STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

NCshopper · Hermes

Can we get an update on The Great Vegan Experiment of 2009?

Elle · Hermes

For me, it was easier than I expected it to be. We eat vegetarian at home almost always, so I already had tons of 'staples' and recipes ready to go. I lost about 3 lbs, all of which is back now. I definitely contribute some of that to the diet, but I was also eating alone instead of with my husband, which probably had just as much impact as the diet.

Overall I felt just fine energy wise, which is something I've struggled with on diets in the past because I have blood sugar issues. I felt like I was eating a ton of food, and also like I needed to do more planning to have things handy for snacking in between meals since many go-to items were verboten.

I got a few things out of it, I think: I've got a few new tricks up my sleeve with some slightly more exotic ingredients/recipes; I found two new cookbooks I like enough to buy (How To Cook Everything Vegetarian and Veganomicon); My husband is open to eating vegan meals on a regular basis; We switched off of dairy milk completely, over to soy and almond milks.

It's not something I feel like I'll do fulltime - nutritionally I think it would be awesome, but I wouldn't like having to be a constant broken record about what I do and don't eat or asking what's in something. I will continue to reduce my reliance on animal products though, since I think that's a respectable goal that can be acheived without driving myself and everyone around me crazy. It will most definitely be my go-to weight loss diet in the future, because for some reason I totally accepted what I could/couldn't eat and didn't feel tempted to cheat at all - that never happens to me!

Suasoria · Chanel

Yay Elle! I know this is the wrong place for this, but I found/tried this recipe and I think you'd really really like it - it was enough for two dinners for us two, and we eat like pigs. Seasonings should be considered approximate:

Seitan o' Greatness
http://www.postpunkkitchen.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15959

I buy wheat gluten in a box in the baking aisle or in the bulk bin.

Hermes

well, I went for 3 weeks, then I ate some cheese smile I then proceeded to binge on dairy products for a few days after that (milk, cheese, yogurt.)

it wasn't that difficult to do, and I only ate tofu twice (not a big fan, and it seems kind of pointless to me, except for the plant protein delivery.) maybe I should try this seitan stuff.

my energy level was the same, and I lost 3 lbs that I immediately put back on and haven't exceeded it since going back to pescetarianism. I do feel I am a more conscious food consumer though.

Tati · Chanel

Ok, well I started this lifestyle in Jan for religious reasons for 3 weeks straight. I lost 7-8 lbs in that time. During that time I educated myself on how cow and pig food gets to our plate and sice then I don't touch that kind of food at all! Now I've been eating normal, besides the cow and pig food no longer in my life and I have been able to keep the weight off. Yea for that!
But last night I read some information on how chicken get to my plate too and now I feel kind of stuck. I had eggs with mushrooms this morning! Im a real lazy cook and dont like to really experiment....so we will see what happens. but my goal is to stay away from chicken now too.
And did I read right? That cheese comes from a part of a cows stomach?!? I haven't ate cheese since. It's just kind of hard cause a lot of things have it under "ingredients" without you even thinking it might contain something like that in the box. And sometimes we are tight with money that I really can't afford to have fruit stocked in my house at all times or afford the fake stuff out there.
Just thought I'd share what I've been going through and if anyone has info. or suggestions that would be great!

Hermes

Tati wrote:

And did I read right? That cheese comes from a part of a cows stomach?!?

you heard wrong. cheese comes from milk.

Suasoria · Chanel

You heard right, if you mean the coagulant rennet. Most firm/hard cheese is made with rennet that comes from the stomach lining of veal calves after slaughter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet

Edit: From time to time you may see cheeses labelled "made with vegetable rennet," usually from fungus. These would be OK for vegetarians who want to avoid eating any animal parts.

-- Edited by Suasoria at 21:38, 2009-02-27

Tati · Chanel

Suasoria wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet

Edit: From time to time you may see cheeses labelled "made with vegetable rennet," usually from fungus. These would be OK for vegetarians who want to avoid eating any animal parts.

-- Edited by Suasoria at 21:38, 2009-02-27

cool, thanks for the info!

Elle · Hermes

D wrote:

well, I went for 3 weeks, then I ate some cheese I then proceeded to binge on dairy products for a few days after that (milk, cheese, yogurt.)
it wasn't that difficult to do, and I only ate tofu twice (not a big fan, and it seems kind of pointless to me, except for the plant protein delivery.) maybe I should try this seitan stuff.

I too had quite a bit of dairy (and resulting digestive upset ) on my first day 'off'. Whoops!

As for tofu, it's entirely pointless to eat unless it's cooked well! It makes such a difference unlike in any other food I can think of - night and day for sure. I'd suggest looking up some methods and trying a few out before you discount it for good - I won't bother with it until it's been frozen/thawed, pressed, and usually tossed in cornstarch - then it can be stir-fried with some veggie oil and soy sauce until browned. Yum! Freeze/thawing, pressing, slicing, coating with sauce and broiling is also yummy.

I know you said you were trying to stay away from wheat - if it's the gluten that bothers you, I'd forgo seitan, since that's literally all it is.