Any other vegans here?

[kally]

Let's talk about your good deals.

[lessisbest]

I'm not a vegan, but I do use many vegan/vegetarian recipes to cut food costs. "Good deals" in my food budget ($125/month for 2 adults, of which $10/week is for meat) mean free food, like free-for-the-picking apples, pears (and any other fruit) I dehydrate in the fall, black walnuts, end of the summer garden produce free from friends, free wheat from a cousin.... One real winner was when I took some amaranth seeds (purchased from the health food store) and planted it in the corner of my garden. I fostered 12-plants, using the young leaves as greens, and after the first frost I harvested enough amaranth seed to last us 2-years (using it for flour, cooked cereal, and an add-in whole to baked goods).

I grow my own wheatgrass (and other similar grains), a large variety of micro-greens, and the all-important "garden-in-a-jar" sprouts. Add to that herbs grown indoors in the winter, and they are our nutrient-dense foods that are truly "FRESH". I'll soon be starting my cool-season garden crops. I just saw fresh peaches in the store and I asked the grocer where they came from, as I mentioned how you don't expect to see fresh peaches in February. They were from Chile. My fresh food comes from my home.

I make my own almond and coconut milk and use the pulp in baked goods. Are those the kind of "deals" you are interested in?

[Zoe Girl]

i am convenient vegetarian (which means if i am offered some meat in certain settings then i will accept, but not cook for myself). i realize that some of my favorite recipes are actually vegan, a few others are cheese optional or adaptable. do you want to talk tasty recipes?

[CathyA]

My DD is a Vegan. You need to be very careful to research what vitamins/minerals you would be low in/lacking when not consuming meats and dairy.
I think some Vegans don't do this, and it can be a bad experience for them.
DD got critically low in Vitamin D and had problems, but takes D2 now (since it's a Vegan form) and her D level is good.
I have to say...........I'm proud of her for thinking about things, but dang, it makes holidays a challenge. Fortunately, we eat lots of veggies, so that helps. But I usually have to prepare lots of alternate things.
Since Vegans are also organic people, it can be more expensive. If you need some good ideas for a certain food/recipe, let me know and I'll ask DD.

[Zoe Girl]

i was cheapie veggie/vegan back in the day. Lots of brown rice/lentil combos with veggies. Holidays are rough, i have a friend who visits who is terribly allergic to dairy and beef. So some of the products are still not safe for her. i have found a few go-to foods like in bread sourdough tends to not include any dairy

[Tammy]

I fully support people's food choices. But I wouldn't cook special just for them at a holiday thing. I would declare it a potluck and each one can bring what they can eat. Then each one can either partake of the potluck or just eat what they brought.

I find it ridiculous that hosts are expected to cook in such precise ways for each guest.

However I'm not a cook and perhaps that impacts my emotional reaction to all this. :)

Ok - sorry for the diversion. I'm feeling the need to say that today I guess.

[Zoe Girl]

potluck is great, i bring a lot of food to places because we have always had food issues. My oldest has the dreaded peanut allergy so we brought dessert every place we went. i really love to cook and have a background with food allergies so it is quite fulfilling to have a person with allergies relax at my home around food. i have always had friends with allergies or food issues offer to bring things unless they know i love the challenge.

[kally]

wow gang, it is so good to be back. Such a lot of great ideas.
Potlucks - #1 we have in our community a vegan potluck every 6 - 8 weeks.Perfect.
Of course I hang with vegans so we can all eat together.
At regular potlucks I just bring something vegan and eat beforehand.
I never expect anyone to cook for me, but then I just bring my own food or go out and get something.
I am very committed to this because I came to it first for health reasons. But then the animal welfare and the environmental concerns kicked in too.
If I would recommend one website it would be ohsheglows.com Fabulous stuff there.
I love sharing ideas and recipes and shortcuts and money savers. Some of you are much more industrious than I am. Well done and so happy to be here.

[lessisbest]

wow gang, it is so good to be back. Such a lot of great ideas.
Potlucks - #1 we have in our community a vegan potluck every 6 - 8 weeks.Perfect.
Of course I hang with vegans so we can all eat together.
At regular potlucks I just bring something vegan and eat beforehand.
I never expect anyone to cook for me, but then I just bring my own food or go out and get something.
I am very committed to this because I came to it first for health reasons. But then the animal welfare and the environmental concerns kicked in too.
If I would recommend one website it would be ohsheglows.com Fabulous stuff there.
I love sharing ideas and recipes and shortcuts and money savers. Some of you are much more industrious than I am. Well done and so happy to be here.

If you like Oh She Glows web site, then I recommend her cookbook The Oh She Glows Cookbook - by Angela Liddon. Not only is it vegan, but it's also a great cookbook for anyone who is into whole foods.

[kally]

lessisbest I have that cookbook, and it is the one I use most often. I just made the Miso Goddess bowl or whatever it is called and it was superb.

[Tussiemussies]

I am pursuing being Vegan. The only thing I eat that comes from an animal is yogurt and soon I will be making soy yogurt. I know soy...but I watched a Dr. On Dr. OZ's show that said that the soy studies are very weak and pointed out that all the things it is claimed to cause are at low rates in Japan. .i do take Vitamin D3 and some others but have to boost up my greens a lot. I do always bring my own food when we eat at other's homes and I did get that cookbook, "Oh She Glows" for Christmas...trying to head in the right direction! It's all about the animals for me...

[Mary B.]

Let's talk about your good deals.

We're vegetarian verging on vegan, which means we eat the occasional egg (soon to increase since we're hoping to get ducks next year) and sometimes at friends a piece of cheese or something similar.

Best deal for us is gardening, since we eat a huge number of salads. Our salads are always chopped, with multiple greens (kale, a couple of kinds of lettuce, swiss chard, cabbage, with seeds and such). This winter having been so mild (west coast Canada -- near you, I think, kally), we've been eating collards, kale and pilgrim's cabbage from the garden all winter. Even our celery survived! Since lettuce is currently really expensive in our local store, I'm cheering on my very tiny lettuce seedlings now!

[lessisbest]

Don't neglect your need for B12. I took a vegetarian/vegan class from a delightful Seventh Day Adventist and she was taught to go for a bike ride and to occasionally eat a gnat to supply B12 (you know, those little insects that seem to swarm on the side of the road). In undeveloped countries the meal bugs (weevils) in their grain products are also a good source for B12. She didn't follow the advice, nor did she get B12 shots and have her blood monitored for B12, and had pernicious anemia.

Choose nutrient-dense foods. Switch from white and brown rice to black rice, which is more nutritious. Choose purple corn and mill your own cornmeal and corn flour. These foods are much higher in phytochemicals. Mill your own flour to get the highest amount of nutrients possible, rather than relying on commercial products. Once milled, the flour begins to degrade rapidly, in as little as 4-hours. The oils quickly turn rancid, and rancid oils are body-damaging free-radicles. FRESH IS BEST when it comes to milling grains/seeds/beans.

[kally]

I take B12 and D vitamins. i do my absolute best to eat a low fat plant-based diet. I have ground flax or flax oil every day. I am pretty happy like this and it has turned my medical problems around. That being said, I do cook, arrange and chop a lot.