CarrieMpls said:

Genesia said:

Actually...eating healthy, in general, requires that you prepare your own food. I've eaten a predominantly whole foods, low carbohydrate, high protein diet for over 15 years. I've only been able to keep at it that long because I carry my own homemade breakfast and lunch to work every day - and make my own dinner, too.

If I don't prepare, I eat junk - just like anybody else. I try very hard to avoid that.

My work cafeteria is a godsend. Freshly prepared foods, lots of choices and most of it's pretty darn healthy and quite palatable.

They also do "healthy choice" options every day for only 3.99 AND you get a punch card and when you buy 6, you get the 7th free. It's to encourage us. lol.

The only processed food I consume from them are probably the tortillas (I do a lot of veggie wraps) and any bread, although, get this - they don't even stock "white" bread or buns anymore. It's all whole wheat or other fun grains.

Actually, the cafeteria here has gotten a lot better in the last few years, too. The salad bar is at least 50% organic - and pretty much everything on it is okay. (I don't eat any of the prepared salads because I don't know what's in them.) And now that they have chicken, I can make a salad that has an adequate amount of protein. (It used to be that if I were going to have a salad at work, I had to tote my own protein.)

Of course, they have what they call "healthy" options - but my opinion of what's healthy is vastly different from the corporate idea of healthy. It's cool that your place does a "healthy" punch card.

Timmy84 said:

Some folks probably think it's "cool" to hate meat just because.

It makes real vegans look bad because you don't see folks talking shit 100% about how bad meat is, they just say it's not for them and eat their own stuff.

There's not a doubt in my mind that a some vegetarians/vegans (especially younger ones) feel this way. It's yet another way for some to feel superior - "Look at all those rubes/philistines/red staters eating their meat. I told you they were awful people. "

Genesia said:

Timmy84 said:

Some folks probably think it's "cool" to hate meat just because.

It makes real vegans look bad because you don't see folks talking shit 100% about how bad meat is, they just say it's not for them and eat their own stuff.

There's not a doubt in my mind that a some vegetarians/vegans (especially younger ones) feel this way. It's yet another way for some to feel superior - "Look at all those rubes/philistines/red staters eating their meat. I told you they were awful people. "

Pretty much.

I've been vegan for 3 years and it absolutely changed my life. The change was very evident within weeks - very quickly I found myself at an absolutely optimal BMI, with more energy, more stamina, more toned. Also, I don't get sick anymore - ever. I haven't had any type of sickness, not even a cold, since I became vegan. That's because meats are full of immunosuppressants, and dairy stimulates hyperactive mucous production.

I've never found being vegan difficult in any way.

There's a lot of misinformation on both sides. Best thing to do is read as many books on the subject as possible, do some studying on nutrition, and most importantly - listen to your body and what it tells you.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Genesia said:

Timmy84 said:

Some folks probably think it's "cool" to hate meat just because.

It makes real vegans look bad because you don't see folks talking shit 100% about how bad meat is, they just say it's not for them and eat their own stuff.

There's not a doubt in my mind that a some vegetarians/vegans (especially younger ones) feel this way. It's yet another way for some to feel superior - "Look at all those rubes/philistines/red staters eating their meat. I told you they were awful people. "

While I would never ever judge people based on that or try to lecture anyone on anything regarding food, I still have to admit I do find the action of eating meat barbaric, somehow.

I don't think meat-eaters are barbarians or disgusting or anything, I just somehow feel that it isn't "elegant" to eat meat. That's not the reason I'm a vegetarian, mind you, but that "style-factor" does play a role. Not in front of others, but simply in front of myself - I feel "cleaner" and somehow "more elegant" not eating meat. Guess that's just some sort of personal connotation and I make sure I remind myself it is, because, like I said, I'm not one to judge other people.

Militant said:

I've been vegan for 3 years and it absolutely changed my life. The change was very evident within weeks - very quickly I found myself at an absolutely optimal BMI, with more energy, more stamina, more toned. Also, I don't get sick anymore - ever. I haven't had any type of sickness, not even a cold, since I became vegan. That's because meats are full of immunosuppressants, and dairy stimulates hyperactive mucous production.

I've never found being vegan difficult in any way.

There's a lot of misinformation on both sides. Best thing to do is read as many books on the subject as possible, do some studying on nutrition, and most importantly - listen to your body and what it tells you.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

If you have the time, would you mind describing your 3 meals/day in a 4 day period? What would you normally eat in 4 days, when you're looking to eat three times a day?

Do you prepare it yourself?

Do you go out to eat often?

Do you even grow some of your own food?

Do you make sure you only buy "bio" and, basically, "healthy" fruit and vegetables? Because most of the stuff that's out there can be just as bad as the worst meat, at least nutrition-wise (disregarding all arguments concerning ethics etc.).

i wish they would read the world peace diet and find out if they're really ethical vegans that would make it effortless! i have more understanding for raising your own animals or meeting local small-scale farmers to work with or hunting from the wild -- at least that way the animal gets to enjoy her life a little while before being killed. all other meat and dairy is the end result of a miserable unnatural existence it's not your traditional meat! except in the sense of the tradition of slavery and torture and concentration camps. at least know where it comes from, who it was sacrificed to

[Edited 7/10/12 16:37pm]

Dave1992 said:

Genesia said:

There's not a doubt in my mind that a some vegetarians/vegans (especially younger ones) feel this way. It's yet another way for some to feel superior - "Look at all those rubes/philistines/red staters eating their meat. I told you they were awful people. "

While I would never ever judge people based on that or try to lecture anyone on anything regarding food, I still have to admit I do find the action of eating meat barbaric, somehow.

I don't think meat-eaters are barbarians or disgusting or anything, I just somehow feel that it isn't "elegant" to eat meat. That's not the reason I'm a vegetarian, mind you, but that "style-factor" does play a role. Not in front of others, but simply in front of myself - I feel "cleaner" and somehow "more elegant" not eating meat. Guess that's just some sort of personal connotation and I make sure I remind myself it is, because, like I said, I'm not one to judge other people.

I eat meat, but I certainly think it's gross when I think ponder what it actually is. I am a vegetarian living in a meat-eater's body. Maybe some day I will make the switch.

PURplEMaPLeSyrup said:

i wish they would read the world peace diet and find out if they're really ethical vegans i have more understanding for raising your own animals for meat or hunting from the wild -- at least that way the animal gets to enjoy her life a little while before being killed. all other meat and dairy is the end result of a miserable unnatural existence

That's a very good point, but if I were to play devil's advocate, I'd ask you how is it "better" or "fairer" to raise your own animals to kill? Sure, it's maybe "better" than doing it the unnatural way, but is it good enough?

You might say animals were created to serve as food for each other, including our species. But since we evolved so much that literally no animal is actually stronger than us, wouldn't it also be "natural" if we found a way around killing other living beings? Wouldn't that be another step forward?

To illustrate my (or the devil's advocat's) point further, I'd like to give an extreme example. Darwin was convinced that some people are just meant to survive while the weaker ones are meant to die (sort of what many people believe about animals they want to eat, nowadays). This theory was also applied when people wanted to have slaves. They said: "they're weaker than us, they are meant to serve us or die, it's natural. People then believed they couldn't live without slaves, until they found a way around it.

People know think they can't live without meat because it's unhealthy, but wouldn't it be in the interested of the evolvement of ethics to find a healthy way around killing other species?

[Edited 7/10/12 16:45pm]

PURplEMaPLeSyrup said:

i wish they would read the world peace diet and find out if they're really ethical vegans that would make it effortless! i have more understanding for raising your own animals or meeting local small-scale farmers to work with or hunting from the wild -- at least that way the animal gets to enjoy her life a little while before being killed. all other meat and dairy is the end result of a miserable unnatural existence it's not your traditional meat! except in the sense of the tradition of slavery and torture and concentration camps. at least know where it comes from, who it was sacrificed to

[Edited 7/10/12 16:37pm]

I had this argument with my mom, but she could not get past the fact that she thinks hunting is also barbaric.

I kept saying "but the hunted animal lives a more natural life, not in a cage or a pen or huddled in masses..." She wasn't having it!

NDRU said:

PURplEMaPLeSyrup said:

i wish they would read the world peace diet and find out if they're really ethical vegans that would make it effortless! i have more understanding for raising your own animals or meeting local small-scale farmers to work with or hunting from the wild -- at least that way the animal gets to enjoy her life a little while before being killed. all other meat and dairy is the end result of a miserable unnatural existence it's not your traditional meat! except in the sense of the tradition of slavery and torture and concentration camps. at least know where it comes from, who it was sacrificed to

[Edited 7/10/12 16:37pm]

I had this argument with my mom, but she could not get past the fact that she thinks hunting is also barbaric.

I kept saying "but the hunted animal lives a more natural life, not in a cage or a pen or huddled in masses..." She wasn't having it!

Yeah, but it's still hunted; killed by human hand just to serve our needs, because we can.

Sure, it happens all the time in wild nature, animals killing each other in very painful and barbaric ways. But, like I said, we're human and we should have different standards than mother nature (we have different standards in all other parts of our lives afterall...).

Dave1992 said:

NDRU said:

I had this argument with my mom, but she could not get past the fact that she thinks hunting is also barbaric.

I kept saying "but the hunted animal lives a more natural life, not in a cage or a pen or huddled in masses..." She wasn't having it!

Yeah, but it's still hunted; killed by human hand just to serve our needs, because we can.

Sure, it happens all the time in wild nature, animals killing each other in very painful and barbaric ways. But, like I said, we're human and we should have different standards than mother nature (we have different standards in all other parts of our lives afterall...).

Well, I'm not saying it's better than not killing the animal at all!

NDRU said:

PURplEMaPLeSyrup said:

i wish they would read the world peace diet and find out if they're really ethical vegans that would make it effortless! i have more understanding for raising your own animals or meeting local small-scale farmers to work with or hunting from the wild -- at least that way the animal gets to enjoy her life a little while before being killed. all other meat and dairy is the end result of a miserable unnatural existence it's not your traditional meat! except in the sense of the tradition of slavery and torture and concentration camps. at least know where it comes from, who it was sacrificed to

[Edited 7/10/12 16:37pm]

I had this argument with my mom, but she could not get past the fact that she thinks hunting is also barbaric.

I kept saying "but the hunted animal lives a more natural life, not in a cage or a pen or huddled in masses..." She wasn't having it!

Factory farming in the US is my primary reason for going veggie. Both from an ethical and from a health standpoint.

On the overall spectrum I would far prefer people hunt their own meat, so the amimals have as natural and cruelty-free life as possible. My sister-in-law's family are farmers and my brother hunts and I love that their family knows exactly how their meat comes to the table.

My dream for retirement (or sooner) is to have enough land to have some chickesn for eggs, some bees for honey and some goats to make yummy cheese. I'll know exactly how well my animals are cared for and how loved they are. That's meaningful and important to me.

NDRU said:

Dave1992 said:

While I would never ever judge people based on that or try to lecture anyone on anything regarding food, I still have to admit I do find the action of eating meat barbaric, somehow.

I don't think meat-eaters are barbarians or disgusting or anything, I just somehow feel that it isn't "elegant" to eat meat. That's not the reason I'm a vegetarian, mind you, but that "style-factor" does play a role. Not in front of others, but simply in front of myself - I feel "cleaner" and somehow "more elegant" not eating meat. Guess that's just some sort of personal connotation and I make sure I remind myself it is, because, like I said, I'm not one to judge other people.

I eat meat, but I certainly think it's gross when I think ponder what it actually is. I am a vegetarian living in a meat-eater's body. Maybe some day I will make the switch.

You haven't lived 'til you've cleaned and eaten beef heart.

I know there are folks who really enjoy that - and I admit I might not have prepared in the best possible way (it was my first and only attempt) - but I didn't care for it. It's a little too...I don't know..."liver-y" in taste and texture, for me.

About the closest I care to get to that again is a bloody steak or tartare. I loooooove raw beef.

loud, stubborn, smartass vegans just need my hard meat in their mouths

^

Dave1992 said:

Genesia said:

There's not a doubt in my mind that a some vegetarians/vegans (especially younger ones) feel this way. It's yet another way for some to feel superior - "Look at all those rubes/philistines/red staters eating their meat. I told you they were awful people. "

While I would never ever judge people based on that or try to lecture anyone on anything regarding food, I still have to admit I do find the action of eating meat barbaric, somehow.

I don't think meat-eaters are barbarians or disgusting or anything, I just somehow feel that it isn't "elegant" to eat meat. That's not the reason I'm a vegetarian, mind you, but that "style-factor" does play a role. Not in front of others, but simply in front of myself - I feel "cleaner" and somehow "more elegant" not eating meat. Guess that's just some sort of personal connotation and I make sure I remind myself it is, because, like I said, I'm not one to judge other people.

Yep. My cousin always says "Eating meat is uncivilized" and I agree with that. It's a relic of less educated times and out-dated class systems.

For example, in parts of Africa the consumption of meat was what differentiated the rich and the poor because meat was costly. Conversely, now that the world is filled with processed, factory-farmed, poor-quality meat that comes from diseased animals living in the most horrendous of condition, the reverse is true - in the modern Western world what you'll find is that the most meat is consumed by the poor.

Consider this article from BusinessWeek, entitled "The Rise of the Power Vegans". It's about the rise of veganism amongst the most rich, powerful and influential people in the world - the likes of Steve Wynn, who owns half of Vegas. After making the switch and seeing the benefits, he opened vegan friendly restaurants in all his casinos and encouraged tens of thousands of his employees to go vegan - a very business savvy move, because it's a statistical fact that vegans get sick less.

Wynn was converted when his friend—telecom mogul and recent vegan Gulu Lalvani—made him watch Eating, a documentary in which director Mike Anderson explains his diet. "I watched it, and I changed the next morning," says Wynn. "Bang! Just like that." The transition was eased by the fact that Wynn happened to be on a yacht with a personal chef. As soon as he got home, he began spreading the gospel as only a mogul can—like buying 10,000 copies of Eating, one for each of his employees. "I'm providing the ass for the insurance. If they're sick, we're picking up the tab," says Wynn. "If I can keep them healthier, I'm acting like a smart businessman."

There's plenty of other examples - Bill Clinton. Mike Tyson. Mort Zuckerman. Russell Simmons. Ellen DeGeneres. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. Ford Motors CEO Bill Ford. Ozzy Osbourne. Alanis Morissette. Thom Yorke of Radiohead. Woody Harrelson. Ted Danson. Roger Ebert. Russell Brand.

Why? Well, the link between veganism and the well-off comes down to one thing - education. Poor people aren't just poor financially, they also have less access to education. This is why, overwhelmingly, fast food restaurants are mostly located in low-income areas. Fast food companies with their completely disgusting, overwhelmingly unhealthy and of course, salt-rich food that acts as an addictive agent, PREY on the poor, because the educated have more access to the education that informs them that meat, dairy and other animal-based products are toxins to the human body.

Future generations will overwhelmingly abandon the current Western diets, not only because it will be overwhelmingly evident that it is destroying the population (see rising obesity levels in the Western world causing cancers, heart diseases, etc at VERY young ages) but also because as a species we grow more intelligent and compassionate on average, as we improve access to education for everyone.

Dave1992 said:

If you have the time, would you mind describing your 3 meals/day in a 4 day period? What would you normally eat in 4 days, when you're looking to eat three times a day?

Do you prepare it yourself?

Do you go out to eat often?

Do you even grow some of your own food?

Do you make sure you only buy "bio" and, basically, "healthy" fruit and vegetables? Because most of the stuff that's out there can be just as bad as the worst meat, at least nutrition-wise (disregarding all arguments concerning ethics etc.).

Sure thing. I have a more varied diet than I ever did, now that I'm vegan. So I'm obviously not going to list EVERYTHING I eat, but I'll name a few things.

Breakfasts - I often buy a high quality Muesli, and then eat it with Oat Milk, Soy Milk, Almond Milk, or Hemp Milk. I'll add blueberries, sometimes raspberries to eat, and occasionally a heaped teaspoon of something like flaxseed or spirulina. Other times I may just eat toast with a healthy vegan spread, these can be sunflower seed based.

If I have more time, sometimes I'll make some soy-based sausages with baked tomatoes and tofu scramble, which has the consistency and look of scrambled eggs. Basically, you mash up a block of tofu with a fork, then you mix it with a powder. Some vegetarian and vegan shops will sell pre-made tofu scrambler powders or you can obviously make your own. There's plenty of recipes online, but essentially you've got in it: cooking oats, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, curry powder, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, turmeric.......

So you mix that powder with the mashed up tofu, then fry it. I like to throw in chopped tomatoes, chopped chillies, chopped bell peppers, chopped black olives too.

Lunch - I'll often eat things like carrots and broccoli with hommous. Sometimes a sandwich with tofutti cheese slices, tomatoes, vegan mayonnaise, lettuce, fresh spinach leaves and onions. Sometimes just a bowl of yellow dhal with some bread or a burrito wrap. Other times I may just eat a whole-grain snack bar, like a flaxseed based one or a hempseed based one.

Dinners - I'm half Punjabi and I live near my aunt who is a phenomenal cook so I eat a LOT of Indian food. Most Indian vegetarian food is vegan also, so 90% of what my aunt makes, I can eat. There's a great little family-owned place down the road from me as well that sells healthy home-cooked Indian food. I'm learned about 4 or 5 dishes that I can make myself at home as well - things like Aloo Mattar (potato & pea curry), or Saag Aloo (Potato and Spinach). But what I love the most is Dal, which is a soupy curry made from whole pulses. There's lots of different types, but I generally make it with yellow lentils, or with whole green lentils, or with chickpeas. I'll make a dish and have it with rice and salad, or flatbreads instead of rice.

I make Mexican food a lot at home too. Burritos with black beans or pinto beans, lots of lettuce, tomato, olives, peppers, chillies, and guacamole. I hunted down a GREAT guacamole that I buy at a local health food store. All the ones you get in the supermarkets are terrible. Likewise with salsa, I found a great one so I tend to have those in my fridge a lot of the time.

Other times I make pastas or gnocchi with homemade sauce. I take tomato puree, mix it with water, and then blend up some freshly cut tomatoes, spinach, onions, peppers, coriander, garlic, chillies, and any other veggies or herbs I have lying around and mix it together, then top with soy cheese. Sometimes I make a Thai or Chinese stir-fry with chopped tofu.

I'm also fortunate to have a great family-owned vegetarian and vegan pizza place that's about 10 minutes walk from me, so I get pizza from there probably twice a month on average and have that with a nice salad.

Often I make fruit smoothies as a snack between meals, with lots of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and sometimes I'll throw some crushed coconut or almond in with it.

I go out to eat maybe 4 or 5 times a month. There's a phenomenal Japanese place near me with a wide range of vegan starters and vegan sushi dishes. The sushi rolls have things like cucumber, horseradish, pepper, tofu, avocado, pumpkin, asparagus, in them. So my girlfriend and I go there or a lot. There's another more Western restuarant with a large vegan selection that we sometimes go to, and a new health food cafe just opened that we're planning to go to soon - my cousin went there and recommended it to me.

I'm not in a position to grow anything myself at the moment, as I live in an apartment. But I certainly would if I had the land. And yeah - I'm very choosy about what I buy. 75-80% of what my local supermarket sells - I wouldn't touch. Luckily I have plenty of options - there's a local corner greengrocers, and if I travel into the city (which I generally do 4-5 times a week) there's larger supermarkets, health food stores, and ethnic-specific places like Chinese and Indian supermarkets which sell lots of things you'd NEVER find in major supermarkets.

I follow a lot of vegan blogs on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Google Reader who are always posting new recipes, so when I have time and I'm not tired, I like to learn new ones. One of my friends is a chef so sometimes when he comes over we'll find a new recipe, go to the store and get what we need and then teach ourselves how to make it. He works as a private chef all around the world, and due to what I mentioned earlier, a lot of the rich people he works for tend to want to eaten predominantly vegan diets. So it's helpful for both of us to learn new things I want to learn a few Thai dishes next, as a lot of good Thai food is vegan too.

With regards to your last point, absolutely you have to be nutrition conscious. You could technically be a vegan but just eat potato chips all day and clearly that wouldn't be healthy I've never met any other vegan like that, but it IS possible they exist

CarrieMpls said:

NDRU said:

I had this argument with my mom, but she could not get past the fact that she thinks hunting is also barbaric.

I kept saying "but the hunted animal lives a more natural life, not in a cage or a pen or huddled in masses..." She wasn't having it!

Factory farming in the US is my primary reason for going veggie. Both from an ethical and from a health standpoint.

On the overall spectrum I would far prefer people hunt their own meat, so the amimals have as natural and cruelty-free life as possible. My sister-in-law's family are farmers and my brother hunts and I love that their family knows exactly how their meat comes to the table.

My dream for retirement (or sooner) is to have enough land to have some chickesn for eggs, some bees for honey and some goats to make yummy cheese. I'll know exactly how well my animals are cared for and how loved they are. That's meaningful and important to me.

That is why I don't think I would ever really feel the need to go vegan, at least for ethical reasons. I might give up meat, but I think you can definitely have milk, cheese, and eggs without being cruel.

NDRU said:

CarrieMpls said:

Factory farming in the US is my primary reason for going veggie. Both from an ethical and from a health standpoint.

On the overall spectrum I would far prefer people hunt their own meat, so the amimals have as natural and cruelty-free life as possible. My sister-in-law's family are farmers and my brother hunts and I love that their family knows exactly how their meat comes to the table.

My dream for retirement (or sooner) is to have enough land to have some chickesn for eggs, some bees for honey and some goats to make yummy cheese. I'll know exactly how well my animals are cared for and how loved they are. That's meaningful and important to me.

That is why I don't think I would ever really feel the need to go vegan, at least for ethical reasons. I might give up meat, but I think you can definitely have milk, cheese, and eggs without being cruel.

Okay, that totally reminds me of A League of Their Own, when Gena Davis's character is milking a cow and Jon Lovitz's character says, "Doesn't that hurt them?" She says, "Doesn't seem to." And he says, "Well, it'd bruise the hell out of me!"

Genesia said:

NDRU said:

That is why I don't think I would ever really feel the need to go vegan, at least for ethical reasons. I might give up meat, but I think you can definitely have milk, cheese, and eggs without being cruel.

Okay, that totally reminds me of A League of Their Own, when Gena Davis's character is milking a cow and Jon Lovitz's character says, "Doesn't that hurt them?" She says, "Doesn't seem to." And he says, "Well, it'd bruise the hell out of me!"

eww, Jon Lovitz milk!

Thanks a lot for this very interesting read!

Militant said:

Dave1992 said:

There's plenty of other examples - Bill Clinton. Mike Tyson. Mort Zuckerman. Russell Simmons. Ellen DeGeneres. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. Ford Motors CEO Bill Ford. Ozzy Osbourne. Alanis Morissette. Thom Yorke of Radiohead. Woody Harrelson. Ted Danson. Roger Ebert. Russell Brand.

Why? Well, the link between veganism and the well-off comes down to one thing - education. Poor people aren't just poor financially, they also have less access to education. This is why, overwhelmingly, fast food restaurants are mostly located in low-income areas. Fast food companies with their completely disgusting, overwhelmingly unhealthy and of course, salt-rich food that acts as an addictive agent, PREY on the poor, because the educated have more access to the education that informs them that meat, dairy and other animal-based products are toxins to the human body.

Future generations will overwhelmingly abandon the current Western diets, not only because it will be overwhelmingly evident that it is destroying the population (see rising obesity levels in the Western world causing cancers, heart diseases, etc at VERY young ages) but also because as a species we grow more intelligent and compassionate on average, as we improve access to education for everyone.

Dave1992 said:

If you have the time, would you mind describing your 3 meals/day in a 4 day period? What would you normally eat in 4 days, when you're looking to eat three times a day?

Do you prepare it yourself?

Do you go out to eat often?

Do you even grow some of your own food?

Do you make sure you only buy "bio" and, basically, "healthy" fruit and vegetables? Because most of the stuff that's out there can be just as bad as the worst meat, at least nutrition-wise (disregarding all arguments concerning ethics etc.).

Sure thing. I have a more varied diet than I ever did, now that I'm vegan. So I'm obviously not going to list EVERYTHING I eat, but I'll name a few things.

Breakfasts - I often buy a high quality Muesli, and then eat it with Oat Milk, Soy Milk, Almond Milk, or Hemp Milk. I'll add blueberries, sometimes raspberries to eat, and occasionally a heaped teaspoon of something like flaxseed or spirulina. Other times I may just eat toast with a healthy vegan spread, these can be sunflower seed based.

If I have more time, sometimes I'll make some soy-based sausages with baked tomatoes and tofu scramble, which has the consistency and look of scrambled eggs. Basically, you mash up a block of tofu with a fork, then you mix it with a powder. Some vegetarian and vegan shops will sell pre-made tofu scrambler powders or you can obviously make your own. There's plenty of recipes online, but essentially you've got in it: cooking oats, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, curry powder, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, turmeric.......

So you mix that powder with the mashed up tofu, then fry it. I like to throw in chopped tomatoes, chopped chillies, chopped bell peppers, chopped black olives too.

Lunch - I'll often eat things like carrots and broccoli with hommous. Sometimes a sandwich with tofutti cheese slices, tomatoes, vegan mayonnaise, lettuce, fresh spinach leaves and onions. Sometimes just a bowl of yellow dhal with some bread or a burrito wrap. Other times I may just eat a whole-grain snack bar, like a flaxseed based one or a hempseed based one.

Dinners - I'm half Punjabi and I live near my aunt who is a phenomenal cook so I eat a LOT of Indian food. Most Indian vegetarian food is vegan also, so 90% of what my aunt makes, I can eat. There's a great little family-owned place down the road from me as well that sells healthy home-cooked Indian food. I'm learned about 4 or 5 dishes that I can make myself at home as well - things like Aloo Mattar (potato & pea curry), or Saag Aloo (Potato and Spinach). But what I love the most is Dal, which is a soupy curry made from whole pulses. There's lots of different types, but I generally make it with yellow lentils, or with whole green lentils, or with chickpeas. I'll make a dish and have it with rice and salad, or flatbreads instead of rice.

I make Mexican food a lot at home too. Burritos with black beans or pinto beans, lots of lettuce, tomato, olives, peppers, chillies, and guacamole. I hunted down a GREAT guacamole that I buy at a local health food store. All the ones you get in the supermarkets are terrible. Likewise with salsa, I found a great one so I tend to have those in my fridge a lot of the time.

Other times I make pastas or gnocchi with homemade sauce. I take tomato puree, mix it with water, and then blend up some freshly cut tomatoes, spinach, onions, peppers, coriander, garlic, chillies, and any other veggies or herbs I have lying around and mix it together, then top with soy cheese. Sometimes I make a Thai or Chinese stir-fry with chopped tofu.

I'm also fortunate to have a great family-owned vegetarian and vegan pizza place that's about 10 minutes walk from me, so I get pizza from there probably twice a month on average and have that with a nice salad.

Often I make fruit smoothies as a snack between meals, with lots of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and sometimes I'll throw some crushed coconut or almond in with it.

I go out to eat maybe 4 or 5 times a month. There's a phenomenal Japanese place near me with a wide range of vegan starters and vegan sushi dishes. The sushi rolls have things like cucumber, horseradish, pepper, tofu, avocado, pumpkin, asparagus, in them. So my girlfriend and I go there or a lot. There's another more Western restuarant with a large vegan selection that we sometimes go to, and a new health food cafe just opened that we're planning to go to soon - my cousin went there and recommended it to me.

I'm not in a position to grow anything myself at the moment, as I live in an apartment. But I certainly would if I had the land. And yeah - I'm very choosy about what I buy. 75-80% of what my local supermarket sells - I wouldn't touch. Luckily I have plenty of options - there's a local corner greengrocers, and if I travel into the city (which I generally do 4-5 times a week) there's larger supermarkets, health food stores, and ethnic-specific places like Chinese and Indian supermarkets which sell lots of things you'd NEVER find in major supermarkets.

I follow a lot of vegan blogs on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Google Reader who are always posting new recipes, so when I have time and I'm not tired, I like to learn new ones. One of my friends is a chef so sometimes when he comes over we'll find a new recipe, go to the store and get what we need and then teach ourselves how to make it. He works as a private chef all around the world, and due to what I mentioned earlier, a lot of the rich people he works for tend to want to eaten predominantly vegan diets. So it's helpful for both of us to learn new things I want to learn a few Thai dishes next, as a lot of good Thai food is vegan too.

With regards to your last point, absolutely you have to be nutrition conscious. You could technically be a vegan but just eat potato chips all day and clearly that wouldn't be healthy I've never met any other vegan like that, but it IS possible they exist

CarrieMpls said:

NDRU said:

I had this argument with my mom, but she could not get past the fact that she thinks hunting is also barbaric.

I kept saying "but the hunted animal lives a more natural life, not in a cage or a pen or huddled in masses..." She wasn't having it!

Factory farming in the US is my primary reason for going veggie. Both from an ethical and from a health standpoint.

On the overall spectrum I would far prefer people hunt their own meat, so the amimals have as natural and cruelty-free life as possible. My sister-in-law's family are farmers and my brother hunts and I love that their family knows exactly how their meat comes to the table.

This is very much how I feel as well. I decided to become a vegetarian after reading Peter Singer's 'The Ethics of What We Eat' earlier this year. I was a committed meat-eater for 42+ years up until that time, so I can hardly look down my nose at anyone. I changed because I thought Singer made a very compelling argument; animals have emotional lives and they have nervous systems. They can suffer, and factory farming practices inflicts pain on them, often in very cruel ways, and we should consider their interests when choosing what we eat. If you can adopt a diet that doesn't inflict that suffering without compromising your health, I think that's the correct ethical choice.

I would have no problem eating meat if it was captured by a hunter.

[Edited 7/11/12 17:54pm]

Militant said:

Also, I don't get sick anymore - ever. I haven't had any type of sickness, not even a cold, since I became vegan. That's because meats are full of immunosuppressants, and dairy stimulates hyperactive mucous production.

There's a lot of misinformation on both sides. Best thing to do is read as many books on the subject as possible, do some studying on nutrition, and most importantly - listen to your body and what it tells you.

good points here. i was a veggie in high school and continue to be more pescatarian than anything, but i do love chicken. i have an allegry to dairy ive never been into that but about once a yr. i crave and eat yougart evvryday for about 3 days(weird i know) and then im back off it. i have found that i dont have the seasonal allegeries and my periods are much less disruptive(lighter cramps,flow etc). i doubt i will ever be vegan just bcos ilove my fish and chicken so much. i do feel more energized when iincorporate those into my diet than i do without them.

i agree its more work but its also less expensive,imo than eating fast food everyday. but then im not "real high" end veggie.

Dave1992 said:

PURplEMaPLeSyrup said:

i wish they would read the world peace diet and find out if they're really ethical vegans i have more understanding for raising your own animals for meat or hunting from the wild -- at least that way the animal gets to enjoy her life a little while before being killed. all other meat and dairy is the end result of a miserable unnatural existence

That's a very good point, but if I were to play devil's advocate, I'd ask you how is it "better" or "fairer" to raise your own animals to kill? Sure, it's maybe "better" than doing it the unnatural way, but is it good enough?

You might say animals were created to serve as food for each other, including our species. But since we evolved so much that literally no animal is actually stronger than us, wouldn't it also be "natural" if we found a way around killing other living beings? Wouldn't that be another step forward?

To illustrate my (or the devil's advocat's) point further, I'd like to give an extreme example. Darwin was convinced that some people are just meant to survive while the weaker ones are meant to die (sort of what many people believe about animals they want to eat, nowadays). This theory was also applied when people wanted to have slaves. They said: "they're weaker than us, they are meant to serve us or die, it's natural. People then believed they couldn't live without slaves, until they found a way around it.

People know think they can't live without meat because it's unhealthy, but wouldn't it be in the interested of the evolvement of ethics to find a healthy way around killing other species?

[Edited 7/10/12 16:45pm]

good points! i personally don't think it's good enough to still enjoy killing very very very obviously very sentient beings. My heart has been convicted to be vegan, and i would like to and do tend to believe that everyone can thrive with a vegan lifestyle, all humans as well as lions, tigers, etc.. But, if by unfortunate chance some humans are fated to be from a carnivorous planet, then i just meant to say that they should enjoy killing things in a more dignified way, like lions, tigers, etc. do it. I've heard it's better to do that sort of thing yourself than the more prevalent ignorant murder-for-hire method today it's a baby-step in the nice direction, and even a slight turn can change the course a lot, but maybe not enough? Even if people were born with certain dietary temperaments (i'd be a cow i guess), i would hope they could evolve anyways.

[Edited 7/12/12 15:05pm]

i only meant to say, just based on 'the golden rule' though, would we rather be raised from birth alone in a little dark cage and have your days dictated in unimaginably cruel ways by the worship of maximized profits (and possibly not know any better but shore enough know something aint right), or be born under the sun and have a mom and eat nice things and run around and enjoy life a bit and then be cut down in the prime of your life by someone who likes to do that? I'd still prefer the latter shoes if those were hypothetically the only choices.

[Edited 7/12/12 15:34pm]

[Edited 7/12/12 15:38pm]

NDRU said:

CarrieMpls said:

Factory farming in the US is my primary reason for going veggie. Both from an ethical and from a health standpoint.

On the overall spectrum I would far prefer people hunt their own meat, so the amimals have as natural and cruelty-free life as possible. My sister-in-law's family are farmers and my brother hunts and I love that their family knows exactly how their meat comes to the table.

My dream for retirement (or sooner) is to have enough land to have some chickesn for eggs, some bees for honey and some goats to make yummy cheese. I'll know exactly how well my animals are cared for and how loved they are. That's meaningful and important to me.

That is why I don't think I would ever really feel the need to go vegan, at least for ethical reasons. I might give up meat, but I think you can definitely have milk, cheese, and eggs without being cruel.

yes, i'm intrigued by the idea of ox power and ahimsa milk. and unfertilized eggs are pretty much akin to a woman's menstrual cycle, so why not use some of that? Not sure if there would be an excess of roosters from the process, cock fighting won't do but maybe they could replace alarm clocks in some situations and might make good pets

PURplEMaPLeSyrup said:

NDRU said:

That is why I don't think I would ever really feel the need to go vegan, at least for ethical reasons. I might give up meat, but I think you can definitely have milk, cheese, and eggs without being cruel.

yes, i'm intrigued by the idea of ox power and ahimsa milk. and unfertilized eggs are pretty much akin to a woman's menstrual cycle, so why not use some of that? Not sure if there would be an excess of roosters from the process, cock fighting won't do but maybe they could replace alarm clocks in some situations and might make good pets

exactly!