Vegan or vegetarian - Experiences, tips and tricks.

[JuanFitbit]

Hi everyone. 

Hoping you all are doing great. 

A lot of my friends are vegan or vegetarian. And because of them I got to know a lot of new plant based products and/or meat substitutes. 

I find their way very interesting but know very little about it. 

I find tough when cooking for them, as I usually cook with a lot of animal based products, eg, butter, milk, bacon, etc 

I've tried a lot of tofu alternatives, but flavor - wise it's  not the same. Very similar, but not the same. 

What would you recommend to try or how do you do to cook for your friends or yourselves?

What are your favorite plant based proteins ?

I'd love to hear more about this.

[OwenBitFit]

Hello JuanFitBit,

I went vegan nearly two years ago and the only thing I regret is not doing it years ago. It might help to think of different types of cuisine i.e. Italian, Indian, Chinese etc and there are loads of tasty, healthy alternatives to meat. Pasta with fresh tomato sauce with chick peas, a veggie curry with brown rice or a veggie stir fry all figure in my diet.  I think protein is over-emphasised in discussions about plant-based recipes. Vegans get their protein in the same way that the animals eaten by meat-eaters do, from plants. One of my favourite sources of protein is pulses; peas, beans, lentils etc. I have found YouTube a great source and here are three of my favourite channels. Plenty of flavour here!

I hope this helps.

https://www.youtube.com/c/avantgardevegan

https://www.youtube.com/c/WILYEUNG

https://www.youtube.com/c/thehappypear

[JuanFitbit]

@OwenBitFit , Nice to see you here. Thank you for your tips and recommendation. 

You might be right, about the protein over-emphasis, but I just asked as curiosity, as I'm not that familiar with vegetable proteins, but the mot common ones you mentioned.

My train of thought was other plant based alternatives, that I could surprise my friends with, for the next time I get to cook for them.  

I heard of lentils or chickpea patties, haven't tried them yet. 

I'll have a look at the videos you linked. 

Still curios if you or other members have more to add. 

Thanks again.

[OwenBitFit]

Thank you JuanFitBit, nice to be here.

Chick pea patties - have you tried falafel? With hummus and salad in a pitta,they are delicious. 

[HannahOud]

In the Netherlands there are more and more alternatives to meat, like vegan shoarma and I like the taste better than real meat. But I don't want to be a vegetarian, let alone vegan as I love cheese.

[DavideFitbit]

I travelled to The Netherlands a couple of years ago and the food was amazing, @HannahOud! There are many awesome alternatives to meat, as you mentioned, but it'd be difficult to give up eating cheese completely for me as well. Especially Dutch cheese 😎

[Gershon]

I could answer your questions, but you'd still justifiably have many left.

I recommend this book: The Starch Solution: Eat the Foods You Love, Regain Your Health, and Lose the Weight for Good! - Kin...

He is getting old! That's the best recommendation for this way of eating. 

[HannahOud]

Yes @DavideFitbit Dutch cheese (medium old), French (blue) cheese, hmmmmm.

[SebWotan]

I am not vegan but I do have reduced my meat consumption as well as dairy. I would say around 50% of my meals are vegetarian and around 20% are vegan. 

Substitute like chickpea patties are made to look like meat but are quite processed, with a lot of added ingredients, heavy on salts, etc ...

Best to stick to lentils or peas directly, un-processed. 

A vegan diet is not necessarily healthy if one eats a lot of ultra-processed food. 

[harry2house]

Hi Juan,

I switched to a plant-based "lifestyle" last year, I was diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes in 2019. After a really tough journey, I founded a group that is working miracles in my situation. Regarding the plant-based cooking option for you and your friends, I most likely suggest being familiar with the Fork over knife project (https://www.forksoverknives.com) and you will find that there are WAY MORE interesting options rather than Tofu. 

Today I am grateful to have this condition because it was a wake-up call about what really matters about a Healthy way of living AWAY from meat, dairy, etc, etc... 

Hope this makes any sense and will be helpful.

Best of wishes in your journey!

[JuanFitbit]

Hi everyone. 

Thank you for all your tips and comments. 

I have a lot to read and get informed and the articles you mentioned are great (the ones I've read so far ).

@harry2house , I'll have a look at the Fork over Knife Project. 

It's not in my plans in a short tear to get fully vegan or vegetarian, but learning new recipes, points of views and ways of living is always exiting. 

I love to experiment on the kitchen and why not also doing on a healthy way. 

@HannahOud @DavideFitbit You got a point with me. Cheese is also one of my weaknesses. 

Please keep sharing ideas and tips. The more we learn, the better we can improve. 

See you all around.