Jewish vegans?

[LabileLotus]

There's a long background story that won't help with this at all.
So I'll just ask the question lol.

Are there any Jewish vegans here? And if so, is there anything about being Jewish that seems to make it harder to be a vegan?

And no, I'm not converting lol. I'm just very close with someone who is Jewish and I'm going to be cooking some meals for them in August when I visit them and I have no idea what I"m doing.

[MrFalafel]

I'm not Jewish but this question has been asked here before. There are lots of great Jewish vegetarian and vegan recipe sources. Here's one: http://jewishveg.com/recipes.html

Kosher dining lends itself very well to the vegan diet as there are rules around dairy products. Also the labelling of kosher foods is very thorough and complete. Very helpful for vegans looking to avoid trace animal products.

Don't forget, falafel is Israels favourite snack food so a simple mezze of hoummus, falafel in pitas and some side dishes makes an easy and traditional meal.

[LabileLotus]

Awesome thanks hun

[Lazarus]

Just make sure you keep the faux-meat products separate from the faux-dairy products :p

[LabileLotus]

lol :lol:

[mgm84]

I like to think of myself as my own version of kosher, being as though I am vegan and therefore honor animals in the highest possible way. That said, I love to go to the grocery store and buy Elite bittersweet chocolate bars by the dozen. They're Israeli and parve (no dairy) and on closer inspection, contain no eggs, etc. Looking for the parve marking on food makes it easier and faster to find out if foods are suitable for me (although even if it is, you still have to read the ingredients because it could still have other things in it). In fact, there are a lot of Jewish/kosher/Israeli foods that are naturally suitable for us (love falafel).

There are also some great reads out there pushing for the Jewish vegetarian movement. A lot of people believe (and I apologize if I get too political, I just find it fascinating) that we were never intended to consume animals, except in extreme circumstances (the mitzvah - or good dead- of saving a human life comes before an animal's, but the animal must still be honored, hence kashrut - ending the animal's life in a more "humane" way) , and there are some strong arguments that it is written this way in the old testament. Not to mention that animals must have a good life and be respected, but now with mass food production, animals that are kosher are still housed in the same conditions as those who are not, it just changes when it's time to "prepare them for the next phase." (Again, sorry if I went on a rant of said somethings that people weren't prepared to read.)

[evelinadatta]

My ex-BF is Jewish vegan. We dated for about 3 and 1/2 years - I never had any problems with family gatherings or preparing meals, but also his family is very liberal and hippie. I think it all depends on how traditional the family is; it is best to perhaps just ask them directly.

[LabileLotus]

My ex-BF is Jewish vegan. We dated for about 3 and 1/2 years - I never had any problems with family gatherings or preparing meals, but also his family is very liberal and hippie. I think it all depends on how traditional the family is; it is best to perhaps just ask them directly.

The person I'm speaking of is also from a super liberal Jewish family :)