AIBU to ask what vegans actually eat?!

[Bearseatbeets]

A few of my friends have become vegan and keep evangelising to me about the health benefits. And I believe them. But whenever I ask what they actually eat for meals they get very defensive and won’t actually answer me. One of them answered with stir fry as an example and when I asked what protein they have in it, she told me ‘protein is a myth!’

I’m genuinely not trying to attack vegans, i’m interested and want to figure out what I could eat if I were to adopt it. I’m a bit of a foodie so I want exciting tasty food and it is just such a departure from how I eat now, I need some examples so I can work out if it’s feasible

I actually eat meat or cheese with almost every meal. They’re the staples, so I’m interested to know what a meal looks like without.

The comments about beans/nuts/pulses are helpful. Not sure I’d be creative enough to make that exciting for many meals though.

Well e.g. I was just in a German city and we had (all vegan) burgers, kebabs, currywurst, tofu salad, spring rolls, sushi, pad Thai, smoothie bowls, porridge, pizza, pasta, ice cream, cookies, rolls, jam, apples, bananas, mango milkshake, Thai curry and more. At home I eat more simply- e.g baked potato with hummus and green salad, peanut butter sandwiches, kidney bean chillis, chick pea curries, tofu stir fries, wicked tesco ready meals like bbq beans and mash or butternut mac, pasta with tomato and pepper sauce, mushroom risotto, butternut squash soup, lentil stew etc it is quite carb heavy but I try and have 48g protein a day which is 0.8g per kilo of body weight which is what is recommended and I usually make it, sometimes I have a bit less but sometimes much more 70g+.

I blend frozen fruit with chocolate almond milk for breakfast. It is delicious. I have pulse based salads with avocado, sun dried tomato for lunch. Dinner might be a spicy bean burger with sweet potato fries or a vegetable curry and rice. Sweet potato katsu curry is really nice. Rice noodles with veggies. Coconut milk and vegetable Thai curry. I am not a vegan on purpose but became allergic to eggs and milk this year. I can still eat meat but when I eat out I started sticking to vegan food because it was less risky (as my alllergy is severe). I have found the food really nice so am eating it more and more at home now. Plus I do feel healthier. The main thing I miss is nice desserts. I have had dairy free ice cream but the flavour range is limited and I am a bit sick or sorbets. I had a delicious vegan cupcake from Lola’s cupcakes made with coconut and soya custard but can’t get stuff like that from my usual local shops. Any dessert ideas welcomed!

Yeast isn’t an animalit’s a fungus!

Well I know that, obviously! That's why it caused so much hilarity and incredulity when my colleague said it. But her niece swears blind it's a thing.

So many things! Lidl do some great vegan kebab style meat. It is easy to be a junk food vegan, so it can require planning.

I am
Not vegan as I can't give up eggs and ice cream in the summer (although Ben and Jerry's do a vegan range now, yippee ) but I do follow a plant based diet at home.

I bake my own bread and love sourdough, hummus, curries made in the slow cooker and Buddha bowls. Tahini and maple
Syrup are staple ingredients!

I follow thug kitchen on Instagram, they give great ideas!

@blueyacht DH and I are crying with laughter at your response. Wonderful!

I find the question 'what do vegans eat?' really annoying as it's just good, like everyone else. There is such a diverse range of vegan foods that it is impossible to sum it up succinctly. Perhaps it's easier for a meat eater to think about what they eat, and then think about a vegan version of this dish. You can have been vegan versions of pretty much anything nowadays, including cheesecake, macaroni cheese, chicken nuggets etc.

Protein deficiency in vegans or vegetarians is in fact a myth, as there are no medically documented cases of protein deficiency in calorie sufficient diets. As a vegan, I find the constant questioning of where I get protein from quite annoying.

@themonkeymummy it shuts the questioning right down

Protein isn’t a myth. If you’re vegan and don’t eat enough you feel hungry all the time. With pulses etc you need to eat quite large amounts. Tofu is a good source of protein too.

Today I had:
Porridge cooked with apple, oat milk, cinnamon and chia seeds and maple syrup.
2 small bananas.
Waitrose curry sandwich, apple and alpro mango yoghurt. I was out, hence buying something ready made.
Home made Smokey chickpeas with peppers, spelt pasta. Stewed berries and plain yoghurt
I’ll have a hot chocolate made with soya milk before bed.

Lots of fruit/yoghurt but I run a lot and had a race at the weekend, which meant I had to live on carbs for a couple of days in the run up to it so now I’m a bit like GIVE ME ALL THE FRUIT!!! And lots of yoghurt as I’m looking after my bones post race.

I take the vegan society supplement (I feel healthier taking it) and I also take magnesium and iron cos I run a lot, rather than cos I’m vegan.

Some people seem to be conflating veganism with plant-based diets. They are not the same thing. The former is an entire philosophy/lifestyle done for ethical AR reasons, the latter is just a diet, usually for health reasons. So some of the former may live on chips and chocolate, because (like plenty of omnivores) they don't care about how healthy their diet is.

But either way, they both eat plants and fungi. I.e. everything edible in the world except meat/dairy/eggs/honey. That may be in the form of meat/cheese alternatives, and fairly processed, or it may be wholefood-based.

Today we ate (my daughter doesn't like cooked mixed-up food; she eats more snacky foods, and sometimes I eat the same as her to save extra preparation):
-Porridge
-Carrot sticks, wholemeal pasta, tofu, apple, dates
-Yellow pepper, baby plum tomatoes, falafel, vegan chorizo slices, blueberries, and a raw fruit & nut slice
-Dark chocolate
-Soya milk, and water

I've been vegan almost 15 years, and not dead yet, so whatever I am eating, clearly it is sufficient.

@rosiejaune I am intrigued by your opening statement.

I never considered that vegans could only be vegans if they subscribed to certain ethics rather than being limited to someone who eliminates animal
products from their diet.

I guess this involves consumption of all products, shoes, cars, cleaning materials.

This is incredibly complex, and my head hurts thinking about it!

www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/vegan-delight/

Vegan weightlifter 🙋

Protein is not a myth 😆😆

@TheMonleyMummy

It isn’t really complex. The definition of veganism is avoid animal exploitation “as far as possible and practical”. So @rosiejaune is right it is nothing to do with diet.

That being said it’s really not hard. If it’s not practicable to live without a car, and all cars have leather, you can buy a car. If it’s not possible to live without medication, and your medication has animal products, then you take the medication.

These are all decidedly unnecessary as there are alternatives- non vegan food, non vegan or animal tested cosmetics, non vegan or animal tested toiletries, leather shoes, visiting zoos or sea world type places, buying animals from a breeder etc.

Vegans can eat well (see thread), all Superdrug cosmetics and toiletries are marked if they’re vegan, as well as some others, all coop cleaning stuff is marked if it’s vegan (and it almost all is), all astonish stuff from Poundland and savers is vegan, non leather shoes are widely available (can even get Vegan doc martens now!) and you can adopt animals from a shelter, thousands are languishing there, farm sanctuaries are available to visit to get close to animals.

It’s just a different way of looking at things. Do I want to exploit/ harm animals as little as I reasonably can? And go from there.

My recent vegan DN eats only vegan burgers .... and rice 🤷🏼‍♀️

This can't be a real thread. Every fucking vegan will tell you every fucking thing about their diet as soon as you meat ( ) them.

@twotailed thank you for posting that recipe, it looks amazing! Can I ask at what point you use vinegar and which type?

I am making this for my vegan friend tomorrow!

TIA

@kikisparks I find that really interesting as I hadn't considered a vegan lifestyle beyond diet.

What are your thoughts on eggs? Several friends keep rescue chickens who live a happy life now. Am I being naive to think that to eat these would be acceptable for a vegan?

ketchuponpizza it is not vegan to eat the eggs of any bird no matter how the birds live their lives.

BarbaraofSevillle To prepare tofu I cut it horizontally into two slabs, wrap kitchen roll around them both [separately] then wrap a tea towel around them both together, put this 'package' onto a plate, stack a few more plates on top of that and leave for an hour or so. Then unwrap, chop, mix a marinade or dry rub, coat tofu [which is now a lot firmer] leave it to [try and] absorb the flavours then cook in a little oil on the hob or in the oven. Add to your dish and YUM.

Breast milk, the best food for a human at a time when it is going through its fastest growth spurt is made up as follows: Protein 10%, Fat 10%, Carbs 80%. Needing loads of protein is a myth. There is protein in many vegetables, eg 2.8g of protein in every 100g of broccoli. Many top athletes are vegan (eg Mo Farah, Venus Williams, Lewis Hamilton and ultra triathlete Rich Roll) because they have discovered that a vegan diet helps the body perform at its best. There are no long queues at your local hospital of vegans suffering from protein deficiency.

My DH is a vegan and we eat a hugely varied range of meals, from vegan pizzas (using vegan cheese and vegan bread base), curries, stir fries, stews, salads. To 'go vegan' needs to be done over time. Build up recipes, start looking for alternatives in the supermarket (there are many) and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

I'm veggie rather than vegan normally but have been eating vegan this week.
Today's menu is :

Breakfast : raw buckwheat porridge made with banana and blueberries
Snack : Popcorn
Lunch : Tofu black rice salad (marinated and fried tofu with black rice, lots of green veg and cashews)
Snack : peanut butter energy balls
Dinner : mexican sweet potato and black beans

Should come to around 2000 Calories, very yum and very filling

I want to know how to start adding more plant based protein into every day meals. So I guess a ham sandwich could be replaced by peanut butter sandwich? Burgers could be chickpea or bean burgers. Spaghetti bol made from mushrooms or lentils?

Last night I had a soya burger topped with pulled jackfruit, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, gerkhin and bbq sauce, fried onion rings, vegan coleslaw, sweetpotatoe fries art the local pub. Tonight we are having burritos at home, tomorrow a stir fry, Saturday pizza. Pretty much any meal can be veganised.