The Vegetarian & Vegan Thread

[papa_levante]

^ Just ask it here and many users are pretty diligent about responding. (At least I am!)

One piece of advice is that going out to eat will become quite difficult and many times people can't/won't cater to your needs. Just anticipate that. You'll bring your own snacks, pack your own lunch, search and search for restaurants that provide vegan options, etc.

 

[yasmine123]

Good Luck Neely!! please let us know how you go!

Personally I cook alot of vegetable stews, and stirfrys. I eat alot of quinoa and brown rice to keep my energy up.

For breakfast I often eat rice porrage (with some quinoa that I put through blender so that it is more of a meal. its very creamy so cooking it with water is enough!) I add some cinnamon and stir through frozen berries (which defrost instantly in the hot porrage).

good luck!

 

[cygnenoir]

Yeah, Brendan Brazier is awesome.

I was a fan of his books, and one night on TV I randomly stumbled upon a lecture that he did that was great. (He is also a lot cuter than I had imagined!) He knows a lot about nutrition and how the body works. He is full of information about plant based diets that's really helpful when someone tells you for the zillionth time that you can't possibly get enough protein not eating meat! I bet that lecture is somewhere on the internet.

He's also involved with this site. I think I may have posted it in this thread before? (If it's a repeat, sorry!)

http://www.21daykickstart.org/

 

[Ashcottmanor]

Are there any other tips you guys would like to share? Perhaps are there any websites I should check out? Thanks

Good luck!

I like these sites a lot

1) www.fatfreevegan.com
2) www.Thekindlife.com
3) www.littlehouseofveggies.com
4) www.ohsheglows.com

I hope these help!

 

[YoninahAliza]

^ Thank you so much for sharing these resources with us! I've been looking to find more ways to be a better vegetarian and these websites sure help!

 

[papa_levante]

Personally I cook alot of vegetable stews, and stirfrys. I eat alot of quinoa and brown rice to keep my energy up.

same here! I throw veggies in pans and add a little olive oil. And then I throw quinoa in it. Even though it looks like insect bugs have infested my dinner plate, it's filling.

 

[papa_levante]

Last night, my friend came over and she brought me Yummy Earth candies. She works as a cashier at Whole Foods Market and she gives these to the kids with allergies that walk through the line.

yummyearth.com

They don't taste awful. My bag only came with 4 flavors, and they are quite lovely.

 

[Manoushka]

Yeah, Brendan Brazier is awesome.

I was a fan of his books, and one night on TV I randomly stumbled upon a lecture that he did that was great. (He is also a lot cuter than I had imagined!) He knows a lot about nutrition and how the body works. He is full of information about plant based diets that's really helpful when someone tells you for the zillionth time that you can't possibly get enough protein not eating meat! I bet that lecture is somewhere on the internet.

He's also involved with this site. I think I may have posted it in this thread before? (If it's a repeat, sorry!)

http://www.21daykickstart.org/

cygnenoir, I agree about Brendan being cute, he is not very hard to look at whilst listening to him share his endless information

21 day kickstart is a great initiative and people interested in a healthier and cruelty free lifestyle should definitely check it out thanks for bringing it up!

And I know what you mean about the protein, ór the b12, which when doing proper research, anybody can find out about.
Did you know that according to scientific research vegetarians tend to have higher calcium levels than the average meat eater? It is because vegetarians/vegans tend to eat more greens... a good thing to bring up the next time some poor deluded person comes at you with the dairy industry's lobbying about milk being good for our bones...
The calcium in milk from animals actually leaches the calcium from our bones, into our blood, and then into our urine... so while on the charts the calcium amount may be high in a cup of milk, the milk from a different species than us is not meant for us.
Besides, when was the last time you saw a grown person drinking from their mother's breast?

Mother's milk is for babies,
we started developing teeth for a reason.

 

[Manoushka]

I wanted to add another quick thing about milk...

It's consumption actually is one of the biggest causes of osteoporosis (due to the leeching of calcium from the bone I was talking about in above post). I am still quite amazed that this is such a "hidden" thing, everybody has the right to a healthy and strong body, but big industries like the meat, dairy and "diet" industry have a (very) big hand in the mainstream information out there available about nutrition and health, I find it very disconcerting because the average person expects to trust such things from their government and health officials. And looking around at the state of the average person in the USA as well as most of Europe, it is clear that something is not quite right. So much for our "advanced" nutrition and medicine.

In light of this post, I'd like to advice people to watch the documentary "Food Matters", it is very enlightening!

 

[oiselet]

Last night, my friend came over and she brought me Yummy Earth candies. She works as a cashier at Whole Foods Market and she gives these to the kids with allergies that walk through the line.

yummyearth.com

They don't taste awful. My bag only came with 4 flavors, and they are quite lovely.

I have a big bag of those and eat them all the time. They are yummy and vegan!

 

[Ashcottmanor]

I wanted to add another quick thing about milk...

It's consumption actually is one of the biggest causes of osteoporosis (due to the leeching of calcium from the bone I was talking about in above post). I am still quite amazed that this is such a "hidden" thing, everybody has the right to a healthy and strong body, but big industries like the meat, dairy and "diet" industry have a (very) big hand in the mainstream information out there available about nutrition and health, I find it very disconcerting because the average person expects to trust such things from their government and health officials. And looking around at the state of the average person in the USA as well as most of Europe, it is clear that something is not quite right. So much for our "advanced" nutrition and medicine.

In light of this post, I'd like to advice people to watch the documentary "Food Matters", it is very enlightening!

I totally agree with everything you said here, the USDA is this biggest joke out there. They don't protect and or serve us in any way. More often then not when they're inspecting diary and meat farms they turn a blind eye to not only the inhumane slaughter that is going on but also the hazardous and dangerous working conditions the workers have to subside in. There is also tons of contamination/disease that goes unchecked. It's all so these big companies can get their diseased meat packed faster and onto our tables quicker. After all...time is money not our health

 

[Neely]

^ Thank you sooooo much for the tips, so far I am loving making tofu stirfrys and I feel like my energy has been higher, probably because I am eating so many delicious veggies and tofu

Great websites, can't wait to really dive in and go through everything, and I've just requested like ten vegan cookbooks from the library that I'm sure will help; I'll let you know how they go!

And everything is so far so good within my first week of being vegan; no crazy temptations, even for chocolate which I am surprised. I've had to refuse some delcious samples while grocery shopping and I've mostly been eating at home but otherwise it hasn't been that big of a deal social-wise. And I feel like this has been a great cleansing for the body and I'm already noticing improvements!

 

[Neely]

Also thanks for the tips on quinoa, I know of a great local quinoa loaf with sprouted almonds and dates that I'm just dying to toast with my better than cream cheese!

 

[Sun_Goddess01]

I'm really excited about becoming a vegetarian. I'm slowly straying away from meat eating less and less of it every week.

 

[YoninahAliza]

Last night, my friend came over and she brought me Yummy Earth candies. She works as a cashier at Whole Foods Market and she gives these to the kids with allergies that walk through the line.

yummyearth.com

They don't taste awful. My bag only came with 4 flavors, and they are quite lovely.

How funny! I am eating a Yummy Earth lollie right now while reading this thread! My mom introduced me to them and now I've become a converter... they are delish but also organic too which I love.

 

[papa_levante]

^ We're like one and the same.

What I cannot stand is when I list what it doesn't have, people say, "Oh, so taste-free too?"

 

[Neely]

^ haha totally. I made delicious vegan yam fries with an avacado, tomato and spinach sandwich for lunch and it seriously triumphs any take out meal! Although I am pretty excited to go out for vegan food in Vancouver, we are lucky in that we have a wide selection of vegan speciality grocery stores and places to eat out.

Those yummy earth lollipops look tempting, I have such a sweet tooth, and I can find these at whole foods?

Are there other sweets out there that are vegan, either accidentially or not, because as I mentioned I have a little sweet tooth that I like to indulge in once in a while!

 

[Neely]

Alright so I've research yummy earth lolli's and I'm going to pick some up tomorrow!

Here's a vid I found on the lollipops that is like an organic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

 

[Anna026]

I haven't gone through this thread in a while but if this has been recommended before than I'll just second it The Craving's Place makes great vegan/gluten/nut/bean free mixes that turn out amazing. I currently have the Pancake/Waffle mix and Cornbread mix. I only get a couple at a time because they can get expensive/addictive but they are wonderful additions for those that are craving some of the old comfort foods

PS:I believe most Whole Food Market's sell them.

 

[yasmine123]

oooh I cant wait find some Yummi Earth lollipops!! I will keep my eyes pealed!