Vegan/vegetarian?

[thekingkai]

was veg since sixth grade then stopped recently for reasons i am not even sure of.

[bee]

I've been vegetarian for 4 or 5 years and have tried being vegan a couple times.
I'm lactose intolerant after not drinking milk regularly for a long period of time. I can still eat things like cheese and yogurt because other aspects of those foods (such as bacteria cultures) help me digest the lactose.

I started drinking soy milk, but find it to have a really bean-y aftertaste. Decent soy milk is usually pretty expensive (at least in Newfoundland). I switched to almond milk and LIVED by it for a long time. It doesn't taste like cow's milk, but the aftertaste is nutty and pleasant. I get vanilla and chocolate and it's kind of like a treat. I've recently starting buying lactose-free cow's milk. I like it better for cooking (such as making sauces), but almond milk better for baking sweet items.

For a while I struggled being vegetarian. For a while I refused to eat "fake meats" and it helped me learn some good cooking skills right off the bat.
I try to stock up my kitchen with basics. I always have milk, I do eat a lot of eggs and nut butters because I have a hard time getting an appropriate amount of protein. I always have onion and garlic because it adds a lot of flavour to foods quickly and easily. I usually keep a container of fresh baby spinach, it's great for making a quick salad that gives you a lot of nutrients, and it's great for things like burgers or sandwiches (when a green is required), and sometimes I will put it in soups or spreads fried or boiled to thicken them. I always have whole grain noodles and rices, I like basmati rice the best and like fettuccine noodles to make peanut butter noodles.* I also always keep a pretty wide variety of beans. I used to buy dried beans from a bulk store (Bulk Barn), but find it too hard to plan my meals that far in advance with enough time to soak the beans so now I go for canned. Chick peas have a great and unique taste and curry is one of my favorite dishes to make.** Black beans are super nutritious and have a pretty neutral taste I think so go with just about anything. I love kidney beans because I find them to fulfill meat cravings I might have because they're so substantial.
Of course tofu is a must. A lot of people talk shit on tofu saying it has no taste; that is the point!!! You can make it taste like anything! When I have money I stock up on nice premade sauces, but you can give a great rich taste to tofu just by marinating it in soy sauce. I use a sauce called Maggi Sauce. It has MSG, so it gives tofu a really meat-y taste. My favorite way to cook tofu is making honey garlic tofu.***
Of course, you always need to have hearty vegetables. Pick vegetables that you like and learn the best ways to cook them and every now and again try eating one you've never eaten before. Pick it when it's in season and spend a whole month trying out new recipes that involve that vegetable. I did it with asparagus a little while ago. Produce is extremely limited in Newfoundland and it makes it really difficult.

Anyway, I hope that at least some of that is useful.

RECIPES

*PEANUT BUTTER NOODLES
This is a super quick and easy meal to make that I find reallllllly satisfying, plus it's easy to take it with you for a lunch!
- noodles (some people like rice or egg noodles, but I like straight up fettuccine noodles)
- peanut butter (natural peanut butter, while much healthier, is harder to cook with, especially if some of the oil has separated. I like using regular crunchy peanut butter)
- soy sauce
- garlic (optional)
- peanuts (optional)
- carrots (optional)
- hot sauce (optional - Rooster Sauce recommended)

Bring water to a boil and cook your noodles. Turn the burner down to low while you're draining your noodles. I usually leave a VERY small amount of moisture in with the noodles to help mix everything together, I also usually salt the noodles to bring out the flavours.
Spoon in a dollop of peanut butter (at your own discretion) into the pot and put it on the burner. The heat will help melt the peanut butter, but just make sure that the noodles don't stick to the bottom of the pot. Pour in some soy sauce, I usually only use about a tablespoon or two. Minced garlic just added compliments the peanut butter really well (really it does!). If you like spicier food, add a little bit of hot sauce. I like adding crushed peanuts just to add some more substance to the meal, and if you want to add a vegetable to it, carrots go fairly well, but I would boil them first before adding them.

**CURRY
Depending on what vegetables you want to use, you may want to start boiling some before you start the meal. Potatoes and carrots should definitely be boiled.
Usually you have rice with curry, and basmati is pretty customary. You're supposed to cook it with ghee, but that's hard to get here. After the water is boiled and I've added the rice (ratio is usually a little bit more water than you have rice), I add about a tablespoon of margarine. This helps the rice not stick together. Leave the rice on medium heat and cover it if possible (it will cook better). You may want to stir occasionally if stuff tends to stick to the bottom of your pots, but mostly leave it alone. It should take 30-60 minutes to cook.
To make curry sauce I usually use coconut milk. It comes in a can and it chunky. I put some in a saucepan and start to slowly add spices. Essentials are curry (use a strong curry), turmeric, cumin, chili powder and some garam masala. You don't need to use as much curry powder as you may think. If it doesn't taste strong enough, try adding more chili powder. Don't worry if your sauce doesn't seem as yellow or orange in colour as ones in restaurants. They use colouring in their sauces often to make it look like that. I worked at an Indian restaurant that put Heinz ketchup in all their sauces, and when they wanted to make it hotter they just added varying amounts of mace. Srsly. If you still don't feel like there's enough flavour in general, try adding some salt before adding more of your spices. Salt brings out flavours. Also try using some onions and garlic in your sauce to enhance the flavour.
Once my sauce is made, I will usually dump 1/4 of a can of chick peas into it (to warm the chick peas). I pan fry my vegetables separately, adding some spices (za'atar and fenugreek are spices I'm obsessed with).
When everything is done, serve the rice onto your place, then the veggies on top and then pour your chick pea curry sauce over it.
Another alternative to making a sauce is buying one premade and then adding some stuff to it to make it more to your own tastes!

***HONEY GARLIC TOFU
- garlic (as many cloves as you can handle)
- soy sauce
- honey (milled or creamed is recommended)
- tofu

Mince your garlic. I will sometimes use almost a full bulb of garlic. Seriously, you want a lot.
Take a bowl and put big dollops of honey in it. Depending on if you want your tofu strips to be more sweet or salty will dictate how much you should use. I usually put in 2 tablespoons roughly. You'll probably want to microwave the honey to make it more liquid-y and easy to use. Add soy sauce to the honey and then dump in your garlic.
Slice a block of tofu into rectangle strips. Don't go too thin or they'll burn up and don't go too thick or they'll take longer to marinade.
Dip the tofu strips in the mixture and make sure every part of every piece is covered in it. Leave all the strips in the bowl and try to spread them out a little bit. Put this in the fridge and leave it for as long as you can wait. Several hours is good, a day or two is like, heavenly.
Take the strips out of the liquid (and discard the liquid) and fry the strips until they are browned on both sides.
Soooo delicous. Serve it with potatoes roasted with olive oil and rosemary.

[discoverrecover]

vegan for two years, veg for 2 years before that. i'm moving to italy in two weeks. i'm a little nervous with eating because i don't speak a word of italian

[Oscar Wilde]

vegan for two years, veg for 2 years before that. i'm moving to italy in two weeks. i'm a little nervous with eating because i don't speak a word of italian

I'm pretty sure they speak good English, according to my uncle, who currently lives there, but you never know.

[forzamadrid]

i love to eat meat. and nothing can ever change that.

[iKichigai]

I try to lessen my meat intake as much as I could mostly because of health reasons since diabetes and chronic heart disease kind of runs in my family and I've become paranoid about that.
Maybe I should go veg or I dunno. I'm still thinking about it.

[freddypopstar]

i love to eat meat. and nothing can ever change that.

unless you were dying because of your diet

[CitizenOfUlysses]

K, I'm gonna feel dumb after posting this, but what's the difference between veganism and vegetarianism?

Hehe, its ok. Vegetarianism is about not eating any meatproducts, while veganism is about taking distance of any products from animals at all, like for example eggs, milk, etc.

Lol, I thought it was summin like that...all I heard was that vegans were more militant and scary

[forzamadrid]

i love to eat meat. and nothing can ever change that.

unless you were dying because of your diet

nope. i'm still going to eat meat. i've long accepted the fact that i ain't making it past 50.

[HULKSwagon]

I am one of those lazy vegetarians who still eat fish and eggs.