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

[anyabanya]

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!

Penguin, I worried about DS BLWing (omni) and wobbled and started spooning in custard and yoghurt. It's hard to be confident with an unusual choice sometimes. Sounds like she's doing fine.

NoHun, is he walking totally unaided? Not just cruising? They only need shoes when they have been walking unaided for six weeks. And they don't need shoes indoors, put it off as long as you can.

Cake, unfortunately DH is more of a veg-avoider than a meat lover iyswim, so the chances of getting him to eat proper veg meals is slim-0, but pies/sausages etc. might be a possibility. I've told him I'll make something and if he doesn't like it, there'll be a stack of pizzas in the freezer and a stack of Stagg Chilli cans in the cupboard.

I'm still testing the vegan waters atm. Having a Fry's Chocolate Cream, takes me back.

I need more recipes. I've a couple of books, and don't want to buy loads more books, any recommendations for Vegan recipe sites?

TW, he does a couple of steps unaided, but mainly cruising - or loads of walking if he has a hand to hold - he loves it, grins and shrieks with pleasure when he is getting walked around the house, but we don't have much space so I'd love to be able to encourage his walking outside. I took him to the park on Tuesday and he really wanted to walk between the equipment, not be carried, so I think I do need shoes for him? What should I put on him now then, save his socks getting filthy? Or just be at one with nature and have him go barefoot .

I've been compiling a list of recipes here: www.veganparent.com/?q=node/9 - hth. Am moving it all across to another website though, but hopefully there are some ideas there for you for now.

DD is still is softer shoes, but we don't have rain or mud to contend with.

I need to look up vegan shoes, atm DH has been buying her second hand leather ones. Since he is the SAHD (for the moment) and I forget to give more implicit instructions I'm not bothered about it. When we get back to the UK I shall look around proper. I'm more relaxed about using second hand non-vegan goods.

I have been as good as my word and DH is happy for DD to be fully vegan atm. Not sure how we'll do on our road trip, just have to see what's around and when. I've looked up locations of whole food and vegan stores in various cities that we're going to, but it will be dinners that are the problem (especially as budget is really tight and most places don't have kitchens). I predict lots of mexican food.

DD currently loves bean burgers, she's going through a finger food stage so lentils and bean curries are out atm. Vegan finger food for dinner is apparently not something we do a lot naturally, but we're having to scout for other things to eat.

I don't mind the rain or mud at all - it's the dog poo that bothers me.

Converse look lovely, but like Jingas, they look like a lot of effort to get on a wriggly baby/toddler, all those laces. I do like the idea of the bespoke ones I linked to above, am just baulking at the price, especially for something that won't last long.

Well done re your sticking to veganism for your DD. Mmm, Mexican is yum!

just back from hols and have a mountain of unpacking and laundry so just a quickie for now

hello mrmzholland, we'll try to be gentle for a few weeks at least

my fave recipe site is this one

i've got a vegan ds (nearly 3yo) and dd (nearly 1yo) and i'm just getting to the stage of worrying about people offering ds non-vegan stuff and how to deal with it. it's not even just vegan stuff tho, it's things like sweets which he was offered twice in the last week (may or may not have been vegan but would prefer him not to have sweets for now anyway). trying to not worry about it too much and just deal with each situation as it arises but i think i now need to explain to him what a vegan is and why we're vegan etc (have only really mentioned the V word to date). anyone got any tips on handling this please?

nohun we get canvas summer shoes for ds from start-rite, they have some adorable designs. mothercare also usually have a good few non-leather shoes which are good for winter.

are you enjoying your trip penguin? we plaster wraps/bread etc with bean pastes/humous etc so its still finger food - are you trying that?

timewasting hmm, reckon you need to get a good repertoire of veganised meaty dishes then. my dh's vegan faves are hotdogs & wedges; pies with mash or roast potatoes; burgers with wedges, sausages and mash, spag bol/meat balls, roast dinner with 'something' instead of the meat. he now prefers all of these (except the burgers and the roast) to the real meat version.

Welcome back, Cakes.

I don't know - it's tricky. If an adult, I'd just say directly but nicely that no, we don't eat bits of bone and hoof (if I am feeling combative), or a simple no thanks - though I do think people should be educated not to offer a young child something without checking with their parent(s). Another child - do they offer to share their own sweets?

Thanks re shoes. I found some nice ones in Mothercare, though DS wouldn't let me try them on him. Took him to Pumpkin Patch, and he let me put a few on him, and they look nice, AND were in the sale, so I've got him some for now and for the next size up. How much do they need shoes? Do shoes help at all, or should we be aiming for barefoot as much as possible?

nohun well done on the shoes - i found it a nightmare with F's first pairs as I couldn't get advice from anywhere re non-leather first walker shoes. when i found start-rite and mothercare i felt like i'd struck gold i was so happy sounds like pumpkin patch is well worth adding to the small list too.

each child is different re shoes it seems - depending on how much you go outside and whether they prefer walking bare foot or with shoes (some only like the latter). as time said, the advice is to keep them in soft shoes/bare foot/socks for first 6 weeks after they start walking tho so try not to use them much for now.

deffo steer clear of laces - a complete pain in the rear.

re the two sweet 'situations':

one was indeed another child about a year older than my ds but thankfully his mother leapt in when she saw I wasn't happy about it and took the packet away and said she totally understood as she'd tried to keep her ds away from sweets as long as poss. i did feel a bit sad about it as the little boy was lovely (as was his mother) and was being so kind to my ds - we'd just got off the flight and he was sharing his toys (and sweets!)

the other one was a Sicilian shop-keeper - charming, blond boys are irresistible to Italians . she'd given him a lolly before i knew what was happening so i waited til we got outside and asked him if he wanted to swap it for some chocolate when we got home (i'm not as fussy about chocolate now as it's a) vegan and b) not inherently unhealthy in the way sweets usually are. i started letting him have the odd bit of chocolate around 2yo).

you just can;t really anticipate situations like this so it's got me thinking about how to deal with it all now it's less in my control than when ds was younger.

Thanks, cakey. :) I like the idea of a little barefoot hippy, really!

Love those £££ bespoke vegan shoes I linked to, but baulking at the cost of something that won't last long size-wise. Maybe when he's a little older, but for now, they seem a bit of an extravagance.

Love the look of Converse, they do a really cute tiger-print pair, but they are over £20, and the laces look like hard work. I don't even do laces for myself!

It's tricky, isn't it. You want to encourage sharing in them, but at the same time, teach we can't always have what other people are having. Though I do remember when I was a young child, there was a little boy who was allergic to certain e-numbers, and even at that young age (five-ish), I understood perfectly well not to offer him sweets.
I do think adults should know better than to just give a child something. I'd always check with the parent first.

We are fine with chocolate too - DS has already had a little bit (in the pain au chocolat I made (added a bit of chocolate to those Jus-Rol croissants! Mmm!). I figure we are being uber healthy with everything else, and a bit of chocolate is fine.

The vegan children I've met are older than yours, but all seemed very well clued up about what they could eat and what to decline - perhaps 2-5 is the tricky age, and from then on it just gets easier .

Hi, I haven't read this threat yet but I will return to it when I have more time. I've been a vegetarian for 27 years and yesterday I officially became a vegan. So I'm now just beginning a whole new way of eating and cooking and will be looking for top tips. At the moment I'm just sorting out my diet, but when I've done that for a while I'll have a closer look at cosmetics/cleaning products etc.

My dd (age 4) will remain an occasional meat eater and decide for herself when she's old enough if she wants to be a vegetairan/vegan, although she'll be eating a lot more vegan now that I am.

True independence, and a date to remember! Welcome to the club, happybubblebrain! :)

Thanks, I've had lovely food in the last two days so I'm really looking forward to it.

That's great, hbb. How is it going, a week on?

That's great, hbb. How is it going, a week on?

Hello all, have just received an official invitation from NoHunIntended (lovely stationery, gold leaf borders, v posh), after posting for inspiration for child friendly vegan recipes.

I'm in the process of becoming vegan after being total omnivore so quite a change and a lot of work still to go!
I'm going to go through the thread and look at all the suggestions on here, but I hope you won't mind if I ask for help because there seem to be so many pitfalls. Mainly so far with well meaning people forgetting I now take coffee black and that ham salad is not vegan!

How long did it take for you to "come out" as vegan? I feel kind of silly saying it when last time I saw/spoke to someone I was eating meat.

I'm worried I'll fall off the wagon or fail altogether and people will mock (sounds stupid when I write it!)

Think I think too much :o

:) A very warm gold-leafy welcome to you, LadyGooGoo!

Please do feel free to ask for any help - we will try our best!

I went vegan at 25, after five years of being vegetarian - I don't remember making any announcement, it just seemed to dawn on people, I think.

If you fall off the wagon, just get back on.

Hello all, can I join in. I decided to go vegan about 3 months ago, from a standing start. Its going ok so far except its hard when we go on holiday in Spain, which we do a lot. I'm getting lazy though, I'm not a very good cook and as the rest of the family are omni and not likely to change, my evening meals are getting uninventive/maybe not great nutritionally, because often I'm making 2 separate meals - though I try to use the same "base" and add their meat later. I've got loads of/too many cookbooks but as I said, am just not very good at cooking.
Could anyone suggest maybe 3 or 4 great standby meals that are either quick and easy, or on the other hand, that I can make a big portion of and then freeze for later? I like all sorts of flavours and styles of food.
thank you xx

Welcome, amigababy. The more the merrier. Great to have you here.

I make a big batch of lasagne, loaded with vegetables, and that an last days.
Curries are also great cooked in batch, and imho, taste even better the next day.
One of my easiest meals is just a can of chickpeas, some lightly fried veg (e.g. peppers, onion, broccoli), and a tin of tomatoes, add some herbs and spices, and you are done. This can easily last a few days. Sometimes I'll do it with spicy herby roast potatoes.
Big batch of houmous can last a week, and is great on jacket potatoes, with baked beans.
Veggie burgers? Surely all the family will happily eat those, especially if you do the whole bun/salad/relish and chips thing?

If you are doing the cooking, can you not insist the family eat what you cook in the evenings, and get their meat/dairy fixes in the day, or cook their own evening meal?

NoHunIntended - it's nearly 2 weeks in now and I'm so glad I did it. I'm sure I'm going to keep it up. I've been surprised at the variety of food I've been eating and how delicious it all is. I've had lots of tofu dishes - I found out the local chinese supermarket does a few different kinds of tofu and they are lovely. I've been having sandwhiches with vegan pate and salad for lunch with lots of nuts, seeds, fruit and vegan snacks. For dinner I've made things like shepherds pie, sweet potato fritters, pasta with homemade pesto. I've also made made some vegan puddings including bread and butter pudding - I discovered that provamel vanilla desert when thinned down with soya milk makes a really nice custard. I've had vegan hot dogs with fried onions and chips with mushy peas and vegan sausages. I'm sure I can be more adventurous than this, I'm just making sure I have some fall back easy dinners so I don't always have to do lots and lots of cooking.

Overall, I do feel much more energetic, healthy and really good about the things I'm eating. And I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything at all. I wish I'd done it years ago.

Welcome amiga, ladygoogoo and happy!

Sorry I haven't been around lately - mad busy sorting stuff out ready to go back to work after maternity leave at the same time as thinking about starting my own business so my only mumsnetting has been thinking aloud about all my madness on one of my postnatal threads!

I was veggie from birth and went vegan about 14 years ago (i need to work out exactly when as i probably say something different every time i'm asked!) I;d initially intended to only be vegan at home but a month in, i really went off the idea of dairy and eggs when eating out so went 100% vegan. I can;t really remembering 'coming out' or any problems with it. Being vegan has been pretty much positive all round trips to spain aside.

like nohun said, couldn't you cook veggie/vegan at home if you;re doing the cooking amiga? That's what i do and my dh is omni (he has just said he's giving up red meat, which is astounding!)

if you look down the thread slightly you'll see i've listed some of the meals which go down well with him. he's getting more adventurous by the day tho, he used to dislike vegetables whereas lately his fave dishes (cooked by me) have been very much vegetable-based as opposed to the meat-substitute ones he'd previously preferred.

even if you don;t feel comfortable making all the meals vegan then surely half the week you can cook veggie - these days it seems most omnivores i know don't eat meat for dinner every day. for instance you could do pasta dishes such tagliatelle in (soya) cream, mushroom, asparagus and garlic sauce which would suit everyone.

The croissants are indeed delicious with choc chips in nohun! nice one for that!

Just cooking a roast (late as put the DCs to bed a bit late): Nut roast, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, broc, runners, carrots, asparagus, peas and gravy - yummy!

Hello all,

I'm Shell I was vegetarian for 14 years and became vegan 5 years ago.
My DS is vegetarian, but has mostly dairy free alternative, so he is almost vegan, but he loves the frubes yogurts, and I am not going to tell him he can't have them if he wants them.
Wh

I got a lot of stick for wanting to bring him up meat free, but I believe it is healthier, and when he is old enough he can make up his own mind about what he eats.

DH is a carnivore, although he eats mostly meat free, I would never ask him to give up meat all together, that is his choice.

I only buy organic and local produce as a rule.
I make everything from scratch, I have a obsessive issue with processed food, and knowing exactly what is in everything we eat,
I bake all our bread, make all stocks and sauces from scratch and even make my own pasta.

I adore cooking, and I know my family is much better off for it all.

It is so lovely to see so many other vegan mums. :)

Hi can I join? I am not a vegan but I have just become vegetarian. I was a big meat eater before but now cannot bring myself to eat meat of fish. I would like to become vegan one day but have decided not to jump straight in as I dont want to fail. Although I am still eating eggs (free range only) and cheese I am being careful about what else I eat. I dont want to be eating any cheese made with rennet or anything containing geletin. I am still concerned about milk though as I know dairy cows have a tough life. Would organic milk be a better choice? Any help and advice welcome as I'm sure certain friends and family want to see me fail

hbb, that's great - and that is exactly how I felt when I went vegan - sooo much better, healthier, lighter, better skin etc etc. Really pleased for you.

cakey, hope the return to work went ok. Glad you liked the chocolate croissants. Try white chocolate too (I use the white chocolate buttons) - doesn't taste like white chocolate once it is melted, just a yummy sweet gooey croissant! Mmmm!

Hello, Shell, and welcome. So pleased to see so many vegan parents.

livvy, welcome, of course you can join. Most of us were vegetarian before we went vegan. I do wonder why I didn't make the switch sooner - I never fell off the wagon, it all just felt right and good. My personal opinion is that no, organic milk means bugger all, really. There are so many alternatives now - soya milk, rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc - and different brands, all tasting different - there are bound to be several that you like. I am sorry you don't have a supportive bunch of friends and family though. Some people transitioning to vegan eat vegan in their own home, but will accept a cup of tea made with cow's milk when a guest at someone's home. Might that be a suitable stepping stone for you?

Thanks Nohunintended! Great news, I have adapted really well to my new veggie lifestyle, so much so I have now decided that vegan is the way forward. I have researched into milk production and have been horrified to be honest, so have switched to rice milk. I now need to find a good cheese substitute as I LOVE cheese and need a good replacement as most of my veggie recipes have cheese in. I am going to continue to eat eggs, but only from our own free range chickens which we will be getting very soon. I love eggs and our chickens are going to be kept as family pets but if they want to lay an egg or two for me I wont mind .

My dh has been really supportive and has been eating the same as me! He has said as long as he can eat meat on the odd occasion he doesn't mind.

But the best news is that after chatting with my dc's about why mummy doesn't eat meat anymore they have both decided they don't want to eat meat either. I am of course thrilled about this but leaving the decision up to them as they are only 4 and 6.

nice one livvy. Great news about your dh and children too!!

Cheese-wise:I like the redwoods cheezley the best. My faves are the melting and soy-free ones.

i used to miss eggs initially and used to dream of getting some rescue chickens and eating their eggs but the thought of eggs really grosses me out now. my vegan sister tried an egg (from her inlaw's free-range chickens) for the first time in 13 years recently and said she wouldn't again as it was really 'eggy'

I'm having a great cakey week as dd turned 1 yesterday. i made a huge choc cake using a new recipe and it turned out brilliantly. a friend is making some amazing cupcakes for her party on saturday: banana with choc buttercream; rum and raisin; and carrot cake! Yum diddly!

Meanwhile dh keeps going on about making him some more brownies . did i give the recipe already? if not, does anyone want it?