Tell me interesting facts about vegan food?

[hollyhola]

I'm watching the you are what you eat twin study which seems to be pushing veganism.

I won't be going vegan tomorrow but it has piqued my curiosity.

What plant based things could I try that are not more expensive, are more healthy and at least equally as tasty as meat versions?

Just cut out all the processed crap and add some pulses (lentils, chickpeas, butter beans, ...) as a meat replacement.
Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Have some good quality meat (organic from local butcher) once or twice a week.

I find this way of eating gives me more energy and I am overall healthier.

It's also slightly cheaper if you can bulk buy some of your pulses, rice pasta, ...

Boston gravy granules are vegan.

Finely chopped carrots with a bit of seasoning wrapped in puff pastry is not so close to the "nearest thing to a sausage roll, so I didn't think you'd notice". It probably would have been quite tasty, but a bit of a shock when I wasn't expecting it.

tea with oat milk is not a good taste!

@SparePartz You could try tea without milk. The issue with tea bags in this country is they're blended to be taken with milk, so the loose teas tend to taste better without milk than bags. I have loose Earl Grey from Waitrose which is terrible with milk but lovely without because that's how it's blended. Oolong, green or rooibos tea might work, too. I personally find oolong "easier" to drink than green (it's closer to our "normal" tea because it's partly roasted).

Interesting that it's always an argument against veganism with bringing up the fake meats etc. In an average diet you'd see lots of processed foods. Sausages anyone?

I saw that show, it was interesting, but I felt it was heavily biased towards very processed fake meat etc. I had to live as a vegan for a month, and cooked a lot of interesting veg curries, traybakes, chilis, fajitas etc etc. No need for fake meat at all. The Green Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer is a good place to start

Except huge amounts of animals from large amounts of small mammals like mice, shrews, rats, voles and rabbits amount others. (Really quite horrifically) To absolutely vast amounts of insects, arachnids and invertebrates are killed in the mass production of grain, vegetables and fruits. While mono cropping is awful for the environment. There is no "guilt free" way to eat. Carnivores who eat entire large mammals are undoubtedly the least guilty in terms of deaths caused by their diet. But that's not a realistic diet really.

As for health. There is no food on the planet more nutritionally dense and bioavailable to humans than properly cooked red organ meat. Followed by oily fish. Anyone who wants to eat well for health can't really do better in simple terms than by eating regular portions of liver and sardines.

@Dotchange . I beg to differ. Baked kale crisps are disgusting, as are crispy chickpeas.
I am a supertaster (not necessarily a good thing) and I find both of these very bitter. I don't like dark green leafy veg, so spinach, kale, chard, Brussels sprouts are all out. I can't eat chillies or pepper (the spice). I don't like beans very much (pulses are OK). I can't bear swede. Parsnips are bitter unless roasted. I can eat mushrooms but don't enjoy them much. Nuts are OK, except walnuts, and seeds are OK. I don't like beetroot, but sweet potatoes and squashes are OK. I am fussy I know!
I would find it extremely difficult to eat a balanced diet if I went vegan.

My aim is to remove red meat entirely and to halve the amount of meat in general. It’s a start. We can then take it from there. Living in a house with two male teens means making more dramatic changes from the outset will just mean it’s doomed to failure.

@betwelve doesn't that stain/destroy your teeth?

@Lammveg I don't get that either. We've cut processed meat from our diet except for the odd sausage and I don't see the benefits of switching "plain" meat for processed vegan meat substitutes.

I saw something on YouTube the other day, they were talking about how bananas are not vegan. I'm not sure if it applies to bananas sold in the UK though.

https://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-weight-loss/g20829570/6-foods-you-thought-were-vegan-but-arent/

I don't buy the 'it keeps animals alive' argument. Rabbits are a pest and if you are growing crops you do not want them. Is it more ethical to shoot them and eat them, or just shoot them?

Having said that I do quite like some vegan food, cous cous with a bean salad is tasty and doesn't feel like it is missing anything. Veg curries too.

Well, green tea or oolong definitely doesn't destroy your teeth. All tea leaves, whether it's "normal" (like PG Tips), green or oolong are from the same plant, the difference is only in how they are toasted after picking. So if they damaged teeth it would likely be the same for PG Tips/Yorkshire style tea too and we'd hear about it more.

As for staining, I don't know. If there is I feel it's probably the kind that can be removed with a clean at the dentist, but I don't know. It's always worth checking, I suppose, especially if you have expensive cosmetic work like veneers to protect.

It was funded by one of the vegan food manufacturers- it was always going to be about processed junk

Facts about Veganism. It is insanely UNhealthy. We evolved to eat meat. The protein of meat and eggs are very easily absorbed by the body, plant protein is very poor quality.
That show you watched obviously has an agenda, the entire vegan thing is being pushed on us. If you cant see that... then I guess your health will suffer for it.

I had my B12 tested and it was high (it can't really be 'too high' but that's what was said). I've been vegan 23 years. A lot of omnivore diets don't have much B12 either, it is artificially put into some meats etc, it depends on what you eat.

I'm not a 'wholefoods' vegan, I have faux meats etc and I also love vegan cheese substitutes. Some are better than others but there has been a really good improvement on them all recently. A lot of people are saying they're disgusting etc but they continue to be sold, someone is buying them!

I do eat healthily but I don't reject 'faux' or processed products all the time. They're useful, taste good and make me feel less 'othered' while eating out. Its nice to just eat something similar to what everyone else has rather than a salad while others have a burger, or a quinoa dish while your friends all eat pizza etc.
Having said that, I love cooking and make a lot of non-procrssed plant based dishes too.

B12 can absolutely be too high. It can be a sign of other underlying illnesses.

An interesting fact is that if you go vegan you usually become extremely ‘regular’ 😉 I’ve also noticed a huge reduction in phlegm if I get a cold now that I don’t eat dairy. Eating plants for health is generally called plant-based eating. Veganism is an ethical stance! If you do ever go vegan, a b12 supplement is essential- everything else is pretty easy to get from your diet.

I was plant based for 3 years but a combination of struggling to eat enough protein and reading Ultra processed People has lead me to reintroduce eating fish and dairy.

I didn't eat much processed vegan food but I did eat it once a weekish. I actually made my own vegan cheese but this involved using carageenan which I now understand is possibly problematic health wise.

My compromise is to still eat mainly plant based but with some animal protein as I have a disability and am concerned about muscle loss as I age.

I know that I will get judged by some vegans (as I already have been) but my health is important too. I am just unable to consume the amount of nuts, pulses and tofu to reach my protein requirements.

@alittleprivacy what do the animals eat that the carnivores are eating?

Not quite what you asked, but I was told years ago that stoneground wholemeal bread or toast with peanut butter combine to make a protein as nutritious as any meat. Quick fix if you are going vegan.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/easy-vegan-recipes

Vegan / WFPB here and have been for decades.
Fake meats and all that processed junk is utterly gross. Avoid that, and just introduce as many plants / legumes in your diet as possible - simple as that.

In answer to your question, as to what you can eat that’s healthy and not more expensive:
Pasta with so many different sauces
Noodles / Rice / avosushi / Thai / Vietnamese etc
Curry
Slow cooked stews / casseroles - lots of root veg.
Soups - use red lentils to thicken and adds protein
Coconut milk / yog adds creaminess to all of the above
Potatoes - in every format!
Bulgar and veggie/chickpea tagines.
This is making me hungry!

And if you don't have time to cook, something like Heinz five beanz - it's got a bit of added sugar but nothing really weird. I'm planning on half a can for my lunch with some smoked paprika and chipotle Tabasco in it. And then, because I'm not actually vegan and I've got some in the fridge an egg poached in it

Weird fact
Some wine has fish extract in it
Who would have thought that wine ever had fish in it in the first place !

Vegan wine contains no fish extract

Secondly, vegans do not eat honey or use any other bee products like bee wax

Some beers also use isinglass I believe.