Why couldn't you be vegan? What would you miss?

And a pinch of chili flakes!

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Now that sounds like a good idea, but I could not claim it as vegetarian though, thinking of the poor little fishes. I buy loads of sardines at the moment but for the dogs, they love them with their croquettes. Great amusement at the checkout as I hand the cashier one tin and point to the other 13 still in the basket.

Just bought a bottle of olive oil for little Opie’s skin which is flaking a bit. Rub a bit in once a day and a splash of 4 oils on his meal. I could steal both. :thinking:

But I will try it. :wink:

Explain.

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Particularly relevant programme today…

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I shall listen shortly, always a good discussion. Tim even admits where he got things wrong in the past which is great as it shows how changing your views can have an effect even for a doctor/professor.

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True!! Wasn’t thinking.

Once you have onion and garlic in a pot you can chuck in all manner of things. Can of lentils, or mushrooms and peas, or chopped up pumpkin, or grilled aubergine. Dump can of tomato on top, cook for a bit and eat with any pasta you like.

Our other absolute staple is roasted traybakes.
A solid vegetable (sweet potato, pumpkin etc)
A lighter vegetable (pepper, leeks, tomatoes, cabbage)
A small can of something. (butter beans, chickpeas etc)
A mug of liquid (stock, wine, cider)
Some herbs and seasoning
Something for a bit of ooomph (grated lemon rind, Worcestershire sauce, paprika or chilli)

Chop up, mix in a bit of oil, pop in oven for maybe 30-40 minutes. Eat.

We like it with Harrissa and miso paste, but probably not for all tastes!

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In case others don’t get the joke…a vegan is, by default, vegetarian.

How do you know there’s a vegan in the room at a party? A: Don’t worry. they’ll tell you.

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I could probably cope with being vegetarian but no way vegan. I was veg for a few short months when the at the time bf was. We used to start feeling a bit tired and would go and have a big steak about every 6 weeks!

I think it would be just so hard to get all the right nutrients being vegan. Have also read articles from ex-vegans saying their health really suffered. I eat low carb and I think even vegetarian would make it very difficult. I agree, fab easy pasta dishes but I don’t eat pasta, or if I do a treat maybe once a month and a small portion.

Sounds lovely, I’m noting all this down.

One thing I do do fairly frequently, but which is definitely not veggie, is boeuf bourgignon, the meat, not the complete dish. I make a sauce with alls sorts of stuff but definitely with Ducros curry powder and 3 heaped dessert spoons of gateaux flour then pour it all over 250 grams of beef and set it for 8 hours in the slow cooker. I no longer put the veg in, but steam that for half an hour before serving. The meat is not the important part, except perhaps for the flavour, it is the lovely thick gravy that goes with all sorts of stuff over the following week. Not sure if leaving out the meat and using the gravy for the things you mention would do the trick though. No need to slow cook I suppose, but for how long? :thinking:

I’ve been vegan for 2 years now, & vegetarian for 30 years prior to that.

As a massive cheese fan I did wonder if I’d miss it. The answer = no (much to my surprise).

I don’t agree with the perceived difficulties, indicated by…

Properly prepared vegan food is not simply a plate of vegetables or a dull salad. There are a vast amount to options available to make a vegan meal as much a feast as a meat based one.

A firm favourite in our house is marinaded tofu, which always goes down well when meat eating friends come to eat with us.

It’s all out there these days. Yes, being vegan used to be hard but even in France (!) you can get many, many vegan products to tickle your palate. You just need to beware getting wooed by the many faux burgers & sausages - in health terms some can be as nasty as their meaty equivalents.

I agree that eating out can be tricky, but in general I’ve found that any chef worthy of the title is only too happy to sort out a vegan option if you ask nicely. I think they like doing something different.

The wonder of the internet means that anyone can very easily & quickly find all kinds of receipes &, most importantly, health information to make a change to a vegan diet very easy.

This topic could equally be under the Climate/ecological breakdown thread. George Monbiot says it best…

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Great post Badger. I’d be really interested in an idea of what you eat for your main meals each week? I’d like to at least start introducing more vegetarian / vegan meals even if we don’t go the whole hog :rofl:

Rémy has vegetarian once a week at school and isn’t too impressed!

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Serious question.
How do vegans get all the various nutrients the body needs without taking industrial supplements?

From my reading it IS possible but bloody hard work. I’m lazy, hence my earlier comment that I wouldn’t even attempt it!

Also I love leather shoes and handbags! :rofl:

Something I have looked into so many times as meat is so much more nutrient dense. It raises the question how much do we actually need? Report after report pro and against. Also tried to find the real reason vegetarians/vegans insist meat consumption is unhealthy. What is the ingredient that is so dangerous. The cancer argument comes up but I know plenty of vegans who have had cancer. B12 is about the only nutient missing from vegan diets. Some people do better on meat some do better on veg, probably down to the makeup of the gut microbiome.

I disagree.

It takes a bit of imagination and a knack for assembling complimentary ingredients but I’ve never found it a problem. There are so many possibilities - I very rarely eat the same meal twice in a month. If you’re stuck for ideas, buy a couple of good vegetarian/vegan cookery books and use them for inspiration.

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This would be your chance to make recommendations!

I’ve always found Jamie Oliver’s vegetarian/vegan recipes excellent, but the more options the better.

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One of my nieces turned vegan and became quite ill as she really didn’t think about feeding herself. My other niece is also vegan and the healthiest strongest looking person you could find. She doesn”t take supplements.

You have to think about what you eat and the balance of it. But once you have built up your repertoire it is easy. After all most people do eat a number of routine meals.

Anna Jones The modern Cook”s Year.

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I don’t have a slow cooker, but an interesting challenge to see if I can think of a slow cooked veg dish that would give the equivalent of the wonderful boeuf bourguignon yumminess.

The vegetarians I worked and ate with in India had fabulous food but they weren’t vegan.
Actually now I come to think about my lunch is accidentally vegan most days. Tomorrow’s is marinated tofu and shiitake, rice with furikake, shredded pickled radish, pickled ginger. Crudités: tomato avocado and pepper, pudding: an apple.

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