescetarian again, and so far, it appears to have solved all of my skin concerns. I'm only sorry that I didn't think of switching back earlier. I quite like eating pescetarian. It's quite convenient for me and I get to eat entirely healthy food that I really like. I also avoid all of the preservatives and stuff that is in a lot of meat and meat products, which I think was what was messing my skin up.

 

[cloudyshambles]

^I've been vegetarian for about two years now and my parents still ask me from time to time "so when are you going to eat 'normal' again?" lol I think they would be very happy if I became a pescetarian. They do understand why I don't want to eat meat anymore, but they don't really understand the not eating fish part...

 

[user.n.]

This year i started to try the veganism (moral reasons).
So here my story is: I never was a big meat eater (nor a vegetable lover btw), though often ate ham and fish. I also drank milk and all. On the other side, i never had any leather bag, jacket, belt in my closet, only my shoes have been made of real leather. So i thought i could step forward now. I always liked being different from the mass and not following mainstream values so i cooked this vegan thing up.
So leaving meat was quite easy, though i often dreamed about eating fish... First i tried tofu to replace meat, but it didn't become my fav, then i tried soy and i realized that i love it in every form.
Replacing cow milk with soy milk went well, too. (Now i'm addicted to Joya's chocolate flavour soy milk!)
But i have no idea how can i replace egg. I mean in receipes. Any idea?

Summarizing my experiences:
(pros) I'm not feeling guilty anymore and that makes me happy. I'm not saying that i didn't do any sin (cough, bacon, cough), but i really try my best. I realized that there are a tons of vegetables i never ate before so i have to give them a chance.
(cons) My big problem is that in my country i can't get vegan ingredients or products easily. Shops usually don't carry any vegan thing but soy milk. Also my family isn't vegan nor vegetarian, so we often have a fight about the menu.
The other thing is that i have cats to feed and it makes me having a dilemma. Of course i have to serve them meat but still.

Sorry for being a chatterbox, i just wanted to make my story round.

 

[YoninahAliza]

^ I found this website which has a ton of recipes for cooking without eggs... which is good for vegans or people who have allergies to eggs. And on the homepage it has some suggestions for substitutes for eggs like; silken tofu, lemon juice, vinegar, egg replacer, etc. As someone who grew up with an allergy to eggs and dairy I just know my mom would have loved this website. Instead she had to figure a lot of things out on her own and from friends who were really health conscious. Hope this helps!
http://www.egglesscooking.com/

Also, it's really funny, I went to my allergist recently and he did a bunch of tests to see if any of my allergies had changed or not. A few years ago it was determined that I was no longer really allergic to chicken anymore so it was alright if I ate stuff which had it as an ingredient. Well... when I was at my doctors and my test results came back and it turns out that I'm still allergic (sometimes allergies can "go away for a bit")! But the funny part of the story was I no longer ate it anyways because I'm a vegetarian now. So no worries. But it looks like I'm stuck being a vegetarian now!

 

[user.n.]

^ Fortunately i don't have any food allergy but it was really helpful, i'm gonna try those tips. Thanks a lot!

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

this is an amazing thread. I learned so much. I am dating someone who is 90% vegetarian but will occasionally eat fish or chicken if it's organic. It's hard eating what I eat around him because I can tell he's judging me when I mention that I want some bacon which completely upsets but he doesnt say anything directly to me. This has caused me to basically eat how he eats even when he isn't around. I don't have an issue with it and in fact I like it, it's just that I felt as though I was pressured into this.

 

[lucy92]

this is an amazing thread. I learned so much. I am dating someone who is 90% vegetarian but will occasionally eat fish or chicken if it's organic. It's hard eating what I eat around him because I can tell he's judging me when I mention that I want some bacon which completely upsets but he doesnt say anything directly to me. This has caused me to basically eat how he eats even when he isn't around. I don't have an issue with it and in fact I like it, it's just that I felt as though I was pressured into this.

i dont think you should worry so much about offending him. i know many vegans that give into cravings occasionally and partake in non vegan items.

 

[YoninahAliza]

this is an amazing thread. I learned so much. I am dating someone who is 90% vegetarian but will occasionally eat fish or chicken if it's organic. It's hard eating what I eat around him because I can tell he's judging me when I mention that I want some bacon which completely upsets but he doesnt say anything directly to me. This has caused me to basically eat how he eats even when he isn't around. I don't have an issue with it and in fact I like it, it's just that I felt as though I was pressured into this.

A big issue I have is when people judge me for my eating habits. Which is why I always tell people that I don't care if they eat meat because that's their choice just like it's my choice to be a vegetarian. We just have to respect each-others differences. But if you like being a vegetarian then that's fab, just make sure you aren't still feeling pressure from him (or anyone else) about it. I think ultimately we have to do what's right for ourselves, whether that's being a vegetarian or not.

 

[myown]

^i get judged for being veggy, too. every time i mention i dont eat meat, people will look at me like they are sorry for me being vegetarian. and i always have to listen to coments like "all the veggy try to force meat-eater to be veggy to" and stuff. i dont. it´s my choice not eating meat, it´s their choice eating meat. but i think the prejudice against vegetarians (or evan vegans!) are worse than the ones meat-eaters think we have against them.
(hope you know what i mean)

 

[YoninahAliza]

^Oh yeah I totally know what you mean. I've had tons of friends say to me, "will you get mad if I eat a hamburger in front of you?" or make similar comments and it always annoys me. Honestly, I'd get mad about it if they keep going on about my vegetarianism but not because they are eating meat. I really don't care what other people eat, it's their life. But I find it interesting that people care so much about what I'm eating. However, at the same time I do feel that their are some vegetarians/vegans who are really rude towards meat eaters. So it's a two way street I guess.

 

[fashionista-ta]

This year i started to try the veganism (moral reasons).
So here my story is: I never was a big meat eater (nor a vegetable lover btw), though often ate ham and fish. I also drank milk and all. On the other side, i never had any leather bag, jacket, belt in my closet, only my shoes have been made of real leather. So i thought i could step forward now. I always liked being different from the mass and not following mainstream values so i cooked this vegan thing up.
So leaving meat was quite easy, though i often dreamed about eating fish... First i tried tofu to replace meat, but it didn't become my fav, then i tried soy and i realized that i love it in every form.
Replacing cow milk with soy milk went well, too. (Now i'm addicted to Joya's chocolate flavour soy milk!)
But i have no idea how can i replace egg. I mean in receipes. Any idea?

Summarizing my experiences:
(pros) I'm not feeling guilty anymore and that makes me happy. I'm not saying that i didn't do any sin (cough, bacon, cough), but i really try my best. I realized that there are a tons of vegetables i never ate before so i have to give them a chance.
(cons) My big problem is that in my country i can't get vegan ingredients or products easily. Shops usually don't carry any vegan thing but soy milk. Also my family isn't vegan nor vegetarian, so we often have a fight about the menu.
The other thing is that i have cats to feed and it makes me having a dilemma. Of course i have to serve them meat but still.

Sorry for being a chatterbox, i just wanted to make my story round.

Re your cats, just thought I'd pass on this story ... my former hairstylist and her husband were vegetarians, and from time to time they would discuss changing their dogs' diet. It always ended with this line: "That's not their dharma, honey!"

My dogs are basically pescetarians. I cook for them--eggs, fish, yogurt are the standard proteins I buy for them, and occasionally they get leftover meat or poultry. In my experience, high-energy dogs really need saturated fats.

I'm imagining your cats could go pescetarian if that would make you feel better.

 

[couturecouture]

^i get judged for being veggy, too. every time i mention i dont eat meat, people will look at me like they are sorry for me being vegetarian. and i always have to listen to coments like "all the veggy try to force meat-eater to be veggy to" and stuff. i dont. it´s my choice not eating meat, it´s their choice eating meat. but i think the prejudice against vegetarians (or evan vegans!) are worse than the ones meat-eaters think we have against them.
(hope you know what i mean)

OMG this is exactly how I feel. People will ask me if I am annoyed/bothered that they're eating meat in front of me or if I'm going out to dinner people make a big deal about having to find a place with no meat (I've never been to a restaurant where I found nothing on the menu) and it makes me so uncomfortable. I am almost afraid to tell people.

 

[jamia]

Pretty random but this thread just reminded me of how disappointed I was today when I went to my long-time favorite vegan eatery only to discover they've changed most of their recipes. Everything tasted so bland !

Does anyone have a good experience with making cashew cheese? and has anyone tried Tofutti's Better Than Ricotta? I'm curious.

 

[myown]

OMG this is exactly how I feel. People will ask me if I am annoyed/bothered that they're eating meat in front of me or if I'm going out to dinner people make a big deal about having to find a place with no meat (I've never been to a restaurant where I found nothing on the menu) and it makes me so uncomfortable. I am almost afraid to tell people.

I hardly tell anyone i am vegetarian. only people I trust. I am sick of their comments.
if people ask me i´ll tell them i will eat meat, if i know it´s good meat. if the animals were treated right and had a good life. they stop judging then and stop talking about it. i think they know i am right and i think they know they shouldn´t eat all the bad meat. that keeps them from talking.

 

[JungleCat]

anybody know where i can get vegan food in Germany? just in a Naturkostladen/Reformhaus or do normal chains (Aldi, Rewe etc) have vegan stuff as well? i only ever see vegetarian food.

Also:
- my main problem is that i LOVE dairy products and i don't really like soy milk, is there a good alternative?
- any websites with many recipes? (i'm especially looking for cookies, cakes and other sweet stuff)

i tried going vegan a couple of years ago but couldn't stay strong, now i'm trying to get back into it...i'm just scared that my addiction to chocolate will make me weak again

I know I'm a bit late, but you might want to check out "Chocolate Covered Katies" homepage. It's mostly about healthy and vegan desserts

 

[helen-rox]

I am by no means vegetarian, however I do enjoy vegeterian meals from. Could some one recomend a source of great tasty healthy vegetarian recipes?

 

[~Gia~]

Ok, I'm really thinking I can pull it off, being a vegetarian. What are some things I should know?

 

[MussedPorcelain]

I'm going through a recent dilemma!
To quickly run down my dietary history: I'm 11 years no beef and 5 years vegetarian (with a 1-year pescatarian gap). I also generally eat vegan, except when I eat out.

The dilemma is; a friend recently brought up the issue that she hates when people call themselves vegetarians and consider eating eggs acceptable. She is a meat-eater/lover, but her point has got me thinking. The guilty conscience that kicked in when I gave up meat all those years ago has started knocking on my mental door again.

A full move to veganism seems difficult, if only because it limits incredibly the places you can eat, both conveniently and socially. I know I'm over-thinking this completely right now, but I can't help it. I'd like to know your opinions!

The question is: What are your thoughts on 'vegetarians' consuming eggs? Is there an ethical difference between eating eggs masked in the facade of baked goods and eating eggs alone (such as in omelets)? Should it be considered another sub-category?

 

[ChloeFrancoise]

By definition it's a vegan who would never have eggs and dairy, not a vegetarian. Also it depends on someone's reason for why they don't eat meat. It's not the same reason(s) for everyone.