[Food] I've gone a bit vegan

[Meade's Ball]

Posters asks for quick, simple vegan receipes.

Thread descends into debate about the morality of eating animals, veggie vs vegan, the development of the human brain. There are a handful of topics (Religion, Political party, Brexit, Vegans) that cannot help but go down this route very quickly. These are personal choices and no amount of shock videos or convincing arguments will really change minds. That's why I think activist vegans are such idiots. Who is going to sit there in a restaurant and become convinced by some screaming lunatic. I also understand how easy it is for us to disassociate ourselves from the product we buy and eat and the creatures it came from. I am a huge animal lover (not like that), but I barely gave any thought to the disconnect between that and eating animals. I still believe that those things can easily co-exist in people's moral framework. Loving animals to most of us means being kind to them, respecting them and not doing any harm to them, directly. Going and picking up some chicken breasts from the butcher / supermarket sits easily within that mindset.

I went vegan a few years ago and haven't looked back, I started with 'Veganuary' and found that it wasn't that difficult for me, so just carried on. I didn't eat a lot of meat anyway and am unbelievably stubborn, both probably helped.

@meades ball I would say to you that it's really easy to be a fat vegan, especially if like me you liked the 'occasional' burger. I make my own falafels which are unbelievable - but fried. So a load of them with a massive salad and pile of chips and a very generous portion of veganaise is certainly not doing me any favours. Unfortunately I've recently discovered 'Leon' Garlic Aioli is vegan - that's not helping me either. As others have said, changing what you cook and eat is probably what's going to help your weight, regardless of going vegan. Someone has already mentioned it, but convenience is the enemy. You end up sticking some vegan freezer dinner in the oven and that is no better than chicken nuggets etc. Or getting a Vegan Papa Johns is just the same as a non-vegan one. The only difference is the vegan cheese they use is utterly foul (I just order the garden party and get them to swap the cheese for olives or something).

You might find of course that following a vegan ruleset helps you stick to a new diet - it can be the thing that helps you stay true to it. I'll have a ponder about our staple, quick meals and give you a write-up.

I usually get about 4 answers to any thread i rarely start, so this one, no matter how barbaric it has become, can only be classed as an outright success!

It's good that vegans can be a bit chunky, and enjoy what they eat. I'll never wither and waste away within this new lifestyle, food being a consistent joy/comfort to me, but it will be good to get into the process of new meals, and that may involve moulding a trolley-load of falafels.
I remember doing GCSE home economics 30 years ago when i was last a vegan. The teachers didn't have much of a clue of veganism, so each week i would come in and they'd asked what i planned to cook. Most of the time it was either a stuffed red pepper or a stuffed mushroom. After a while they just left me alone, under the likely belief that vegans only have a maximum of 5 recipes in life.

 

[Meade's Ball]

Iceland ‘No Bull’ burgers
Iceland ‘No Porkies’ burgers
Linda Mac’s Hoisin Duck Meal Kit
M&S Vegan Dirty Fries

Plus all the marvellous stuff you can make yourself. Good luck with it, and remember that if any misinformed bods try spouting their usual nonsense, just remind them that the strongest, most muscular animal in the forest is the plant eating silverback gorilla.

The ghost of Linda McCartney has done some good stuff in the pretend pork shreds and deniable duck range. I like it, but it's always on sale, and has a grease factor greater than the Quorn produce that brings a slight doubt of its healthiness to me.

 

[SwedishSonna]

Becoming vegetarian was easy. Don't crave meat or fish at all. However I just can't give up cheese. Too difficult.

 

[Audax]

I don't mind people who choose to vegan or vege for personal reasons that stay personal. I do object to those who do it for a cause and cite things like it being better for the environment. That's because it ultimately isn't: growing enough plant based food to feed the entire population of earth would be an environmental disaster. You're looking at large scale habitat destruction. A lot of those who push for Veganism as a cause forget that a lot of the meat production is done on land that simply isn't suitable for human consumption crops, and if you try to make it suitable you destroy the land that much quicker.

The answer is to get as many people as possible onto a sustainable balanced diet. That can and should include sustainably produced meat and fish.

Oh ... and perhaps a little population growth restraint. As much as China handled their 1 child policy poorly, they were onto a good idea in principle.

 

[Joey'The Bull'Gambino]

A life without Bacon,Sausage,Steak,Carbonara,Spaghetti Bolognese,Ham & chips,Spaghetti alla Vongole.Burgers with onions from the mobile units etc etc.I can't imagine life without them all.

 

[Bakero]

I don't mind people who choose to vegan or vege for personal reasons that stay personal. I do object to those who do it for a cause and cite things like it being better for the environment. That's because it ultimately isn't: growing enough plant based food to feed the entire population of earth would be an environmental disaster. You're looking at large scale habitat destruction. A lot of those who push for Veganism as a cause forget that a lot of the meat production is done on land that simply isn't suitable for human consumption crops, and if you try to make it suitable you destroy the land that much quicker.

The answer is to get as many people as possible onto a sustainable balanced diet. That can and should include sustainably produced meat and fish.

Oh ... and perhaps a little population growth restraint. As much as China handled their 1 child policy poorly, they were onto a good idea in principle.

Citation needed.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

6 crumpets after dinner ?! I don’t think a bit of meat is the problem [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Now now, no need to be glutton intolerant

 

[Palacefinder General]

The ghost of Linda McCartney has done some good stuff in the pretend pork shreds and deniable duck range. I like it, but it's always on sale, and has a grease factor greater than the Quorn produce that brings a slight doubt of its healthiness to me.

Indeed, checking the rainbow content panel is always advisable. Amazes me how low in everything Quorn nuggets are - almost zero saturated fat, salt and sugar, plus high in protein.

 

[Meade's Ball]

Now now, no need to be glutton intolerant

I think he's really telling me to convert to pikelets.

 

[Mr Putdown]

Citation needed.

Plough this and plant your wheat.



Citation? The generations of Hill farmers who have learned to produce food from such terrain.

 

[Bakero]

Plough this and plant your wheat.

View attachment 117184

Citation? The generations of Hill farmers who have learned to produce food from such terrain.

Unfortunately the world isn't dining on grass-fed sheep alone. Huge amounts of the world's grain production is fed to livestock.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I don't mind people who choose to vegan or vege for personal reasons that stay personal. I do object to those who do it for a cause and cite things like it being better for the environment. That's because it ultimately isn't: growing enough plant based food to feed the entire population of earth would be an environmental disaster. You're looking at large scale habitat destruction. A lot of those who push for Veganism as a cause forget that a lot of the meat production is done on land that simply isn't suitable for human consumption crops, and if you try to make it suitable you destroy the land that much quicker.

The answer is to get as many people as possible onto a sustainable balanced diet. That can and should include sustainably produced meat and fish.

Oh ... and perhaps a little population growth restraint. As much as China handled their 1 child policy poorly, they were onto a good idea in principle.

Interesting. This goes against everything I have read on the sustainability of meat farming. Where did you read this?

 

[Klaas]

Good luck with the veganism. I respect your choice.

I’ll stick with daily meat and dairy consumption. I expect others to respect that.

He asked for some recipes.

Quite why you and other meat bores feel the need to chime in with how bloody great it is you eat meat is beyond me.

I hear that vegans are really annoying about being vegans. Many, many meat eaters have told me so.

 

[Goldstone1976]

He asked for some recipes.

Beans on toast
Mushrooms on toast
Beans and mushrooms on toast

There’s probably other recipes too.

 

[Diablo]

Beans on toast
Mushrooms on toast
Beans and mushrooms on toast

There’s probably other recipes too.

All great, but ooh so much better with succulent rashers of Bacon !

 

[Mr Putdown]

Unfortunately the world isn't dining on grass-fed sheep alone. Huge amounts of the world's grain production is fed to livestock.

That may well be true, but you’ve completely ignored the point being made.

 

[Bakero]

That may well be true, but you’ve completely ignored the point being made.

I get your point. But it doesn't support the claim that trying to grow enough plant based food to feed the world would be an environmental disaster. The poster (whoever it was) suggested it would necessitate large scale habitat destruction, ignoring the fact that the vast swathes of land currently given over to producing animal feed could be used to grow food for humans. By the way, I'm not advocating veganism for the world but was just asking for evidence that it would be a disaster.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Still taking steps on a path to a healthier sustainable diet. I'm actually starting to like soya milk, particularly in tea and coffee, oat milk too.

Meat intake has been reduced to once a week, twice if you include a bit of fish, beef in particular has been off the menu for a while. Shopping bills are much cheaper. Even if you forget all the environmental and health reasons, meat is expensive, cutting it out is a great way to reduce the weekly shopping bill.

 

[Bozza]

I noted there's been a vegan-frenzy in the fast food world over the past couple of weeks...

KFC vegan burger - https://www.kfc.co.uk/our-food/for-one/burgers/vegan-burger
Greggs vegan steak bake - https://www.greggs.co.uk/bakes/vegan-steak-bake
Burger King Rebel Whopper - https://www.burgerking.co.uk/menu-item/rebel-whopper (interesting they are using a different patty to that used in the US)
Subway meatless meatball marinara melt - https://www.subway.com/en-GB/MenuNutrition/Menu/Product?ProductId=7558&MenuCategoryId=760

Anyone sampled any of these yet?

 

[A1X]

Was the Burger King one the one they got in trouble for because they cooked it in animal fat and thus negated the point?