Anyone Vegetarian/Vegan/etc?

[VegtaBully]

My husband and I are both ethical vegetarians. We are seriously considering going vegan.

Do it!

 

[sweetspice]

My husband and I are both ethical vegetarians. We are seriously considering going vegan.

Do it!

 

[summer rain]

I'm not strictly veggie but only eat meat or fish maybe once or twice a month, it just doesn't seem ethical to eat it more often than that. I couldn't be vegan though as I love dairy and eggs xx

 

[CocoaOne]

I was pretty much veggie before I had LO, but since weaning her I tend to eat some meat as I'm cooking it for her anyway. Weirdly, she is a proper carnivore - barely touches carbs or veg, but will wolf any kind of meat or fish down

I've toyed with turning vegan many many times before - partly because I don't really like meat (texture, taste, thought of chewing a chunk of flesh), partly because I don't like the way animals are treated in the farming industry, and partly for health reasons - I've got hereditary high cholesterol, so a vegan diet should improve my health.

But.... it always seems so hard! I know that eventually it would be easier - but the organisation to start, having to cook meat anyway for LO, time (I work full time so only really get 30 mins each night to prepare dinner) - just seems like a massive undertaking.
I used to eat a lot of eggs but LO is allergic so don't really cook them any more. And I love proper milk in my coffee, but the milk industry grosses me out too - so weird to drink another spieces milk!

Plus I'd miss Galaxy chocolate. Nothing Vegan could ever compare to that

 

[sweetspice]

I was pretty much veggie before I had LO, but since weaning her I tend to eat some meat as I'm cooking it for her anyway. Weirdly, she is a proper carnivore - barely touches carbs or veg, but will wolf any kind of meat or fish down

I've toyed with turning vegan many many times before - partly because I don't really like meat (texture, taste, thought of chewing a chunk of flesh), partly because I don't like the way animals are treated in the farming industry, and partly for health reasons - I've got hereditary high cholesterol, so a vegan diet should improve my health.

But.... it always seems so hard! I know that eventually it would be easier - but the organisation to start, having to cook meat anyway for LO, time (I work full time so only really get 30 mins each night to prepare dinner) - just seems like a massive undertaking.
I used to eat a lot of eggs but LO is allergic so don't really cook them any more. And I love proper milk in my coffee, but the milk industry grosses me out too - so weird to drink another spieces milk!

Plus I'd miss Galaxy chocolate. Nothing Vegan could ever compare to that

Just be vegetarian and not vegan. Being vegetarian is SO easy. And use fake meats...or try this...fry tofu(firm) in the skilltet till light golden, have some bell peppers and onions in there and the last minute, pour bar-b-q sauce in and mix it in the skillet---it's SO good! And if you start drinking soy milk, you won't want milk-at all-your taste buds change and milk will smell rotten...

 

[CocoaOne]

I don't even know where to get tofu around here.... I've got some silken stuff in the cupboard that the local store had, but no idea what to do with it!

 

[teal]

I don't even know where to get tofu around here.... I've got some silken stuff in the cupboard that the local store had, but no idea what to do with it!

I'm in the UK and have seen tofu in a lot of superamrkets - tesco, morrisons, sainsburys and asda

 

[CocoaOne]

Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place? I never know what aisle to look down. The silken stuff I got in asda was with the free-from meat/pulses etc, but no firm tofu that I could see. I did get some dairy free parmesan at the weekend, so looking forward to trying that.

I've taken a step forward and bought soya milk into work today for my coffees :thumbsup: I was going to try and have a vegan day, but noticed the mugshot noodles I've got for lunch have egg in them

I can definitely live without meat, that's not a problem at all - it's the dairy that's hardest to give up - but it's also the industry I find really hard to condone. Even worse now I've breastfed my daughter for so long - I can't justify a calf being taken from it's mother 24 hours after birth and raised on replacement milk, just so I can have milk in my coffee or enjoy the odd chocolate bar..... especially when no other adult mammal drinks milk, so it's not even as if we *need* it

 

[teal]

I found dairy hard to give up while I found meat easy to stop. I think it's just because dairy and eggs seem to be a lot of things I wouldn't expect.

In the supermarkets I said I've seen tofu in has been in one of the chilled(fridge) sections where they have some quorn items as well.

Holland and Barrett are quite good too. They have a lot of sandwich "meat" alternatives. They also have tofutti cream "cheese" which I absolutely love

 

[VegtaBully]

I found dairy hard to give up while I found meat easy to stop. I think it's just because dairy and eggs seem to be a lot of things I wouldn't expect.

In the supermarkets I said I've seen tofu in has been in one of the chilled(fridge) sections where they have some quorn items as well.

Holland and Barrett are quite good too. They have a lot of sandwich "meat" alternatives. They also have tofutti cream "cheese" which I absolutely love

Dairy is actually hardest to give up because of its chemical makeup. It's designed to keep the baby cow close to its mom, so it really does have addictive properties. It's not your fault! However, it's also designed to turn that baby cow into a great big giant cow, so... lol (Plus, remember, there is little use for male calves in the dairy industry and most are used for veal).

I never could get used to drinking soy milk, but I really enjoy almond milk, particularly vanilla almond milk. I'm not sure of the availability in other countries, but in the US, we have Daiya as a cheese substitute now. It has really changed things for us. It's melty and gooey (and soy and gluten free).

Also, once again not sure about where you live, but tofu is typically found in the produce section of our grocery stores. Silken tofu is good for desserts, but not much else. You really need firm or extra firm for cooking (and don't forget to press the liquid out first to improve the texture. We freeze ours first too).

 

[teal]

I drain the tofu for about 10/15 minutes The first time I actually drained it I was so impressed at the difference

The only cheese alternative I like is the tofutti cream cheese. I've never tried Daiya, going to have a look to see if we have it over here

 

[CocoaOne]

Well I still haven't found any tofu!

I had a look in Holland and Barretts the other day (health food shop for you US girls) and they had a pathetic selection of foods. I'd previously been interested in trying almond milk as I'd heard it's nice, but it was £3-something?! Shocking price. Luckily I only have milk in tea/coffe and my 59p soy milk from Asda is more than adequate for that lol.

Still been eating some dairy, but I'm not buying any more, just using what's left in the house. It's ash wednesday tomorrow so I think I'm going to commit to vegan for Lent

 

[Bex84]

Ive been vegeterian for 22 years, since I was 5 years old. I use quorn alot. My husbands a meat eater but will eat alot of vegeterian, I cook meat for him and my LO though now. I will be careful everything is ethical espicially things like eggs. I make up my own recepies rather than using cook books, has anyone else seen haribo finally have vegeterian sweets yay!!!! I have never missed meat. My husband was a big meat eater but loves my vegeterian cooking. I very rarely have dairy, I prefer soya anyway plus I am slightly lactose intolorent so gives me stomach ache. I tend to cook everything from scratch so I know whats in it

 

[CocoaOne]

Bex - I miss Quorn so much! Used to eat it all the time, loved the sausages and chicken pieces, but my LO is allergic to egg so can't have it. Gutting!


Day one, no meat or dairy has passed my lips. Made some LUSH vegan pancakes yesterday and finished off the batter today. Even my cheese loving OH said they were delicious! Got a feeling they'll become a staple dessert item. Not good for my waistline. Lol

 

[CocoaOne]

5 days! Although did have a slight incident with some soreen - who'd have thought it would have milk/whey powder in it. Grrrr

Found some marinated tofu pieces in Tesco, so going to have them in a stir fry tonight to see what they're are like.

Anybody got any quick lunch ideas? During the weekend we usually have leftovers for lunch, but when we haven't got any I just used to rustle up a ham/cheese sandwich with salad-y bits. This weekend we had a hodge-podge of microwave-in-2-mins mexican rice, salad and bread with hummous (which I'm trying to acquire a taste for!)

 

[VegtaBully]

Anybody got any quick lunch ideas?

I always enjoy a good PB&J!

 

[CocoaOne]

Love PB, but LO is allergic to peanuts (and egg, but obviously that's not a problem lol) I still can't get a definite answer as to whether I can eat PB (as I'm still breastfeeding) so I tend not to have it at all.


Thanks though!

 

[teal]

I don't like PB so I'm not sure about eating it while breastfeeding.

How did you get on with your marinated tofu? I've tried that one before but I like my tofu a bit more firm than that xx

 

[Bex84]

I lived off packs of steamed microwavable vegetables when I first had LO, I was obsessed with wanting to eat loads of vegetables lol. I tend to go for toasted sandwiches or jacket potatoes in day. Now LO is eating I usually cook more, McCains now do their frozen jacket potato which is fast. I also make home made soup and make own stock so no salt that I can freeze then either put in a pan or microwave. Vegan pancakes sound yum, what is the recepie if you dont mind me asking. I have a slight lactose intolorence so try to stay away from to much dairy

 

[CocoaOne]

This is the pancake recipe - they are soooooo good! I substituted alpro soya unsweetened for the milk, and vitalite spread for butter. I like mine quite thick and stodgy, but you can do them a lot thinner depending on how you like them. OH has already made me make another batch! Delicious with maple syrup.

https://artofdessert.blogspot.com/2010/06/egg-free-pancakes.html


Teal - the Tofu was good - I forgot how 'spongey' it can be! But once I got used to it, it was fine. I've got the leftovers for lunch today. I was a bit worried that LO wouldn't eat it (she's such a meat-monster) but she ate a few pieces before giving up and asking for a yogurt (which is standard meal-time-practice at the moment )

What's the texture of firm tofu like? I've only ever had the spongey stuff.

I've decided that I'm not going to raise LO vegan. But she can have meat/dairy at nursery and if we're out, but I'll cook mostly vegan at home for her. Should be nice and balanced then. She won't eat vegetables at home (maybe one bite max), and I'm too worried about her not getting the nutrients she needs if I start restricting things. I figure that reducing the amount she eats at home is a good start, and I'll reassess as she gets older and (hopefully) starts eating more.