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Vegan community thread - Give Peas a Chance

Bacon

Member
Wow, were they sixteen years old? Embarrassing

People are ignorant fools when it comes to vegan lifestyles. Even on gaf, which I consider to be one of the most left leaning message boards in existence. Try making a thread about the dangers of consuming meat and look at the people who come out the woodwork to say "but my bacon tho"
 

Surfinn

Member
People are ignorant fools when it comes to vegan lifestyles. Even on gaf, which I consider to be one of the most left leaning message boards in existence. Try making a thread about the dangers of consuming meat and look at the people who come out the woodwork to say "but my bacon tho"

It's funny because GAF engages in the same close minded thinking they often speak out against, as soon as you mention animal rights or meat consumption. The irony is strong.

I mean shit the front page usually contains a thread or two about what new product McDonalds or Taco Bell is launching.

It's sad.
 

omg_mjd

Member
Sadly all are 35+
I am not sure what triggered it, suddenly everyone was talking bullshit. I am still mad and sad.

I've had pretty horrible experiences in the past with friends. These things happen. Personally, I don't know of ANY vegans in my life (not even acquaintances, maybe friends of friends that I haven't met yet but no one in my own circle) so while there are millions of us vegans out there, I think most of us feel isolated the majority of the time, especially when mob-mentality takes over and people choose to act stupid as a group, as in the case of your co-workers.

Just try not to let it get to you. Remember the animals, that's what I always tell myself. :)

(You may have your own reasons for being vegan of course...just keep reminding yourself of what those are.)
 

louiedog

Member
People can be really dumb. Baked goods are something that's really easy to adapt without sacrificing quality. Eggs can be tricky in some things, but in cakes oil over butter tends to mean a moister texture. They've probably eaten many vegan friendly baked goods without realizing it, but the second you put that label on they turn into children.
 

Famassu

Member
Weird. Other than my little brother, who just does it because he's just deliberately trying to annoy me, I've had no people giving me shit about my veganism, if anything pretty much everyone I know or have revealed my veganism to is ok with it and doesn't give me shit about it. I am in the process of planning to open a vegan grill thing so I am a bit fearful of some random morons coming to the grill just to talk shit about vegan food, but other than that I do feel like at least in Finland there's a noticeable turn for the better as far as how people treat more plant-based diets. They might occasionally make the idiotic "how do you know someone is a vegan? don't worry, they'll tell you" joke but other than that, yeah, not much trouble.
 

Esch

Banned
It's funny because GAF engages in the same close minded thinking they often speak out against, as soon as you mention animal rights or meat consumption. The irony is strong.

Cognitive dissonance of being very self righteous about tons of issues and then engaging in or celebrating violence against sentient beings is a bitch.

Younger people are usually fine about veganism or at least don't seriously hate on it. It's the older crowd in my experience that are derisive or hysterical about it.
 

Famassu

Member
Got the Non-Dairy Evolution book I ordered. Not terribly impressed with the... quality of the book from a production values POV. Don't mind that it's not hardcover, but this feels a bit cheap. Like someone printed this with their own printer and binded it together themselves rather than a professional product. :S

Oh well, the recipes themselves should be gold if all the praise for the book is to be trusted. I also like that the writer goes really in-depth with details & theory. Oftentimes recipe books are a bit... sparse in why some stuff is done and how shit works. This feels appropriately educational. :)
 
I'm not a vegan but I try to be a vegetarian, not trying to have meat but sometimes being given some. Also I have oat milk.

I like to have a Mushroom Hummusphere Burger at Nando's (Australia) with their chips and peri-peri salt, dipping the chips into the tabbouli-hummus mix that falls from the burger <3. They've said on their twitter in the past that the burger is vegan friendly, but I checked the website today and they list it as not being vegan friendly (but vegetarian). They don't say why it's not vegan. I suppose something changed and I've contacted them for a comment on that. The chips and peri-peri salt are still listed as vegan though.

It's really good vegetarian food though. I'll pass on the reply I get from Nando's too.
 
People can be really dumb. Baked goods are something that's really easy to adapt without sacrificing quality. Eggs can be tricky in some things, but in cakes oil over butter tends to mean a moister texture. They've probably eaten many vegan friendly baked goods without realizing it, but the second you put that label on they turn into children.

I have a client who produces patisseries and a large percentage of their products are vegan friendly and always have been but never intentionally that way. We did some research for them and found out that very few of those in the area that had plant based diets knew this was the case as the most visual products were obviously cream or egg heavy.

They started to use a vegan label quite visibly as a catch all for the products as well as include it in marketing materials. Within the first week they started getting a lot of complaints that the quality of the products had decreased because they weren't using animal products any more on those items and sales started to drop, absolutely nothing changed in the manufacturing process and the exact same produce was used. Furthermore they introduced an avocado based truffle but without the label just sold it as a super rich chocolate product and sold out everyday, they put the obvious vegan label on it and sales dropped.

It did work out better in the long run as it got the word out to a group that didn't know there were options available, but we changed how they presented the vegan options to a gold star and placed "vegan options available ask our staff for more information" on the backboard. We also made sure it came up in search engines when vegan, vegetarian and plant-based was input for those in the local area. All complaints stopped. Funny thing is the sales of those with the gold star increased well above what was predicted because the gold star gave many people the impression it was a better product.
 

derFeef

Member
Damn. That's so sad to read.
Almost the same thing with the famous Austrian Manner Waffles. The recipe was the same for over 100 years - it is "accidently" vegan. They put a small vegan logo on the back and suddenly complaints started about the taste and "change". But nothing changed, it's jsut a small logo on the back... Luckily they still do fine and do not hold back with the vegan advertising :)


Manner-vegan.PNG
 
I have a client who produces patisseries and a large percentage of their products are vegan friendly and always have been but never intentionally that way. We did some research for them and found out that very few of those in the area that had plant based diets knew this was the case as the most visual products were obviously cream or egg heavy.

They started to use a vegan label quite visibly as a catch all for the products as well as include it in marketing materials. Within the first week they started getting a lot of complaints that the quality of the products had decreased because they weren't using animal products any more on those items and sales started to drop, absolutely nothing changed in the manufacturing process and the exact same produce was used. Furthermore they introduced an avocado based truffle but without the label just sold it as a super rich chocolate product and sold out everyday, they put the obvious vegan label on it and sales dropped.

It did work out better in the long run as it got the word out to a group that didn't know there were options available, but we changed how they presented the vegan options to a gold star and placed "vegan options available ask our staff for more information" on the backboard. We also made sure it came up in search engines when vegan, vegetarian and plant-based was input for those in the local area. All complaints stopped. Funny thing is the sales of those with the gold star increased well above what was predicted because the gold star gave many people the impression it was a better product.
What a brilliant way to change things up.

Can you imagine the impact on sales if non-vegan products advertised "Made of People"?
 
Hello folks, looking for a bit of input.

So my wife and I have recently moved away from meat products, but I'm finding myself in a problem.

I'm currently overweight looking for ways to lose some fat. I've been doing that couch to 5k program (I think the feeling when you finish that race will be amazing) and reducing my portions. However I am struggling with carbs. I'm eating a lot of rice, breads, and nuts to make up for the loss of meat and this will probably lead to some issues in the future if it continues. Is this just purely a matter of willpower? Or is there some foods I could use in place of these carb heavy things?
 

Famassu

Member
Hello folks, looking for a bit of input.

So my wife and I have recently moved away from meat products, but I'm finding myself in a problem.

I'm currently overweight looking for ways to lose some fat. I've been doing that couch to 5k program (I think the feeling when you finish that race will be amazing) and reducing my portions. However I am struggling with carbs. I'm eating a lot of rice, breads, and nuts to make up for the loss of meat and this will probably lead to some issues in the future if it continues. Is this just purely a matter of willpower? Or is there some foods I could use in place of these carb heavy things?
Just follow your portion sizes (maybe keep a journal for a while and see how much calories you are actually getting, get help from a professional if necessary to get some tips) & when you eat stuff like rice & bread, eat whole grain alternatives instead of the whitest of the white breads & rices. Carbs aren't necessarily the problem for a lot of people, especially for people who exercise a lot and as a result eat more. It's that people think that they getting less calories than they actually are and as a result they don't lose weight even when they exercise.
 
Hello folks, looking for a bit of input.

So my wife and I have recently moved away from meat products, but I'm finding myself in a problem.

I'm currently overweight looking for ways to lose some fat. I've been doing that couch to 5k program (I think the feeling when you finish that race will be amazing) and reducing my portions. However I am struggling with carbs. I'm eating a lot of rice, breads, and nuts to make up for the loss of meat and this will probably lead to some issues in the future if it continues. Is this just purely a matter of willpower? Or is there some foods I could use in place of these carb heavy things?
I've been eating Nasoya Lite Firm Tofu (4 and 2/3 servings at 210 calories and 37.4g protein) and SproutLiving Epic Protein Powder (1 serving at 120 calories and 26g protein) and a multivitamin to start my day. You should consume n grams of protein per day where n is your body weight in kilograms or in pounds divided by 2.2. Get MyFitnessPal for your phone and count your calories; it's really easy with that app.
 

Soul_Pie

Member
Hello folks, looking for a bit of input.

So my wife and I have recently moved away from meat products, but I'm finding myself in a problem.

I'm currently overweight looking for ways to lose some fat. I've been doing that couch to 5k program (I think the feeling when you finish that race will be amazing) and reducing my portions. However I am struggling with carbs. I'm eating a lot of rice, breads, and nuts to make up for the loss of meat and this will probably lead to some issues in the future if it continues. Is this just purely a matter of willpower? Or is there some foods I could use in place of these carb heavy things?

Perhaps add a few select veggies to make up for the meat, especially meaty ones like mushrooms, and stuff like tofu or tempeh is fantastic for keeping you feeling full. As suggested go for the whole grain alternatives; stuff like brown rice and wholemeal pasta and breads, etc are much more filling and imo are often much tastier. The other key might just be to keep researching and experimenting with recipes and foods that are popular among vegans, when I first switched I gained a bit of weight because I wasn't really giving much thought to how I'd fit in those extra calories. It's definitely a learning process and you're not going to get it spot on the first time.

I really like these guys as for creative, quick meals that are twists on classic, everyday stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/user/happypeargreystones
 

Esch

Banned
Hello folks, looking for a bit of input.

So my wife and I have recently moved away from meat products, but I'm finding myself in a problem.

I'm currently overweight looking for ways to lose some fat. I've been doing that couch to 5k program (I think the feeling when you finish that race will be amazing) and reducing my portions. However I am struggling with carbs. I'm eating a lot of rice, breads, and nuts to make up for the loss of meat and this will probably lead to some issues in the future if it continues. Is this just purely a matter of willpower? Or is there some foods I could use in place of these carb heavy things?

Eat whole starches like beans, rice, and potatoes as your energy source. Avoid oils and smoothies. Load up on vegetables as much as you want. Eat less bread and pasta. Every time you blend mill or process a food it makes it harder to get full.

Whole carbohydrates like starches and fruit are not your enemy.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Oreo's do not contain any animal product ingredients, so they ARE vegan friendly in that sense. However, their different production lines are not isolated or separated, so technically, they POSSIBLY could have trace amounts of milk that was used in other products (like milk chocolate) in the same room.
 
I need a good (and good tasting) vegan alternative to pretty much everything by Oscar Mayer, but especially this: http://www.oscarmayer.com/en/cold-cuts#deli-fresh

Anyone know of any comparable products?

They don't seem to use whey, looking at an ingredients list.

I just bought some today, so yeah, I don't see it mentioned anywhere.

Oreo's do not contain any animal product ingredients, so they ARE vegan friendly in that sense. However, their different production lines are not isolated or separated, so technically, they POSSIBLY could have trace amounts of milk that was used in other products (like milk chocolate) in the same room.

That's probably true.
 

Famassu

Member
Sure, cold cut ham like thingies do come in vegan form, though selection probably varies between countries/regions so it's hard to recommend any for someone who isn't from my country (Finland). I imagine there are similar products in the US too.
 

SomTervo

Member
Just had some Vegenaise for the first time.

Holy shit!!!

VegenaiseFamilyShot.png


The woman who sold it to us said she literally doesn't buy it any more because she puts it in everything and just consumes it.

Eat whole starches like beans, rice, and potatoes as your energy source. Avoid oils and smoothies. Load up on vegetables as much as you want. Eat less bread and pasta. Every time you blend mill or process a food it makes it harder to get full.

Whole carbohydrates like starches and fruit are not your enemy.

Yes, but ??? about smoothies?

Smoothies notoriously make you feel really really full up. My gf is losing a pound a week and she just has a smoothie for breakfast and feels full well past lunch

Tofurky slices are awesome. Love making American style sandwiches with them.

We're going to Spain soon with a bunch of meat eaters - deffo bringing a while tofurky and using it for sandwiches all week

People are ignorant fools when it comes to vegan lifestyles. Even on gaf, which I consider to be one of the most left leaning message boards in existence. Try making a thread about the dangers of consuming meat and look at the people who come out the woodwork to say "but my bacon tho"

The way worse line is "poor people will suffer"

Man
 
Tofurky slices are awesome. Love making American style sandwiches with them.

Weee'llll see.

Follow Your Heart products are great in general! I really dig their Pepper Jack and American-style slices. And in reference to vegan mayo, Hampton Creek's Just Mayo (so much variety) is good and Sir Kensington's (fyi not an all vegan brand) Fabanaise is the best (might be that aquafaba ingredient that does it).

I hope so because I'm about to try their American style slices and mayo with the Tofurky slices.
 

SomTervo

Member
Follow Your Heart products are great in general! I really dig their Pepper Jack and American-stlye slices. And in reference to vegan mayo, Hampton Creek's Just Mayo (so much variety) is good and Sir Kensington's (fyi not an all vegan brand) Fabanaise is the best (might be that aquafaba ingredient that does it).

Amazing. Thanks!

The first (and so far only) time I tried Veganaise the jar lasted maybe a day and a half. It's so too good.

Yep, looks like ours will last two whole days
because I'm too embarrassed to devour in one sitting with guests + my girlfriend around

edit: now trying to finish a late night boost of work with a Vegenaise-laden snack and ohmyfuckinggod this stuff is so good
 

Esch

Banned
Yes, but ??? about smoothies?

Smoothies notoriously make you feel really really full up. My gf is losing a pound a week and she just has a smoothie for breakfast and feels full well past lunch

Eh, if it works for her it works. If you blend food up, it becomes more calorie dense and is going to activate less of the stretch receptors in your stomach that trigger feelings of satiety/fullness. One of the reasons a lot of vegan athletes pound shakes with lots of fruit + nut and seed butters.

Also, Just Mayo is veg mayo king.
 
Also, Just Mayo is veg mayo king.

I want to try their Awesomesauce. Can anyone describe what it tastes like from first-hand experience? Is it like a burger sauce? There aren't too many reviews online.

I haven't been bold enough to go in blind, as there's the unfortunate trend of me throwing away half-used quirky vegan mayos that go bad. I actually like that Just Mayo comes in smaller sizes than most other brands because of this.
 

derFeef

Member
Aaand the rant continues. So Easter is really meat-laden here in Austria so of course the number one topic after the holidays for my colleagues. I continue to not actually say anthing until one starts to fling crap at vegetarians for no particular reasons.

"Those vegetarians always need their extra thing - we made salmon noodles for them!"
I then said that a vegetarian to me is not supposed to eat fish and it makes me a bit mad. People can eat what they want but they should not name or categorize themselves if they have no idea what it means actually, I added.

Then it continued with the usual
"why did god make animals if they would not taste good"
"vegetarians eat all but mammals, so they can eat chicken too"
I angrily quit the scene and I guess I am the dumbass now who does not respect the opinions of others because I said that one thing. Great.

I avoided the usual coffee breaks with my colleagues for a few days because of the reasons I posted earlier this week, but it seems like I made a mistake trying to trust them again but hey, coffee also tastes great by being alone.
 

Tenck

Member
A lot of people just label stuff like pescatarian as vegetarian because it's easier to remember (when talking about a pescatarian). Not sure why you'd confront them about something so silly.
 

derFeef

Member
A lot of people just label stuff like pescatarian as vegetarian because it's easier to remember (when talking about a pescatarian). Not sure why you'd confront them about something so silly.

Because by saying "I don't eat meat" and then ordering fish as a vegeterian seems silly to me personally. My colleagues actually agreed with me on that, but I guess that has something to do with them not agreeing the whole thing.
 

Tenck

Member
Because by saying "I don't eat meat" and then ordering fish as a vegeterian seems silly to me personally. My colleagues actually agreed with me on that, but I guess that has something to do with them not agreeing the whole thing.

Yeah but that's not being a vegetarian. That's being a pescatarian. They were probably told "hey I'm pescatarian" and their brain registered it as vegetarian.

I do agree with you that it does sound odd being fine with fish but not meat, but just how you said you approached it was kind of silly. You did say your coworkers agreed, so I guess it wasn't entirely awful.


Edit: To stay on topic i want to ask a quick question. I've been mostly sticking to fruits and nuts for my snacks between my big meals. What are some snack ideas you guys have that would help me change it up a bit. Usually I'll have raisins, pecans, and strawberries. Gets boring after a while.
 

Famassu

Member
Make some kind of flavored roasted chickpeas. Those work as something you can eat a handful of or throw some in salads & shit.
 
Easter story: Recently for Easter dinner my wife and I made some of those vegan mini cheesecakes (with bananas and cashews) and they were a big hit with my family. I felt quite proud. My father, who's a big meat guy, asked me for the recipe even.

My primary concern in my political life is climate change but my entire family works in the oil sector. As such it's been hard to convince them to make changes in their lives. However I feel like lessening, if not removing, meat from their diet is an easy choice that will have a large impact on their carbon footprint. I was glad to see everyone take up the vegan foods I've been preparing. Gives me hope.

Thanks again for all the replies folks! I'll try to put the advice into practice.
 

omg_mjd

Member
If asked I just say "I don't eat animals." To me it sounds more direct and implies that it's not for health reasons without having to explain any further.

Edit: To stay on topic i want to ask a quick question. I've been mostly sticking to fruits and nuts for my snacks between my big meals. What are some snack ideas you guys have that would help my change it up a bit. Usually I'll have raisins, pecans, and strawberries. Gets boring after a while.

Popcorn is a nice snack. High fiber, easy to make and lots of flavor options.
 

derFeef

Member
Yeah but that's not being a vegetarian. That's being a pescatarian. They were probably told "hey I'm pescatarian" and their brain registered it as vegetarian.

I do agree with you that it does sound odd being fine with fish but not meat, but just how you said you approached it was kind of silly. You did say your coworkers agreed, so I guess it wasn't entirely awful.

Not sure why what I said was silly or awful but I sure learned my lesson fo saying anything about being vegetarian and vegan. I will just let them continue to spray their meat jokes on me and laugh my ass off.

Edit: To stay on topic i want to ask a quick question. I've been mostly sticking to fruits and nuts for my snacks between my big meals. What are some snack ideas you guys have that would help me change it up a bit. Usually I'll have raisins, pecans, and strawberries. Gets boring after a while.

Figs, dates and selected nuts are my go-to. I also but less often buy soy-jerky if I am in the mood for something salty from time to time. Dates+peanut butter is nasty as well ;)

Roasted chickpeas sound nice, I will give that a shot.
 
Just had some Vegenaise for the first time.

Holy shit!!!

VegenaiseFamilyShot.png


The woman who sold it to us said she literally doesn't buy it any more because she puts it in everything and just consumes it.

You left out the best Vegenaise flavour!


It's amazing on pretty much everything.

If asked I just say "I don't eat animals." To me it sounds more direct and implies that it's not for health reasons without having to explain any further.

My go-to line comes from an old boss of mine, who loved to say that I wouldn't eat anything that had a mother. Obviously that doesn't cover some shellfish, but it's a pretty effective way of explaining it.
 
Been eating a lot less meat lately. Still haven't kicked it completely and I don't think I can, but I'm happy with going from eating meat 2+ times a day to maybe 2 times a week.

Also just tried Just Mayo (pretty sure it is vegan). It is so good.
 

omg_mjd

Member
My go-to line comes from an old boss of mine, who loved to say that I wouldn't eat anything that had a mother. Obviously that doesn't cover some shellfish, but it's a pretty effective way of explaining it.

That's a good one too.

Been eating a lot less meat lately. Still haven't kicked it completely and I don't think I can, but I'm happy with going from eating meat 2+ times a day to maybe 2 times a week.

Good for you. That's a significant reduction if you can make it. Multiply that over a lifetime and that makes a big difference in the number of animals killed (to feed one person).
 

Famassu

Member
Lolwut. Bought a new brand of chickpea noodles to test them out and they almost completely dissolved into the cooking water. O_O
 
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