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Post by birukitty on Feb 2, 2016 0:09:10 GMT
Hello. I promised to start a weekly thread for us Vegan Peas to chat about whatever we wished to discuss. Where we are on this journey, how we got started, what was the motivation to get us here, a place to share ideas and hits or misses along the way, a place to share recipes, a place to share frustrations and encouragement, and anything else we wish.
How about we start by introducing ourselves and a story about how we got started on the journey to becoming a vegan, and what was the motivation to get us there? There might be some newbies and it will give us all a chance to share our stories.
You all have heard my story ad nauseam, but I'll repeat it for those of us who are new. I started out at 186 pounds after gaining weight through the years on medication side effects and the typical American diet. In 2005 at age 45 I was a great weight for my size (petite) at 128 pounds so I knew it was possible. I started by elimaniting soda, fast food and as much processed food as I could and dropped 17 pounds to 169. But I was stuck there for a year and getting really frustrated. I didn't want to count calories, do Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig or any of that because I'd done it before in years past and it never worked-well it did very short term and then the weight just crept back on and then some.
One night I was watching Netflix and came across "Forks over Knives" thinking that it looked interesting, so I watched it. I was blown away literally-I sat there with my mouth open. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Not only could I lose weight by something so simple as eliminating meat and diary (I was already eating whole foods), but I could prevent heart disease, diabetes, and all of the other preventable diseases that plague so many Americans. The next night DH watched it with me and I love the man to death (not literally) but you must know two things about him. 1. He is very stubborn. 2. He is a cheeseaholic. At the end of the film he turned to me and said, "Let's do it". I couldn't believe it. The film asks you to try it for 28 days. Just 28 days. Well we did that and just kept going. This month, February it'll be 2 years for us. I hit my goal weight of 125 last month. Yes, it was slow. But I have hypothyroid and I'm in the middle of menopause so my metabolism is basically at a trickle now-no the typical results at all.
Most importantly I LOVE being a vegan because I love what I eat. I feel amazing and I can eat as much as I want, because I feel full really quickly. Do you all feel this way too? My grocery bill shot way down once I stopped buying meat and dairy and I now shop at Whole Foods because their produce is so much tastier. When 70% of your grocery cart is produce you want the tastiest you can get.
Who's next?
Debbie in MD.
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Post by tamaraann on Feb 2, 2016 0:22:07 GMT
OK me! I'm Tamara, and I am a newbie. DH and I and my girls watched this film a little over a week ago, and boy was I surprised when my meat and potatoes guy suggested we do it. I was totally on board, being a pescatarian (vegetarian who eats seafood) for over 20 yrs, but he blew me away suggesting it. We just finished our first week on Saturday and we are both down 5 lbs. We primarily did it to lose weight, but the prevention of heart disease, diabetes and cancer are just added bonuses. My oldest DD was also pretty impressed with it and would do it if living on her own, but she is in college and her and her roomies all cook and shop together. But she did convince them this week to try almond milk instead of cow's milk, and she has decided she prefers it.
We do raise chickens for eggs, and DH has said that is one thing he is not giving up is an occasional breakfast of eggs. And I am a New England girl living outside Seattle, and I eat lobster any chance I can, and that probably won't change either. But for the most part, we have stuck with it over this first week, and didn't really find it difficult. And both of us already notice a difference in our energy levels and even some of our everyday aches and pains.
I am interested to hear about dining out options. We did go out Friday night and had vegetarian Pho which was yummy. But looking for other ideas and or places you recommend to get a meal out.
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Post by dazeepetals on Feb 2, 2016 0:22:12 GMT
Glad you started this thread!! I'm happy to join in! So I also, like Debbie, watched Forks Over Knives several years ago. I initially went vegetarian for about 10 months but went back to eating SAD (standard American diet) when I got pregnant with my DS. I believed all the crap people tell you about needing protein, milk, etc while pregnant. Well going back to eating that made me gain about 40 lbs with my first. I never really lost the baby weight and finally last year said I was done with eating this way and wanted to go back to being at least vegetarian. I actually got jumpstarted when StephDRebel mentioned a Facebook group called Motive American was having a 21 day raw challenge. I did it and loved it, but knew eating 100% raw wasn't sustainable for me. Over the last year I've been about 75% compliment but only half-assing it hasn't produced the results I needed and hasn't made me feel as good as I know I can. So here I am, back to being 100% vegan and I'm already feeling great. Lost 5 lbs this month with ease, i.e. not calorie counting, eating tons of carbs, and eating a lot of food! And I agree with Debbie, eating this way has significantly reduced my grocery bills. We may spend $100 per week or less for 3 of us.
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Post by dazeepetals on Feb 2, 2016 0:25:56 GMT
I am interested to hear about dining out options. We did go out Friday night and had vegetarian Pho which was yummy. But looking for other ideas and or places you recommend to get a meal out. There is TONS of vegetarian and vegan options. Chipotle has vegan options. One of our favorites is Indian food. Dal Takda is usually completely vegan and super good. Pizza can be vegetarian/vegan. Pho is always a good choice (just make sure it's veggie broth).
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Post by tamaraann on Feb 2, 2016 0:30:08 GMT
Oh, also, DH misses the crunch of chips, crackers, etc. We did find some crackers at whole foods that work for us. But we can't find any baked chips that really work. Does anybody have a brand they have found that they like?
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Post by tamaraann on Feb 2, 2016 0:33:17 GMT
I am interested to hear about dining out options. We did go out Friday night and had vegetarian Pho which was yummy. But looking for other ideas and or places you recommend to get a meal out. There is TONS of vegetarian and vegan options. Chipotle has vegan options. One of our favorites is Indian food. Dal Takda is usually completely vegan and super good. Pizza can be vegetarian/vegan. Pho is always a good choice (just make sure it's veggie broth). Thanks for the ideas. Yes, I'm used to ordering vegetarian stuff. I guess I'm nervous about oils in stuff you get out. Vegan is pretty easy to do as well, or find. But sometimes it is hard to know how much oil was used in stuff, that's not as easy to find out. We do love our indian food, that is a favorite of ours too.
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Post by birukitty on Feb 2, 2016 1:15:01 GMT
Eating out is a good topic. Personally so far since we sadly don't have either a vegetarian or vegan restaurant in Annapolis, MD (which as a tourist city I'd think they would, it'd be a success here) DH and I have been eating at the Whole Foods "cafe" at our local Whole Foods. It's not really a cafe, it's a section of the grocery store where they've set up tables. Here you can ask for a dinner plate and choose from the deli a protein option (vegan) and they usually have a tofu option like say almond crusted baked tofu with lemon sauce, and then you can choose two other choices from the other deli items. There are so many choices. I usually heat up the tofu in the handy microwave they have in the sitting area and it tastes much nicer that way. We haven't tried any Indian restaurants yet, and also there are Thai dishes that are vegan so that's an option. We like Whole Foods because it's quick and reasonable in price and for us the major portion of date night is spent in Barnes and Nobles I used to really like Chipotle, but with their latest health scares hesitate to eat there which is probably being overly paranoid. I've read they are being sabotaged because they announced they were going to go GMO free. Wouldn't surprise me to learn this was the truth. Debbie in MD.
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Post by birukitty on Feb 3, 2016 3:05:31 GMT
Well sadly this thread didn't generate as much interest as I hoped it would. What else shall we discuss this week? How is everyone doing? Would anyone like to share a recipe? This week while I was doing the weekly shopping at Whole Foods I was so happy to finally see back in stock a product that has been out of stock for months-Beyond Meat Beefy Crumble. Beyond Meat is a company that makes a substitute meat product that is made with non-GMO pea protein. In the books like the Engine 2 book there are recipes that call for a vegan meat substitute and 2 years ago I tried one or two. Until I discovered Beyond Meat Beefy Crumble and was shocked at how much better it tasted. My Whole Foods here in Annapolis, MD has had a difficult time trying to keep their products in stock, both this one and their Beast Burgers which are a substitute frozen "hamburger" patty. I found those two back in stock-they taste so amazing my meat loving DS now prefers them to his Angus patties! Anyway, I use the crumble to make vegan spaghetti, tacos, or anything else you would have previously used ground beef in. I only use it once a week and then fill the rest of the week with other vegan meals. It actually comes in handy when I'm sick, because those are the kind of meals DH can cook Something quick and easy. Here's a recipe I'd like to share for a quick vegan chili I made up. I started with a chili recipe from the "Forks over Knive's Plan book and then altered it to suit my taste, and how I used to cook chili. Debbie's 30 Minute Chili 1 large onion 1 large green pepper 4 cloves garlic 3 tablespoons chili powder 1 1/2 tablespoon cumin (adjust to your own taste, the book says 2 tablespoons) 1 tablespoon oregano 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained 2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained 1 28oz. can diced tomatoes, with their juice 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, with their juice 1 32 fl. oz Vegetable Juice Blend (I used to use V-8, now I buy R.W. Knudsen which I think is organic from Whole Foods) sea salt and freshly ground black pepper In a stockpot or deep pot cook the onion and bell pepper over medium heat. Add the tomatoes, juice blend, beans, garlic, chili powder, and cumin. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce the heat partially cover and simmer for about 15 minutes checking often. (You don't want it to boil-I have a very old stove that needs replacing. It never stays on simmer, plus the oven portion no longer works). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot over brown rice or whole grain noodles if desired. I don't. I like to serve it with cornbread. You can make cornbread with cornmeal using egg replacements (either buy or make I think with chia seeds-you can look this up online). I almost forgot-if you go online to Whole Foods they have a section on being a vegan and shopping there. It has a lot of helpful hints and even some recipes. Would anyone else like to share a recipe, or how their week is going? Debbie in MD.
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Post by farmdpea on Feb 3, 2016 4:12:32 GMT
Even though I'm not vegetarian or vegan, I'm very interested in learning more. I like th idea of a weekly thread.
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Deleted
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May 19, 2024 11:28:21 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2016 4:40:00 GMT
My daughter does not eat meat, so her main dish became our side dish
Our favorite is Japanese pancakes with kale. Yum
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Post by pelirroja on Feb 3, 2016 9:46:39 GMT
tamaraann there's an extremely easy chip recipe that was on FOK. Wash and slice a potato very thinly (either with a knife or a mandoline slicer). Place potato slices in a single layer on microwavable plate that has been lined with a paper towel. Spray slices with olive oil spray or canola spray (Trader Joe's version of PAM spray is pretty good). Sprinkle with salt or seasoning. Microwave at HIGH power for 7 minutes. Viola: you've got chips! I find the best potatoes to use are the baby organic fingerlings at TJ's. It only takes a potato or two to make this and sometimes we make several plates worth. If you need to see the actual recipe of this, I think Forks Over Knives calls it something like Joey's Chips. If you're looking for tortilla chips, use some corn tortillas spread with an extremely thin layer of Earth Balance. Engine 2 makes tortillas that are pretty good. The Earth Balance spread will need to be very thin: spread some on, then scrape most of it off. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Bake at 400 for 7 to 10 minutes until crispy. You'll have to adjust the time on this one to your preference of crunchiness. HTH! birukitty your chili recipe looks good and easy: I'll be trying that one. TFS!
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happymomma
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Post by happymomma on Feb 3, 2016 12:53:09 GMT
Yay yay! I just found this thread. I'm running on about three hours of sleep, so I'm going back to bed for awhile and will post later. I LOVE the idea of a weekly thread and thank you birukitty for starting us out. Here's a pic of my vegan pizza I made for dinner last night. I've always been a cheese freak so that was by far the scariest thing to give up. I've found a vegan cheese brand called Daiya that has shreds in cheddar, mozzarella and I think southwest flavors. I don't use it often but I HAD to put some on my pizza! Oh my goodness it was one of the best pizzas I've ever had in my life. I'll probably make another tonight. ETA: I took this pic before I put it back into the oven to melt the cheese...and forgot to take another when it was done because I couldn't wait to chow it down!
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happymomma
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Post by happymomma on Feb 3, 2016 13:02:09 GMT
Oh, also, DH misses the crunch of chips, crackers, etc. We did find some crackers at whole foods that work for us. But we can't find any baked chips that really work. Does anybody have a brand they have found that they like? We (even my junk food junkie husband) love the veggie chips and veggie straws made by Sensible Portions. They served them to us at our local veggie restaurant and we went to the store on the way home to get more because he loved them so much! I'm not much of a chip person, but I do love these.
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Post by candygurl on Feb 3, 2016 15:10:24 GMT
So exciting to see this thread! I started off vegan in June 2015 and did well for about a month, lol. I went on vacation and every night we had seafood so I did eat seafood. When I got back home, I continued vegan and then went to Europe and went vegetarian for ease. I consider myself plant based but really eat a vegan diet. Don't want to label myself as vegan as I do carry a leather purse and occasionally eat something that has milk/cheese in it. I have switched all my makeup over for cruelty free makeup and am continuing to use up any old makeup instead of throwing it out.
I feel my best eating this way and its really not that hard as long as you prepare some meals ahead of time. I have found lots of information on youtube. I really like the starch solution books by McDougall. I like eating potatoes and rice:)
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happymomma
Pearl Clutcher
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Aug 6, 2014 23:57:56 GMT
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Post by happymomma on Feb 3, 2016 17:28:23 GMT
Whoop Whoop! Ben & Jerry's now has non-dairy ice-cream made with almond milk and it's certified vegan. I'm not a big ice cream fan but it's nice to know that if I want a special treat now and then I can have some. Here's a link: www.benjerry.com/flavors/non-dairyIt comes in four flavors: Chunky Monkey, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Coffee Caramel Fudge and PB & Cookies.
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Post by wrongwayfeldman on Feb 3, 2016 17:29:33 GMT
Just found this thread so I thought I'd chime in. My 17 year old DS is a vegan. He has been for about 2 years, and had been a vegetarian since about 1st grade. I so admire his commitment, and although it's hard to prepare several meals or meal variations, I respect his choice and want to encourage his healthy lifestyle. My 21 year old dd is vegetarian, my two youngest DSs are picky eaters but not vegan or vegetarian, I'll eat about anything, and my DH doesn't eat carbs, so meal time at our house can be quite an adventure. My vegan DS is also very conscious of the choices he makes with clothing as well: no leather and tries to shop at thrift stores for environmental reasons. If only we could all be so kind to our environment! He and I have learned to make a lot of soups, bean-based chili, sweet potato quesadillas, and tofu. Eating out is harder, but we have found him choices at Chipotle (ours finally has sofritas!) and Noodles and Company. We visit a lot of Thai restaurants in our town as well. It's hard to find pre-made, convenient "treats" that don't have honey, but I thought I'd list some that we've had success with. He's been a fan of coconut ice cream, but recently discovered cashew ice cream. The snickerdoodle flavor is fantastic! LUNA bars are not ALL vegan, but some are: the high protein "for women" version of the chocolate cupcake as well as the lemon, and both are good. Bear Naked granola in Cinnamon/Sunflower butter flavor has no honey, and is delicious. Chex cereal, which we also use to make Muddy Buddy snack mix (peanut butter, chocolate, chex cereal, powdered sugar) Chex Mix brand chex mix, original flavor Most tortilla chips are fine, and we make a LOT of homemade salsa. We use Pioneer Woman's recipe for restaurant style salsa. Ciabatta bread with roasted red pepper hummus are a good healthy snack. Oreo cookies and Chocolate teddy grahams are good when you need a bad-for-you treat, as are non-frosted strawberry Pop Tarts for a quick after school snack, ready made soups from Amy's Organic Soups: minestrone and lentil vegetable are both good. Enjoy Life brand makes a chocolate snack bar, cocoa loco, that's good. for fruit snacks, the only one we've found without gelatin is Annie's Organic Fruit Snacks. Even Target carries them. and for anything we bake that needs chocolate, we use Guittard brand semisweet baking chips. They're usually at most grocery stores and aren't too pricey.
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Post by tamaraann on Feb 3, 2016 18:15:44 GMT
Yay! Happy to see more folks posting! I'm excited to hear about the Ben & Jerry's vegan ice cream! I will have to check those out.
Doing the Forks over Knives plan, we are supposed to limit our oils to just healthy real food like avocados and nuts, that's why chips are hard. I was trying to find one with no oil, but I guess that's not going to happen. I had hope to find a baked chip with no oil, but haven't found one yet. I guess this is also my fear in dining out and maybe I just need to let it go occasionally. I don't use oil at home where we eat most meals, so an occasional splurge won't do us in. LOL!
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happymomma
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Post by happymomma on Feb 3, 2016 18:56:28 GMT
Okay, I am fully awake now, so here is my story. Right before Thanksgiving, maybe a week or so before, I watched a docu on Amazon called Just Eat It. It was about food waste and boy did that make me sad. It's worth a watch if you get a chance. It breaks my heart that we have so many hungry children, homeless people, and low income people and yet we throw out SO much good food for foolish reasons. It's a damn shame. Anyway...that led me to watch another documentary called Vegucated. Which led me to watch Cowspiracy. Which led me to watch Forks Over Knives. Which led me to watch the Engine 2 Diet, and so on and so on. Some of these were on Netflix and some on Amazon. I began scouring the internet for information to educate myself. There is a huge amount of info out there in the form of blogs, websites, youtube videos, Amazon, Netflix and of course books. Facebook also has many many groups, pages and communities where you can learn. Real books and Kindle books. I invested in a few books, some with recipes, and soaked up everything I could. Once my eyes were opened to the whole new way of life, it was a no-brainer for me. It just all made sense. I decided to transition to a vegan/whole foods plant based way of life. I'd lost about 50# over the past two years and was at a standstill. I was barely eating but the things I was eating were not all that healthy. I have a background in nutrition, so I knew my diet was crap, but didn't have a lot of motivation to change it. I didn't eat much meat at all, never been a big meat eater, but oh my did I consume dairy and lots of fat, the unhealthy kind of fat. My switchover wasn't just for health reasons or weight loss, but also for animal humanity and environmental reasons. Once you learn what animal agriculture does to animals and our planet, it's kind of hard to look the other way, at least it is for me. I got my labs drawn for a baseline towards the end of December. I had begun to phase out animal products from my life right away when I watched those first few documentaries but I didn't want to just toss everything in my cupboards and fridge. I decided that I wouldn't spend another penny on animal products, but would use up some of what I had up until January 1st, and then I would make the firm commitment to stop eating anything animal. I couldn't afford to replace everything in my house that was non-vegan. I do have leather motorcycle riding gear that is brand new last summer and I am still undecided what to do about that. I think everyone has their own bottom line. I truly wish I hadn't bought that $500 Harley leather jacket, but I did so before the light bulb came on for me. I still have several months before it's riding season, and I am struggling as to what to do about that. I know that by wearing an already existing coat, I'm not killing another animal. But I sure can't just give it away, so maybe I will sell it come spring. That has really been my only dilemma, my riding gear. When my baseline labs came back they were just as horrid as I knew they'd be. My cholesterol was 306 (yikes) and my triglycerides, LDL and HDL were way out of whack. My doc immediately prescribed me cholesterol medicine but I knew I didn't want to take a pill to 'cure' what I could cure on my own by controlling what I shoved in my mouth. I had an appointment for a physical mid-January and I'd already lost 8# in one month all while eating about twice as much food as I'd been eating. The difference of course was that I was now eating only healthy food. I had a good talk with my doc at that appointment. I told her I wanted to hold off on the drugs and try to healthy-up through diet. She from India, so a plant based diet is just natural to her, she said. She was very happy that I wanted to avoid the drugs and just get healthy. She said she wished more of her patients would be open to that instead of medicine and surgery. She shared some good meal ideas with me and told me about some foods I'd never tried. I'm actually excited to get my blood drawn again April 1st to see how much of a change I'll make. The first few weeks in January I ate pretty repetitively when it came to variety. Rice, potatoes, cous cous, beans, fruit and vegetables. Usually separately. But everything I ate was yummy. I love food. I can't eat yucky food. It has to taste good, dangit. Since then, I have started being more and more creative, slowly. My husband doesn't eat this way. He's rail-thin (too thin) but doesn't realize that think doesn't equate to healthy. But...he's a big boy and I would never tell another person what they can or can't eat. That's just not me. He has tried a lot of my new food creations though, and actually likes what I make! He even ordered off the vegetarian menu when we went out to eat last week, all of his own accord, and he loved it! I find that I really enjoy chopping my fresh veggies for each meal, or roasting some garbanzo beans for a snack. I know a lot of people use the excuse that they "don't have time to eat healthy", but seriously, it takes just minutes. I think that most of us could steal a few minutes away from Facebook, game playing, TV watching, web surfing, etc. and not feel a bit of pain, lol. Another plus is that I save a lot of money on my food. I no longer hit the drive-thru or buy food that has little nutritional value. Though I definitely spend more on produce these days, that cost is more than offset by the money I no longer spend in the meat section. In my mind, there really is no excuse not to eat healthy. Again, I respect other people's eating decisions for themselves, but I won't accept any excuses from myself for myself. Now, I live in a small town. No Whole Foods anywhere near. I think the closest is about 4-5 hours away, so not practical. I've been doing pretty good finding things anyway. I searched high and low for nutritional yeast to no avail, so I just got it from Amazon.com. Luckily we have a brand new Meijer store and their produce rocks! It was a challenge to find vegan cheese, but I did. I could only find it at the most expensive grocery store last month, but I was in Meijer yesterday and they now have it as a new item! Yay! I think this way of eating is becoming more popular as people try to improve their health and so I'm betting that some things like that will start becoming more readily available here. Eating out is a bit trickier. We have 3 McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Arby's, Pizza Hut, Applebees, Big Boy, KFC, and a host of other restaurants both fast food and sit-down mom and pop places. We do have three Subways though, and if we are in town and I NEED to grab something quick I go there. It's always been my favorite place to eat anyway. We have ONE groovy little restaurant in town called the Fresh Palate that serves a vegetarian menu with plenty of vegan options. It is owned and operated by a fantastic chef and is known for it's 'fancier' and more modern food. It's a bit pricey, so we have only gone there a few times, but that is the new favorite for both me and my husband. Again, as this catches on, hopefully we will get more choices for dining out. I can always order something very basic at any of the restaurants but it sure is nice to have a really creative and yummy meal. I'm so happy to see this thread and I'm looking forward to new ones weekly. As we all know, the peas are a wealth of information, and I can't wait to learn from and share with all of you. xo, dawn
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happymomma
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Post by happymomma on Feb 3, 2016 19:11:30 GMT
Yay! Happy to see more folks posting! I'm excited to hear about the Ben & Jerry's vegan ice cream! I will have to check those out. Doing the Forks over Knives plan, we are supposed to limit our oils to just healthy real food like avocados and nuts, that's why chips are hard. I was trying to find one with no oil, but I guess that's not going to happen. I had hope to find a baked chip with no oil, but haven't found one yet. I guess this is also my fear in dining out and maybe I just need to let it go occasionally. I don't use oil at home where we eat most meals, so an occasional splurge won't do us in. LOL! You're right, it's a little hard to find everything. I can share my favorite crunchy snack with you, though it's not chips. I've never been much of a chip eater, so eating the vegetable chips every once in awhile would be the extent of that anyway. What I DO love, and am addicted to, is roasted garbanzo beans. The recipes I've seen call for olive oil but I don't use any oil and they're delish, so I'm not sure why people make them with oil. I think the olive oil craze is so strong right now that people just assume you need to use oil. Haha, I don't know. Here's how I make 'em. 1 can garbanzo beans (I drain them very well and spread them on a paper towel to dry them a bit more) Toss these with whatever spices or seasonings you like, in a dish, coating them well. My favorite is plain ol' garlic powder and a bit of black pepper, though I have used Mrs. Dash Original Blend Seasoning as a variation. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake at 450 for about 30 minutes. I take the sheet out and give it a shake every 10 minutes or so so they don't stick and they brown evenly. Eat. They're crunchy while they're still hot/warm, but as they cool they get this addictive chewy texture to them. I honestly can't say how I like them best! Now, I know that some don't like to use canned veggies as much because of the sodium. My sodium levels are actually low, so they are okay for me. Still, I just bought a bag of dry garbanzos and want to try soaking my own to see if I like them as well.
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happymomma
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,078
Aug 6, 2014 23:57:56 GMT
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Post by happymomma on Feb 3, 2016 19:18:07 GMT
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Post by tamaraann on Feb 3, 2016 20:03:57 GMT
Thanks! I'm going to try the garbanzo beans! Those sound great! I'm also going to sign up for the emails. I had read about them but forgotten to do it! Thanks again!
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Grom Pea
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Jun 27, 2014 0:21:07 GMT
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Post by Grom Pea on Feb 3, 2016 21:17:14 GMT
If you're eating garbanzo beans use the liquid for making things that need eggs! There's a link somewhere here for a Facebook group with great ideas aquafaba.com/I'm not vegan but dh has to eat a vegan and gluten free diet per his doctor for the next 6 months. I will say it's been fun looking at ideas on pinterest. I spend a lot more $ on organic produce now, but less on meat so I guess it evens out. I actually detest chopping up all the veggies for salads and was thinking if i could find some precut stuff and then make a fancy curry dressing. We are going to the native foods cafe for a bogo tonight, it's really yummy. Of course I think I'm gaining weight because I am now eating all of my son's leftovers and all the junk food, plus vegan baking, just made a vegan and gluten free cake with a vegan ganache for my son's birthday and it was pretty good!
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Post by birukitty on Feb 4, 2016 1:26:29 GMT
I'm so thrilled to check in today and see so many more threads. Happymomma you are not a thread hog and I was hoping you'd check in with us. But, I think we're going to need a recipe for that yummy vegan pizza photo you showed us, right everyone? BTW, I bought some of the Dayia cheddar cheese shreds this week for the Tacos I'm making with the Beyond Meat crumbles I mentioned earlier. Up until now DH and I just skipped the cheese part, although my young adult DS who's living with us after graduating from college adds regular cheddar cheese to his tacos. I'll let you know how we like it. It'll be so nice to have that part of the tacos back again. Tamaraann-I think you're right as far as eating out and how far you take it regarding oils. I am such a determined person at times that I'm tenacious. I get it from my grandmother. The first 6 months or so I was so determined not to eat anything made with oil that when we ate out at Whole Foods I would only choose the items marked "Vegan" and it left me with very few choices, even including the vegetable dishes. Eventually I eased up a bit and while I still chose a Vegan protein choice, as far as the vegetable side dishes went if it was a dish like green beans with almonds sauteed with garlic, I knew they probably used a bit of oil but I was okay with it. We go out to eat there as part of date night, and for us it's once every two weeks. I figure that is not that often, and that little bit is okay. It it was 3 times a week I wouldn't do it. Do what is right for you. HappyMomma I'm going to try your garbanzo beans recipe. Although my oven no longer works I have a small counter top toaster oven that I think will do the trick. Those sound so tasty! And I can see getting creative with the seasonings. One thing about canned beans-I've seen some lately that are labeled low sodium. DH has a problem with that so I look for those when I shop. Also thanks for the tip on signing up on the Forks over Knives website. I'm heading over there right now to do that. Debbie in MD.
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Post by tamaraann on Feb 4, 2016 2:45:51 GMT
Debbie, is the Beyond Meat Crumbles soy based? I am also hypothyroid and try not to eat much soy.
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Post by melissak on Feb 4, 2016 3:34:53 GMT
I am a newish vegan and I have an interesting reason for being one. I actually got very sick during my pregnancy with my DD who is 9 months old today. I threw up all day, every day for the whole 36 weeks I was pregnant. I actually was 25 lbs light when I delivered then when I got pregnant. One food that always made me throw up was meat and I quickly developed a strong food aversion to all meats. This was around the beginning of December 2014. I did eat dairy during my pregnancy and I love cheese and ice cream. Well shortly after having my DD we discovered she is allergic to dairy. So now I don't eat dairy because I am breastfeeding my DD and I still have not been able to overcome my inability to eat meat. So that is how I became a vegan. My family has learned to live with it and since I do all the cooking and shopping they really don't have a say. I am not an adventurous eater and as far as a vegan goes I probably don't eat as well as I should. I do mostly salads, potatoes, rice, and steamed veggies. I have a weak spot for cookies and potato chips. I am interested in following along and learning some new recipes and tips and tricks.
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Post by birukitty on Feb 4, 2016 3:46:30 GMT
Debbie, is the Beyond Meat Crumbles soy based? I am also hypothyroid and try not to eat much soy. I understand completely. I am too and have the same problem. No it's not. It's protein is made with peas. I just looked at their website and it says it's the only soy free, beef free crumble on the market. I just noticed they do have canola oil in the product though. So for us hypothyroid vegan folks it's a choice of soy vs. this product with a bit of canola oil in it. Since we only have once a week or less I choose this product. The website is at www.beyondmeat.com and if you click on the products you will pull up all all of their products. The Beyond Meat crumbles are near the bottom. We've tried both and I like the regular flavor over the feisty flavor. Debbie in MD.
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finaledition
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,896
Jun 26, 2014 0:30:34 GMT
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Post by finaledition on Feb 4, 2016 5:40:50 GMT
I'm just going to lurk on this thread. My 17 year old started eating vegan so would like to support her choice. Helpful for me to find easy recipes and products to look for at the store.
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Post by birukitty on Feb 4, 2016 8:12:42 GMT
One thing I wanted to add to this post this week is for those of us who are still at the starting point-you might want to think about taking a "Before" photo and also getting some bloodwork drawn to have a baseline, so that in 6 months or in a year you can then have something to compare to. For photos I like to take a full length straight on photo, a photo from the side full length, and one showing my back full length.
I actually didn't think to do this beforehand, but looking through my digital photos this weekend, I found some I'd taken when I got my hair cut and it turned out it was just around the same time I started the whole foods, plant based diet. I was really glad to find these because now I have them to compare to when I get around to taking my "After" photos. I'm waiting to buy my sports bra and new yoga pants (mine are now too big) and then I'll take those.
And if you forgot to take some and aren't still at the beginning-no worries-just look through your stash of digital photos now and find something around the date you started that'll work.
Debbie in MD.
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Post by birukitty on Feb 4, 2016 8:14:27 GMT
I'm just going to lurk on this thread. My 17 year old started eating vegan so would like to support her choice. Helpful for me to find easy recipes and products to look for at the store. I'm happy to see you join us and welcome! I hope you find some ideas here and please ask any questions you come up with. Everyone is welcome here. Debbie in MD.
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Rainbow
Pearl Clutcher
Where salt is in the air and sand is at my feet...
Posts: 4,103
Jun 26, 2014 5:57:41 GMT
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Post by Rainbow on Feb 4, 2016 20:48:17 GMT
OK me! I'm Tamara, and I am a newbie. DH and I and my girls watched this film a little over a week ago, and boy was I surprised when my meat and potatoes guy suggested we do it. I was totally on board, being a pescatarian (vegetarian who eats seafood) for over 20 yrs, but he blew me away suggesting it. We just finished our first week on Saturday and we are both down 5 lbs. We primarily did it to lose weight, but the prevention of heart disease, diabetes and cancer are just added bonuses. My oldest DD was also pretty impressed with it and would do it if living on her own, but she is in college and her and her roomies all cook and shop together. But she did convince them this week to try almond milk instead of cow's milk, and she has decided she prefers it. We do raise chickens for eggs, and DH has said that is one thing he is not giving up is an occasional breakfast of eggs. And I am a New England girl living outside Seattle, and I eat lobster any chance I can, and that probably won't change either. But for the most part, we have stuck with it over this first week, and didn't really find it difficult. And both of us already notice a difference in our energy levels and even some of our everyday aches and pains. I am interested to hear about dining out options. We did go out Friday night and had vegetarian Pho which was yummy. But looking for other ideas and or places you recommend to get a meal out. Try the Happy Cow app from the appstore. It will tell you the vegan/vegetarian restaurants in your area and also the restaurants that have a vegan/vegetarian option on the menu. Also tells of stores where you can shop for vegan/vegetarian items. Love it!
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