Vegan Before 6?

[misshardbroom]

Has anyone read about this? It's basically the concept of eating a solely vegan diet throughout the day and then an omnivorous evening meal.

I appreciate that this isn't in the true spirit of veganism, it's more intended as a way to embrace the health benefits of a vegan diet, it's not an ethical choice. Well, I suppose it could be an environmental choice in terms of eating less meat.

But anyway...

I thought it was interesting and a possible half way house for someone like me who is at home by herself all day, but still has to cook something that the whole family will eat for dinner.

Can anybody help me think of vegan breakfasts other than toast?

Any cereals with soya/oat or there is a new coconut milk that is suppose to be very like ordinary milk.

Beans,marmite, peanut butter on toast. Fruit salads hope this helps as a start.

xx

Here is a link to the vegan societys recipe index. here

I'm vegan. For breakfast I usually have cereal during the week, with soya milk. My favourite soya milk is the fresh So Good (i.e. from the refrigerated section, not the longer-life shelf section) - don't give up on soya milk/veganism if the first ones you try you don't like - there are many varieties with slight variations on taste. So Good is also better in tea and coffee than other varieties we have tried.
DH often has vegan yoghurt in his cereal, just to mix things up a bit.
DH often has toast for breakfast too - usually topped with vegan margarine (such as Pure) and marmalade/jam/Marmite. We can get vegan chocolate spread too, though neither of us have this much - but it IS available, certainly in big towns.

Regarding breakfast cereals, if you are wanting to be strict about veganism during the day, there are things to watch out for - e.g. most store-brand bran flakes are vegan, but bizarrely, the Kelloggs version has honey (not vegan!) in it. Many cereals have random nonsense in it, mainly milk products. If you are just doing veganism during the day, maybe you won't want to bother being so strict, but I'm just putting it out there FYI.

On the weekend when we have more time, we often have tofu scramble - soft silken tofu fried in a pan with a variety of vegetables, such as red onion, leek, peppers, spring onion, mushrooms, fresh spinach, fresh tomatoes, garlic, and a random selection of herbs and spices, and if you have a little vegan cheese grated on top, mmm, heaven on a plate. On chunky toasted bread. With a dollop of ketchup on the side.
Or I'll make a vegan bacon toasted sandwich, with vegan cheese slices and fried onion, ketchup and vegan mayo (you can get vegan mayo in Sainsburys!).
Or vegan sausages and baked beans.

Enjoy!

A good selection of fruit.
Porridge.

I don't get it. Why would you eat a vegan diet by replacing all the eggs, meat and dairy with fake eggs meat and dairy?

is the point of veganism not that you can get everything you need from plants without resorting to heavily processed junk like fake cheese (GOD knows what it's made of or how they make it that colour) or fake bacon (ditto)?

People are vegan for a variety of reasons. I am vegan primarily for health reasons, though the ethical and environmental matters also factor. Health-wise, I do not believe eating meat is good for us, but sometimes to add some variety to meals, it's nice to have something other than vegetables to put on a toasted sandwich. It's just called vegan bacon - if it were called flavoured soya protein, and wasn't shaped into rashers, would you have such a problem with it?

Yes, I can and do get everything I need from a plant-based diet - soya products are plant-based - just flavoured (with herbs and spices) and made into textured products to give us extra variety, but also for the people who miss meat, but don't want to contribute to the cruelty that is the meat and dairy industry, it gives them that thing they might miss. Personally, I do not miss bacon or any meat or dairy at all.
Vegan sausages are usually just vegetables made into sausage shapes. No biggie.

I can do without vegan bacon or vegan cheese pretty easily. I was just pointing out that there are options other than fruit and cereal.

I'd be far more concerned about the junk that is in dairy and meat - all the chemicals they pump into those cows - far worse for you than processed vegan cheese or vegan 'bacon'.

Thanks to everyone for your ideas, that gives me plenty to start with.

Day 1 of the VB6 project and I had porridge made with rice milk and topped off with sliced banana and raisins, and a mug of fruit tea. It was very delicious, and interestingly, I'm not missing the caffeine jolt from my normal coffee either.

DS1 also had some of the vegan porridge and didn't mention anything about it tasting different to normal (although the generous spoonful of demerara sugar he had on his might have something to do with it!)

Lunch is going to be soup and bread with Pure. All good for the first 3 hours of part-time veganism!

That's a great start. Hope you enjoy your lunch

Woo hoo - well done! Glad it's going so well!

I must point out that organically reared cows don't have any chemicals pumped into them beyond necessary medication to heal any infections they might catch (antibiotics are allowed for an illness that is present, but NOT allowed as a preventative), and that cows are not the only source of meat.

A wild rabbit, for example, is unlikely to have ever been fed growth hormones, antibiotics or other 'chemicals'.

I understand that people who are vegan as a matter of ethics will still not be interested, and I absolutely support their choice not to eat animal based foods, but healthwise - there is nothing unhealthy about moderate amounts of organic skimmed milk, eggs, honey, fish, shellfish and lean organic meat.

Although it is a common misconception amongst meat-eaters that vegans must live on tomatoes and mung beans, it is a common misconception amongst the vegans I know that meat eaters must stuff themselves silly with deep fried cows penises at every opportunity. Neither of these misconceptions represent a moderately healthy vegan/omnivorous diet.

do cows have penises?

I'm glad it's going well misshardbroom.

I am a vegetarian for humane reason only. I really enjoyed meat and have no quarms in buying and enjoying meat subsistutes. I find it quite strange that some meat eaters seem to get upset by this.

xx

Thanks folks. DH thinks it's hilarious and refuses to countenance a day without cow's milk!

Not sure about meat-substitutes but only because I made something truly vile with Quorn mince a couple of weeks ago and haven't quite got over it yet .

I do suspect, though, that the objection (if that's not too strong a word) that many meat eaters have to vegan bacon, vegan sausage, nut cutlets etc. is, as AbFabT says, the fact that they are shaped into 'meat' shapes and called things like 'bacon' and 'sausage'. I think it will probably be a lot easier for me to do without these things, being a pretendy part-time vegan rather than if you had made a wholesale ethical decision about animal products. I still have the option of a plate of steak-frites for my dinner, just as long as the sun is over the yard-arm!

Mrs Crimble's vegan Dutch Apple Cake went down nicely with my friends who came over for a coffee after school yesterday though.

I think it is a good idea but you can hardly say it is a vegan diet! It is a balanced diet, but instead of balancing it in the same meal it is balancing it according to time. I could say that I am a part time vegan, but I put it on the same plate!!!

I don't claim it is a proper conversion to being a vegan. It's just trying to follow vegan rules for the majority of my waking hours, and for 2 out of 3 meals each day, and any snacks. And I'm the first to admit that it's for reasons of health and weight, and general vanity rather than for any sound ethical reason.

Hi Misshardbroom... I am curious, how did this go for you? Are you still doing it? I am 'veg-curious' i think the word is. Dabbling.

Hi

also wondering how you got on - I've been wondering about dipping my toe in the began water without knowing how to fit it in with my resolutely meat-eating family. VB6 seems a great idea - and after that, who knows?

BTW - what is the problem for meat-eaters with veggie sausages/bacon? Since when has a cow or a pig been sausage or cultet shaped anyway?

Hi,

We're vegan. My 2 year old daughter LOVES porridge with soya milk, and I mix some ground almond in for extra calcium.

Beans on toast is another fave.

I'm sure a lot of other cereals are suitable for vegans. Weetabix is, for example.

There's always

• scrambled tofu,
• Linda McCartney sausages (and many other brands),
• hash browns,
• vegan bacon,
• pancakes,
• yogurts
• fruit etc, etc, etc!

Lots of different toast toppings too, of course. I give my daughter salt-free yeast extract, for vitamin B12, rather than salty Marmite.

Hope that helps,

Sarah