Vege Chat

[Ana Gram]

I searched and couldn't find any threads to suit my purpose.

Over the last few months, I seemed to have unconsciously become vegetarian again. However, because of my other conscious eating changes, I am finding this quite difficult.

I have cut out added sugar, preservatives and colouring. And now only eating organic and seasonal produce. That is all pretty easy. What I am finding hard is cutting out palm oil.

I am discovering that many products that are labelled as suitable for vegetarians and vegans contain "vegetable oil" which is more often than not palm oil. Due to our labelling laws, it is getting increasingly hard to actually find anything I can eat. Or use for that matter.

Now while I am sure this will definitely assist me in losing the last 10 kilos I put on while pregnant, it is kind of making me go *head desk*.

What do you guys eat??

[canberramomma]

I hear you Chellegoth! The best I can recommend is to make as much as possible from scratch. We won't eat shop bought crisps, noodles, biscuits and other things for this very reason.

Here are some links you might find useful:
http://www.palmoilaction.org.au/
http://www.orangutan.org.au/palmoil.html
http://www.afgc.org.au/index.cfm?id=573

HTH

[canberramomma]

Most of the companies used as examples here are on my ethical black-ban list anyway for other practices.:D

[HarvestMoon]

The best I can recommend is to make as much as possible from scratch

I agree. This is what i try to do as much as possible as well.

Do you have any involvement with the Vegetarian society in your state? They can be great place to find information and to ask questions.

www.vegsoc.org.au (http://www.vegsoc.org.au) that's actually the QLD one.. has forums and resources. There are alot of non QLD members as well.

[Ana Gram]

I have the first two booked marked already :D

I also like http://www.orangutans.com.au/

Once I get rid of my house mates (have to return their bond), the remainder of my Krudd money is going safeguard rain forest in Borneo.

What is bothering me is that products that claim to be suitable use palm oil. Doesn't sound very vegan to me. I don't know any vegan who would approve the destruction of habitat and death of orangs (among other animals) as long as there was no animal product in what they were eating or using.

[Ana Gram]

I agree. This is what i try to do as much as possible as well.

Do you have any involvement with the Vegetarian society in your state? They can be great place to find information and to ask questions.

www.vegsoc.org.au (http://www.vegsoc.org.au) that's actually the QLD one.. has forums and resources. There are alot of non QLD members as well.

Thanks, I will have a little look see. I have found the Victorian one, so I have a lot of reading to do :)

[canberramomma]

It is a deliberate 'misunderstanding' of the vegan lifestyle by big companies IMO.

Lots of 'vege' products are made via unethical or unsustainable practices. Labelling laws have to be changed and the only way that is going to happen is consumers demanding it.

The only way consumers are going to demand it is by education. It's not in the government or business interest to educate the public (dare I say masses?).

Therefor, vegans, veggos and other like minded groups are relegated to far-left/hippy/fringe/rabble rouser status and ridiculed.

Makes me so mad!

[Ana Gram]

I completely agree with you and it really ticks me off.

It makes any effort seem completely pointless.

[Ana Gram]

CM, I know that you boycott a lot of companies. I'd love to know which ones and why, if you wouldn't mind sharing :)

[canberramomma]

I can't actually give names on a public forum because I can be sued for organising a boycott and damaging the 'brand' of a company - thank you Mr Howard.

The big N - because they are the devil. Any company that is affilliated with the big N, because they are the devil's helpers.:laughing:
Any company who won't sign up to the Greenpeace TrueFoods list.
Any company that exploits workers.
Any company that have bad environmental practices.
Any company that supports the clearing of forests.
Any company that exploits people in developing countries.
Any company that directly or indirectly supports the killing of or degradation of endangered species.
Any product that travels too far to be on retail shelves.
Any non-sustainable product.
Any company that puts poisons in food.

It takes a lot of effort at first, but you soon become accustomed to which are 'safe' products.

The reasons are quite varied, but mostly based on social and environmental concerns.

Here's the true food link.

http://www.truefood.org.au/truefoodguide/


I will try to post more when I find time to grab them.

Bit pushed atm with family matters, but I'll be back.:devil6:

[Ana Gram]

:laughing: Thanks CM. I'm developing my own list and it really seems like all I am going to be left with to eat is organic rice cakes with nothing on it :laughing:

[canberramomma]

I also grow a lot of my own stuff. It's easy to grow organic tomatoes, lettuce and herbs, even in pots, but I'm sure you do that anyway. Might be nicer than plain rice cakes!:laughing:

You are vegan, aren't you? Have you checked out the fat-free vegan site. She's got some great ideas.

Being in Melb, you could make a day trip to one of the Diggers Club places, too. I so want to do that!

[Ana Gram]

I am always meaning to grow things but I am allergic to grass and everything that bites, so I keep putting it off :o But thankfully I live near CERES so all my fruit and veg is organic and grown by hippies :laughing:

Not vegan, just gone back to being vegetarian but will probably end up down the vegan path. It can be a bit of adjustment starting back up again. I haven't been vegetarian for 7 years.

Digger's club looks great. Wouldn't you just love to spend the rest of your days in one of those houses and tend to those gardens all day!

[canberramomma]

Yeah, it's a dream I've got if I win a motza on the lotto (not that I will, I don't buy tickets, but if I did), I'd love to buy a property and turn it into a self sustainable community! I reckon it would be fantastic!

[Ana Gram]

:laughing: I'm the same. If I won money, which I won't as I don't gamble, I would be doing something similar. but I would have all my friends live there too :D

[Ana Gram]

Anyone have any ideas on what I can use as an alternative to butter and margarine?

Butter is out as it is dairy and there is no margarine product on the market which is palm oil free.

[Vespa]

What about organic type olive oil? The good fats outweigh the bad ones! Good fats are above 77% from what i recall. Italians use it instead of butter and stuff, also you could use flaxseed oil in salads for omega 3 one teaspoon a day covers your daily requirements.

[Ana Gram]

I've looked at all the olive oil spreads in the supermarket and all of them contain palm oil, so that is a no go.

[Vespa]

I've looked at all the olive oil spreads in the supermarket and all of them contain palm oil, so that is a no go.

In Italy, they just dip the bread into the oil. It has a nice flavour, you could just sprinkle a tiny amount straight onto yr bread/toast etc. You can flavour it to, just put herbs etc into the oil, it is lovely with crusty bread.

Other than that, i cant help :D

[canberramomma]

Hi Chelle, I haven't checked it out thoroughly (busy, busy - y'know how it is) but here are a few sites that sounded reasonable for what you want:

http://frugalveggiemama.blogspot.com/2005/11/homemade-margarine.html
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,homemade_margarine,FF.html
http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-olive-oil-spread/

Hope you find something useful!:)

[Ana Gram]

Does anyone else find that they are constantly having to defend their eating choices??

[bada]

After 15 or so years of being vegetarian and at times vegan I have learned to avoid mentioning it in most cases.

I'm soooooooooooooooooooooo over debating with boof heads who love to use really clever examples like "well what if someone had a gun to your head and was forcing you to eat a chicken" pffft :no:

So no I don't feel like I am constantly having to defend my eating choices.

[Ana Gram]

I am getting much arguement from DD's father, his family and my family as DD eats a vegan diet while at my house. They have all stated that she is too young to make her own choice and that I am pushing my own beliefs on her and that I should buy and cook meat to feed to her. DD's father's family has also said a few things which DD doesn't want to repeat which makes me mad as she is 5 and whatever they think of me they should not be saying around her.

[zenifa]

Although I am not a vegetarian nor vegan at present, I have been for many years in the past - so thank you for this thread Chelle and for the links CM, I have found them all very informative and helpful.

Now regarding food choices, its your body, your choice as to what you do and don't put in it. You shouldn't feel like you need to explain nor justify yourself to anybody.

As for your DD, Chelle, as long as she is getting her nutritional requirements and is healthy, its none of your ex's business (& his family's) as to how you feed your DD. I agree that if they have an issue with your DD, they should speak to you directly about it, and not involve your 5yo DD at all!! That is so unfair on her.

Many children I know choose to be vegetarian (they either don't like the taste, smell or texture of meat), regardless of their parent's eating choices.

[Ana Gram]

A little bump as vegetarianism and veganism seems to be a hot topic of late ;)

I should update, at the start of this thread I was vegetarian with no dairy. I am now fully vegan :smiliedance:

[Teegzie]

As for your DD, Chelle, as long as she is getting her nutritional requirements and is healthy, its none of your ex's business (& his family's) as to how you feed your DD. I agree that if they have an issue with your DD, they should speak to you directly about it, and not involve your 5yo DD at all!! That is so unfair on her.

Many children I know choose to be vegetarian (they either don't like the taste, smell or texture of meat), regardless of their parent's eating choices.

:iagree: If your little girl is happy and healthy eating what you give her then there should be no reason for your ex (or his nosey family) to question you! If she asked for something non-vegan (without being coached by any nay sayers) then it might be a different issue. But at 5 most kids happily eat what they are given and also know that at Mum's place they might eat something different to Grandma's house etc.

[Ana Gram]

Well, I am a little p!ssed. DD's father brought her back on Sunday and basically told me that he will not be following the diet she has at my house. She is eating meat, chocolate and cows milk because apparently it's too hard to buy the food I feed her. Great. I'm the one who has to deal with the fall out of this. He feeds her garbage and then gives her back. She ends up with flare ups from eczema, bowel troubles and behavioural troubles. And it takes a week of better eating for her to be through it so he gets her while she is good again.

His father has been in his ear and used the word "crackpot" and has basically given him the idea that if I want her to eat a certain way, I should provide all her meals while at his house :banghead:


Canberramomma, can you suggest places where I can shop and eat in Canberra? DD and I are up there for a week in October, and I don't know where I can get stuff. I don't want a repeat of last time where I was stuck eating rice cakes and water.

[canberramomma]

Sorry Chelle, I have been a bit slack of late and not been online so much.

Many places in Canberra will accommodate a veggo diet. My faves are all Northside as that's where I grew up and now live.

I would definitely recommend Au Lac at D!ckson. There are loads of great eateries there. The Ethiopian place (Fekerte's) is fantastic and caters for veggos as does the Two Sisters (Thia). Don't go to Zefferelli's though if you are a supporter of workers rights - they were paying immigrants less than the min wage and withdrawing their employer sponsorship. Bollywood (Indian) is also very good.

In Belconnen, The Turkish place in Jamieson is fantastic! The out of the way one, not the one right in the shopping centre (he's an absolute prick and the food is not worth the hassle!).

Taj Agra (Belconnen and D!ickson) and Ruchi's are great.

Shopping, I would recommend the ANU Coop, Farmers Markets (at Exhibition Park in Watson), Belconnen or Fyshwick markets and the local shops at Ainslie and Watson.

Also, some of the farms at Pialligo (near the airport) open on a Saturday and you can buy fruit and veg straight from the farms.

If you have any probs, give me a PM or call me. I'll send you my details.:D

[workin'mumof2]

can i join. but i need some help too:o still. i want to fully cut out chicken but im a bit fussy. for eg i dont eat egg or cheese and dont like milk. (prob sound better going straight to being a vegan hey?)

whats your weekly meal plan? and does it change much?

i would love to change to be a vegitarian or vegan.

also scuse my dh but he thinks tofu is very expensive if you look at price per kilo not price per meal.. how do you look at it? and do u buy flavoured or non flavoured?

thank you :o

[Ana Gram]

Awesome, thanks CM. Got your pm, I will be up there in October for a week for my brother's wedding. Hopefully I will be able to duck out of family stuff to meet you! Even though my family is on the Southside, I don't mind travelling. I mean I live in Melbourne and my closest friend is 20 minutes away.

Rosie, sounds like you are almost vegan :D

My grocery bill is pretty high now for just the two of us but I buy everything organic from a small grocery store. I usually change my menu every week but only really need to cook two full meals which lasts us the week. And one of those meals is usually pasta.

This week I made potato and spinach dhal. Having it with rice fluffs out the meal and makes it last longer. And generally with tofu meals, I add things like noodles which gives the meal more bulk.

With the price, yeah it may seem more expensive when you look at this small block of tofu for $5 but it still makes 4 serves with most meals. I prefer to look at how much the meal is costing rather than the ingredients.

I tend to buy plain tofu and flavour it myself as I do as much as I can from scratch.

[Tam-I-Am]

I can't believe that people give you schtick, Chelle - so not on! I have a friend who I see fairly regularly who's vego. We find vegetarian restaurants to eat at, so that she's got as much choice as me. Combine her vegetarianism with my inabiliy to eat dairy proteins, and it's a match made in vegan heaven! She's found this gorgeous vegetarian cafe where she lives, that caters to vegan for me, and I've found one where I live, and we just eat at those places when we eat out. The food is awesome, and I don't feel like I'm missing out at all.

As for your DD's dad....well.....to a certain extent I can understand - but not if it's causing her health problems! I think it'd be hard to switch to a vegetarian/vegan diet on the weekends, but it's rough that you deal with the fallout. Perhaps you could meet halfway and do some slow cooker meals with extra during the week to send along for her dinner, and he can deal with other meals/snacks. That way he couldn't complain - although it's still sucky for you, I agree :hugs:

Did you try that almond butter recipe? If so, how did it turn out?

[Ana Gram]

Haven't tried it yet, I will let you know :)

With DD's father, I would understand if I was asking him to do something difficult but it really isn't. I mean the meals she usually has while she is there is pizza and pasta. The chocolate she eats at my place can be found in the health food aisle which would take him all of two minutes walk, and while he is in that aisle, he can grab the vege chips. He complained that the soy milk goes off as she is only there two days and it is a waste of money, to which I pointed out that you can get a pack of six small ones which are found in the same spot. I mean those three things are all I have really asked for. I don't say anything about bread or vegemite or any other stuff.

This last weekend he was happy to feed her the agreed food, so I think he only arks up when he is ****ed at me as apparently I am too controlling :rolleyes: He has recently mentioned that he is considering going vegetarian anyway as Ruby lectures him too much :laughing:

[canberramomma]

Tam, my family is veggo, my dad is coeliac, my aunt is allergic to corn, DS is allergic to nuts - try getting a place at a restaurant with those requirements!

It's easier to eat at home!:laughing:

But even the veggo thing is difficult in some places. Thankfully Canberra is becoming more accepting of the sustainable lifestyle movement and now most places will accommodate a veggie diet.

[Ana Gram]

So easy to be vegan where I am. Right next to Brunswick and a short step from Fitzroy, vegan paradise :D

[Tam-I-Am]

Oh, that truly sucks, Chelle. What an **** :p (Ruby's father, not vegan paradise :p)

I'd love to switch to vego food. I would have a riot on my hands if I did though, and it's just too hard to cook 2 separate meals here *sigh*. I actually find that vegetarian food is so much more interesting and tasty because people put so much more effort into MAKING it so.

[bada]

Just needed to have a quick vent so figured I'd chuck this in here... at mothers group a few days ago someone mentioned their hubby is vego but followed that up with "but it's ok because he doesn't look like one"... wtf? still a bit confuzzled...

[MummaBear03]

Don't you know that vegos are weak and scrawny :p

Just look at the rhino, the elephant, the bull...

[Bellini]

Yeah, they are weak because vegos don't get enough iron because they don't eat meat :rolleyes::hair:

(I'm not vego anymore, that was just something I heard a lot when I was!).

[Ana Gram]

Bahahaa, people are so narrow minded :rolleyes:

[brogeybear]

Oh interesting read. Glad it got bumped up! We have been vegan as a family for 3 weeks now! YAY It is so great and we will never look back!

[Ana Gram]

Thought I would bump this again too.

How are all the vege heads going?

Christmas is coming up, which can create a few challenging issues food wise. How d you all go with Christmas?

[MummaBear03]

Christmas is easy for us surprisingly!

We have vege finger foods and that's pretty much it. We don't do the whole "big feed" thing because we live in North Qld and it's hot and sticky so we need food we can grab between laps in the pool! This year we're making up a whole pile of salad wraps as well as heated finger foods like those spinach pastry rolls and Frys nuggets.

[DanceInTheRain]

This will be my first Xmas as a vegetarian so we will see! We are having Christmas champagne breakfast at our place so there will be lots of meat for others, such as bacon and sausages. I think I will make a yummy bircher muesli and pancakes, perhaps fruit salad. Also fried mushrooms and tomatoes, hash browns, baked beans. There will be lots I can eat actually :D

[MummaBear03]

We had a cooked breakfast on Sunday morning with yummy mushrooms in a butter sauce, grilled tomato, grilled eggplant, Frys sausages, and English muffins. It all seems too much hassle for a Christmas morning though :p

[mum2bubba]

Christmas is easy for us surprisingly!

We have vege finger foods and that's pretty much it. We don't do the whole "big feed" thing because we live in North Qld and it's hot and sticky so we need food we can grab between laps in the pool! This year we're making up a whole pile of salad wraps as well as heated finger foods like those spinach pastry rolls and Frys nuggets.

Sorry to crash this thread (I'm not veg*n) but that sounds like a great idea, who wants to be cooking up a storm on a hot Summer's day (especially up north).

Also, where do I get Fry's nuggets? I've been looking for them everywhere.

[MummaBear03]

Sorry to crash this thread (I'm not veg*n) but that sounds like a great idea, who wants to be cooking up a storm on a hot Summer's day (especially up north).

Also, where do I get Fry's nuggets? I've been looking for them everywhere.

Woolworths. I go to Woolworths JUST for Frys products because they aren't sold anywhere else that I've found. DD doesn't like them, she doesn't like that type of thing and if we weren't a veg family I can guarantee she would be a kid who would turn her nose up at chicken nuggets and fish fingers :laughing:

[mum2bubba]

Cool thanks. I'll have a look at Safeway (Woolies) though I have but maybe they sold out, I'll look again. I know our local Coles sell other Fry's products. Do you know if they taste like actual nuggets or not? Or am I asking the wrong person?

[Ana Gram]

DD and I always have to go to Canberra for Xmas but my mum always caters for us.

We are doing brunch this year, so pancakes, and fruit etc.





Also, where do I get Fry's nuggets? I've been looking for them everywhere.

Woolies usually have them. In the frozen section in a green box.

[DanceInTheRain]

Er, stupid question. But why do people put a * in veg*n on here?

[Ana Gram]

Cool thanks. I'll have a look at Safeway (Woolies) though I have but maybe they sold out, I'll look again. I know our local Coles sell other Fry's products. Do you know if they taste like actual nuggets or not? Or am I asking the wrong person?

They taste like what I remember nuggets tasting like but I haven't eaten death nuggets in a while.

[peanutbutter&jelly]

Cool thanks. I'll have a look at Safeway (Woolies) though I have but maybe they sold out, I'll look again. I know our local Coles sell other Fry's products. Do you know if they taste like actual nuggets or not? Or am I asking the wrong person?

They do :D They're awesome. DS loves them!

[brogeybear]

I asked the same Q once, it saves writing vegetarian and vegan so cuts out the middle of both words and merges them.

[MsMummy]

Sorry to crash this thread (I'm not veg*n) but that sounds like a great idea, who wants to be cooking up a storm on a hot Summer's day (especially up north).

Also, where do I get Fry's nuggets? I've been looking for them everywhere.

I don't know if I've had the Frys nuggets, but Quorn make a product called "dippers" which are the same idea as nuggets.

I think the quorn stuff is on special at coles this week.

[Ana Gram]

Frys are vegan friendly. Quorn is not.

[mum2bubba]

Er, stupid question. But why do people put a * in veg*n on here?

Instead of typing vegetarian/vegan.

[mum2bubba]

I don't know if I've had the Frys nuggets, but Quorn make a product called "dippers" which are the same idea as nuggets.

I think the quorn stuff is on special at coles this week.

It is, but even they do have vegie nuggets.

[Ana Gram]

Ugh, was just watching The Circle (shut up :o)

They had Donna Hay on and made comments about vegetarians and vegans. Chrissie asked about catering for vegetarians and vegans and Donna said that she could cater for the vegetarian ie, something loaded with cheese, but the vegan would have to bring their own food.

Wow. She must be a terrible cook with no imagination if she couldn't stretch her cooking skills to cater for a vegan. And then to top it off, she said "What would you talk about with a vegan?" Really???? There is nothing you could talk about? What do you only ever talk about meat??

Ugh.

[share a book]

LOL Ana, that must have been so funny to watch :laughing:

What would you talk about with a vegan, pfft, as if vegans have no communication skills! :rolleyes:

I got so sick of being questioned over "making" my child be a vegetarian. One of the girls at work asked me why I force my beliefs onto a child and make her have a vege diet, so my response to that what "Why do you force your lifestyle choices onto your children and make them eat meat?" and she had no response! I don't think people think about things.

She also made a comment that DD would never experience a BBQ and I said that if we do have a BBQ we buy Frys products, they do burgers (I like the country style ones) and sausages, but generally we don't buy replacement products like that, only if we're having a BBQ, so it's not like she does miss out and we have friends who are really creative so when they bring something along to share they make really yummy food and we make sure we label it if it's vegetarian or if it's vegan because sometimes you can't tell just by looking at it. SIL made heaps of Christmas treats that were vegan including the rum balls and the apricot balls, she just used the condensed milk from the Cruelty Free shop so to look it you wouldn't know. Labelling helps people out heaps when making choices of what to have at a BBQ. And to be fair, our BBQ is only used for vegan products, no meat or anything is added to it, but if people want to have fried eggs or the Sanitarium or Quorn things they are welcome to use the grill in the kitchen to avoid cross contamination.

How hard is it to cater to vegans??? Not hard at all! Half my brother's wedding food was vegetarian and half was vegan and not one person asked where the meat was, and substitutes weren't even used, other then for the egg.

[bootiful]

I have just been looking into eating less meat and was shocked at the prices of going vego...it's so damned expensive :(

I was hoping to start switching the kids foods for alternatives but my food bill will double....

anyone have any ideas???

[Ana Gram]

:confused: What are you eating now and what do you want to replace it with?

My bill didn't double went I went veg:confused:

[bootiful]

Its a tricky one cause I will need to adjust the meals slowly so it's not realised by the family :p

Last night I put 500g of mushrooms into the spag bol, I usually just put a few, and DH commented "What did you do to the sauce tonight, it's delicious?" :D when I told him he said "Oh yeah I knew there were mushrooms in there.." but when I told him how many and how meaty they make the sauce he was surprised.

I bought soy milk the other day and have been putting that on my cereal. I put half hilo milk and half soy milk in DD1's milo and she straight away asked if I had changed her milk :p but she said it was good different and drank it all anyways.

The foods I would like to replace are
~ beef mince & pork mince
~ chicken thighs
~ polony (kids eat gourmet polony their sandwiches)
~ cabanossi (DH uses it on his pizzas)
~ ham
~ sausages & hot dogs

I have tried TVP before but it tasts like cardboard and no one liked it even in spag bol sauce.

I won't be giving up seafood as we don't eat that much and I love it too much, but will be buying better quality from sustainable resources.

My biggest struggle, if you can call it that, is that I am doing Weight Watchers. DH is a carnivore who loves meat at every meal. The kids are...well kids, very fussy. And we have budget to stick to. I also want to shop by the ethical shopping guide too. :freakingout: It's a case of not being able to please all the people all the time and just doing what I can.....

[Ana Gram]

The foods I would like to replace are
~ beef mince & pork mince
~ chicken thighs
~ polony (kids eat gourmet polony their sandwiches)
~ cabanossi (DH uses it on his pizzas)
~ ham
~ sausages & hot dogs



Ah, well bad news for you. These can only be 'replaced' with fake meat products, which are expensive.



I have tried TVP before but it tasts like cardboard and no one liked it even in spag bol sauce.



Can't help you with this one either, as we love TVP. No cardboard taste for us :p Even my parents use it now. You could use lentils and mushrooms for spag bowl instead.




My biggest struggle, if you can call it that, is that I am doing Weight Watchers. DH is a carnivore who loves meat at every meal. The kids are...well kids, very fussy. And we have budget to stick to. I also want to shop by the ethical shopping guide too. :freakingout: It's a case of not being able to please all the people all the time and just doing what I can.....

DD used to be fussy too, has been a little fussy lately, but once we cut out the animal products she eats more than she ever has. I would think that it is a lot harder to do these changes with someone who doesn't want to do them. It's hard for me to relate to as I am an ethical vegan, so it's not a situation I would find myself having to deal with (that is a partner who loves meat). I think you can just do the best you can.

[HarvestMoon]

I agree with most of what Ana Gram has just said. You could replace all of your list with fake meats. They are expensive and alot don't taste all that great. Asian supermarkets are probably a better place to go if you do what to buy them though. They have a far greater varierty then any supermarket and more of the products are Vegan too as opposed to just vegetarian.

I've never had a problem with the taste of TVP either. Maybe its how you are preparing it? I always marinate at least for a few hours.. usually overnight. I just use a stock cube, herbs and olive oil and pour over boiling water. Then just make the sauce up as you would any bolognaise.
I usually use lentils for spag bol, pasta bakes and pretty much any typical mince based receipe.

[lollysmama]

If you are going to use subsitute "meat" products; id highly recommend anything by quorn or sanitariums vegie delights range.

For bolognaise, casseroles and chilli dishes we use either sanitarium "nutmeat" which comes in canned form and consists of ground peanuts and wheat gluten (which if you have gluten free restrictions wont be helpful), quorn "ground mince", or sanitarium "casserole mince". All of the mentioned products can be purchased for around $4.00 per 4-500gms and are well liked by both children and adults.

We had another family over for dinner, and the husband of the family warned us when first walking in the door "I dont want any of your wierd vegetarian food"; I assured him we wouldnt harm/taint him before putting a stuffed pepper filled with homemade chilli, salad and vege paella infront of him. He scoffed the entire plate, asking for further helpings. After contently finishing his meal i said "That wasnt all bad, was it?" He looked at me confused; and when explaining that the meal contained no meat and was infact ground peanuts and soy he almost fell off his chair. His wife contacted me a few days later requesting I email her the recipe. :goodvibes:

[Ana Gram]

If you are going to use subsitute "meat" products; id highly recommend anything by quorn or sanitariums vegie delights range.



Just a note: nothing in the Quorn range is vegan and there are only a few things in the Vegie Delight range are vegan friendly.




We had another family over for dinner, and the husband of the family warned us when first walking in the door "I dont want any of your wierd vegetarian food"; I assured him we wouldnt harm/taint him before putting a stuffed pepper filled with homemade chilli, salad and vege paella infront of him. He scoffed the entire plate, asking for further helpings. After contently finishing his meal i said "That wasnt all bad, was it?" He looked at me confused; and when explaining that the meal contained no meat and was infact ground peanuts and soy he almost fell off his chair. His wife contacted me a few days later requesting I email her the recipe. :goodvibes:

I get this sort of thing all the time. When people eat something and they are in disbelief because it is delicious and it is vegan :rolleyes:

[bootiful]

Thanks for the replies everyone :)


Ah, well bad news for you. These can only be 'replaced' with fake meat products, which are expensive.

Can't help you with this one either, as we love TVP. No cardboard taste for us :p Even my parents use it now. You could use lentils and mushrooms for spag bowl instead.

DD used to be fussy too, has been a little fussy lately, but once we cut out the animal products she eats more than she ever has. I would think that it is a lot harder to do these changes with someone who doesn't want to do them. It's hard for me to relate to as I am an ethical vegan, so it's not a situation I would find myself having to deal with (that is a partner who loves meat). I think you can just do the best you can.

I tried TVP from 2 places. Maybe I can try and find one that others have said is nice. I have used lentils and mushrooms in my spag bol and they are yummy but do change the taste quite drastically. Might just start doing a plain tomato sauce with some veges blended in, that way the kids eat the veges.

It is a struggle getting hubby to change. He is quite set in his ways and doesn't even see the point in buying natural/organic products. I do try educate him where I can.


I agree with most of what Ana Gram has just said. You could replace all of your list with fake meats. They are expensive and alot don't taste all that great. Asian supermarkets are probably a better place to go if you do what to buy them though. They have a far greater varierty then any supermarket and more of the products are Vegan too as opposed to just vegetarian.

I've never had a problem with the taste of TVP either. Maybe its how you are preparing it? I always marinate at least for a few hours.. usually overnight. I just use a stock cube, herbs and olive oil and pour over boiling water. Then just make the sauce up as you would any bolognaise.
I usually use lentils for spag bol, pasta bakes and pretty much any typical mince based receipe.

I will start replacing meals with substitutes and see how it pans out. I was not aware about marinating TVP, maybe that was my downfall in the taste factor. Will have to try that and see how it turns out. I would prefer not to buy from an asian grocer as I am trying to buy only Australian Made and Owned items.....another struggle.


If you are going to use subsitute "meat" products; id highly recommend anything by quorn or sanitariums vegie delights range.

For bolognaise, casseroles and chilli dishes we use either sanitarium "nutmeat" which comes in canned form and consists of ground peanuts and wheat gluten (which if you have gluten free restrictions wont be helpful), quorn "ground mince", or sanitarium "casserole mince". All of the mentioned products can be purchased for around $4.00 per 4-500gms and are well liked by both children and adults.

We had another family over for dinner, and the husband of the family warned us when first walking in the door "I dont want any of your wierd vegetarian food"; I assured him we wouldnt harm/taint him before putting a stuffed pepper filled with homemade chilli, salad and vege paella infront of him. He scoffed the entire plate, asking for further helpings. After contently finishing his meal i said "That wasnt all bad, was it?" He looked at me confused; and when explaining that the meal contained no meat and was infact ground peanuts and soy he almost fell off his chair. His wife contacted me a few days later requesting I email her the recipe. :goodvibes:

I looked into quorn products and they look good, but are very very expensive. Might buy them when they are on special or as a treat. Where did you buy it from for $4.00?

Kudos on your guest eating your recipes. If people don't know they will eat it. There is nothing wrong with vegetarian food, meat doesn't need to be the centre of every meal. I think society has made us this way. I would love to eat just vegetables and grains/legumes 4-5 days a week. Unfortunately doing weight watchers, changing meat for chick peas or lentils can blow my points. I am working with my leader to find some suitable recipes :D

If anyone has the time, would you mind PM'ing me some of your fav recipes.:wave:

[share a book]

We use Frys products when having a BBQ and they are vegan. We have the burgers and the sausages, but also have the cottage pies in the freezer for an emergency back-up, but have only had 1 of the 4 that we've bought in the last 6 months because it's been no dramas making our own vegan cottage pies.

[share a book]

Also quick question, what do you do if you are put on a medication that has gelatine in it? So far this has only happened once and I was able to get an alternative, but what do you do if there is no alternative?

[HarvestMoon]

I would prefer not to buy from an asian grocer as I am trying to buy only Australian Made and Owned items.....another struggle.


Quorn is a UK company and Frys is a south african... not sure if either of them make anything here is Aus... I would say only Sanitarium is Aus owned and made.


Also quick question, what do you do if you are put on a medication that has gelatine in it? So far this has only happened once and I was able to get an alternative, but what do you do if there is no alternative?

I personally don't go to doctors/take medication but if you were that sick and there was no other alternative wouldn't you just take it? It's impossible to avoid animal products 100%.

[sweetseven]

I'm not sure what to do now. My Miss7 has decided last night that she is a vegetarian and doesn't want to eat meat anymore. This isn't a sudden thing and has been slowly building over about a year, or two. The other children were also following suit with a "me too" bandwagon, but whilst I expect their resolve would quickly disappear, Miss7 seems pretty determined.

Now, I have no objection to vegetarian food and believe that once or twice a week is a good idea. My mother went vegan but didn't properly supplement and ended up with dementia after ten years (which we beileve was due to inadequate diet). So I'm concerned if my daughter just eats the vegetarian content of our normal meals, she'll miss out on something that could cause detrimental effects.

I appreciate a good vegetarian meal, but dont have a lot of experience in the area. I've made the effort on occasion, such as when my daughter has had a vegetarian friend over, and I served up a three-course vegetarian meal that everyone was happy with. But it took hours of work.

I think that is the problem. I dont know how to cook nice vegetarian meals simply and easily. With us currently having vegetarian once a week, it is generally fairly basic - salad, soup, etc. And thus wouldn't be sufficent for everyday. In my opinion a normal meal should take from 30-60 mins preparation time. (It can have longer unattended cooking time, but effort attended should be 30-60 mins only.)

PS: I'm not willing to switch to entirely vegetarian, but would be happy with a 5 vegetarian : 2 meat-based meals per week. (And I'm also of the opinion that a meat-based meal should be at most 1/3 meat.)

[MRJB]

Hiya- I am not a vegetarian but we have been cutting meat out of our diet for quite a while and have found that most of our meals have stayed the same, just without the meat!

For example

Nachos/tacos etc- just a tin of kidney beans (half squashed), jar of salsa and some cumin!

Laksa- no chicken just carrot, bok choy, beans and mushrooms. Same with stir fry- any veges really. Serve over hokkien noodles.

A minestrone soup made with beans, veges and pasta is very wholesome

Baked potatoes (we have ours with dry slaw, sour cream, cheese and sweet chili sauce).

Vege lasagna

Lentil bolognese

Tomato pasta - lovely with fresh basil and Parmesan

Spinach and ricotta pie/cannelloni/ lasagna etc

Green curry with no chicken. Just add beans, snow peas, potatoes and cashews

Mushroom stroganoff - with onion, heaps of mushrooms. Beans or potatoes if you like. Serve with rice.

Vege pasta bakes- tomato based sauce and any veges you want, cheese top and bake!

Vege burgers - use portabello mushrooms instead of meat patties. I have a wonderful recipe for this and it's delish!!

I hope this helps! I am always on the look out for meat free meals. I am not a fan of meat substitutes or tofu so I try and get my nutrients from a variety of veges,beans etc. Perhaps introduce a multivitamin for your family too, as a bit of a boost.

P.s this is just aimed at cutting out meat and still includes some animal products such as dairy.

[sweetseven]

I'm not sure what to do now. My Miss7 has decided last night that she is a vegetarian and doesn't want to eat meat anymore. This isn't a sudden thing and has been slowly building over about a year, or two.Oops, I forgot to add - Miss7 doesn't like mushrooms either, but loves peanut butter. Also, I try to keep gluten low as most of us have a minor intollerance there.

[MRJB]

Oops, I forgot to add - Miss7 doesn't like mushrooms either, but loves peanut butter. Also, I try to keep gluten low as most of us have a minor intollerance there.

Oops- my main meat substitutes are mushrooms and 99.9999% of my diet centers around some form of wheat haha.

[Ana Gram]

Very cute song about veganism :goodvibes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc8TrchWeO0&feature=player_detailpage

[Ana Gram]

Hi folks :wave:

We have been very quiet in here!

We are still having issues with after hours care and food. I made a complaint but haven't had time to go into it further because of uni.

Basically, after several holiday programs where they have left DD out of things they are doing because they won't provide a vegan alternative, we started bringing our own stuff for her. I'm ok with doing that even though they claim to be able to cater for her.

So far the coordinator has refused to use the vegan alternatives in baking, so DD never gets to be involved. But the easter holiday care took the cake. On the last day, they had a treasure hunt. Both her father and I asked if they were going to use easter eggs. We were fobbed off several times with the coordinator claiming that they only organise things the day before and she didn't know yet.

I pushed the point and said that DD would need an alternative because she is vegan and that we could bring some for her so she could be involved. She said yes fine, please do that.

On the day, the woman did not use the alternative telling DD that they were only using the ones they bought. So DD had to sit out of the activity and was given her chocolate to take home at the end of the day :no:

What a completely jerky thing to do!

[share a book]

That is so wrong of them! Your poor little girl :(

Can you take it further? Who do they answer to? Do they have a head office someone, a manager, perhaps the NCAC?

On the holiday program in January, the Frys products were used for the sausage sizzle because at the time I didn't know my child couldn't eat gluten, but they were still able to cater to her. It's not that hard to do! DD's speechie and OT gave her a small, solid chocolate egg for Easter on her last day there that was both vegan and gluten free, so it really isn't hard. This year in particular, Sweet Williams put out vegan, gluten free chocolate bunnies, just small solid bunny heads in a 12 pack for $6 so only 50c each. IT IS NOT HARD!!!! I'd think it would be easier where you are compared to where we live too, so there's no excuse whatsoever for that kind of thing.

Maybe throw in a comment about how well they sleep at night thinking about the exclusion a small child would feel because of their actions and choices and see if it at least makes them think about it, then put in writing how disappointed you are that your little girl at the age of just 7 had to sit out and watch as the other kids had fun when she had done nothing to deserve that kind of treatment. So sad that they can do that to a child.

On another note, we had a yummy dessert that you'd be able to have easily down there, we had have the fruit smuggled into Qld lol. Quince, chopped up, boiled in sugar water with cinnamon added to it, served with vanilla So Good ice cream :goodvibes:

[Ana Gram]

I put in a complaint but haven't been able to deal with it as yet because of uni.

The thing is, we provided them with the Sweet Williams bunny heads so she could be involved. We spoke about it with the coordinator and agree to bring them in. On the day, she refused to use them. I have also provided vegan alternatives for the baking they do, but she refuses to use them as well. She says she will to my face and then says no to DD. I think she just doesn't like the vegan thing personally. It is absolutely horrendous to do this to a 7 year old.

On the other topic, I have never tried a quince. What is it??

[share a book]

Quince is grown in Victoria. I bought some Quince paste at The Tangled Maze and my father grows it in his back yard too so he brought some up. They are similar to apples, but with a distinct taste of their own. All we did was boil the water, add the sugar til it became syrup-like (just raw sugar), sprinkled in a little cinnamon then added the quince which was chopped into chunks like you'd maybe cut an apple into 8 pieces, sort of like that size. Was very yummy with ice cream with the syrup over the top.

As for the baking, what gets me is that when I provide things that are vegan as well as gluten free, the ingredients we use are also certified nut free, processed in a completely nut free environment and is pretty much free from allergens, so one would think it makes more sense to do that than to use anything that kids are very possibly allergic to in a setting involving lots of kids.

[brogeybear]

That is seriously horrific Ana! I would be ropeable. How can they do that? I don't understand. I hope that they face disciplinary action, as that is blatant exclusion and with NO reason AT ALL given that you are even providing her alternatives.

Your poor DD. :hugs:

[Ana Gram]

I haven't had a chance to follow it up as yet with all the study. I have an exam next Monday, so have a bit of breathing time to do all these sorts of things.

DD came home from school today a bit upset over music class as they were asked to sing about milking cows and hunting cows. It made her feel 'uncomfortable'. Poor love, I've told her to tell her music teacher she is vegan and not comfortable singing about such things.

[Ana Gram]

Very exciting! DD's dad watched Four Corners this evening and announced he is 'one step closer to becoming completely veg' :smiliedance:

[delirium]

That's great news Ana :)

This bump is very timely for me. After 6 years of reverting to eating meat after being vege for 10, I'm feeling just yuck after I eat it. I felt healthier, not so weighed down and bleghhh when I didn't eat it. Not eating much now anyway, but it means I dont have to make many changes ;)

hehe sorry for derailing your post :p

[bada]

Very exciting! DD's dad watched Four Corners this evening and announced he is 'one step closer to becoming completely veg' :smiliedance:
It was great. According to fb it may have re-converted some of my family and friends, and hopefully my df.

[Ana Gram]

I tried watching it but had to turn it off :crying:

[bada]

I tried watching it but had to turn it off :crying:
It was hard to watch, and I cried and yelled at the tv, but I needed a reminder.

Kudos to those involved in bettering the industry standards. As much as I'm still confident that being vego is a great way to bring change, I really think what these few ppl do within the industry to improve methods is crucial. The industry is not going to just pack up and go away. Improving quality of life and death for these animals is totally where it's at.

And excuse me, but ***** HALAL. that is all.

[Ana Gram]

Totally agree. I think the vast majority of vegies are realists and know that industries involving animal products will just stop. It's tough when dealing with another culture as well but I was heartbroken when they said how many cows had gone to this treatment in the last year :no:

[Acacia]

Yay Vegans and vegos! How exciting! Im so happy!:hyper:

[share a book]

Well we've unintentionally been moving from vegetarian to vegan more and more. A friend of mine has some rescue hens that she took from a farm where they were in little tiny cages. Every so often they lay eggs but if they don't then we don't eat them from any other source and haven't had any for some time. I've been using No Egg in baking for a while now. We cut out milk for health reasons too but I slip up sometimes with that :o

[Ana Gram]

*bump* This thread has had no action for a while, how is everyone?

[share a book]

Doing good, how are you? I have Frys nuggets, which are usually off the shopping list.

If you are ever on the Gold Coast, visit Tian Ran Vegetarian. It's a fully vegan restaurant, with most of the menu gluten free as a bonus to us.