To miss genuine veggie food

[IdiotIntrusion]

In the light of all the vegan options coming out, what's happened to veggie food? Granted veggies can eat vegan but I want real cheese or mayo on my burger instead of the fake stuff.

Not even allowed to add a coffee to a 'vegan' meal at burger king, I assume because of the milk. Had to pay separately.

Just having a moan. It's annoying as hell. Anyone else?

@Paperyfish

Maybe with the 90’s revival we’ll get sun dried tomato and goat cheese tarts back! Liked those!

as long as it's not another bloody mushroom risotto or vegetable lasagne ... the only options that were available for years!!

Agree with this so much!!!! I really like a goats cheese tart 😂. Hate fake vegan cheese and only vegan options.

Haven’t they heard of plant butter? It tastes the same as regular butter and so does milk.

Bahaha - only if you have no tastebuds! I was avoiding dairy for a while due to digestive symptoms and I tried umpteen plant 'butters' and non-dairy milks. All revolting in a variety of different ways.

It'snota problem for me.OP, as I'm not vegetarian. But I would eat vegetarian dishes in cafés and restaurants more often if they were just veggie not vegan.

@IdiotIntrusion

I'm by no means saying that makes it a genuine meal. Just saying I miss genuine veggie food - aka veggie food that is precisely that; no meat but dairy included.

It's like saying meat eaters should be happy with meat substitutes to appease the veggies. You just wouldn't do it 🤷‍♀️

Exactly this.

I wish restaurant owners would read these threads.

If I eat out it’s a treat and I want to enjoy a delicious meal. Unfortunately, as a vegetarian who loves cheese, vegan offerings don’t really appeal to me.

I’m vegetarian because I don’t like meat or fish - I never have - so the ‘meaty’ vegan offerings which seem to be popular at the moment are unappealing.

Omg! I HEAR YOU! I’ve been a veggie since I was 6 (just the 24 years) and I LOVE that everyone and their auntie are becoming vegans now but I feel I’ve gone 24 years having nothing but a mushroom stroganoff to ‘choose’ from on a restaurant menu and now any of the rare things I enjoyed (aka cheese🤣) are off-limits in the posh supermarkets (M&S) and even restaurants too. So I’m having to further limit myself when my choices were already limited to cater for people who have chosen to go a step further than me. I’m all for it and good for them, if I was less of a picky eater I’d love to join them but can I just buy a goats cheese tart please? It’s the one thing I eat 😩😂

Also, side note: my annoying step MIL has a son who when we first met him was tucking into chicken wings, full on meat eater. Suddenly he met a vegan girlfriend and he was now a vegan which is fine, great, the more the merrier. The annoying thing is the fact I’ve been here 24 years just quietly plodding away at the vegetarian game and annoying step MIL gives me a lecture on how he’s a vegan, what he eats, his values, the vegan chocolate gateaux he made.. every single time I see her 😑 Makes me just want to screma ‘HE WAS EATING FUCKING CHICKEN WINGS ABOUT 3 MONTHS AGO’!!
rant over 😂😩

I think some of you would love a place I go to sometimes

@OfstedOffred please can you tell me where you have found a plethora of vegan cake which is also gluten free? I am and I can count on one hand the amount I've found. I'm willing to travel significant distances!

@Comefromaway

I think some of you would love a place I go to sometimes

Yes! Yes I would! Goats cheese and halloumi

Gosh I hear you! I love cooking and my DS18 went vegetarian six months ago. Eating less meat and fish actually made us all lose weight, but I could still supplement with dishes invariably containing dairy.

Three months ago my DD15 went vegan and it's another level. I caught Covid for the first time soon after - I'm triple jabbed but I do tend to blame it on the drastic dip in protein in our family

Yanbu!

And don’t get me started on the gluten fre option always having zero dairy. I want a GF pizza with real cheese darn it!

@Suzi888

He recently asked for just the roast veg, stuffing and a Yorkshire pudding when we went out for Sunday lunch.

And they said no? I doubt it. Unless you wanted it cheaper of course…

No, we were happy to pay the full amount. They said it wasn't an option.

@secular39, I am so lucky to live in a town (in Connecticut, alas) that has dedicated gluten-free fryers in most of the restaurants, and at least 3-4 gf options on each menu. I’m always nervous about coming back to England, as I really struggle. And don’t anyone suggest a vegan restaurant to me—it’s all bloody soy-based and highly processed.

@Grapewrath

I’m vegan but I hate all the fake meat and think vegan cheese is revolting

Absolutely - I get very angry about vegan food taking over, but it's because restaurants keep making crap decisions about what to put on their menus, and I hate it.

Proper vegan food can actually be very nice. We're all being cheated.

It's the same principle as vegetarian food - the second you start to substitute something for a fake replacement, it's not a good meal. If your dish requires some kind of fake meat, you're not using your imagination. If I'm paying to eat out, I'm paying for a chef to have enough of an interest in food to create something interesting.

Indian food is one of the few cuisines that manages to cater for vegans and vegetarians without shoving some Beyond Meat on the plate. Vegan Indian food? Love it.

Totally agree! They're 2 different things. It just seems lazy to make everything vegan with no veggie

@Ticksallboxes

Gosh I hear you! I love cooking and my DS18 went vegetarian six months ago. Eating less meat and fish actually made us all lose weight, but I could still supplement with dishes invariably containing dairy.

Three months ago my DD15 went vegan and it's another level. I caught Covid for the first time soon after - I'm triple jabbed but I do tend to blame it on the drastic dip in protein in our family

There are actually studies out there suggesting that people on a (healthy) plant-based diet are less likely to suffer badly from Covid:

www.sciencefocus.com/news/plant-diet-covid-19/

It's important to get enough protein in your diet though. Have you actually checked whether you're getting enough or are you just guessing? (You can use a resource like Cronometer to monitor an average day and check.)

I personally find I'm getting way more protein than I need even without really trying (and I go to the gym/weight train several times a week) but I did initially need to change my mindset in terms of food groups. If you were only getting protein from dairy before and then cut that out without researching proper substitutes/nutrition then I can see how you might struggle!

The funny thing is I was actually likely protein-deficient quite a few years back while still pescatarian (I was running a lot at that time and most of my protein came from cheese), and now that I'm vegan I haven't had any problems like that at all, just because I have a better understanding of what I should be eating.

...

As an aside, I can understand some people's frustration when it comes to "processed" food when that's the only thing available on menus or in terms of restaurants being unwilling to compromise - but these are the same things that a lot of vegans are dealing with too. It feels like for a lot of people here, it's just another chance to bash veganism for no reason.

Also, I'm probably in the minority here but I've always hated butter, mayo and most cheeses - not sure if it's the taste or the texture, but they've always made me feel really sick - so I used to find it so tricky to find things while growing up even as an omnivore and then especially as a veggie/pescatarian. I'm loving how much more there is that doesn't involve those ingredients now (although I'm not particularly a fan of the substitutes either!).

@Ticksallboxes

Gosh I hear you! I love cooking and my DS18 went vegetarian six months ago. Eating less meat and fish actually made us all lose weight, but I could still supplement with dishes invariably containing dairy.

Three months ago my DD15 went vegan and it's another level. I caught Covid for the first time soon after - I'm triple jabbed but I do tend to blame it on the drastic dip in protein in our family

It’s very rare for vegans to lack protein- being vegan I sit your problem, it’s your badly thought out food choices tbh

@Elphame

Some of the stuff is actually really good nowadays. The supermarket stuff isn't ever going to food anyone but some of the cashew "cheeses' from small scale producers are incredible in taste and texture.

Maybe - but cashew farming is also ethically very problematic. I have yet to find a fake cheese that is edible which is why I' m veggie not began

Not as ethically problematic as real cheese.

@Ticksallboxes

Gosh I hear you! I love cooking and my DS18 went vegetarian six months ago. Eating less meat and fish actually made us all lose weight, but I could still supplement with dishes invariably containing dairy.

Three months ago my DD15 went vegan and it's another level. I caught Covid for the first time soon after - I'm triple jabbed but I do tend to blame it on the drastic dip in protein in our family

Why have you decided to lower your protein levels?

@Patented

You're correct, but why do you have to be so derogatory towards vegan food - 'fake' - it's hardly made of plastic, in order to make your point? You can make a point without putting others down, you do realise

But it is fake cheese? Cheese is made from milk, this stuff isnt...

What would you call it

I’m not even a vegetarian but I totally agree.

I probably eat more meat in restaurants than before now, because when I look at meat free options (because I like veggie food!) they’re covered in Cheez or Fakon or some other weirdness.

You're correct, but why do you have to be so derogatory towards vegan food - 'fake'

But some vegan (and vegetarian) foods are fake versions of something else. Vegan bacon is not bacon! The OP isn't being derogatory towards vegan food in general. The fake stuff may not be literally made of plastic, but it's very highly processed and often full of dubious-sounsing ingredients you wouldn't find in a domestic kitchen.

I just want to say as a vegan, I'm absolutely sick of fake meats and cheeses being the option, so I get it. I will eat those things sometimes at home, but not on every sandwich or dinner. I went vegan before all of this was available and I'm glad, it meant I had to learn to cook without it.

There's an absolutely wonderful vegetarian café near me. It does an amazing range of deli-style salads, quiches, soups and the most gorgeous cakes and traybakes. There are sometimes a couple of vegan cakes, and quite a lot of the salad stuff is naturally vegan anyway, but there's no fake meat, cheese etc. It's my favourite local place to eat, even though I'm not veggie.