Baby Steps Toward "just" Vegetarian- Advice?
Hey my dear fellow vegwebbers!
I am looking for some advice here. I am hoping I won't get any negativity about taking too long instead of going cold-tofurkey, but I'm just gonna put this out there 'cause I could use the help.
I've mentioned a few times recently that I wanna kick the ovo-lacto off my vegetarian. Uhh... meaning I don't wanna eat dairy and eggs, you know? Now, I don't want to do it overnight for lots of reasons but I'm not saying it's too hard or anything. I went vegetarian overnight and that was great, but this seems to be pushing a little harder than I normally do.
My boyfriend is really sweet and understanding, he's never made being vegetarian difficult for me and it was even his idea that I should do it in the first place. But, I kinda don't want to freak him out. He did seem concerned when I was first doing the veg*n thing that vegan would be too much (he's just not big on change, really), but I don't think he'll say I shouldn't do what makes me happy. I've tested him by requesting no cheese at a couple of restaurants and he just laughed and said "You?? No cheese??" I mentioned I was testing out the idea as a possible permanent thing. He didn't seem to mind. So I dunno, maybe my veg*nness has made it seem not so weird.
Lately I've just been keeping my eye out for cheese and have been working on reducing how much I eat. I'm not buying any at the grocery store or anymore. I haven't had cow's milk in... gosh, a long time now. Milk just makes my stomach ache, and go figure my grandma told me a couple months ago that I had a milk allergy as a baby! Makes me kinda sad that just because something is standard my mom wouldn't have excluded it from my diet permanently. How much easier would that have been?
And I just find myself not all that fond of eggs nowadays.
I think cheese will be the hardest thing. I don't know what sort of advice I'm looking for, I guess just support would be good. I'd especially like to hear from other folks who did things gradually and what obstacles you ran into... and how you managed them with grace and finesse. I just want to make this transition as normal as possible, I guess...
;D
Amy's also has the Rice Crust Spinach Pizza which has cheeze but is non-dairy/lactose-free. May be a good transition?
Like Lubi said, you could add veggies to it, since it's just spinach and cheeze.
Remember what you thought of the broccoli with NY sauce I made? Maybe hold up on that for awhile?
Good point. I seem to recall that the consensus was "Good, but it does NOT taste like cheese. But still good. Wouldn't call it cheese, though."
I would have to not call it mac & cheeze. I'd have to call it... "Awesome magical wonderful pasta with creamy yummy sauce and veggies."
:D
The thing about the Amy's pizza is #1: price (we're both working part-time so price is a big issue), #2: I just don't like artichoke hearts on my pizza and that was all Target appears to carry.
They taste mooshy. :P
Next shopping trip, I will go armed with knowledge and a battle plan! I will buy veggies! And pizza crust! And roasted red pepper sauce! And maybe even get fancy with pesto! I will purge the unholy cheese from my refrigerator and laugh in the face of dairy!
HAHA.... oh, wait... am I getting carried away here?
^-^
don't buy pizza crust....make it! it 's so easy(many recipes here), buy some sauce(or make it), and put anything you want on it
Ehh.... Neither my boyfriend or I are hands-on cooks. We just don't really like to cook. Making our own pizza crust would just not be enjoyable. Eating it would be, but making it..... I'm just not feeling that energetic about it.
We like to open a package and eat while at our computers or watching cartoons on TV.
;D
good job on what youve done so far - just watch out for that pesto.. all storebought pesto ive seen has cheese in it. it's really easy to make your own though!
Not sure what kind of stores you have near you, but if you find follow your heart brand vegan cheese, go with the montery jack one for pizza. (IMO the mozzerella one sucks) We make pizza about once a week. I like rustic grill brand pizza crust & usually just use marinara sauce for the sauce, add shredded montery jack & veggies sauteed in a little more oil than I would normally use. I bake it for the lower end of the crust directions (maybe 10 minutes?) then broil it for 1-2 minutes. The broiling step is important to melt the cheese, but you have to keep watching it for that minute or two because there is a fine line between melted & burnt. I think the extra oil in the veggies is important too because the crust is kind of dry & the cheese isn't as fatty as dairy cheese.
If you like grilled cheese sandwiches, I like to make them using galaxy foods brand cheese. It's in a purple wrapper & comes in presliced, individually wrapped & a fake orange color, just like I remember dairy cheese! The trick with these is to grill over medium- medium low heat & after you flip it once, put a lid on the pan for a bit to get it to melt.
If you make the mac & cheese from this site & are not used to nooch, use a little less than the recipe calls for & add other stuff to the noodles, like veggies & beans, or a fake meat & call it a casserole.
You'll be fine! And you will start to feel a lot better without the dairy. When I stopped having dairy I stopped have spring allergies & stopped getting yeast infections!
Thanks, L&D!
That's pretty helpful. I talked to my boyfriend about nutritional yeast last night and told him that, in my opinion, it doesn't taste much like cheese but it's good in its own right. He seemed open to that. As long as I don't try to make it be cheese and sneak it up on him!
I will look for the Monterrey jack vegan cheese. That would probably go really well with the sauce we like. It's a spicy red pepper sauce. We're all about spicy!
;)b
Here is a link to the dairy alternative review thread: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=24336.0
I like Tofutti the best, but galaxy is ok on grilled sandwiches.
I just don't like cheese. Or cheeZe.
I guess that's good.
I like grilled avocado sandwiches! No fake grilled cheeze! AVOCADO FTW!
Also, MDVegan showed me a recipe for beer-battered fried avocado slices, and I want those really bad.
Maybe.... I could replace everything that was cheese.... with AVOCADO.
Mac & Avocado anyone? ^-^
I can do without the fake cheeze
All tastes very weird and bland to me.
I have some Galaxy Vegan Rice cheeze sitting in the fridge. Have been mixing it in Zippys food about once a week.
He likes it I don't
Don't miss dairy and in the past year I really have not tried to substitute it.
Only reason I tried the vegan cheeze is from reading a thread here a few months ago and figure I would try it.
The only thing I noticed if you use a lot of nutritional yeast it makes your urine a nice bright yellow.
I like grilled avocado sandwiches! No fake grilled cheeze! AVOCADO FTW!
Dang. I still need to try one of those. Just avocado on bread, eh? A little S&P?
You do it just like you would a grilled cheese. Buttah the bread (you know, with whatever buttery-type substance you use), slice up some avocado and put it on there. Salt and pepper if you like.
Grill until golden and heated through.
Delicioso!
Thank you, JC. I shall do that when i get around to buying bread... at some point... I gotz the avocados!
;)b
I like to smash the avocado up first, and add s and p..then spread it on the bread. It stays together a lot better than slices!
I haven't bought bread in a long time. What is a good brand of bread? And don't suggest I make my own... I've made mad cooking progress, let's not push it.
;)
A good bread is one that is not loaded with lots of chemicals.
Best suggestion is to look for a local bakery and buy from them.
When you buy quality bread depending on where you go expect to pay $3 or more for a loaf.
A good local bakery might be inexpensive.
I pay depending on the day $1.80 to 2.10 for a loaf from the Kosher Baker here.
Can not explain why the price is never the same.
I can't help ya, because we buy bakery bread from our store. The wheat is 2.99, I think..the sourdough we sometimes buy is 3.80. We also sometimes buy baguettes, or other bread for 2.49.
I don't really care how much it costs. I mean, I'm not going to be spending $6/loaf, but you know. I just wish bread came in like, a half loaf because I will never use an entire loaf. I will maybe try Great Harvest Bread Co tomorrow... that's about as close to "local bakery" as it gets around here, and their website shows breads that do not have egg or milk-- good place to start.
I'd almost rather just buy a crappy loaf of cheap bread since I only want two pieces to make an avocado sandwich. I guess I'll use it for sandwiches for next week when school starts!
i bought a loaf for the first time in foreeeeeeeever about a month ago. i got the ezekial brand that you find in the freezer section & i keep it in the freezer at home. it makes it last a long time which is good cus i eat it so rarely.
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