Veganuary

[herbidacious Profile]

Is there a scientific reason why vegan cheese can't be done (well)?

I have tried up market (v expensive) cultured ones which seems like a step in the right direction. But they are not quite 'there'. Husband quite likes the 'downmarket' ones, but then he likes plastic cheese anyway

I did order a pizza a while back and asked if I could have the vegan one but with 'real' cheese on it. I felt very naughty and a bit hypocritical

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Herbi - I hear your cry!!
I opted for "vegetarian" food in hall. 45 + years ago. My typical lunch would have been a cheese and onion roll. Typical Hall food was two hard boiled eggs ( VERY hard) with marmite on top. I got laughed at, but I got most people back when I invited them for dinner; or met them on the cricket field with a bouncer or two.
What is not required is a " Vegan is the New Healthy Thing" campaign - until someone explains, in detail, how it works for your metabolism. It´s not something you embrace just because it´s trendy, or because you´re a climate change fanatic, or because you want to lose weight, or whatever other reason; it´s really a new lifestyle, so it´s better to be well-prepared before you take the plunge. I suppose it might be akin to living in New York all your life and then deciding to go and live on the Isle of Jura. Perfectly possible, but not easy to begin with.
Watching the Indian Premier League on TV, I discovered that Adam Zampa, the Ozzie spinner, is vegan. Now there´s a bloke who´s a first class athlete - I wonder how he manages?
As for vegan "cheese" - it IS possible. I´ve tried some because there´s an entrepreneur over here who has made some very respectable "cheese" from nuts. I tried parmesan, "goat" cheese and "mozzarella" - they were all very acceptable. I suppose it´s just a question of time there in the UK.
One more thing that really bugs me. Why do we have to talk about a "Plant-Based" diet? Is there anything wrong with using the existing "Vegan" word?

[smitch Profile]

Plant based specifically refers to diet. Vegan is a lifestyle that excludes all animal products and has an associated set of ethics. You could eat plant based food for health reasons but wear leather shoes, for example and you wouldn’t be vegan.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Thanks for the explanation, Smitch. NOW I understand the difference.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I have a Time Life 1980 something vegetarian cook book
Lit has some very nice recipes and, like all the Time Life books good photos

It never discusses why you would be choosing vegetarian food, but there’s a clear, if unspoken, assumption that it’s for health reasons, in particular the US cholesterol obsession of the time, it does use eggs and dairy but there are places where there are weird choices to reduce fat and calories content in recipes not too rich without them

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I did order a pizza a while back and asked if I could have the vegan one but with 'real' cheese on it. I felt very naughty and a bit hypocritica

I sometimes order a veggie or vegan breakfast and have black pudding instead of the sausagy thing. Why worry? You're not vegan, I'm neither veggie nor vegan. You're an intelligent woman who has made an informed dietary choice. Feeling shamed by the different choices of some trendy individuals reflects far worse on them than you.

[scullion Profile]

in those far off days of going to a pizza express, we often ordered the vegan pizza as it had the veg topping we wanted. we were always asked whether we wanted the vegan cheese or real cheese. we would always choose the real cheese.

[herbidacious Profile]

I did order a pizza a while back and asked if I could have the vegan one but with 'real' cheese on it. I felt very naughty and a bit hypocritica

I sometimes order a veggie or vegan breakfast and have black pudding instead of the sausagy thing. Why worry? You're not vegan, I'm neither veggie nor vegan. You're an intelligent woman who has made an informed dietary choice. Feeling shamed by the different choices of some trendy individuals reflects far worse on them than you.

I am not worried. And this has nothing to do with being concerned about other people's trendiness (and I am sure the waiter didn't give two hoots!) There are various elements to my somewhat lighthearted comment but this is not really the sort of thing I want to get into here. That said, part of it is this: I am a vegetarian for ethical reasons and there are very compelling reasons to become a vegan which, to be consistent, I believe I should really follow.

[Grasshopper Profile]

I won't be doing Veganuary. We DO sometimes have a vegetarian meal, but I simply can't give up animal products.

Plant based 'milk' tastes awful, quorn needs LOTS of flavouring added to make it palatable, etc etc .
Am not against vegans (well, I'll make an exception for the fanatical nutjobs who invade cafes and try to bully others).

We are omnivores as a species, very adaptable omnivores.

[smitch Profile]

Who invades cafes? I’m not sure why you’d have an issue with vegans since their dietary choices don’t affect you.

Most Quorn isn’t vegan and there are much better options on the market. My OH likes their southern fried bites but they’re not vegan.

I’d say about 90% of the food we eat is vegan, I’ve been making an effort to switch to vegan alternatives as much as possible. I’ve been veggie for 25 years and am intending to fully transition to vegan during 2021. I’m not doing ‘veganuary’ as arbitrary targets aren’t really my thing.

A lot of meat eaters don’t consider or care about nutrition either. Eating meat doesn’t make your diet inherently ‘healthier’ if you’re making poor choices. I certainly consider the nutritional aspects of my meal more than my meat eating family or friends do. My B12 deficiency isn’t diet related either and most of the people in the groups I’m in on fb eat meat.

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Herbi

I didn't mean to give offence and hope you haven't taken any. I certainly didn't intend to tell you what you should or should not be eating, quite the opposite.

[herbidacious Profile]

And I apologize if I bristled a bit, BM.
I think I need to get out of the house...!

[Amyw Profile]

I won't be doing Veganuary. We DO sometimes have a vegetarian meal, but I simply can't give up animal products.

Plant based 'milk' tastes awful, quorn needs LOTS of flavouring added to make it palatable, etc etc .
Am not against vegans (well, I'll make an exception for the fanatical nutjobs who invade cafes and try to bully others).

We are omnivores as a species, very adaptable omnivores.

I think thats quite judgemental really. There are so many plant based milks available, you can't say that they are all awful unless you've tried them all. The whole point of quorn is the plain versions are to go into curries,chilli etc to absorb the flavour and as Snitch , they're not predominantly vegan.

I've never had a "vegan" nut job accept me in a cafe at all ! And I don't see how you can be against anyone based purely on their dietary preferences.

So my background is I've done a bit of everything thisyear. I lasted about 20 odd days of Veganuary, then predominately veggie until the last stressful couple of months have meant I've slipped into old habits and eaten a bit of meat again . I am eager to reds or eliminate meat totally. I do find red meat difficult to digest and I found eating more vegetarian meals made my cooking a bit more inventive and I ate more fruit and veg

[smitch Profile]

Amy, I agree it was a judgemental post with lots of generalisations.

I use oat milk, I like the taste and it is more environmentally sound. Different brands and styles of soya and other plant milks have different flavours, some are nasty but others taste good.

I haven’t eaten meat for a long time but how much flavour is in a standard supermarket chicken breast or in reformed ham? A lot of ingredients are bland on their own and are cooked with herbs, spices, sauces etc to add flavour.

We all have different tastes and just like meals with meat, some veggie food is more flavourful than other dishes. There are also lots of veggie and vegan dishes that don’t use meat subs at all.

[Seatallan Profile]

We have a vegan friend and I will admit to sometimes struggling with what to make when she and her husband happen to stay for a few days. I cook veggie meals frequently but I find it a bit more complicated to come up with interesting vegan dishes that we'll all enjoy without repeating myself. I much prefer to make the same dish for everyone rather than make a seperate vegan dish- it just seems friendlier somehow.

[smitch Profile]

Seatallan, if you ever need any ideas or suggestions, start a thread and I’m sure people will help.

[Pampy Profile]

I'm neither vegan nor vegetarian but haven't eaten dark meat or pork (or any of their derivatives) for about 55 years. I make a lot of poultry/fish less meals and don't make any attempt to make them mimic animal protein - I love vegetables/pulses/nuts/etc as they are and don't feel the need to try to make them into something they're not.

[Seatallan Profile]

Seatallan, if you ever need any ideas or suggestions, start a thread and I’m sure people will help.

[Amyw Profile]

Might be of interest to some .. I’ve got to say the Richmond sausages are very good in that cheap sausage way . Perfect in a vegan cooked breakfast or if you fancy a sausage bap for breakfast

[Grasshopper Profile]

I don't mean to be judgemental and sry if I unintentionally offended anybode.

Smitch - have you heard of an outfit calling itself 'Direct Action Everywhere'? They are very, VERY militant and have a reputation for entering cafes and other places that sell meat products, wearing masks, throwing fake blood about, and yelling abuse at staff and customers alike. They have also been trespassing on farms and stealing livestock.

PETA, founded in the US are not much better. They are also militant vegans. They pull all sorts of silly stunts and even disapprove of PETS! Most of the animals taken in to their 'care' are euthanised very quickly (the group claim they are 'somehow unadoptable), which is BS.