Advice for a Vegan newbie.

truthinwords

So I'm finally taking the plunge and going vegan. I've been vegetarian for over a year and had no major problems with it but I feel that to be consistant with my views I need to go vegan. Basically what would be the essentials food wise? What suplements/vitamins do I need if any at all? Where's the best place to shop?

Any advice would be majorly appreciated,

xtruthx

rockbeer

You can just about everything you need from a balanced vegan diet, but make sure to include lots of fresh, preferably raw, veg to keep up the vitamin/mineral intake. Lots of beans and pulses for protein.

You need to include yeast extract or something similar for vitamin B12, that one can be hard to get in a vegan diet.

hth,
Bruce

Tar.Aldarion

If you used vegetarian meat/replacement things, you can do the very same for being a vegan.
You need 2.4 micrograms of B12 Daily, you can get this in cereals, soya milk, fake meat etc. Ones that have been fortified. You can get it in spirulina,chlorella or blue algae also.
Etc etc.

It's easy to pick up fake dairy products these days also, so you won't have much problems hopefully.

truthinwords

Midway through day one and it's going pretty well got soy milk with my tea this morning. I'm handing over tonnes of chocolate that I got thanks to freshers week to friends. Would quorn chicken/mince etc daily fill my b12 quota?

xtruthx

che81

hi truthinwords

unfortunately quorn isn't vegan. it has milk and egg white in it. but there are other veg minces (i believe the dunnes one is vegan) that would be fortified. also if you like marmite you're sorted cos it has loads of b12. most soy milks and soy yogurts have b12 too.

just research a little bit on the internet and there's a great book called vegan planet that has lovely recipes and basic nutritional information.

it's tough going at first if you really rely on cheese and eggs, but you'll soon get used to it. if you do it right, you'll feel so much better for it.

Tar.Aldarion

Yes, dunnes mince is vegan. There are plenty of quorn meats that are vegan, not the quorn brand itself hver. Try Frys and cauldron.

hamsterboy

Just gonna butt in and mention my saving grace as a vegan.....FALAFEL
Buy it ready mixed, just add water and fry.......GOD DAMN thats tasty with just about anything.
p.s. Cheers for the heads up bout Dunnes Veg Mince being ok!

HB

truthinwords

Can anyone recomend any fake chicken products that are vegan friendly? Where's a good place to shop? Dunnes don't seem to carry that much and I don't mind spending more to get the right stuff. I know friends who live on wedge rolls, boiled rice and diet coke and that's not something I'm able to do so I need good alternative/substitute foods.

xtruthx

Tar.Aldarion

Health shops. All ovr the place. Just have to look around for the good ones. Frys chicken(fillets and nuggets) - lovely.

truthinwords

Ok so a few quick questions for you guys. I think I may have messed up already since someone pointed out that some breads and most pasta aren't vegan friendly. I knew the fresh pasta had egg in it but wasn't aware the dried stuff did. Can anyone confirm this?

xtruthx

Tar.Aldarion

I don't eat pasta but maybe it is in the ingredients.

Nature Boy

I would say in most cases dry pasta is vegan, especially the ones in the health food section, they sometimes have the vegan society logo on them

sweet-rasmus

dry pasta is usually vegan; i haven't come across any that isn't. alot of breads are fine; just read the ingredients. soda bread for instance, has buttermilk. the cauldren range isn't vegan! and all the fry's products are vegan (but expensive). if you live in galway or dublin i can tell you where to go for your foods keep souting those questions out!

Mentalmiss

Do not panic on the B12. Your body will have built up a reserve that will hold you for 2 to 3 years.
Time enought to worry about it later.

Tar.Aldarion

sweet-rasmus wrote:

dry pasta is usually vegan; i haven't come across any that isn't. alot of breads are fine; just read the ingredients. soda bread for instance, has buttermilk. the cauldren range isn't vegan! and all the fry's products are vegan (but expensive). if you live in galway or dublin i can tell you where to go for your foods keep souting those questions out!

Is it not cauldron sausages and burgers you eat?

sweet-rasmus

nope. remember i told you twice before that the cauldron ones aren't ok?!? it's the wicken fen i was dying to try and 'vegetarian choice' sausages and burgers i eat

Tar.Aldarion

Oh, I mix them up with vegetarian choice. And no, I don't remember, when do I listen to you? :-)

ladyA

Similarly, I have also recently converted to being a Vegan. I am having veggie stirfries almost every night and am getting a bit bored. However any vegan cookbooks I have looked at seem to involve buying huge amounts of ingredients which would stretch way beyond my student budget. Just wondering if anyone could recommend a cookbook that provides simple, quick and reasonably cheap vegan recipes?? (Many books seem to be more suited to Americans and involve products which I can't access).
Also is there a shop in Dublin City Centre which is particularly good for vegan foods?? haven't tried any fake meat products yet but don't know where to get the good ones??

Tar.Aldarion

Maybe you should google recipes if you find it difficult to find a book. Good recipes about the place.

Nourish beside cornucopia, health store in Stillorgan are the best ones.

biZrb

The Asian supermarkets do cheap tofu and tempeh. They also do deep fried tofu pieces that are really good. I love making up tofu, vegtables in a peanut sauce (just add some peanut butter, soy sauce and water for the sauce)

They are also the place to go to for veggie tofu spring rolls and samosas that are really really cheap (Im pretty sure they are vegan too). Asian supermarkets are great, you can get really cheap noodles and things like dried chick peas there too.

You could try and make some sushi. Again you can get sushi rice, rolling mats and seaweed for very cheap in Asian supermarkets. Im not very good at rolling it properly but stays together like it meant to and its yummy. I put in all types of fillings like avacado, red onion, tofu etc

Health food stores do a dried veggie mince thats vegan. Make sure you get the flavoured version as the plain one is a bit bland. You can also get dried sauage mix there too which comes in really useful for all sorts of dishes. You can also get a pate in tubes which is lovely on toast. If you want to flavour things with a cheesy flavour then use yeast flakes, they've got B12 in them too.

Linda Mc Carthy plain sausages are vegan, but I haven't been able to find these in ages. Also Tesco used to do nut burgers that are vegan but they've disapeared. Green Isle do spicy bean burgers that are vegan. Poatao waffles are vegan too, always handy for a quick sanck!

Hovis bread is usually vegan, it even says it on the pack.

Bachalors do canned chick peas which are a god send, as they are already soaked in water, just rinse them and add them to salad for sandwhiches for lunch times or stir fried vegtables for dinner.

Its kinda hard at first being vegan, theres so much you have to think about and you spend so long reading labels it can drive you mad! But soon enough you get to know what you can and cant eat.

There is a vegan student cook book that i picked up in america, so I don't know if you can get it here its called: Student's Go Vegan Cookbook by Carole Raymond. I've only used it for one recipe so far but what i made was lovely and cheap too.

As for supplements Boots own range do vitamins for vegitarians these are also vegan. Seven Seas also do something similar but I think they have more minerals and vitamins in them but they are also more expensive.

Lush are great for things like vegan soaps, moisturiser, facial wash. All their vegan stuff is well labled.

Toms of Maine is vegan toothpaste that you can pick up in health food stores, it is expensive but it better than using a cheaper tested on animal brand.

ladyA

thanks for all the info there, much appreciated!