(OT) Any vegans out there?

[Sixchan]

Re: Re: (OT) Any vegans out there?

My advice would be to become vegetarian before vegan (unless you're already vegetarian.) It's a lot eaiser, both in dificulty of finding food as well as for getting nutrition.

Umbran: Yeah, a chage in one's diet does influence your friends choices. I've let all my friends know that they should chose what they'd normally chose to eat and I'll fend for myself. Everything works out pretty good except for two types of resaurants: barbeque and seafood. Almost every other place as an ok vegetarian option, except those two.

I've been a vegetarian for 6 years now and I can't digest meat anymore. I accidentily ate some pork 2 years ago and got massively, painfully, sick. Even with that a although i'm vegetarian for religious reasons, i don't "cheat" a bit on ocassion with soup stocks. But when I do, it's only because I don't want to be rude to someone's hospitality. I think hospitality is very important and that I'm not focused enough on my religion to put it before respecting another's kindnesses.

When my wife's grandmother found out I was a vegetarian she said, "How'd he get so fat only eating vegetables?" Hehehe, gotta love the bluntness of old chinese women...

joe b.

In Britain EVERY restraunt has a vegetarian option. It's called a plate of chips.

 

[mmu1]

Re: Re: Re: (OT) Any vegans out there?

In Britain EVERY restraunt has a vegetarian option. It's called a plate of chips.

Had a friend in college that went vegan while in high school, and with typical good judgement of a teenager ended up falling back on a diet consisting of McDonald's fries (Yes, I'm aware of the irony here. It was long before they admitted to pre-frying them in lard), because his family didn't eat vegan and he was too lazy to go for a balanced diet. It ended when he got scurvy and his mother hauled him to the hospital.

 

[Pielorinho]

Also, as was observed just this Saturday by one of the chaps in my gaming group: "If we weren't supposed to eat animals, they wouldn't be made out of meat."

stares hungrily at Mark

You're made out of meat. . . .

drools

C'mon, folks. He asked for advice on becoming vegan, not for an out-the-butt critique of his nutritional/philosophical choice. If you eat meat, good on ya! but don't tell him he's making a poor choice unless he asks.

That said, I'm not a vegan. I tried in college a few times, but even when I paid close attention to my diet, I ended up feeling very weak and almost fainting. Some people, obviously, can do it well, and some hard-core athletes (including Triathlon champions, world-class weightlifters, and others) thrive on a vegan diet, but other people don't. Still, most of the meals I cook are vegan or close to vegan, with only a little cheese to mark it as non-vegan.

Are you a good cook? Now's a great opportunity to learn. Some vegans slap some nutriitonal yeast on some whole-wheat noodles and call it Vegan Mac 'n' Cheese. Don't be one of these guys: it'll make life depressing.

Instead, I'd recommend choosing a cuisine you like, and learning to cook it. Many Asian cuisines are easily adaptable to vegan needs, obviously, but you can also do decent Italian and Mexicali food pretty easily.

Here's my all-time favorite vegan recipe, invented by yours truly. Unapologetic carnivores find themselves licking their plates clean when I serve this stuff.

Spicy Ginger Tofu and Kale in Peanut Sauce.
1 block tofu
Garlic
Ginger
Red pepper flakes
Tamari or soy sauce
Water
Olive oil
Sesame and peanut oil (optional)
Natural peanut butter
Kale
Cooked rice (preferably brown)

-Chop a block of tofu into bite-sized pieces and put it in a microwave-safe bowl.
-Pour about a quarter-cup of tamari (or soy sauce) into the bowl.
-Add enough water to just cover the tofu.
-Throw in a handful of hot pepper flakes, three to six cloves minced garlic, and about 2 tablespoons grated ginger. (Obviously, vary these according to your tastes). Stir it all together: this is your marinade.
-Put the bowl in the microwave for about 7 minutes. This gets the tofu to absorb the marinade's flavor quickly.
-Put your wok on the stove; you can also use a big soup pot for this. Add in a couple tablespoons of olive oil; if you have peanut oil and/or sesame oil, add a bit of these for good flavor.
-Drain the tofu, reserving the marinade. Heat the oil up and throw the tofu in, sauteing it until it's starting to get golden.
-Meanwhile, throw a couple giant spoonfuls of natural peanut butter into the hot marinade, and whisk it around until it's dissolved.
-Pour the peanut sauce into the tofu. Reduce the heat to medium and cook it, stirring frequently, until the sauce is thick and creamy.
-Tear up a bunch of kale (Lacinato kale is extra-good) and throw it into the wok/pot. Stir it around a bit, and then cover it. Cook it until the kale is dark green and tender.
-Serve over brown rice.

It's rich, spicy, gingery, full of flavor. The tofu doesn't taste bland, but rather absorbs all the other good flavors. The kale is a nice refreshing contrast to the creaminess of the sauce.

Now I'm hungry!
Daniel

 

[Sixchan]

Please be aware of this....

Veganism is a religon and way of life birthed I believe in India and practiced by Hindus...it is not a "healthy eating plan". It is the belief in strong animal rights and non-exploitation.

A Vegan is a person who
* eats no meat, seafood, eggs or dairy
* avoids wearing clothes and accessories made from animals such as leather shoes
* tries not to use products derived from or tested on animals, such as Vegans also don't use honey, as this is taken from bees. That leaves out silk, alot of makeup products...etc.

So there's alot more to it than that.

Thanks!

Erm...If I remember my highschool RE (we focus extensively on Hinduism and Islam due to large Indian/Pakistani communities), the whole point of revering the cow as a sacred animal is that it can give and preserve life, primarily because you can survive on dairy products that cows provide, i.e. Milk, Cheese, Butter etc.

And I've seen plenty of my Hindu friends eat meat and dairy products. One in partcular eats an awful lot of chocolate...

 

[Videssian]

also, it's probably a good idea for the original poster to do some research of his own.. what you'll get (and you've gotten) on here is a lot of different opinions combined with quite a bit of flat-out incorrect info .. and it's a topic that with some can lead to heated tempers.. so don't take our word for it (pro OR con) and check out the various resources online that are there.. and make up your own mind about it all.. after all, the only one that has to live with the choice of diet and the consequences thereof you've made is you...

 

[Mark Chance]

stares hungrily at Mark

You're made out of meat. . . .

drools

Eek!

C'mon, folks. He asked for advice on becoming vegan, not for an out-the-butt critique of his nutritional/philosophical choice. If you eat meat, good on ya! but don't tell him he's making a poor choice unless he asks.

In all fairness to me, I didn't say he was making a poor choice. I did throw out a few one liners (falsely assuming that a sense of humor doesn't fall under the same heading as meat). I even offered a second recommendation for Mediterranean cuisine as a fine vegetarian choice.

Properly done, a vegetarian diet can be quite healthy. That's the funny thing about diets. Properly done, they're healthy, even ones that include meat.

I also heartily agree with Fast Food Nation's basic thrust. Fast food is, by and large, junk food, and should be avoided as much as possible. Uzumaki is doing himself (right gender?) a favor by removing Mickey D and company from the menu.

Warning - Unsoliticed Opinion: Now, to me, going from avoiding fast food to full-blow vegan seems a bit of an overreaction, but that is just to me.

So, I guess, in essence, I'm sort of apologizing for having a sense of humor and an opinion. Mea culpa.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Spicy Ginger Tofu and Kale in Peanut Sauce.
1 block tofu
Garlic
Ginger
Red pepper flakes
Tamari or soy sauce
Water
Olive oil
Sesame and peanut oil (optional)
Natural peanut butter
Kale
Cooked rice (preferably brown)

Mmmmmm. I know what I'm making for dinner...

 

[jgbrowning]

Here's where Suzi gets lots of our recipes. I don't cook much, as I tend to overspice.

www.vegweb.com

joe b.

 

[Pielorinho]

In all fairness to me, I didn't say he was making a poor choice. I did throw out a few one liners (falsely assuming that a sense of humor doesn't fall under the same heading as meat). Properly done, a vegetarian diet can be quite healthy. That's the funny thing about diets. Properly done, they're healthy, even ones that include meat.

My remarks weren't so much directed at you (except for pointing out that you're made from meat -- it's a creepy, smartass reply to a glib, smartass cliche every vegetarian has heard a hundred times, and I love it). My apologies for making it look like the rest was directed toward you.

Daniel

 

[Voadam]

Hi, everyone. I'm switching to veganosity after reading Fast Food Nation. Does anyone know of really, really easy and good recipes for beginners? I live in San Diego, in the hippiest region, so soy-based products and organic food, etc, shouldn't be hard to come by. There's also a huge Japanese/Asian marketplace nearby, likely with healthier and less messed up foods, too. So, any suggestions? Thank you.

Also add in pasta with tomato sauce to my list above (is pasta made with eggs, I don't know).

Is bread right out because it is made from eggs? I think so so scrap my PBJ idea above unless you can come up with an alternate vegan bread (Matzo? Indian Nan?).

I think granola is ok.

If you were just going vegetarian instead of vegan I'd suggest grilled cheese and cheese pizza. (those are the only vegetarian lunch or dinner meals in my diet).