The Vegan/Veganuary thread

The 10th Circle
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So ages ago @Humma metioned making a thread for Vegan recipes etc. so I thought I’d finally make one, especially since I have decided to do Veganuary - for those not in the know, that is spending the month of January as a Vegan.

Would anyone else be up for doing Veganuary with me?
I will be going Vegan food-wise only (I find it very difficult to get shoes to fit me, plus I wasn’t impressed with the two pairs of Macbeth shoes I bought a while back :pensive:)

Thankfully I have found a fair few snack and freezer foods which are vegan, but I will be in need of some tasty, quick recipes if anyone has any please! Thanks in advance!

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I have an honest question… is it generally pretty expensive to be a vegan? Whenever I see vegan items at the grocery store they always seem high priced.

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I’m already vegan! I can support you, though. Feel free to hit me up with any questions.

@STORMS nah, it doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need a good shopping list. :slight_smile: I can help with that!

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I’m really strict vegetarian (though not quite vegan) and if you have a good food co-op or health food store where you live it’s quite easy to put things together. I’m lucky enough to have a Whole Foods (kind of a huge health food grocery store; idk if you have those in Britain) where I live and it’s really easy to get pretty much anything vegan.

I’m not a very good cook - at least not anything from scratch - and I don’t usually have much time to mess with recipes but there are a few things I eat more or less regularly. One is veggie burgers. A lot of grocery stores have them (just make sure they don’t contain milk or eggs because some of them do). Just throw them on a skillet with some oil to heat them. Lettuce, tomato, pickles, vegan cheese (if you can find it) and you’re good to go. In the summer I like to do them with barbecue sauce and pile some onion rings on top lol. Another thing I do is burritos. Rice and beans, salsa, and vegan sour cream. Delicious. Stir fry is pretty easy, too. Just get some frozen vegetables and heat them in a pan with oil. I usually put peanuts or cashews and plum sauce or hoisin sauce or whatever.

I guess in some ways it depends on what you can find. I’ve lived in places where the grocery stores have almost nothing vegan except the actual produce. I can get pretty much any dairy substitute where I live now, especially cheese, which I put in a lot of stuff.

Just remember gelatin isn’t vegan. Neither is rennet or most white sugar.

@STORMS It depends on what you get. Vegan cheese can be expensive ($8 - $10 for a block sometimes), some meat substitutes can be a little pricey too. Tofu is cheap but I’ve spent like $7 on a little package of vegan bacon. In general I spend maybe $70 for a week’s worth of groceries, just for myself.

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Totally interested in participating in Veganuary :slight_smile:

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Veganism isn’t expensive, it’s a little more difficult because you have to be curious, cautious, and meticulous to choose your food, clothes and so but when you cook yourself and you’re open minded is really easy. You can start with vegetarianism first. You’re from the US, right? It’s way easier than being vegan in my country, you have plenty of options :smile_cat:

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I’m vegan! And Veganuary seems like an awesome idea, I’m glad many animals will be saved by those small amount of people who cooperate yay.

Ugh, I’m Mexican, so most of the recipes I get online are in Spanish and with common Mexican ingredients, however, I found this one with English subs and it seems pretty delicious, especially because here in Mexico we’re used to eat a lot on December and January lol. So hope it helps.

GANSITO-VEGANO-GIGANTE.jpg1170×550 178 KB

VEGAN GANSITO CAKE

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@STORMS I always pay attention to sales. I read the online circulars before I shop, cross reference with what I need, and ONLY buy what I need. I have a TON of food allergies, so I stick to basics. It can get expensive if you don’t go in with a list, but that’s most shopping. And I agree that starting with vegetarianism is a bit easier. It will help you ease in.

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@Vanished Thanks for your suggestions. I completely forgot to look for vegan sour cream today when I was in a health food store today :unamused:. I did however find a haul of reduced, freezable, vegan foods though so I’m fairly well stocked. They did all seem to be made from a lot of wheat gluten though which I’m not sure is totally healthy :sweat:.
Have got some vegan cheese too and am looking forward to that. Says it’s made from coconut oil. Weird :wink:
Btw @Vanished, how do you get round the whole white sugar thing? I don’t really use it myself unless baking but surely that would mean not being able to eat most shop-bought items? I don’t think I’m able to do that but will use brown sugar instead when baking.

@STORMS - The vegan meat and cheese alteratives here in the UK seem to be a bit more expensive than the vegetarian ones but, like meat, you don’t have to have those everyday - I should think the vegetable only dishes are fairly cheap to make.

@sayasha That’s great Grace! We can use this thread to see how each other is getting on and for support if you like?

@bonvoyeurs That cake looks amazing! Will have to try it!

To already vegans: What was the hardest thing for you to give up?
To future/possible vegans: What will be the hardest to give up do you think?

I’m pescetarian at the moment and I think I’m going to miss tuna, salmon, mayonaise, milk chocolate (although have found plenty of vegan choc so will survive lol :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:) and various types of ‘normal’ cheese.

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Nothing food wise. It was my clothing that took a major hit. I’m a brat and had all leather bags, jackets, boots, etc. I hate cheap vegan leather, so it took a while for me to find alternatives. This was back when I was 12. Haha. Before that, I hadn’t even thought about it. Now there are SO many more options when it comes to clothing. So many.

And, also, in terms of the wheat gluten thing. It’s not unhealthy, it just depends on if you have an allergy. I’m severely allergic to gluten, so my diet is REALLY limited. I have to be really careful when I shop, hence why shopping takes me a lot longer than the average person. But if you don’t have a gluten allergy, then there’s nothing really wrong with it.

Btw. if anyone likes yogurt, there are vegan yogurt options, too, all usually made with coconut milk.

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@Sugar_and_Ice It’s pretty easy to get raw sugar, at least here. That’s vegan. Stevia is also vegan I believe. There’s also something called monk fruit or something, which you can buy in a powdered form, but I’ve never tried that. I tend to put raw sugar in my coffee, and you could use it for baking too, but you could also substitute other sweet things for sugar, like agave nectar or maple syrup.

You’re right that it’s difficult to find things that wouldn’t be made completely vegan from a store or restaurant, unless they specifically make those things. Where I live, there aren’t many options for vegan desserts, but the few places I know of are small businesses, mom and pop type places. There are two cafes I know of where I live that have completely vegan muffins and will make you a vegan cake if you want to order one, but other than that, large chains (such as Starbucks) don’t really have any vegan treats.

It’s the same way with restaurants. There are no vegan restaurants in the town where I live, and only one vegetarian one, which does have quite a few vegan offerings, but that’s beside the point. And I live in a pretty big town. There are several restaurants which have at least one or two completely vegan entrees on the menu, but there again, most of these are small businesses, family run places. Although there is a pizza place here that’s part of a corporate chain which now offers vegan cheese, which is pretty cool.

I guess overall it’s becoming easier to become vegan, but it’s still pretty difficult, unless you live in like a huge city, which I don’t. It’s the biggest reason I’ve not been able to become completely vegan, no matter how much dairy I try to cut out of my diet. It can be really difficult. Milk and eggs seem to be in just about everything. I obsessively read all the ingredient lists when I go to the grocery store, so when I do cook I can make sure everything is vegan. But going out somewhere? That can get really tricky. Order a veggie burger? Nope, the bun is made with milk. Pasta? Nope, there’s eggs in it. I mean this isn’t every restaurant, but I tend to avoid places that don’t have a vegetarian/vegan section on the menu or don’t even have a mark next to it saying it’s vegan. Otherwise, I just assume it’s not.

I will tell you though, that you’re pretty safe at MIddle Eastern, Indian, and Thai restaurants. A lot of these cuisines have quite a few options that are completely vegan. I mean they make stuff with meat and dairy too, but in general, if you’re looking for a restaurant, these are your best bet if you can’t find a completely vegan one.

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I feel you. I remember being made fun of a couple of years ago because I, in all fairness, complicate things by asking that certain things be left off and requesting only plain vinegar. I was called “Prep School Princess” by the waitress. It sucks going out, so I just avoid going out to dinner. If my friends want to go out some place that’s not vegan, I chill with black coffee and just wait it out.

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Definitely chicken wings (any) and cheese, also a Mexican meal called “gorditas” but Gardein is my new god when it comes to “wings” bahaha. And luckily the vegan cheese available here is fantastic, and many places are currently offering vegan versions of most Mexican meals so I’m okay.

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@Sugar_and_Ice we can totally use this thread to check in!

I think it’s going to be really hard for me to not eat cheese…I love cheese.

Luckily there are a lot of stores around here (and restaurants) that have vegan options. Most of my clothes already qualify as vegan (I don’t have any leather…it’s too pricey) and all I wear on my feet are cons.

The hardest part for me is that I can’t have a ton of soy. So tofu is straight out. I’ll probably eat a ton of chickpeas instead

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I actually don’t eat a ton of soy; I have protein powder with hemp and rice protein. I eat lentils, chickpeas, red beans, black beans, almond butter, almond milk, kale, and spinach. Those are all great substitutes as opposed to soy. Be careful which soy you get! Only get organic. It’s more expensive, but it’s significantly better for you.

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Veganism can actually be extremely inexpensive. It depends on how you do it.

Raw veggies, fresh fruits, tons of tea, make your own breads and such… It can be done on a budget.

Rice is $.88 a bag roughly? It’ll feed you for a week with veggies.

I’ll help. I should have started the thread myself. Honestly, I got caught up some personal stuff and forgot. :heart:️:heart:️:heart:️

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I’m on day 2 of being vegan and it’s going ok so far. Realising just how many sweet treats I used to eat now that I can’t eat most of them! Only temptation has been boxes of chocolates around the house from Xmas but if they’re away in a cupboard etc., that has tended to solve the issue. Also made some vegan banana bread (will post when I have a satisfactory recipe), which was nice but could be improved I think. I did use unrefined sugar.

Have you started @sayasha? I love cheese too but was pleasantly suprised by the vegan cheese I tried today. Although the packet lied when it said it melted well :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

There used to be a vegan café in my town but it said it was relocating and then…nothing :pensive:. I do know of a pizza place that has a vegan menu though so will have to give that a try :yum:

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@Sugar_and_Ice so far today is pretty good! I’m eating a lot of veggies and fruit, had some coconut yogurt (which is good, but oddly effervescent). I’m still trying to figure what to have for dinner…i’m thinking giant salad with tahini dressing…because that sounds really good. What brand of vegan cheese did you get? I’m a little afraid of it

I’m mostly taking it a day at a time.

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@sayasha Was your salad any good? My cheese is by Violife, it’s a Greek brand, might be available in US?

I had a really good vegan sandwich yesterday (store-bought) - it was butternut squash and tabbouleh with like a creamy smoked paprika dressing in a wrap.
Also have found quite a lot of meditteranean and middle-eastern style recipes which I can make vegan. Looking forward to trying those out and will post if they’re good.

Had a really silly near-miss yesterday and opened a pack of microwave rice on autopilot before I realised it was egg fried rice - facepalm :no_mouth:

@Vanished May be trying out a Thai restaurant soon. Even though I know they make a lot of stuff with coconut milk, I’m still uncertain if they’ll have anything vegan. Might have to give them a call beforehand. Do you have any suggestions for which dishes might be ok?

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@Sugar_and_Ice The salad was pretty tasty, though I overdid it on the lemon juice in the dressing, but I do like things absurdly tart, so it all worked out. I put some apple in it, some avocado, cucumber, whatever I had in the fridge.

I did let my sister feed me lunch today, which was a definitely not vegan soup, but I’m a sucker for free food…and I caught all four of the kittens at the family farm this morning (now we just have to tame them and find them homes) so I feel like that balanced out in the end :stuck_out_tongue: