[pluto]

Hi

I'm fairly new here - been lurking but haven't posted much.

I have been a vegetarian for as long as I can remember but until recently never thought about going vegan, it seems incredible to me now that I have lived for so long thinking that eggs, cheese and milk were fine - I also have a leather couch which when we bought it 5 years ago I did voice some concerns (obviously not very loudly) but because we had small children that had ruined our old couch we thought leather would be the best choice. I will have to live with that and I am sorry that we ever did buy it but we did buy it to last and it should last at least another 10 years (maybe wishful thinking) but when we do come to replace it it will be with an animal friendly one. Anyway I am rambling.

My family have come to accept that they won't get much meat at home and so have gotten accustomed to eating quorn occassionally - obviously that is now out but what do I buy to replace that, there doesn't seem to be anything in the supermarkets here so I will get stuff off line but I don't know which wuold be the best to get - any suggestions?

Also my daughter's birthday is coming up and she of course wants cake - what do I use instead of egg? egg replacer seems obvious but which one is best?

I think I had more questions but that will do for now....oh there are so many cookbooks and I don't want to waste money - any suggestions as to which are good for family meals without too much expertise - I'm not a good cook.

thanks for any help

 

[Alli]

Boca burgers have a vegan burger. Gardenburger also does.

If she likes bananas, and the cake would be good with a banana taste, you can replace the eggs with banana (1/2 a banana=1 egg). Also, ener-g egg replacer is supposed to work well, but I've never tried it (I could never find it).

 

[bekajoi]

I came across these vegan cake recipes the other day:

2 basic vegan cakes:

http://www.vrg.org/recipes/vegancakes.htm

 

[Fyvel]

First of all, congrats on deciding to go vegan.

Second, I can't recommend this cake enough. Top it with this icing for an absolutely amazing cake. You can also use the cake recipe to make cupcakes.

 

[delicious]

It's easy to make your own fried tofu, gluten roasts, vegan lasagna, vegan tacos and vegan spaghetti sauce. My favorite cookbook is vegan planet, but there are lots of easy recipes online, too.

Good luck!

 

[GanyGreenBean]

Also, black bean burgers are easy to make and freeze. Pizza's with veggies are great!

 

[surya]

Here are some ideas about what to use to replace quorn:

- crumbled frozen tofu; crumbled fresh tofu works well as well, but the frozen stuff has a more chewy texture which you might prefer if you like quorn.

- seitan/wheat gluten (my favorite). I used to buy this as a powder to mix with water and then cook (I preferred baking it to boiling, as instructed on the back of the packet) when I lived in New York, but I haven't seen it in the UK. However, in the UK, it turns up as cans of 'mock duck', which I get from the health food store.

 

[cryptoveggie]

well, My favorite cookbook is "Vegan cooking for one" but I don't think that'll be too much use to you. http://vegweb.com/ is a good source but sometimes it takes time and adaptation to get what you want.

Ener-g egg replacer works, I have a box at my apartment and at my parents house. It's good for things like cakes and muffins, but bananas and ground flaxseed can also be used.

 

[my3sons]

Quorn is not very good for you. It is heavily processed. You are better off consuming lots of green veggies, beans, nuts, and seeds. Fake hotdogs and hamburgers are also not good. They are loaded with sodium. Lots of salt = Bad for your heart. Being a vegan does not automatically make you healthy. This is random, but if you want to try a really good tofu dish, I slice some extra firm tofu, put some low sodium tomato sauce on top and then bake it in the oven, so good...

 

[Alli]

That stuff is not bad for you in moderation...

 

[pear_girl]

HIya! I am a newbie to all this but working towards going vegan as well....I got the "How it All Vegan" and "Garden of Vegan" cookbooks and am loving them! I also am cooking challenged!!!! Plus there are tons of good recipes on line you can always print off and make your own binder of vegan recipes!

Good luck!

 

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

Quote:

Originally Posted by delicious

It's easy to make your own fried tofu, gluten roasts, vegan lasagna, vegan tacos and vegan spaghetti sauce...

Whoa! Slow down! This could potentially be discouraging advice to a new vegan and one who claims they don't cook real well (yet)...

"Fried tofu, gluten roasts and vegan lasagna" are NOT always easy to make and do NOT always turn out wonderful and the ingredients are NOT always readily available. I feel very comfortable in the kitchen and it took me well over a year to perfect my fried tofu and learn to make gluten that was half way decent. YMMV

To the original poster: Those of us who have been vegan a while tend to get overzealous in our recommendations. There are lots of meat substitutes out there, and I do understand about how they can be hard to find... Knowing what part of the country you live would be helpful in recomending stores and places to look for ideas.

Do keep in mind that many vegan dishs don't even "need" faux meat to seem complete, even to omnis - bean burritos, vegetable soup, spaghetti and marinara sauce - these are vegan, pretty simple and usually popular with most everyone.

You can buy vegetarian refried beans, vegetarian baked beans, vegetarian (plain) spaghetti sauce, etc., in even the smallest grocery store.