Hi! I've been thinking about going vegan or vegetarian for a while, mostly for health reasons. I knew that the meat industry was bad, but I had no idea how fucking bad it was until I watched some (I have no idea how someone would be able to watch it in its entirety, especially in one sitting) of Dominion.
I also have some basic knowledge of nutrition so I'm not going in blind, but I do have some questions and I'd love to get some input and critique over what I feel like would be staple foods for me.
So, for staple foods I was thinking of: rice, farofa , potatoes, pinto beans, black turtle beans, lentils and chickpeas. I know of seitan and texturized soy, but I'm still looking for places to get them from. Also, every single tofu package I've seen has looked pretty disgusting (like gorgonzola cheese but m o i s t) are the ones I've seen just poorly made or does tofu just look like that? The appearance wouldn't put me off from it, but I'd like to know if it does look like that or if I've just had bad luck.
I think I'd be safe on protein but I haven't done the math yet, if anyone has any suggestions on other protein sources I'd be very glad to hear them.
Almost forgot to ask: should I trust the nutritional information on packaging or publicly available ones on the internet more? The ones on the packaging have much better macros and a lot more protein per 100g than the ones I've seen online. (talking mostly about beans and chickpeas here)
Now, I'm curious if vegan "dairy" products (like vegan butter, vegan cheese) are worth it. I'll probably at least try the cheese, I really like cheese and it'd make sandwiches a lot better. On that note: vegan sandwiches ideas? I guess vegan mayo, lettuce, tomatoes and carrots would be the one I would enjoy the most (without vegan meat), but if anyone has any protein-heavy filling ideas I'm open to hearing about them. I guess learning how to make a burrito would make my life a lot easier as i could just use beans or chickpeas for filling. :bean:
Anything I should that I should look out for that has animal products in it, but you wouldn't think so? I know of gelatin, porcelain and cosmetics/hygiene products, but not much else.
Also, what do you guys do when eating out with omni friends or ordering food with people? Just really plain dishes? Same question goes for traveling to non-metropolitan areas, where vegan restaurants are scarce.
I guess one of the good things about going vegan is it kinda forces you to learn how to cook. Anyways, thank you for reading and thank you to all of you who comment suggestions or critique.
Opposite of what you implied. Vegan butter is fantastic, works and tastes exactly the same as violence-based butter. Vegan cheese, on the other hand, is disappointing, shit, and expensive. Don't bother.
:deeper-sadness:
to be honest i don't really have too high of expectations, i'm just expecting something salty to add some flavor. does even vegan cheddar taste bad? i feel like cheddar is so processed already that if you took the dairy out you wouldn't lose much, at least in terms of taste.
i don't plan on eating it by itself either so unless it's really, really unpleasant i shouldn't have too many problems.
daiya cheddar after you heat it up is at least as edible as kraft singles (as long as you're putting it on something. never eat it on its own)
Make your own vegan cheese! cashews nooch yummy or carrot potatoes or blended cashew cauliflower
I'd use vegan cheese mostly for snacks and sandwiches, if I had to make the cheese myself every time I'd either wait for a full meal or make one tbh. I'm also a newbie cook, so I'd rather wait a little bit before I try to make more complex stuff.
They don't sell vegan cheese where I live, so I experiment making my own following recipes online. Are they that bad? Is it in comparison to the secretions based ones or are they not even worth anything on their own.
There is a simple one that imitates ricotta (I think? I only ate Gouda and swiss cheese in my omni days): blend tofu with some nooch and bam, got something to spread on toast.
Kinda both. I've tried several kinds of vegan cheese and I've yet to find one that isn't bland. They never melt properly either.
Seems like I am not missing much then... I hope things will improve, because I have the time to cook, but a bit convenience would be nice.