The Vegetarian & Vegan Thread

[Aimeeeee]

Can't you just go to the local waitrose/tesco and pay £2.50 to buy a carton of alpro soy milk?

And also I just went vegetarian all at once, but i'm not vegan yet. Actually i'm not sure if i'll ever be fully vegan, but I'll always buy organic eggs and cheese so that I know the production methods are sound.

Yeah I guess so but I want to be full vegan, my mum buys food full of gelatine and renet so obviously I'm not gonna eat that.....like she buys cakes/yoghurts etc with it in so that'd mean I'd have to buy like everything for myself and I worked out what my weekly food bill would be and it's like £50 and I only earn £200 a month soooo I don't know, maybe I could become vegan in like steps?

 

[misssakura]

Well I doubt everything she buys is laden with animal fats, but here are some rough guides to prices and what you could buy. Ask her to make sure she stocks up on canned food like italian tomatoes, chickpeas (you can make your own hummus and its great in curries and soups), lentils, kidney beans etc. I doubt she'll shout at you, it's cheap and great for the whole family, and just suggest it as a non vegan thing.

Cauldron Organic Tofu £1.49 (£5.96 per KG)
Kikkoman Soy Sauce 150ml £1.29
Vegan Bouillon powder £2.25 (or any real vegetarian stock, check to make sure its vegan friendly as some add in milk solids)
Alpro Soya Milk 1L £1.29
Setian quickmix £3.99 (its a wheat gluten thing, i've never tried it but several people I know like it so..)

Other foods:
Japanese mirin (great for marinating tofu, along with soy sauce)
Organic soba noodles
TVP or wheat gluten (such as quickmix) (runs around £3-4, cheaper at an asian mart)
Sweet potato and sweet carrot
Vegan-friendly bread (last time I was at waitrose it cost about £2 for a brown loaf)
Sundried tomatoes

Theres a great brand over here in New Zealand called Sanitarium and they make this absolutely delicious product called Tender Pieces, which is basically wheat gluten in gravy.

I'm going to stop now because I haven't lived in the UK for a year and its taking me ages to research what is available, but i'd recommend going to http://veganfamily.co.uk . Its a website run by this scottish family, its really interesting, incredibly informative and just generally a good read, plus check out the links section too, theres lots of blogs and recipe sites, and some of them have links to what they have in their fridges.

If that fails, just show the videos on http://chooseveg.com to your mother. That might shock her into buying less meat products =)

 

[Aimeeeee]

Well I doubt everything she buys is laden with animal fats, but here are some rough guides to prices and what you could buy. Ask her to make sure she stocks up on canned food like italian tomatoes, chickpeas (you can make your own hummus and its great in curries and soups), lentils, kidney beans etc. I doubt she'll shout at you, it's cheap and great for the whole family, and just suggest it as a non vegan thing.

Cauldron Organic Tofu £1.49 (£5.96 per KG)
Kikkoman Soy Sauce 150ml £1.29
Vegan Bouillon powder £2.25 (or any real vegetarian stock, check to make sure its vegan friendly as some add in milk solids)
Alpro Soya Milk 1L £1.29
Setian quickmix £3.99 (its a wheat gluten thing, i've never tried it but several people I know like it so..)

Other foods:
Japanese mirin (great for marinating tofu, along with soy sauce)
Organic soba noodles
TVP or wheat gluten (such as quickmix) (runs around £3-4, cheaper at an asian mart)
Sweet potato and sweet carrot
Vegan-friendly bread (last time I was at waitrose it cost about £2 for a brown loaf)
Sundried tomatoes

Theres a great brand over here in New Zealand called Sanitarium and they make this absolutely delicious product called Tender Pieces, which is basically wheat gluten in gravy.

I'm going to stop now because I haven't lived in the UK for a year and its taking me ages to research what is available, but i'd recommend going to http://veganfamily.co.uk . Its a website run by this scottish family, its really interesting, incredibly informative and just generally a good read, plus check out the links section too, theres lots of blogs and recipe sites, and some of them have links to what they have in their fridges.

If that fails, just show the videos on http://chooseveg.com to your mother. That might shock her into buying less meat products =)

Ok, thanks for the help it's greatly appreciated. Thanks for the links!!

 

[fab_fifties_fille]

You said about become vegan in stages...perhaps your first step while you're still living at home could just be to turn vegetarian...and it's easy enough to find gelatine free yoghurts these days, alot of the low fat ones no longer have it in...then you're at a good starting point if you then want to become vegan (cutting out the dairy, eggs etc)...when you're living by yourself and it's easier when you're just shopping for yourself. You could ask your mam to perhaps just buy you soya or rice milk for you to have ...you won't go through that much a week with it just being you so it won't work out too expensive...

 

[Meg]

good suggestions FFF. I also believe vegetarian renet is quite popular these days and most products are made with a vegetarian renet. Or at least, i've seen it around a lot as my housemate is allergic to the animal version.

 

[Ceptuouse]

my quorn will be ready in 20 minutes

 

[adorefaith]

great thread......
i've been vegetarian for about 7 months now........so far, so good

 

[lightuponme]

I am vegetarian as well and I reckon veganism is a very good thing but I know that it must be very difficult. I can barely imagine how it should be difficult to wear shoes with no leather for instance. I am against cruelty against animals and I don't eat them (even if I still eat eggs and dairy products) but veganism is an ideal very difficult to aim at.
I agree with the fact that going vegan should be done step by step. Good luck anyway, give us informed of your new life
hugs

 

[Ceptuouse]

ive been for almost a year i think...its so much easier than i thought!

( apart from one slice of salami and a chicken bite thing )

 

[Aimeeeee]

You said about become vegan in stages...perhaps your first step while you're still living at home could just be to turn vegetarian...and it's easy enough to find gelatine free yoghurts these days, alot of the low fat ones no longer have it in...then you're at a good starting point if you then want to become vegan (cutting out the dairy, eggs etc)...when you're living by yourself and it's easier when you're just shopping for yourself. You could ask your mam to perhaps just buy you soya or rice milk for you to have ...you won't go through that much a week with it just being you so it won't work out too expensive...

Oh, I am already vegetarian...have been for about 2 years now, just want to go fully vegan and get rid of dairy but great suggestions so thank you
Thanks everyone for the help and advice!!

 

[chanelnumber5]

ive been for almost a year i think...its so much easier than i thought!

( apart from one slice of salami and a chicken bite thing )

this is a very nosey question but i notice that on your loaction it says paris and i was wondering how u found eating in france as vegetarian? as when ever ive been there ive found it quite hard to get something to eat if were not in self catering . when i went to france with school all i ate for a week was bread, brie (which i can cant stand so didnt eat, i no im picky ), pasta/rice and vegetables. i always got asked if i ate chicken right after i said i was vegetarian

 

[lightuponme]

this is a very nosey question but i notice that on your loaction it says paris and i was wondering how u found eating in france as vegetarian? as when ever ive been there ive found it quite hard to get something to eat if were not in self catering . when i went to france with school all i ate for a week was bread, brie (which i can cant stand so didnt eat, i no im picky ), pasta/rice and vegetables. i always got asked if i ate chicken right after i said i was vegetarian

I don't live in Paris but in Nantes and I must admit that French people don't feel comfortable vith vegetarianism. When I say that I am vegetarian, people always asking me if if I am sick. I am in top form tx
I dont know why you so hardly found veggie food because - don't worry- there is everything for vegetarians in France. I find tofu, seitan (yum-yum!), soya and everything I need in shops. So let's make a deal : the next time you come to France come at my home and I will cook some good vegetarian food I promise

 

[lightuponme]

BTW Chanelnumber5 if you plan to go to trip to Paris again, I have a link for you :

http://arnelae.forumactif.com/viewtopic.forum?t=123&highlight=paris

here you have a list of all the vegetarian restaurants in Paris. Comments are in French but if you need help to translate them into English, there's no problem ...Uh, if you can't afford it I have also heard that the Ritz have vegetarian meals by now .
Hope you will have the opportunity to have better meals in France for a next visit

 

[chanelnumber5]

^thank you very much lightuponme, thats very useful next time to go to france ill have to tell my parents to go to paris just to check out those resteraunts . i think its better in paris but ive only been to rural france. its ok in self catering but in these little resteraunts it kinda hard. hehe and ok next time i come to france thats a deal and if i ever can afford to go to the ritz ill go and try the vegetarian options thanks again for the information

edit: welcome to tfs by the way

 

[FrockRadar8]

Has anyone here checked out Quorn? So close to chicken but 100 percent meat-free. I'm a fan.

 

[Totakeke]

misssakura - That sounds so delicious, thanks!

Here's a recipe I found off of veggieboards that I want to share.

In one pan, begin cooking up one package noodles of choice (I use spirals)

In another saucepan, pour 1 cup coconut milk, one large bunch shredded kale, 2 shredded carrots, and other veggies that suit you. Shredded cabbage and papaya work well in this. Add 1/3 tsp of cinnamon. Cook over low heat until vegetables become soft and wilted. Beware: The coconut milk will turn purple/green/odd colors because of the veggies! Turn off heat and salt to taste (or not!)

Drain pasta and toss it all together. Yum!

Has anyone tried Kikkoman's Pearl Soymilk? I love that stuff, especially the green tea flavor.

 

[Aimeeeee]

Has anyone here checked out Quorn? So close to chicken but 100 percent meat-free. I'm a fan.

I LOVE quorn, so much better than the real thing and much healthier aswell! They have such a range here aswell, you can get quorn meatballs, sandwich slices, sausages, escalops etc!! I love marinated tofu aswell yum! I just wish I could find some vegetarian kievs!!

 

[lithium]

I am a vegeterian for 11 years now, and I really don't miss anything!!!

 

[ShuggaStiletto]

1 week without touching meat, and going strong!

 

[hitzpink]

Has anyone here checked out Quorn? So close to chicken but 100 percent meat-free. I'm a fan.

I recently tried Quorn for the first time. It is SO much like chicken! Wow! I love it. I got the little Quorn "bites" and I love to saute them up and put them on salads.