Vegan Misconceptions

[ratikala]

Namaste lti oj ji , ...

Vegans eat foods food. People think that vegans and vegetarians eat nothing but salads. I rarely eat salad. I have not had a salad since i harvested one from my garden, at least 3 months now. Also I have 1 recipe for a "dinner salad" and treat salad as a side most of the time just like most non vegans.

me too I only ever eat Salad in summer when we can grow our own or get some from a local organic farm , ....
actualy we descovered (having a glut of leticue) that leticue is realy nice quickly stir fried with young potatoes , ...

Another misconception and also something i here from ex vegans is i never felt full or satisfied. My experience and my research has lead me to believe that diet wasn't adequate, likely suffering from a lack of variety among other things.

I dont seem to have this problem we usualy have Brown Basmati Rice with at least a couple of Subji's (vegetable side dishes) sometimes with bread or Chapati sometimes with steemed savory cake called Dhokla made from rice and chikpea flower served with fried sesame seeds and coriander this way one gets a good varied diet , ..sometimes if we need a quick lunch we have pasta or buckwheet noodles with steamed vegetables and vegan soft cheese it is so easy to cook , ...

I havent found vegan food to be expencive almist the oposite , we ear well and can often afford organic veg because we dont waste money on pre prepaired foods , ..the only pre prepaired we buy are some ot the vegan cheeses , vegetable margarine and soya youghrt , ...we make our own Tofu the same way as making curd its a littlle fiddly , ..but its fresh and wonderfull choped in rice , .....

and for people that are realy hungry and needing realy heavy comforting food , ...Chick pea rice cooked with creamed coconut it is realy rich and creamy , eaten with lime pickle and a rich subji of aubagine , tomato , red pepers cellery to add flavour , a little chily and ginger , then served with a fresh steamed vegetable selection I love this with sugar snap peas or small peas still in their pods , ...

my husband cooks the main meal , I cook cakes , ...bread , ..sweets , jams , chutny , ....never boring and certtainly we dont go hungry , ...
mostly we eat an Indian diet but varied a little becaiuse we canot get everything here , ..the lndian diet is so easy to addapt to vegan and very well ballanced nutritionaly , ....

 

[Iti oj]

Namaste lti oj ji , ...


me too I only ever eat Salad in summer when we can grow our own or get some from a local organic farm , ....
actualy we descovered (having a glut of leticue) that leticue is realy nice quickly stir fried with young potatoes , ...




I dont seem to have this problem we usualy have Brown Basmati Rice with at least a couple of Subji's (vegetable side dishes) sometimes with bread or Chapati sometimes with steemed savory cake called Dhokla made from rice and chikpea flower served with fried sesame seeds and coriander this way one gets a good varied diet , ..sometimes if we need a quick lunch we have pasta or buckwheet noodles with steamed vegetables and vegan soft cheese it is so easy to cook , ...

I havent found vegan food to be expencive almist the oposite , we ear well and can often afford organic veg because we dont waste money on pre prepaired foods , ..the only pre prepaired we buy are some ot the vegan cheeses , vegetable margarine and soya youghrt , ...we make our own Tofu the same way as making curd its a littlle fiddly , ..but its fresh and wonderfull choped in rice , .....

and for people that are realy hungry and needing realy heavy comforting food , ...Chick pea rice cooked with creamed coconut it is realy rich and creamy , eaten with lime pickle and a rich subji of aubagine , tomato , red pepers cellery to add flavour , a little chily and ginger , then served with a fresh steamed vegetable selection I love this with sugar snap peas or small peas still in their pods , ...

my husband cooks the main meal , I cook cakes , ...bread , ..sweets , jams , chutny , ....never boring and certtainly we dont go hungry , ...
mostly we eat an Indian diet but varied a little becaiuse we canot get everything here , ..the lndian diet is so easy to addapt to vegan and very well ballanced nutritionaly , ....

I want to make everything you just said sounds yummy

 

[crossfire]

Food prices in the USA are highly regional. Produce is cheaper in areas where there is 365 days of growing. Some places dairy is double the cost, etc. Even alcohol is like this...

Because people like data: http://www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic/data/AverageRetailFoodAndEnergyPrices_USandMidwest_Table.htm

Prices tend to be about 20-30% higher in metro regions however... so this table isn't entirely accurate.

I just checked online to compare liquor prices. In Chicago, you can get a 1.75 Liter bottle of Absolut Vodka for around $30. Here in Seattle, that same $30 will only get you a 750 ml bottle of Absolut Vodka.

[kidding] Wanna swap $30 worth of Chicago Vodka for $30 worth of Seattle Salmon? [/kidding]

 

[Mindmaster]

I just checked online to compare liquor prices. In Chicago, you can get a 1.75 Liter bottle of Absolut Vodka for around $30. Here in Seattle, that same $30 will only get you a 750 ml bottle of Absolut Vodka.

[kidding] Wanna swap $30 worth of Chicago Vodka for $30 worth of Seattle Salmon? [/kidding]

Hmm, do you have dry ice?

 

[Wirey]

I'd like to clear up some misconceptions about being a vegan and my diet as a vegan This should mostly apply to vegetarians too. .A lot of these come in the form of questions or 'concerns'. Feel free to add to this list. Meat eaters remember this is a discussion not a debate. Okay so this is not all of them and its more about my diet then anything else.


Vegans eat foods food. People think that vegans and vegetarians eat nothing but salads. I rarely eat salad. I have not had a salad since i harvested one from my garden, at least 3 months now. Also I have 1 recipe for a "dinner salad" and treat salad as a side most of the time just like most non vegans.

I couldn't live of rice and beans. This one is a bit trickier because i do eat a lot of beans but its not just rice and beans nor is it everyday. First off, like i said, its not everyday. There is pasta with pesto or sauce, quinoa, pearl barley, wheat berries, lentils, nuts and seeds and many other things. Secondly and most importantly its how they are used that really mater.

Examples: we have these bean balls (kidney beans, oat flour, crushed walnut, carrot, seasons) we serve over spaghetti squash. Did we eat beans with that dinner sure did, did we have beans, I don't think so. An even better example might be our Peanut butter and squash Stew, It has black beans in it and is served over rice. The soup features large pieces of squash, seasoned with ginger and hot pepper to taste, with a broth containing tomato puree, broth and peanut butter this dish is anything but "rice and beans"

Examples: mushroom stuffed potato cakes, artichoke and shiitake pasta with butternut and tomato sauce, grilled marinated veggies and mushrooms over couscous, squash burgers, etc.

Another misconception and also something i here from ex vegans is i never felt full or satisfied. My experience and my research has lead me to believe that diet wasn't adequate, likely suffering from a lack of variety among other things.

ehh more to come maybe and you all add some

Go eat some kale, you damned hippy!

 

[ratikala]

namaskaram ,...oj ji

I want to make everything you just said sounds yummy

this is so easy , ..here I think she is usind chick pea flour and semolina you can also use rice flower instead of semolina and makes me laugh that they use Eno's we use baking powder of Bicarb , ...also little lemon juice instead of citric acid , ...hope you enjoy , ....

 

[Terese]

ohh i meant sorry to the people i forgot to tag. Im tagging you in the thread thought you might be interested in the topic but did not tag in the op and it wont give you a notice if i edit it in. What do ya think of the op?

I've just started working towards vegetarianism, so i got no right to scold you on the topic, so keep the good work up!

 

[ratikala]

this I love too , ....

I just use water alone or soya yought , ...

 

[Aupmanyav]

.. sometimes with steemed savory cake called Dhokla made from rice and chikpea flower served with fried sesame seeds and coriander this way one gets a good varied diet, ..

Dhokla, that is Prime Minister Modi's favorite, mark of a true Gujarati. All foreign leaders visiting India must have 'dhokla' and 'khandvi'. It is now compulsorily available in all government cafeterias.
Nice images, Ratiben.

 

[Kirran]

Very nice iti, I certainly have found I can get enough foods into my diet, and I not only don't eat meat, eggs or the majority of dairy, I primarily follow sattvic regulations and don't eat onions, garlic, aubergines, peppers, mushrooms, hot spices like chilli powder and so on - just a matter of adapting!

Stressed animals will also not make weight. They do not eat as much as healthy and happy ones, just like people. Yea, farmers go to great lengths to keep them living healthy and happy.

While not intending to get into a debate here, I'd like to mention (and leave it at this) that I grew up on an animal farm, and an organic one at that, and it is by no means as idyllic as you paint.

 

[Mindmaster]

While not intending to get into a debate here, I'd like to mention (and leave it at this) that I grew up on an animal farm, and an organic one at that, and it is by no means as idyllic as you paint.

Well, it is still a business I didn't mean to imply that animals are treated like pets. I think just that it is in the farmers interest to be nice to the animals as it does have drastic effects on yields. Again, I'm not anti-vegan or anything and I like plenty of vegan foods. For me it is all economic, if that were to change it would simply be a matter of flavor preferences and I actually crave certain veg foods. Life is just too short to worry about these things. Do what makes you happy!

The only vegan food item I would never eat is soy products because they're unhealthy and screw with your hormones. Other than that, I'm cool with 99% of it.

 

[Kirran]

Well, it is still a business I didn't mean to imply that animals are treated like pets. I think just that it is in the farmers interest to be nice to the animals as it does have drastic effects on yields. Again, I'm not anti-vegan or anything and I like plenty of vegan foods. For me it is all economic, if that were to change it would simply be a matter of flavor preferences and I actually crave certain veg foods. Life is just too short to worry about these things. Do what makes you happy!

The only vegan food item I would never eat is soy products because they're unhealthy and screw with your hormones. Other than that, I'm cool with 99% of it.

Well, this doesn't match my experience. I've seen animals being slaughtered, in the pretty standard manner - better even, as it was an organic farm. They were spasming, struggling and defecating themselves out of terror.

As for life being too short: is life too short to worry about harming people? As in 'go ahead and commit domestic abuse if it makes you happy, life's too short'?

 

[Mindmaster]

As for life being too short: is life too short to worry about harming people? As in 'go ahead and commit domestic abuse if it makes you happy, life's too short'?

I'm not for animal cruelty, but humanizing them is a stretch. I do not know any other species that gives one single damn about the animals and plants it can eat. but rather tries to find the quickest way to get them into their mouth. I think it is important to understand that most meat containing diets come out of regions where the veg option was historically non-sustainable. Many people now eat them as they are a part of the culture, but originally it was necessity that made these choices for you. Vegan eating is really a product of logistics in that we now can burn tons of oil-based products to train, truck, and fly these things to us. Does anyone know how much environmental cost there is trucking a single bushel of tomatoes from Mexico to Chicago? This is being done every day... Vegan eating is only good for the world if it locally sourced, and doesn't involve trucking in everything you put on the plate.

 

[Corthos]

I usually spend 30-60 mins in the kitchen. these are the 15-30 mins one off the top of my head

ok super simple easy and quick meal. 1 pound of ouster mushrooms - chopped coarsly, 1 red onion - diced, 5 cloves garlic or to taste - diced, 1 box of pasta (spaghetti works great). fry up the onion, mushrooms and add garlic last. serve over pasta and serve bread if you want. great easy meal

you can also use pesto or regular sauce.

Premade and frozen vegie/bean/squash burgers.

chickpea cutlets and mushroom gravy

besides marinating time the grilled veggies and mushrooms over couscous is fast and easy. (you can marinate over night or the morning of or for at least 2 hours)

curry can be quick

many things can be stocked and prepped and kept on hand too.

Awesome! Thanks to you, and others on this thread, who have been giving ideas. =) I'd like to maybe try making some Indian dishes too. I'll need to do some serious research online, heh.

 

[Corthos]

I could do this without feeling any loss. Really, the problem for me is that seafood (non-farm raised) in the USA is all mercury contaminated. It's not healthy to eat it regularly unless you are knowing where exactly it is from. There is also a problem that a lot of Chinese seafood is being dumped on American markets and that stuff is just not safe at all to eat.

Really? That hasn't been my experience at all. =/ Do you live in a landlocked state? I live out on the westcoast, and the seafood here is all fresh and local for the most part. The only exception is when one fishes/shellfishes out of the Puget Sound (minus salmon). Also, I'd never go to Winco or something to buy fish; not when there are fish mongers who sell their catch for a song (depending on the season). XD

 

[Mindmaster]

Really? That hasn't been my experience at all. =/ Do you live in a landlocked state? I live out on the westcoast, and the seafood here is all fresh and local for the most part. The only exception is when one fishes/shellfishes out of the Puget Sound (minus salmon). Also, I'd never go to Winco or something to buy fish; not when there are fish mongers who sell their catch for a song (depending on the season). XD

Yea, I'm over 1000 miles from the nearest sea in any direction. Seafood is not economical or local.

 

[Chakra]

Very nice iti, I certainly have found I can get enough foods into my diet, and I not only don't eat meat, eggs or the majority of dairy, I primarily follow sattvic regulations and don't eat onions, garlic, aubergines, peppers, mushrooms, hot spices like chilli powder and so on - just a matter of adapting!
.

I would be very thankful if you could help me in leading a Sattvik diet. What are some of the recipes you use?

 

[Iti oj]

Very nice iti, I certainly have found I can get enough foods into my diet, and I not only don't eat meat, eggs or the majority of dairy, I primarily follow sattvic regulations and don't eat onions, garlic, aubergines, peppers, mushrooms, hot spices like chilli powder and so on - just a matter of adapting!



While not intending to get into a debate here, I'd like to mention (and leave it at this) that I grew up on an animal farm, and an organic one at that, and it is by no means as idyllic as you paint.

lol that plus startch is like my diet.

 

[Iti oj]

Awesome! Thanks to you, and others on this thread, who have been giving ideas. =) I'd like to maybe try making some Indian dishes too. I'll need to do some serious research online, heh.

Lots of food blogs ..i really like the recipes from onegreenplanet but we mostly just google 'musroom vegan dinners' or 'artichoke vegan recip'etc.

also it helped that we practiced before committing.
'

 

[Kirran]

I would be very thankful if you could help me in leading a Sattvik diet. What are some of the recipes you use?

Well, I hope we can help each other! Although perhaps your understanding of an appropriate sattvic diet - I know at least some Vaishnavas consider chilli powder to be sattvic, and aubergines?

I have a pretty simple diet, my dinners are almost always lentils, mung beans or chickpeas with vegetables and typically white rice, sometimes brown rice, couscous, cornmeal or sweet potato.