Vegans? Vegetarians?
 

Hi - any other vegans or vegetarians out there? I was vegan wwaaaaayyy back in the '80s, but it was just too hard back then (people, even cool openminded people, looked at me like I had 3 heads!). I've come full circle, and now eat vegan food whenever possible, vegetarian if I can't get vegan.

Anybody else out there? :) :newbie:

Me!!! Vegetarian with a vegan bent (believe in vegan).

Vegan with a raw bent here (trying to do more raw anyways). Btw, we do have a great thread here that might be useful: http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/foru...read.php?t=121

Yay! Vegan is a challenge sometimes.....especially if you don't feel like playing '3rd degree interrogation' with a waiter or whatever. :)

I have people who look at me funny because I don't consume red meat or pork. I switched to Soymilk and watching how much processed food I consume.

Thank you for starting this thread!

Zimmy

I am... newly vegetarian.

Just trying it out, you know, giving it a chance... it's been a couple of weeks now...

I've been veg (no meat/chicken/fish) for about 20 years, so if you have any questions or concerns or need suggestions I, and I'm sure others, are always happy to lend some support! So feel free to post anything anytime! I started out going veg in Ohio as a teenager, and it was very hard to do on my own. It really took awhile before it began to feel natural for me.

Once & future vegan...
 

Here's a vegan, healthier recipe for what I call "Kettlecorn granola"
It's so to-die-for delicious! I can't tell you amounts of things because I'm too ADD of a cook.

Pop organic popcorn in canola oil. Keep it warm.

In a separate bowl mix agave nectar, chopped almonds and pecans, sunflower seeds, sea salt, and butterscotch extract.

Use your hands to mix the thick syrup from the bowl into the popcorn. In terms of how much to put in, imagine granola, as opposed to, say- a peanut brittle bar.

Let it harden and dry. This makes it have a great crunch and keeps it from being at all messy.

I'm a big fan of salty and sweet together. And I always love popcorn!

Yep! I am a happy vegan. :wateringgarden:

I am a vegetarian...not a vegan.

I do not like meat, it started when I was a baby. My father was a farmer, so he helped me with eating balanced veggies and fruits. I have in fact been about a 75% raw eater most of my life. I never liked milk or cheese as a child either. (my poor parents)

I like to cook, and do cook, but mostly eat raw and do ton's of green smoothies.

I don't find this way of life challenging at all.

Hi! I'm brand new to this forum but wanted to say hello in this thread. Obviously by my username, I'm vegan. :) Vegetarian for about 8 years and have been vegan for about 4. My partner is vegan as well.

My fiancee is a "Seagan". She's vegan except for: seafood, egg whites.

This made me think that I could call myself a decafetarian, because in addition to having no meat, chicken, or fish (for 25 years), I also have no caffeine / no chocolate. I added on the no caffeine / no chocolate seven years ago (I've always been sensitive to caffeine and was a complete chocoholic.). I also actually try not to even have decaf anything because decaf has traces of caffeine and the decaffeinating process is also unhealthy. When I'm my best self, I go with herbal. I am a pain in the ass for others to feed because I don't budge on my rules.

Vegetarian here :) Have been for nearly 6 years and can't imagine eating any other way!

I am a Vegetarian and Vegan most the time without knowing it. Also pretty much only follow a diet that is primarily raw..again not by conscious decision just because that is the food I happen to enjoy.

I eat vegetarians....
cows, chickens, and lambs....
but not pigs, unless it is bacon....
pigs are omnivores...

Vegetarian, mostly vegan but I do love eggs. And we raise honey bees, so we have the honey that they don't use :)
Once in a while I'll have a piece of fish if I'm craving it. I used to be extreme and have food rules but I've learned everything is better if I just eat what I want when I want it. Usually everything I want is plant based, but I'm a high protein needs person, so sometimes other cravings win over and I'm okay with that.

I have a question--

What is a good substitute for sugar? But not agave--

Thank you.

Honey? Fruit juice? Fruit juice concentrate? Molasses? Sometimes I sweeten with actual fruit, like I add apple or raisins or dried cranberries. I even sweeten with vinegar. Be creative. There's also the option to do some cognitive reframing, as in, "Why don't I just let sugar go and not replace it with anything?"

Fake sugars kill us but there are Splenda and Stevia for example. They are better than Aspartame but still a menace to society in my humble opinion.

There are a variety of options, depending on how you want to use it.
Good liquid options are honey, molasses, maple syrup, brown rice syrup. Easy to swap for things like sweetening your coffee or tea.

Fruit purees are nice, cooked down apples, pears, pureed dates... nice for mixing into things like oats, granola bars, and other baking endeavors.

Baking, you can use the liquid sweeteners, you just need to add a little more of your solid/absorbent flour and what have you to soak it up. Or I like raw sugar/sucanot for baking when I don't want to tinker with texture. The raw sugar still contains some of the vitamins and minerals as well as fiber of the cane and makes the sugar metabolize a little bit better in your body.

Yeah I have been experimenting with all kinds of stuff lately--

Thank you, both, for posting your thoughts-- and ideas.

a.

Agave is really high calorie. If you can find Xylitol and Sorbitol it's possible to bake with them but I think the the truth is that... slowly perhaps, you have to just adjust yourself to less of a sweet taste. It's not always easy but little by little anyone can adjust. I used to eat much sweeter food but then I decided that's just not the way food was meant to taste. Use fruit or whatever grows naturally to make it taste better.

What about Sucanat? Has anyone used it--

Also, what about different flours-- quinoa, coconut, spelt--

I have been using spelt for a months now, and I like it-- but I also picked up coconut and quinoa to try. What are your pros/cons about different flours?

Spelt is nice as an alternative to traditional wheat flour because it still has a natural "gush" about it that helps give a good texture when baking. However, it is a relative of wheat so if you are branching into new flours to avoid gluten, spelt may or may not be a good choice for you.

When you get into flours like rice, quinoa, oat, etc, the missing gluten is generally an issue because without tinkering with them you get crumbly dry baked goods. You generally want to cut those with something like potato flour or xanthan gum which helps bond the flour together same as how gluten acts in wheat flour.

I like Sucanat when I'm baking for someone else who is used to regular white sugar and I want to use a more natural sweetener but keep the texture consistent with what they are used to. You would just substitute it for the amount of white sugar you'd be using in equal portions and everything else in a recipe, if you are using one, would stay the same.

vegan
 

Started being vegan a few months ago and I have been enjoying it. Cooking more and enjoying meal time. A new adventure. I made sweet potato cinnamon rolls tonight.

My purpose is to minimize suffering as best I can, therefore I'm a vegan.

trying this
 

my friend swears by coconut sugar.

Hi from newbie on the planet and faily new vegetarian
 

Stopping by to say hello -- I am new to the Planet -- I was BklynFem on bf.com SOOO many years ago ;-) I have been hanging out on fb, but wanted to connect on a LBGTQ space. :ballcat::cat: NYC Cat rescue / foster Mom. I have been following a vegetarian way of life for about 7 mths, and eat very little dairy / fish .. I enjoy learning about new yummy products / foods and tips on nutrition.

Thanks!(f)

Ive been vegetarian all my life and now I'm trying to eat vegan whenever possible I'm trying to eat less processed foods Being vegetarian is easy but vegan is a little more challenging for me

Same I'm vegetarian 100% of the time and vegan maybe half

Same here. I've been a vegetarian since I was 15. (26 years now.) I've tried going vegan twice, and it was a major fail, both times. I convince myself, I can't hang without cheese, yet I rarely eat any dairy when I'm not trying to go vegan. Third times a charm, maybe.

Also, just wanted to add if any vegan/vegetarians are going to the reunion I can let u know of some good places to eat as I am in Vegas.: )

Can you post them? That would be awesome to know.

My two favorite places to eat are Komol and Veggie House. Komol also serves meat so it's a good choice if it's a mixed group. It's in Commercial Center on Sahara at Maryland Parkway, which is east of the strip. Veggie House is in China town. It's on the second floor and there is absolutely no meat served. Veggie House is west of the strip. Komol is Thai and Veggie House is a mixture of Asian cuisine.
Nacho Daddy and Taco y Taco both serve meatless "meats". There are several Capriotti's sandwich shops around with veggie burgers, fake turkey, and veggie cheese steak. (I think the fake turkey is vegan.) Plus, several other places. Let me know if you have a specific interest and I'll answer as best I can.

Since I became diabetic I have slowly changed my eating habits, I guess I am 80% on the vegan trail,20% a meat eater. Over that lase few months I have eaten less and less meat, not sure if it's the metformin I take for diabetis or just some change in my taste buds cause red meat just don't taste the same fish, chicken or dairy is still o.k. . Good thing I like veggies and to bad my son doesn't cause he is starting to get the 40 y. o. spread with the high possablity of diabetis but says he will deal with it if it happend's... Mr.Macho all the way.
Any way I'm reading this from top to the last post bit by bit and learning as I go, tk's for the good advice.

I've been a vegan for 7 years and still am! I never liked milk or meat, so it wasn't too difficult to become vegan. My girlfriend is slowly joining to become a vegetarian hehe.

this inspired me today...
 

https://scontent.ford1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...17&oe=5711B260

Everything on the plate is vegan

Ok, I need some help and I hope this is the right place to post this? I am very overweight, and I am wanting to get myself together and lose weight before I turn 50. I know that low carb diets work, because I lost over 100lbs following Atkins in the past. However, I'm really getting sick of eating so much meat!! And I've been reading about the stuff they feed the animals, chemicals, abuse the factory farm animals go through their entire lives, etc. I can't afford to buy only organic food and grass fed beef, but I really am wondering about what I'm actually putting in my body??? Growing up, I saw chickens living OUTSIDE, not inside. They ate grass and bugs and they took dust baths and they laid eggs and we ate them and that was fine by me. Nowadays I rarely see chickens outside. The farm across the road has them locked up inside these big chicken houses and they never see the sun. I don't know what the farmer feeds them? I'm just feeling like maybe I need to not focus so much on avoiding carbs and eating a lot of meat, but eating HEALTHY for awhile....... I have been craving fruits and veggies the past few days and the doctor my sister works for said that may be a sign I need the nutrients. I'm not saying I want to just become a vegetarian overnight, but I'd like to at least cut back a bit on meat and eat more healthy. In the past when I did Atkins I avoided tropical fruits and only ate berries once in awhile. Now I'm craving pineapple and mangoes. And I like putting bananas in my protein shakes with kale. I'm also thinking about trying this substituting cauliflower for potatoes thing? I hear a lot of people talking about it. I'm afraid of potatoes and pasta because I have no willpower and won't practice portion control!!!!!! I'm looking into maybe a lower carb vegetarian way of eating, if that makes sense? I'm sorry if this post seems like I'm rambling but I just needed to get this out somehow and don't want it to sound weird. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! :seeingstars::seeingstars: