Going vegan chat thread

[KermitLovesMe]

I'm slowly going vegan - anybody else making the transition and fancy a chat thread?

Unfortunately my kidneys are not working too well and plant protein is much easier for them to deal with. I'm largely veggie but do drink milk and eat a lot of cheese! The family aren't big on pulses so I think I'm going to have to cook two sets of meals.

So far I'm struggling with lunch as a cheese-sandwich-addict.

There are some great vegan cheeses now so I’d recommend trying several to see what you think. Personally I love the vegan smoked applewood in a sandwich, and it melts well too. I also stock up on Asda’s own brand cheddar alternative.
I often keep an eye out for Higgidy vegan products on offer as they make great lunches. I love their mushroom and spinach quiche and the miso mushroom rolls. I had this salad for lunch yesterday and Tuesday www.waitrose.com/home/recipes/recipe_directory/t/tofu-noodle-salad.html
Cooking two meals every night sounds awful and I really don’t think it’s necessary. I know the processed meat alternatives have a bad rep, but they’re getting more and more realistic and not all of them are full of crap. They’d help you avoid giving your family pulses all the time, and save you from cooking two meals. I’d definitely recommend your family try Richmond’s meat free sausages. Asda also make good frozen vegan meatballs.
Here are some of my family’s favourite vegan dinners:
Burgers www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/the-best-vegan-burger/
Mac and cheese www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/vegan_mac_and_cheese_32466
Lasagne realfood.tesco.com/recipes/vegan-aubergine-and-red-pepper-lasagne.html

I love tesco and sainsbury own brand cheeses.
But it can take a bit for tastebuds to adjust.
Anything else you'd like for lunch?

I started the transition a while ago and have been fully vegan for about a month and a half.

I also heavily relied on a cheese toastie for lunch! My favourite cheese alternative is violife epic mature. For lunch if I fancy a sandwich I'll have some of that, maybe with some Quorn ham. Otherwise I eat a lot of houmous, falafel, leftovers from dinner, noodles, soup, or a cheeky ready meal.

I'm used to cooking separate meals as my kids are fussy, so will usually cook one vegan meal for me and DH, and something for the kids.

Thanks for all the great tips so far! I'm going to look up the cheese. My local supermarkets aren't great for vegan options but going to see if I can get some online.

I'm also on a low-histamine diet at the moment (think all of my current health problems stem from long COVID ) so I'm already cooking double meals, so not too phased about that.

I made this yummy nut and oat milk this morning. I managed to squeeze the cheesecoth too hard when straining and cover myself with nut bits but it tasted great!

This evening I'm going to cook a vegan lentil shepherd's pie for me and a beef version for the kids. Wish me luck.

I would love to hear from anyone else making the transition. Please feel welcome to post.

I've decided that I want to transition to vegan this year and have been slowly introducing alternatives into my diet.

I've never been veggie so started from a meat-based diet.

I think it's going well so far and I've pretty much cracked it when I'm cooking for myself, but I still struggle a lot when eating out (don't live in the UK) because I find a lot of the vegan options very samey and stuff that I would cook at home.

I.e there'll always be a vegan burger etc

When I go out I like to have things I would never cook for myself at home like spaghetti with mussels and clams (I had that tonight and am feeling bad about it now!)

I'll admit I do still have cheese for a treat but I try to get specialty cheeses that have been made locally so at least they're not imported. I also really miss butter because one of my all-time favorite foods was a buttery slice of toast with marmite.

Margarine just don't do it for me.

The shepherd's pie is a great idea - you can veganise the mash without people even noticing. So one lot of mash, and two fillings. I always add nutritional yeast to my mash, it makes it taste amazing!

I hear you on the butter redtshirt. I'm hoping to go largely vegan but maybe preserve a few treat things now and then. Local cheese sounds lovely. Ohhh veggie burger sounds like a great idea for a vegan family dinner. Do you have a fave recipe?

I had a rainbow salad wrap for lunch and the kids made Greek salad for dinner, so I just avoided the feta and had houmous instead. First day of going vegan, hooray!

How do I figure out how to get enough protein? Should I buy a few books?

Shepherd's pie tomorrow :) Thanks for the encouragement!!

Try Flora Plant or Natruli for butter - they are both really good and have a proper buttery taste.

Corn flakes and oat nut milk for breakfast, roasted carrot sandwich for lunch, lentil shepherds pie for dinner. Yay!

Thanks NeverEndingI'll look those brands up

Another vote for Naturli. Have never tried Flora Plant so can't comment on that

I have to say the Asda mature cheese alternative is pretty good - better than Violife imo.