Vegan staples
Posted by dillybunny on Dec 15, 2007 · Member since Dec 2007 · 35 posts
I've made the decision to transition to a vegan diet after the first of the year. I've been lacto-ovo for the past four and am a little anxious about the change. I'm not the best cook in the world and I know that I need to a lot more planning. I've already starting making a recipe book but I'm hoping for some suggestions. What kind of stuff should I keep stocked and have on hand?
I'm also concerned about my cheese/salt addiction. Any suggestions?
i think almost everyone has a cheese addiction before they go vegan (or at least a lot of people on this board!)
salt shouldn't be too bad.... it is vegan, after all.
i almost always have (had, i guess, cause i am doing more of a raw diet now):
soymilk
produce
nuts
tempeh
tofu
beans
some frozen veggies (for emergencies)
lots of spices
bread
baking stuff (i have a sweet tooth)
cereal
just make sure something you have is fortified with B12 or you are taking a supplement!
here are a few threads you might find useful:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=14180.0
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=15715.0
welcome to veganism - and good luck!
1. It's not scary once you do it. I do very limited cooking (more during the winter) and I've been vegan for a year and a half - easy as pie. mmmm.... pie.... Even though half of the stuff on the Q&A Board is NVR, we love talking about food, so if anything comes up someone here probably has a suggestion.
2. I don't know what to say about cheese. I never liked it much, but I suppose it's like a lot of addictions. Know what you want (no cheese) and make healthy, filling vegan food so you're not hungry and tempted. Make sure you have nutritional yeast on hand so you can make something like Cheesy Bean and Cheese Enchiladas. It approximates it.
3. Go to your local library and look for vegan cookbooks. Some of them are for transitioning vegans and have a beginning section about common "vegan" ingredients. Hespedal's list and Laurabs' links are good, too.
We should have a contest on how long it is after you go vegan that you're asked how you get your protein. ;D
Oh yes! The "cheese addicition"! I have to say that I have a HUGE addiction to cheese and dairy--I just love it all so much, however, I did finally give it up--I think I'm one week 3 or 4...I don't know...anyways, the first thing you gotta do is GET IT OUT OF THE HOUSE! That 's step one, then you need to experience your favorite foods veganized so you can see how awesome they are! When I first went I got so sad about not having ooey gooey nachos all covered with cheese--so I went to Moe's and had them make me up some awesome vegan nachos and they were so good--I was like "I can so do this!"
You have to make a lot more of your own food, which is both a blessing and a curse--but once you adjust, your golden!
Some of my fav staples are:
raw nuts
produce
canned beans, tomatoes, etc
frozen corn, beans, etc
vegan bread
Gardenburger Riblets
potatoes
tofu
baking stuff
Whole Foods vegan meatballs (so good on spag or in a sandwich!)
and of course a few vegan frozen dinners for when I am really busy or lazy
soy ice cream
tofutti sour cream/ cream cheese
Just a warning--from my own personal experience--you might want to be a few weeks into being dairy free before trying the dairy subs--I think they are really gross and I think it's because I didn let myself "forget" the real taste. I especially ahte soy cheese--but that's pretty typical.
Good luck!!!!
ah, how could i forget. NUT BUTTTERS! life without PB is no life at all.
I'll straight-talk with ya. Vegan cheese never starts tasting good, but it does taste less disgusting over time. I haven't tried Sheese brand yet, but with all of the others that's the best you can hope for.
soy milk
hummus
agave syrup
tea (cuz I love it)
and of course your fruit and veg!
I also found a brand of cookies in my supermarket that are accidentally vegan, so I have them on call if I ever get cravings!
Good luck!
I'll straight-talk with ya. Vegan cheese never starts tasting good, but it does taste less disgusting over time.
I laughed so hard when I read this! A few weeks ago i got a soy cheese pizza from whole foods and I wanted to BARF! I don't know what kind of "cheese" they used but it smelled and tasted like sour milk http://bestsmileys.com/sick/9.gif oh man! it was so gross--I don't think I can ever get over it!
i was a horrible cook when i first went vegan. i lived on a frozen bag of veggies and a can of beans sauted in olive oil over rice for a long time. then i slowly started adding interesting spices to my stirfrys, then i started making curries, then casseroles... anyways.. you'll get there! have fun!
I laughed so hard when I read this! A few weeks ago i got a soy cheese pizza from whole foods and I wanted to BARF! I don't know what kind of "cheese" they used but it smelled and tasted like sour milk http://bestsmileys.com/sick/9.gif oh man! it was so gross--I don't think I can ever get over it!
Have you ever tried the Amy's vegan pizza with "cheese"? If I remember right it's a rice flour crust with the cheese somehow made of rice too. I could be wrong about the cheese though. It's on the expensive side...about $8 at my HFS but is an ok substitution for a cheese pizza craving. I'll get it on occasion and add the toppings I want.
hmmm.....tell me more about grilled avocado.....
hmmm.....tell me more about grilled avocado.....
ohh, baby! it is just what you would think. put some vegan butter on your bread, avocado slices in the middle (a good fatty one, like a Hass) instead of cheese, and grill it in a pan! very yummy. i like putting some good stone ground mustard on there also... yumm.
I like to grill mine on my good ole- george forman--their cheap (like $20) and grill up a nice panni style sandwich--as well as great tofu and vegi stir fyrs..anyways throw some tomatoe on the grilled avacado MMMMmmmMMmmmMM!
hmmm.....tell me more about grilled avocado.....
ohh, baby! it is just what you would think. put some vegan butter on your bread, avocado slices in the middle (a good fatty one, like a Hass) instead of cheese, and grill it in a pan! very yummy. i like putting some good stone ground mustard on there also... yumm.
I like to grill mine on my good ole- george forman--their cheap (like $20) and grill up a nice panni style sandwich--as well as great tofu and vegi stir fyrs..anyways throw some tomatoe on the grilled avacado MMMMmmmMMmmmMM!
your forman stuff always sounds so easy and good... but i'm not going to go on a thrift store hunt for one because i am trying to go raw.... if i ever give up, though, that is first on my list.
But... but... when avocado is heated the flavour totally changes :(... IMHO it must not be cooked. Makes it taste like http://bestsmileys.com/puking/4.gif...
Jus' wanted to express this, er, mild warning that not everyone will like it. :-X
But... but... when avocado is heated the flavour totally changes :(... IMHO it must not be cooked. Makes it taste like http://bestsmileys.com/puking/4.gif...
Jus' wanted to express this, er, mild warning that not everyone will like it. :-X
thats what i've been thinking. im totally confused. i've made a panini before with avocado and it just turned brown and icky. do the avocado cookers soak it in lemon juice first so that it doesnt brown?
i like avocado cooked sometimes. like in scrambles. very good.
ALSO, i forgot another good thing to have on hand is rice, quinoa, couscous kind of stuff.
OMG!!! I love avocado, but I eat it sliced with salt and pepper :D No bread or anything. SOOOOO good. I didn't do this until I went vegan. I was making salsa with it, and took a bite of raw avocado as I was slicing it and LOVED it.
Anyways, I'm lacto-vegan now (don't flame me, it's a new name I coined for myself). I would be 100% vegan, except for cheese! Dang nabbit, that cheese! Yes, when I went vegan the first time, I had a major cheese addiction. But I did give it up and was totally vegan for a year (I was lacto-ovo for 5 years before that). Then my B12 shot down, and I started eating cheese again.
But, January 1st, I'm going totally vegan again, and I'm giving up the booze.
Anyways, my stables are:
vegan bread
canned (or fresh in the summer) tomatoes
potatoes
bok choy
tofu
boca (anything, as long as it's vegan)
garlic
onions
spices
mushroom gravy
avocado
green onion
miso
mustard
leafy greens
olives
pickles
cheese (not for long, though)
There's more, but I'm getting too tired to think.
oh, with the avo sandwich, don't heat it too much. just long enough to toast the bread and WARM the avo. i don't leave it on lone enough to "cook" it. barf!
that is also where the *quality* avo comes in. if it isn't Hass or another fatty one, don't bother. it will taste like butt.
*giggles* Nice wording BP. I think you're right about how the quality and ripeness affect the flavour and, perhaps, how it reacts to warming/heating. I learned my dislike of heated avocado when I put some in a quesadilla and grilled the hell out of it on my sandwich press - maybe this made it too cooked. Blargh.
Just a note on the "cheese cravings"--or any food cravings for that matter. What I've found works for me is to look at the "essentials" in the food I'm craving. IE cheese = calcium and fat (which is why I make mac-n-cheese from scratch when I'm PMSing!) And then there's what I call the "mouth" cravings where I look at the textures/temps, sticking with the cheese example: cold/sliced or crumbly? warm/melty or firm?. When I had to go off of cheese, I fell into an even deeper romance with the avocado, but also (since my body was craving calcium) I had a new found fondness for spinach!! and THEN I discovered KALE!! This analysis come in handy for when I'm craving something but 1 can't afford it, or 2 I'm too lazy to make it/run to the store.
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