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Original poster

Vegan-Vegan friendly MNetters- the new thread-sign in here!

743 replies

anyabanya · 15/06/2010 10:02

Hi Vegan and vegan-friendly MNetters!

Just wanted to know if anyone was out there and wanted to form a support thread- to talk about food/ veganism, 'stuff' in general.

I am late 30s, have been an on and off vegan for about 6 years, and after a hiatus of about 9 months or so am back 'on'. I adore cooking with a passion, and love reading food blogs and vegan food blogs.

I would very much like to exchange thoughts/tips/frustrations with anyone else out there!

OP posts:
CakeandRoses · 10/02/2011 19:31

i did a 'spring vegetable slice' with puff pastry this week - very nice it was too Smile

asparagus, leek, mushroom and garlic sauteed in olive oil and a tsp or so of boillon powder til soft, then add a carton of dairy-free cream and season with more boillon, salt and pepper to taste.

Chuck onto puff pasty and fold over and seal.

Bake til pastry is done.

we had these with peas and new potatoes.

brillopads · 11/02/2011 08:49

C&R mmm, that spring veg. does sound nice...

Is anyone planning anything special to eat for a Vegan Valentine's day? I might steal the spring veggie recipe- asparagus= supposed aphrodisiac hehe

But I also have a heart-shaped cake mould I could dust off if anyone has any delish dessert ideas?

CakeandRoses · 12/02/2011 09:38

ah sorry, i just reread and saw i omitted to say you should thicken the sauce with a couple of tsp of cornflour (mixed with soya milk or water)

CakeandRoses · 12/02/2011 09:43

re heart-shaped cake mould - how about a classic victoria sponge? i know it sounds a bit pedestrian but often the oldies are the goodies!

my friend baked one yesterday using the same recipe for vanilla cupcakes from Vegan cupcakes take over the world . it was so lovely, not light but moist (which is my preference). prob one of my fave cakes (and i eat a different cake weekly!)

pigear · 12/02/2011 21:31

Hi to everyone

Cakeandroses, a vegan pizza night sounds lovely, I love pizza!

Englishirlintaipei, I have read a book called Vegan Freak and liked it, will have a look for the podcast.

Just wanted to say that I braved up to speaking to one of the ladies who runs the Wednesday toddler group and she couldn't have been nicer. She has taken my phone number and will text me if she is planning a food based activity so that I can bring in a vegan version for my daughter, apparently next weeks is fruit kebabs so we are OK there.

After that she must have spoken to one of the other ladies who came up and said she would like to do a vegan day one day for the children as a lot of them won't even know about vegetarianism and it would be good for them to learn about it.

So I was really happy with that outcome!

CakeandRoses · 12/02/2011 22:57

that's a great result pigear - well done! Smile

Made vegan yorkshire puds tonight using this recipe Really easy and few ingredients.

my sister made small ones using this recipe a couple of weeks ago with great success.

Tonight I made the large version and filled them with veg sausages and gravy. They were very nice but my resident expert said they should have been slightly less moist. tbh, i think it was the high-sided dishes i used which would have retained the steam rather than the recipe itself being at fault.

They were good enough to justify buying some proper tins for next time.

nottirednow · 13/02/2011 09:57

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CakeandRoses · 15/02/2011 09:18

nottirednow

someone up thread suggested some great vegan hampers. ah tis here:

Doodlez Mon 21-Jun-10 15:14:47
Meat eater here (Dad was a butcher!) BUT, one of my favourite friends is Vegan and I've used this website to order her hampers and stuff before now.

It's called Withy Kitchen and I can highly recommend.

my fave present for vegans are troody skrumptious chocolates. not cheap but are seriously, the best chocolates i've ever had. dh buys them for me for easter and christmas. i think she only makes them a few times a year now so easter would be your best bet.

nottirednow · 15/02/2011 09:48

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CakeandRoses · 15/02/2011 12:18

not sure if my post above was clear. the hampers Doodlez recommends are from Withy kitchen and aren't chocolate afaik.

tbh, it sounds as tho there might be more behind his lack of appetite than just not fancying food tho: an illness, deficiency or anorexia? Sad

i know lots of vegans and vegetarians and they are all food and cooking obsessed so i think the stereotype of skinny, pale veggies is (dangerously?) inaccurate.

CakeandRoses · 15/02/2011 12:24

oh and i made this scrummy vegan banana bread (it's really cake tbh) earlier.

as usual, i changed the recipe a bit:

only used plain white flour
added choc chips :-)
used oil instead of margarine

it's lovely!

nottirednow · 16/02/2011 10:47

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englishgirlintaipei · 16/02/2011 21:28

I would be a little worried about him, if i were you. If he's restricting his diet, refusing to eat out with you(even if you go to vegan places?), losing lots of weight ect.. could all add up to signs of of an eating disorder.
Is he also depressed? or worrying too much? As really if he's just a vegan or vegetarian he shouldn't be losing weight unless he's not really looking after himself.
Good luck, and i hope that i am wrong and that he's just not been eating enough.

nottirednow · 17/02/2011 10:05

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brillopads · 22/02/2011 22:26

Did anyone see the recipe in the Weekend section last Saturday:
Walnut black cherry cookies
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/19/walnut-black-cherry-cookies-recipe *drool emoticon

they herald the beginning of "A month of dairy-, soya- and egg-free baking" Grin

Susiewho · 25/02/2011 22:05

Oooo, that's great, brillopads. I'll have to keep an eye out for the recipes. :)

NoHunIntended · 27/02/2011 15:01

Thought some of you might enjoy this:

HopeForTheBest · 27/02/2011 20:03

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ on request of its author.

Susiewho · 27/02/2011 21:24

NoHunIntended, that's absolutely brilliant! Grin

HopeForTheBest, we feed our dog V Dog (www.veggiepets.com/shop/v-dog-crunchy-nuggets-vegetarian-dog-food-15kg.html) which is an excellent vegan dog food. She also has a lot of appropriate left-overs from our meals - pasta, veggie sausages, baked beans etc, etc. The dog has lived with us for a year, and I can honestly say that her general health has increased since she's been on the veggie diet. Her coat is glossy and she is very bright.

The dog we had before the current hound ate solely V Dog (originally called 'Happi Dog') from a young age was extremely healthy. Literally the only time he went to the vet was for vaccinations and to be finally put to sleep at a very respectable age (he outlived his brother by six years, who lived in a different family and was fed on standard dog foods - possibly meaningless, but we've always wondered if there was a dietary link)!

The cats were six when I re-homed them and struggled to eat just vegan food. Eight years later on a combination of wet fish cat food and AMI vegan cat food (www.veggiepets.com/shop/ami-vegan-cat-food-10kg.html), they too have never been to the vet apart from for vaccinations. Whenever the vet sees them he comments on their excellent condition. I told them about the Veggie Pets website, and he now feeds all three of his dogs solely on Yarrah veggie dog food!

There's a vet called Dr. Andrew Knight who produces a lot of information about 'veggie pets', which you may find of interest: www.vegepets.info/

Oh, and DP was vegan when we met, so that's never been an issue - phew! :)

Susiewho · 27/02/2011 21:26

Sorry, I meant that her health has improved, not increased! Blush

CakeandRoses · 01/03/2011 09:16

i'm vegan and dh is an omnivore. not an issue at all as he eats mainly veggie/vegan at home and i do pretty much all the cooking. he's cool about the DCs being vegan.

i saw that in the observer too brillo - yay! aside from the recipe, i thought what it said about how to make vegan baking more tasty with nut oils, malt extract etc was v interesting (i bake lots so will try those ideas)

PenguinArmy · 02/03/2011 04:34

those with vegan DC's. Any tips for quick filling food. Most people recommend cheese, meet etc but obviously not right for us. DD is 1 year (on saturday Shock) but feel like I don't have lots of idea.

PenguinArmy · 02/03/2011 04:56
englishgirlintaipei · 04/03/2011 08:30

Im vegan and my cat is not...cat's shouldn't be vegan as they are meat eaters. Dogs on the other had can be. I am sure some will disagree with me but then again Vegans disagree about lots of things...just like the rest of the world! :)
Ps any one got a good cup cake recipe as i always end up with stickish flat cakes. i want non sticky dome shaped cakes... any ideas?

GeorgeEliot · 05/03/2011 17:53

Hi

Please could the vegan community enlighten me about soya milk - I've just embarked on a vegan diet, and find soya milk is fine on cereal, and in porridge - but if you add it to hot tea or coffee it goes funny and sort of curdles. I was hoping I could use it as a substititute for milk in soups too (made leek and potato for lunch) but I presume you would get the same separation problem.

Please enlighten me on what you do about tea and coffee.

Thanks