Want to be vegan
Posted by Brendalince on Jul 08, 2012 · Member since Jul 2012 · 1 posts
I literally just read Alicia silver stone think kind diet and it really made me want to go vegan the only thing I'm still not sure on is eggs? I'm sorry to all animal lovers I am too I just need some convincing. I buy cage free grain free organic so....any input would be awesome thanks:)
the defining moment for everyone is when they realize they DON'T want something more than they want it. two years ago for me it was smoking.. i finally hit the point in my life when i wanted to be truly done with it for all the right reasons, so i quit and never looked back. same goes for being veg. when you're ready, you'll feel it.
as for the egg thing i know what you mean. i loved scrambled eggs & all things cheese so i was hesitant.. but then i learned that i can crumble firm tofu, season it and sprinkle some nice yellow turmeric on top it's yummy and pretty darn close (i like to do that with breakfast potatoes, peppers, onions.. make a skillet meal or breakfast burritos).. and the cheese, well, i've learned that things taste very very good when not smothered in cheese and if i really need a cheese effect (pizzas specifically) i splurge on a bag of soy cheese and it's just as wonderful. i hope this helps :) good luck!
What kind of convincing? If you want egg-like recipes, Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz has great tofu scramble and omlette recipes. HTH
One of the greatest kitchen appliances is the slow cooker. It allows busy individuals to make time saving recipes that taste great. It can be used to create delicious and healthy vegan recipes as well. The slow cooker is not just for meats and cheese dips, it can be used to turn out vegan recipes like nobody's business. So, for all the vegans out there who have never considered using a slow cooker, it is time to reconsider. Following are some easy recipes to fit into the vegan lifestyle.
There are a ton of vegetable crock pot recipes that are suitable for vegans. These recipes do not have to be topped with cheese, cream or have meat tossed in to work in a slow cooker. Like this one for example:
Vegan Slow Cooker Stew
Ingredients
1 large - Potato
2 cups - Chopped Kale
1 large - Chopped Carrot
1 stalk - Chopped Celery
1 cup - Sliced Mushrooms
cup each - Frozen Yellow Corn and Sweet Green Peas
3 Cups - Vegetable Stock
To Taste - Salt and Pepper and Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
Directions
Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and mix well. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or 6-8 on low.
Cheap crock pot recipes do not mean unhealthy or tasteless. Some people mistakenly believe that vegan recipes are not always healthy simply because they do not contain animal products. This is one of those easy crock pot recipes that some may think is unhealthy but is actually very healthy.
Vegan Crock Pot Chili
Ingredients
1 -2 cups - Chopped Onion
1 medium - Chopped Bell Pepper, green
1 can each - Pinto and Kidney Beans, with liquid
1 can - Diced Tomatoes
1-2 tablespoons - Spicy Chili Powder
-1 - Diced Jalapeno
To Taste - Salt and Pepper
Directions
Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker and mix well. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or 6-8 on low.
For vegans, vegetable crock pot recipes are a given. However, they don't have to be boring and monotonous. There are a number of different spices and such that can turn these cheap crock pot recipes into something special, such as this gem:
Vegan Slow Cooker Lasagna
Ingredients
1 large - Yellow Squash
1 large - Zucchini
Vegan Ricotta - 14 oz extra firm tofu blended with lemon juice, sugar, basil, salt and garlic powder to taste
3-4 cups - Organic Tomato Basil Sauce
1-2 cups - Vegan Pizza-Style Shredded Cheese
Directions
Slice squash and zucchini in thin lengthwise strips using a mandolin. Layer the crock pot with the vegetable "noodles," vegan ricotta, sauce and cheese. Continue until all the ingredients are gone, making sure the last two layers are the sauce and cheese. Cook on high for 4-5 hours or 6-8 on low.
These are just a few of the time saving recipes vegan can create in a slow cooker. People should always remember that cooking should be fun, easy and taste great, not to mention nutritious. Slow cooking recipes do just that. They afford the opportunity to turn out great vegan dishes without all the time spent in the kitchen. i hope this is a great vegan dish idea enjoy to with this guys thanks http://thecheapestnewcar.com
Welcome Brendalince, It seems to me from what I have observed here, there are two kinds of vegans, those who go all the way from day 1 and those who kinda fall into it gradually. I seem to be in the second group at this time. I cook for 2 omni guys. I rarely touch their meat any more. The less I ate it, the less I wanted it. I have been lactose intolerant since the early 80's but thought I could still eat cheese until I gave that up and felt much better. My DD is ovo-lacto vegetarian. I came here looking to find things everyone could eat. I have noticed that our egg consumption is dropping as a family without anyone making the concious choice to give them up. I can see the day when, like me with the meat, no one really thinks about them any more. We have moved from typical grocery store animal products to free range chicken and eggs and local grass fed sustanable farming beef for the guys. It is not the "perfect" solution but it is agreeable to them and better than it was before. As a family. we all eat vegan a few days a week. Again, not "perfect" but we are doing a better job than before of being concious of our choices.
As for the eggs, I have a friend with a hobby farm. Her chickens think they are lap pets. Now those are eggs I have no moral question about eating since I know they are happy chickens that are well cared for. but then, I do not call myself vegan. I would not eat them and use that term for myself.
Hi Brendalince,
For me, the problem with commercially produced eggs, even with the highest animal welfare standards, is the male chicks who are commercially useless and are killed in their first day. I just have to picture all those fluffy yellow chicks on the conveyor belt to their deaths to have no problem not buying eggs.
My partner now has six rescue hens (all of them from owners who could no longer keep them and who would have had them slaughtered if he hadn't taken them). They have free run of the garden every day and seem very happy and healthy, so I eat their eggs sometimes when I am there on the weekends.
Before he started taking care of the hens though, for a long time I didn't eat any eggs: I'm not a fan of tofu (for tofu scramble or quiches), so in stead on the weekends fried mushrooms on toast replaced my scrambled eggs. I also just found this recipe for a really delicious, very omelette-like chickpea flour pancake: http://www.veganricha.com/2012/08/chickpea-flour-omelette-with-spinach.html. I think her batter may work well in quiches, too, so I'm going to give that a try soon. In sweet baking I replace them with applesauce, in savoury dishes usually with a 'flax egg' (1 tbsp of flax meal mixed with 1 tbsp of water), and in general never really missed them.
Good luck on your journey!