Anyone going vegan?!

[froggythefrog]

I asked her if she could just use soy sauce or water and she said, "no, not taste good. Chicken broth vegetarian":mad:

Ewww... That sucks!

[carabdle]

Sorry, didn't mean to say that I considered fish/sea creatures lesser, I too really was just in denial about the suffering they went through:-/ I've been vegan almost a year now, but I'm not sure I could be helpful about the dairy thing because I don't really miss it at all...though it's amazing how many non-dairy products (like bread) have dairy products in them:shifty: And I didn't even know about rennet until I became vegan...that was quite a shock:spew:

[carabdle]

Also, since becoming vegan I was shocked to learn that many Mexican restaurants use lard in cooking their beans, so even bean dishes might not be vegan:down:

[troub]

Its dissapointing...

I went from eating out like 3-5 times a week, to maybe once a month because of the lack of vegan options. Less expensive this way I guess.

[ReginaCeltarum]

I rarely eat out in general.

I resisted mozzarella today! I was in the cafeteria at the campus where my class is, and they had these tomato, mozzarella and pesto sandwiches, which I love, but I got a fruit cup instead :pibo:

The fruit cups are probably the only vegan things in the caf. It is hard enough to get a vegetarian meal from there. But wait! There is a salad bar! :wall:

[Moechalatte]

Haha, I can sure relate!! :)

The first university I went to told me they had a "full, elaborate vegetarian section." I was vegan at the time, so it was very important for me to find a school that offered food I could eat. I only visited the school once (it was in NY, so too far to visit more than once for me), so I never saw their vegetarian section until I started school that fall.

Come to find out, their "full, elaborate vegetarian" section was actually a little salad bar cart only out at dinner... decked out with bacon bits, cheese, eggs, croutons, and all milk-based dressings. (Although it did include hummus.. lived off of that...) It sure was an interesting year..! :)

What was kind of cool though - every week they ordered a special soy milk 1/2 gallon for me that I picked up in the cafeteria. Wish they could have been able to provide other vegan food like that. I wonder how many schools do offer alternatives though? Maybe I was more fortunate than others?

Ah, yea Troub... I don't even mess with going out anymore... it's just far too difficult :( What do you do when you go out with friends, though? That's been the hardest thing for me recently...

[winchilsea]

On that note, anyone still trying to go vegan??

Well, I'm still trying, but I'll confess that I was hungry yesterday and fantasizing about a good hunk of cheddar cheese...or blue cheese...or parmesan cheese... I had some almonds instead, and while they weren't quite as satisfying to my taste buds, they did solve the hunger problem. Despite my cheese fantasies, I haven't succumbed yet, so that makes, what, four vegan days? Woohoo! I haven't tried to eat out yet, so that's made it easier. I need some good snacks, though, because I do notice I get hungrier sooner, and that's when anything and everything dairy is most tempting to me.

And, for the record, the chocolate ice cream that I made with almond milk was indistinguishable from what I'd made before with cow's milk. Even my 5-year-old and my husband, who both dislike the almond milk, liked the ice cream.

~W

[limbic]

I don't know if this will help or not, but, have any of the vegans-to-be been on a diet recently?

I was still phasing out of Weight Watchers when I started toying with vegetarianism, and it made milk and cheese look really unappealing "statistically," or weight-wise. When I thought about it, I realized that I'd, basically, given cheese up while I was losing weight. Still being conscious of maintaining my weight (especially after dropping 40 lbs.) dairy just didn't make sense anymore. I used to think that it'd be really drastic, but I find myself going from omnivore almost directly to vegan (but without being an ingredient Nazi.)

I'm not sure if anybody is in a similar, weight-conscious situation- but maybe looking at it that way could help. (?) Just tossing in my buck 'o five.

As B.B. King would say: "the thrill is gone." :surprised

[limbic]

Oh, and what comes on a "vegan pizza?" (sorry if someone's explained it already)

[Moechalatte]

Aw, Yay! I'm glad it's going so well! I wish I could say the same...

I have been keeping the amount of dairy down to one serving.... but my one serving today was half of a strawberry milkshake ... D*mn McDonalds... I hate that place. :-/

Although now my stomach is killing me! ...Which is probably a good thing. It sure will make the transition easier!

Mmmm, I have to try making icecream sometime. I haven't had icescream in nearly four years (other than McD's if that counts :spew: ), so I'm sure it'll taste great no matter what! :)

Best of luck to anyone else who's still trying!

[Moechalatte]

Hey, limbic - I'm not sure what kind of diet you're looking for, but a few years ago I tried Slim Fast (didn't stick with it long enough, so don't know if it worked, haha). They have a few vegan options (I think only one vegan shake, tangerine something-or-other). They were really easy to get ahold of when I lived in Ohio, although I haven't seen any of the vegan products here in Georgia, so I guess it depends where you live?

Vegan pizza can have anything on it! I've been having a lot of fun testing out different combinations. The first one I tried (when I was out to eat actually) had artichokes, spinach leaves, mushrooms, green and red pepper slices, black olives and tomato slices layered on tomato sauce.There were some herbs on it, although I'm not sure what? The few vegetables on it tasted so strong I didn't miss the cheese at all! You should definitely try this combination - sooo good! :)

[veggieeater]

I'd like to join all of you in going vegan. I've been doing pretty well at it the last month or so except for some vegetarian but not vegan cheese and some bread products with dairy or honey in them. It shouldnt be too hard to eliminate those last few things.

[winchilsea]

I have to say that it's probably easier for me because I'm generally at home with two little ones, so I can fix whatever I want whenever I want it. We do go out, of course, but I've always refused to introduce them to McDonald's or BK or any of that, so after 5 years of avoiding fast food, I can say that's not really a temptation now. And we've got several great health food stores where I live, plus our neighborhood grocery store has always carried a fair number of organic/natural/alternative foods and is currently in the process of reorganizing to make room for even more. I have no problem finding tofu, edamame or other soy products, almond milk, tahini, etc. at our neighborhood market. Add that to the facts that we usually eat at home, that I'm almost always the only one who cooks, and that we've always eaten lots of vegs so my children are accustomed to it, and it cuts out most of the temptation. I've crammed all the cheese and meat in our house into the "meat" drawer in our refrigerator, and as long as I can avoid that drawer, I'm safe. It's easy enough to try something else (or lots of something elses!) before I give in and open the drawer.

~W

[geronimango]

Hey ya'll! I world like to join this support thread! Been trying vegan for a couple of days now and so for things are good! I cant wait to try the ice cream recipe. I want to do a variation using bananas, walnuts and vegan choc Chips (my version of Ben and Jerry's "chunky monkey".

[froggythefrog]

Oh, and what comes on a "vegan pizza?" (sorry if someone's explained it already)

I usually cram every veggie off the menu onto it. That, or I just get black olives, green chile, and tomatoes. I usually want them to make sure the vegetables cover the pizza well. Black olives and banana peppers are yummy too!

[winchilsea]

If you go out and order a veggie pizza without the cheese, do you also ask about what's in the crust? How far do you take it?

~w

[Moechalatte]

Yay veggieeater and geronimango! Glad to have more people here!
I'm determined to go vegan no matter how long it takes, haha.


If you go out and order a veggie pizza without the cheese, do you also ask about what's in the crust? How far do you take it?
~w

Definitely ask what the crust is made of. I don't think I'd ever try a veg*an pizza anywhere except a place that's specifically veg*an or that at least has a quite a few veg*an choices on the menu .... I've found that way too many places lie, or just don't care to check on ingredients for you. It'd be pretty risky...

[janie]

Yay veggieeater and geronimango! Glad to have more people here!
I'm determined to go vegan no matter how long it takes, haha.


Woo hoo! Good luck everyone! :hamster:


Definitely ask what the crust is made of. I don't think I'd ever try a veg*an pizza anywhere except a place that's specifically veg*an or that at least has a quite a few veg*an choices on the menu .... I've found that way too many places lie, or just don't care to check on ingredients for you. It'd be pretty risky...

That's why I don't eat out anywhere.

[froggythefrog]

If you go out and order a veggie pizza without the cheese, do you also ask about what's in the crust? How far do you take it?

~w

Absolutely. This is something you're paying for and consuming. You want to make sure no whey, honey, or beef stock in the sauce. The only place I know of that puts beef stock in the sauce is pizza hut. It is better to ask these questions in person than over the phone if possible. Pizza places are notoriously incredibly busy.

[janie]

The only place I know of that puts beef stock in the sauce is pizza hut.

Are you sure it's Pizza Hut? The only ingredients listed for their pizza sauces are tomato paste, water, salt, spices, garlic powder, and citric acid - along with high fructose corn syrup in their "sweet" sauce... :spew:

http://www.pizzahut.com/menu/nutritioninfo/documents/ph_ingredients.pdf

[troub]

<3 wholefoods vegan pizza

(tomatoes/pineapple/peppers)

[froggythefrog]

This was what I was told by a manager. This may have changed, since I was told this a couple of years ago.


Are you sure it's Pizza Hut? The only ingredients listed for their pizza sauces are tomato paste, water, salt, spices, garlic powder, and citric acid - along with high fructose corn syrup in their "sweet" sauce... :spew:

http://www.pizzahut.com/menu/nutritioninfo/documents/ph_ingredients.pdf

[Tempeh-Tantrums]

I recently inquired about this myself.
It's listed as a "Natural Flavoring" in the sauce.

(Some restaurants do use different suppliers) but if your particular restaurant uses the non-vegan type, it'll just say it has "natural flavoring".
Contact the company directly they will admit the "natural flavoring" is beef bullion. :grr:

[Tempeh-Tantrums]

Oh, and Frogy, never heard of green chilli OR banana peppers on a pizza. That must be tasty. We have stuff like sundried tomatoes, roasted eggplant, roasted red peppers, marinated garlic, green olives, baby corn and fresh purple basil leaves. No green chilli though, pity.

[Moechalatte]

I just made pizza for dinner! Green peppers, onions, tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, basil, garlic & cilantro. Mmmmmm good :)