maplenpg said:

onlyforaminute said:

maplenpg said:

I must thank Onlyforaminute for giving me the alfredo idea. I made it last night and the whole family loved it (which is unusual for something new). Thanks.

That's cool. I haven't ventured into the vegan world much beyond roasting veggies, Im on an ethnic food kick which so far tends to be vegan in its own way. Funny how that works.

Sounds good. I'm all for anyone that can cut down their meat and dairy consumption in any way - It doesn't have to be drastic measures.

I'm a bit down today - my son is doing cookery at school (cake) which I won't be able to eat because of the egg. I have to confess I'm a bit gutted not to be able to try something he's been so excited about making. I did consider giving him some egg replacer, but I don't want him to stand out as being different just because of me (the rest of the family will eat it). I think I can safely say that I won't stay on a vegan diet after January because of instances like today, although I will continue to cut down on eggs and dairy as much as I can possibly can for the animals.

maplenpg said:

onlyforaminute said:

maplenpg said: That's cool. I haven't ventured into the vegan world much beyond roasting veggies, Im on an ethnic food kick which so far tends to be vegan in its own way. Funny how that works.

Sounds good. I'm all for anyone that can cut down their meat and dairy consumption in any way - It doesn't have to be drastic measures.

I'm a bit down today - my son is doing cookery at school (cake) which I won't be able to eat because of the egg. I have to confess I'm a bit gutted not to be able to try something he's been so excited about making. I did consider giving him some egg replacer, but I don't want him to stand out as being different just because of me (the rest of the family will eat it). I think I can safely say that I won't stay on a vegan diet after January because of instances like today, although I will continue to cut down on eggs and dairy as much as I can possibly can for the animals.

Cashwew Alfredo sauce sounds good. I love raw/roasted nuts in cooking and snacks. Satisfying.

Maple - I can see you being as vegan as you want but still make exceptions here & there. You R Awesome!

poppys said:

onlyforaminute said:

poppys said:

Cashwew Alfredo sauce sounds good. I love raw/roasted nuts in cooking and snacks. Satisfying.

Maple - I can see you being as vegan as you want but still make exceptions here & there. You R Awesome!

Right now I have a taste for roadted jicama with cashews. I guess I'm going to the store.

I just had to google what jicama was! Hope you enjoyed it. Not something we have in the UK AFAIK.

poppys said:

maplenpg said:

Sounds good. I'm all for anyone that can cut down their meat and dairy consumption in any way - It doesn't have to be drastic measures.

I'm a bit down today - my son is doing cookery at school (cake) which I won't be able to eat because of the egg. I have to confess I'm a bit gutted not to be able to try something he's been so excited about making. I did consider giving him some egg replacer, but I don't want him to stand out as being different just because of me (the rest of the family will eat it). I think I can safely say that I won't stay on a vegan diet after January because of instances like today, although I will continue to cut down on eggs and dairy as much as I can possibly can for the animals.

Cashwew Alfredo sauce sounds good. I love raw/roasted nuts in cooking and snacks. Satisfying.

Maple - I can see you being as vegan as you want but still make exceptions here & there. You R Awesome!

Thanks Poppy. Not awesome, just doing my best as we all try to. I think you're right, I don't feel as a young family I can 100% commit to veganism and I'm not sure I'd want to label myself that way anyway. Even if I never ate any animal products again I'm not sure I share the vegan philosophy regarding zoos, or wearing wool (though I have not worn leather for a few decades now). Still, I'll get to the end of Jan and go from there.

I was quite proud of my little twins yesterday (8). They came home and were squirrelling away, obviously really busy after school. When they finally surfaced they'd been making placards saying stuff like 'No Meat, Be Kind To Animals' and 'Kindness is eating vegetables not animals' and 'Go Vegetarian today'. Apparently my twins and their vegetarian friend at school (all lifelong veggies) have decided to have a demonstration outside the canteen to try and encourage other children to try the veggie school dinners! Now if (and it's a big if) they are even allowed to do this, we live in a farming community so it's really quite brave of them. Cue some interesting conversations about what other children might think. Seems I'm raising a couple of little activists! I've never demonstrated about anything in my life!

maplenpg said:

poppys said:

Cashwew Alfredo sauce sounds good. I love raw/roasted nuts in cooking and snacks. Satisfying.

Maple - I can see you being as vegan as you want but still make exceptions here & there. You R Awesome!

Thanks Poppy. Not awesome, just doing my best as we all try to. I think you're right, I don't feel as a young family I can 100% commit to veganism and I'm not sure I'd want to label myself that way anyway. Even if I never ate any animal products again I'm not sure I share the vegan philosophy regarding zoos, or wearing wool (though I have not worn leather for a few decades now). Still, I'll get to the end of Jan and go from there.

I was quite proud of my little twins yesterday (8). They came home and were squirrelling away, obviously really busy after school. When they finally surfaced they'd been making placards saying stuff like 'No Meat, Be Kind To Animals' and 'Kindness is eating vegetables not animals' and 'Go Vegetarian today'. Apparently my twins and their vegetarian friend at school (all lifelong veggies) have decided to have a demonstration outside the canteen to try and encourage other children to try the veggie school dinners! Now if (and it's a big if) they are even allowed to do this, we live in a farming community so it's really quite brave of them. Cue some interesting conversations about what other children might think. Seems I'm raising a couple of little activists! I've never demonstrated about anything in my life!

Wow, That is great. Hope they are allowed to do it with no squelching of the fire. Good cause too, going to the other kids about the veggie dinners to get them to try it.

poppys said:

maplenpg said:

Thanks Poppy. Not awesome, just doing my best as we all try to. I think you're right, I don't feel as a young family I can 100% commit to veganism and I'm not sure I'd want to label myself that way anyway. Even if I never ate any animal products again I'm not sure I share the vegan philosophy regarding zoos, or wearing wool (though I have not worn leather for a few decades now). Still, I'll get to the end of Jan and go from there.

I was quite proud of my little twins yesterday (8). They came home and were squirrelling away, obviously really busy after school. When they finally surfaced they'd been making placards saying stuff like 'No Meat, Be Kind To Animals' and 'Kindness is eating vegetables not animals' and 'Go Vegetarian today'. Apparently my twins and their vegetarian friend at school (all lifelong veggies) have decided to have a demonstration outside the canteen to try and encourage other children to try the veggie school dinners! Now if (and it's a big if) they are even allowed to do this, we live in a farming community so it's really quite brave of them. Cue some interesting conversations about what other children might think. Seems I'm raising a couple of little activists! I've never demonstrated about anything in my life!

Wow, That is great. Hope they are allowed to do it with no squelching of the fire. Good cause too, going to the other kids about the veggie dinners to get them to try it.

I'm not sure if 'Meat Free Monday' is a UK thing or worldwide, but I wish schools would embrace the idea of having one veggie day a week. Think how many animals would be saved if all schools did this. Sadly I fear parents would complain about one meal a week with no dead flesh in it - however will little Harriet cope etc...?

The headmaster at the school is pretty good. He's into environmental issues so I'll tell the girls to go down the 'for the planet' route rather than 'for the animals'. They might be allowed their little protest for a day a guess, let's just hope it's a day when cheese and tomato pizza is the veggie option - they might have some success then!

On a different environmental note, great news today that all UK schools are going to make free sanitary products available for all school children (in an attempt to reduce period poverty). I was really very impressed to hear they are choosing the environmental, plastic free brand rather than the cheaper ones that contain plastic. I don't give the Tories much credit, but this is a great move.

Fair play maple, i've been veggie for more than half my life at this point and vegan food done well is probably my favourite kind of food, but Ireland is hardly made to serve vegans as standard.

jaawwnn said:

Fair play maple, i've been veggie for more than half my life at this point and vegan food done well is probably my favourite kind of food, but Ireland is hardly made to serve vegans as standard.

Thank you . I'm not sure anywhere is made to serve vegans as standard, except maybe London. I live in the rural North so I'm pretty limited to buying what the supermarkets sell, which is okay for the food I'm doing (I'm not one to try recipes that contain 14 ingredients I've never heard of). I have to say my mum would have a heart attack if I said I was going vegan full-time, she's bad enough about veggie food, and like you I've been veggie long enough. Luckily she doesn't live close by so doesn't have to cook for me often. I think eating out is limited where I am too, the cities are much better at catering for vegans with good food - not just a bloody Greggs vegan steak bake (FTR I'm yet to try one, I think they sound awful)

Anyway, well done for being veggie so long, It's all good. Do you ever struggle with feelings of hypocrisy (as I do) about consuming dairy and eggs, which have their own problems regarding cruelty?

[Edited 1/21/20 2:14am]

Over eggs especially yeah, but then I don't really lecture people about this stuff, they can eat meat around me it's all good, so it's not so much hypocrisy so much as a bit of guilt. But sure I do what I can, there's no point beating myself up over it.

jaawwnn said:

Over eggs especially yeah, but then I don't really lecture people about this stuff, they can eat meat around me it's all good, so it's not so much hypocrisy so much as a bit of guilt. But sure I do what I can, there's no point beating myself up over it.

It's where I go wrong - I beat myself up about it. I don't lecture people, I don't care what they eat, but people ask about why I'm veggie, how long etc... It just quite often ends up discussing the dairy industry, which I feel terrible about being a part of, even in a small way. Eggs not so much with me as we get them from the neighbour who keeps them as pets. I need to just chill, or go vegan permanantly.

onlyforaminute said:

Iron rich vegan recipes. https://youtu.be/9Wgify-v6O0 Personally I don't see why one can't substitute spinch but whatever The yams won me.

Yum. Both of those recipes sound lovely! The first one won me too. I think you could substitute spinach or kale (I'm presuming you meant substitute for the seaweed?). She's gorgeous too.

Poppys - Interestingly there was an article in the magazine I subscribe to entitled 'The myths behind vegan fashion, decoded'. Myth 3 in the article was 'Vegan fashion is synthetic and made of plastic'. Interesting it says that vegan leather is moving away from plastic for environmental reasons and are now increasingly made from natural, sustainable materials such as 'apples, pineapples, mushrooms and cork'. The article goes into a lot more detail but it certainly seems to be moving in the right direction. It also talks about a silk-ike product made from orange peel.

My concerns would be that at the moment plastic is cheap and I suspect that these new 'materials' are not, so I think it might take some time to filter down to the mainstream. Also I wonder about the longevity of them given that they're using biodegradable products. Anyway, I thought you might be interested .

poppys said:

Good for you maplenpg. Never heard of this but it sounds like a good way to try, knowing other people are doing it too. Dry January is also a thing, no alcohol for the month. I eat very little meat anyway, but giving up cheese is hard.

Buy my leather goods (like a jacket or purse) second hand, so at least they are getting another use. Don't really buy leather footwear anymore, still have a few I wear. I'm older, so buying a lot less clothing these days. It cuts down on the whole laundry thing too, simpler. But "vegan leather" is fossil fuel (oil) based plastic mixed with deadly chemicals that create factory runoff etc, etc. There's no good answer. Agree we should treat all animals humanely, even if used for food or clothing, not just pets.

Veggie but not vegan here. Like maplenpg, find dairy a challenge. Got to laugh at my own logic, but sometimes I wish I'd never tasted cheese to begin with, as that's where I get stuck.

Also, like onlyforaminute, I'm changing up the way I do straws. I got some reusables that I can toss in the dishwasher.

Thank you, poppys, for bolded!

maplenpg said:

Poppys - Interestingly there was an article in the magazine I subscribe to entitled 'The myths behind vegan fashion, decoded'. Myth 3 in the article was 'Vegan fashion is synthetic and made of plastic'. Interesting it says that vegan leather is moving away from plastic for environmental reasons and are now increasingly made from natural, sustainable materials such as 'apples, pineapples, mushrooms and cork'. The article goes into a lot more detail but it certainly seems to be moving in the right direction. It also talks about a silk-ike product made from orange peel.

My concerns would be that at the moment plastic is cheap and I suspect that these new 'materials' are not, so I think it might take some time to filter down to the mainstream. Also I wonder about the longevity of them given that they're using biodegradable products. Anyway, I thought you might be interested .

That is great, but it is not a myth at all. Not all "vegan fashion" is made from plastic. The term Vegan Leather is rampant in all internet clothing sites and in stores, at least here. I am all for clothing made of natural products without chemicals, but even cotton uses a lot of arsenic (all over the world) to combat bugs, and it stays in the soil for many years. Where I live it shows up in the rice crops. Deadly chemicals are used in so many manufacturing processes, including making leather and "vegan leather" from big oil.

My point was, the whole vegan leather phenom is likely not better for the environment, people or animals. It's a "guilt free" sales pitch. Even the name still has the word leather (animal skin) in it. Doesn't mean people shouldn't make their own choices.

rednblue said:

poppys said:

Good for you maplenpg. Never heard of this but it sounds like a good way to try, knowing other people are doing it too. Dry January is also a thing, no alcohol for the month. I eat very little meat anyway, but giving up cheese is hard.

Buy my leather goods (like a jacket or purse) second hand, so at least they are getting another use. Don't really buy leather footwear anymore, still have a few I wear. I'm older, so buying a lot less clothing these days. It cuts down on the whole laundry thing too, simpler. But "vegan leather" is fossil fuel (oil) based plastic mixed with deadly chemicals that create factory runoff etc, etc. There's no good answer. Agree we should treat all animals humanely, even if used for food or clothing, not just pets.

Veggie but not vegan here. Like maplenpg, find dairy a challenge. Got to laugh at my own logic, but sometimes I wish I'd never tasted cheese to begin with, as that's where I get stuck.

Also, like onlyforaminute, I'm changing up the way I do straws. I got some reusables that I can toss in the dishwasher.

Thank you, poppys, for bolded!

Last week, for the first time since last Jan, I ventured into the world of vegan cheeses. I have to say my expectations weren't high as I've never found one I remotely like before. HOWEVER, this year I've been pleasantly surprised. Applewoods smoked vegan cheese is just to die for, and I found a supermarket own brand red leicester vegan cheese that was equally nice. Even the husband and kids like them! The Applewoods one melts brilliantly too. In all seriousness I might never go back to dairy cheese - and that's a big shift for me (I just need vegan chocolate to get better now).

We've been using metal straws for a while now - they're great.

poppys said:

maplenpg said:

Poppys - Interestingly there was an article in the magazine I subscribe to entitled 'The myths behind vegan fashion, decoded'. Myth 3 in the article was 'Vegan fashion is synthetic and made of plastic'. Interesting it says that vegan leather is moving away from plastic for environmental reasons and are now increasingly made from natural, sustainable materials such as 'apples, pineapples, mushrooms and cork'. The article goes into a lot more detail but it certainly seems to be moving in the right direction. It also talks about a silk-ike product made from orange peel.

My concerns would be that at the moment plastic is cheap and I suspect that these new 'materials' are not, so I think it might take some time to filter down to the mainstream. Also I wonder about the longevity of them given that they're using biodegradable products. Anyway, I thought you might be interested .

That is great, but it is not a myth at all. Not all "vegan fashion" is made from plastic. The term Vegan Leather is rampant in all internet clothing sites and in stores, at least here. I am all for clothing made of natural products without chemicals, but even cotton uses a lot of arsenic (all over the world) to combat bugs, and it stays in the soil for many years. Where I live it shows up in the rice crops. Deadly chemicals are used in so many manufacturing processes, including making leather and "vegan leather" from big oil.

My point was, the whole vegan leather phenom is likely not better for the environment, people or animals. It's a "guilt free" sales pitch. Even the name still has the word leather (animal skin) in it. Doesn't mean people shouldn't make their own choices.

The pineapple leaves route (called pinatex) is better for the environment and the animals. Of course the big corporates will go down the route that makes them the most profit (plastics) at the expense of the everything else, but there are environmentally friendly options if consumers do a bit of research and spend a bit more money.

Edit to add link: https://www.ananas-anam.com/about-us/

[Edited 1/25/20 23:20pm]

maplenpg said:

rednblue said:

Veggie but not vegan here. Like maplenpg, find dairy a challenge. Got to laugh at my own logic, but sometimes I wish I'd never tasted cheese to begin with, as that's where I get stuck.

Also, like onlyforaminute, I'm changing up the way I do straws. I got some reusables that I can toss in the dishwasher.

Thank you, poppys, for bolded!

Last week, for the first time since last Jan, I ventured into the world of vegan cheeses. I have to say my expectations weren't high as I've never found one I remotely like before. HOWEVER, this year I've been pleasantly surprised. Applewoods smoked vegan cheese is just to die for, and I found a supermarket own brand red leicester vegan cheese that was equally nice. Even the husband and kids like them! The Applewoods one melts brilliantly too. In all seriousness I might never go back to dairy cheese - and that's a big shift for me (I just need vegan chocolate to get better now).

We've been using metal straws for a while now - they're great.

Excited to try the Applewoods! What is the supermarket brand for the leicester?

rednblue said:

maplenpg said:

Last week, for the first time since last Jan, I ventured into the world of vegan cheeses. I have to say my expectations weren't high as I've never found one I remotely like before. HOWEVER, this year I've been pleasantly surprised. Applewoods smoked vegan cheese is just to die for, and I found a supermarket own brand red leicester vegan cheese that was equally nice. Even the husband and kids like them! The Applewoods one melts brilliantly too. In all seriousness I might never go back to dairy cheese - and that's a big shift for me (I just need vegan chocolate to get better now).

We've been using metal straws for a while now - they're great.

Excited to try the Applewoods! What is the supermarket brand for the leicester?

If you're in the UK it's Morrison's vegan red leicester style slices. They're on half price from £2.70 to £1.35 at the min. They're in the free from section

If you're not in the UK then please try some local to you. I've been genuinely amazed how much vegan cheese has changed in the last 12 months. Hope you'll love the Applewoods as much as I do .

Metal straws are a cool idea. I remember they came with colorful metal tumblers when I was a kid. Funny, when paper straws were the norm, nobody complained about them the way they do now. I use the same plastic straw over and over, not just once.

poppys said:

Metal straws are a cool idea. I remember they came with colorful metal tumblers when I was a kid. Funny, when paper straws were the norm, nobody complained about them the way they do now. I use the same plastic straw over and over, not just once.

That's what my husband does! For unknown reasons he prefers it to our metal straws. Occasionally though he'll find it missing - usually the kids have nicked it for crafts

poppys said:

maplenpg said:

rednblue said:

Excited to try the Applewoods! What is the supermarket brand for the leicester?

If you're in the UK it's Morrison's vegan red leicester style slices. They're on half price from £2.70 to £1.35 at the min. They're in the free from section

If you're not in the UK then please try some local to you. I've been genuinely amazed how much vegan cheese has changed in the last 12 months. Hope you'll love the Applewoods as much as I do .

Thank you, maplenpg!

maplenpg said:

poppys said:

Metal straws are a cool idea. I remember they came with colorful metal tumblers when I was a kid. Funny, when paper straws were the norm, nobody complained about them the way they do now. I use the same plastic straw over and over, not just once.

That's what my husband does! For unknown reasons he prefers it to our metal straws. Occasionally though he'll find it missing - usually the kids have nicked it for crafts

If it's not too nosy...how old are your kids?

EmmaMcG said:

poppys said:

Metal straws are a cool idea. I remember they came with colorful metal tumblers when I was a kid. Funny, when paper straws were the norm, nobody complained about them the way they do now. I use the same plastic straw over and over, not just once.

Most places over here now don't have plastic straws anymore. I hadn't had any junk food since August so I had a hankering for some KFC. Sent my husband out to get me some and he comes back with these piddly little paper straws. Apparently KFC, McDonald's, Burger King and all the rest of them use those paper straws now. I eat slow so the straw had almost melted into the drink by the time I was finished. Might have to invest in one of those metal straws. Oh and this has nothing to do with the topic, I just thought it was funny. But the night I sent him to KFC was our first wedding anniversary 😂. No fancy restaurants, no flowers, none of that. My first wedding anniversary was KFC and John Wick 2 on Netflix. Who says romance is dead?

Aww, so cute. Y'all have had a BUSY year!

I had KFC like once ever. Popeyes is the commercial chix of choice where I live now. The corner store near me makes great chicken and oyster shrimp etc poor boys (local sandwiches). Lol, they are Palestinians too.


edit - sorry to get off topic maplenpg. I'm not vegan but eat very little meat - long stretches without eating any. Always been that way for me. Going to try your cheese suggestions, see if we have those here.

[Edited 1/28/20 13:59pm]

rednblue said:

maplenpg said:

That's what my husband does! For unknown reasons he prefers it to our metal straws. Occasionally though he'll find it missing - usually the kids have nicked it for crafts

If it's not too nosy...how old are your kids?

twins 8 and a 12 year old. All life-long veggies

poppys said:

EmmaMcG said:

poppys said:
Most places over here now don't have plastic straws anymore. I hadn't had any junk food since August so I had a hankering for some KFC. Sent my husband out to get me some and he comes back with these piddly little paper straws. Apparently KFC, McDonald's, Burger King and all the rest of them use those paper straws now. I eat slow so the straw had almost melted into the drink by the time I was finished. Might have to invest in one of those metal straws. Oh and this has nothing to do with the topic, I just thought it was funny. But the night I sent him to KFC was our first wedding anniversary 😂. No fancy restaurants, no flowers, none of that. My first wedding anniversary was KFC and John Wick 2 on Netflix. Who says romance is dead?

Aww, so cute. Y'all have had a BUSY year!

I had KFC like once ever. Popeyes is the commercial chix of choice where I live now. The corner store near me makes great chicken and oyster shrimp etc poor boys (local sandwiches). Lol, they are Palestinians too.


edit - sorry to get off topic maplenpg. I'm not vegan but eat very little meat - long stretches without eating any. Always been that way for me. Going to try your cheese suggestions, see if we have those here.

[Edited 1/28/20 13:59pm]

Wasn't off topic at all Poppy . FWIW I haven't eaten in McDonalds, Burger King, KFC or similar joints for over 20 years. Yet I have to say the vegan KFC burger sounds nice (I did like KFC as a meat eater). Me & my husband have very, very different views though. I think to buy a vegan burger from KFC is fine, but he thinks it's supporting one of the big corporate murderers of chicken (even though not actually consuming said chicken), and therefore supports animal cruelty. I can see his point of view I guess but KFC was so yummy.