The Grapevine (OFF TOPIC CHAT) Part II

--LOS--

loveisdivine wrote: »

It was brilliant! Gonna post some pictures in the "heres what I had for dinner" thread.

I was a little concerned after that asked us if either of us ate fish! Apparently they had someone in a week or 2 ago who said they were vegan but ate fish But I needn't have worried as my meal was thankfully entirely vegan, even down to them informing me which breads would be suitable

I wish people wouldn't cause so much confusion with the words vegan and veggie

Like I was at a potluck a while back and someone noticed I wasn't eating the cheese and so asked, are you vegan? Then went on to say 'I'm vegetarian but I eat fish'. Ok no problem, but that's not what it means

Killer_banana

loveisdivine wrote: »

It was brilliant! Gonna post some pictures in the "heres what I had for dinner" thread.

I was a little concerned after that asked us if either of us ate fish! Apparently they had someone in a week or 2 ago who said they were vegan but ate fish But I needn't have worried as my meal was thankfully entirely vegan, even down to them informing me which breads would be suitable

A friend of mine worked in a hotel in America and they had regulars they nicknamed the 'fish eating vegans' since they always said they were vegan but still ate fish. :rolleyes:

--LOS--

This is really cool, what do trees sound like...

http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2014/05/this-is-what-it-sounds-like-when-you-put-tree-rings-on-a-record-player.html

Why am I putting it here idk, coz we love plants or something :pac:

turnikett1

henryporter wrote: »

A vegan who eats fish? A fegan or a vegish?

My girlfriend is one of these people... Vegan except eats fish. I've been trying to slowly guilt her out of it. lol I've taken to calling her a "seagan"!

I don't understand it though. Don't see much difference in farming, killing and eating a chicken and a fish. I guess it's easier with fish because they're more "stupid" or something. :rolleyes:

Killer_banana

turnikett1 wrote: »

My girlfriend is one of these people... Vegan except eats fish. I've been trying to slowly guilt her out of it. lol I've taken to calling her a "seagan"!

I don't understand it though. Don't see much difference in farming, killing and eating a chicken and a fish. I guess it's easier with fish because they're more "stupid" or something. :rolleyes:

I would have presumed those who still eat fish do so because you can buy fish which isn't farmed and they were okay with eating that since it had some sort of life before being eaten. It wasn't born to die like farmed fish.

--LOS--

I was just talking to my mother last night and she was on about a colleague who is vegan, but eats fish. Says she has to eat fish or else her system isn't right, she just doesn't feel as good, physically. I hear of similar things from people who would describe themselves as vegetarian but still eat fish. I don't like it, I just think you should examine what you're eating first, maybe you need to take a vegan/veggie omega 3 supplement or something. But I don't understand the choice to go back to eating fish when you go to such lengths otherwise. There's a lot of sort of scare-mongering saying veggie/vegan diets are bad. My mother is forever trying to get me to eat fish

turnikett1

I have a leather jacket that's made from pig's leather which I bought before I was even a vegetarian... I'm so attached to it I'm finding it hard to let it go

Zombienosh

I never even knew they made jackets from pigs? I don't know anything about leather really, other than the cows used for leather in some eastern countries get treated so badly.

turnikett1

Zombienosh wrote: »

I never even knew they made jackets from pigs? I don't know anything about leather really, other than the cows used for leather in some eastern countries get treated so badly.

I didn't either until after I bought it! Thought it was fake at first because it was only £10. Also pretty sure you can get leather from a whole selection of animals. I know a lot of handbags for example are made from snake leather

Killer_banana

turnikett1 wrote: »

I didn't either until after I bought it! Thought it was fake at first because it was only £10. Also pretty sure you can get leather from a whole selection of animals. I know a lot of handbags for example are made from snake leather

I always thought leather only referred to cows skin? Like I've heard of bags made from snake but always heard it called snake skin, never snake leather.

I have a pair of leather boots from before I was vegan but I haven't worn them since I gave up meat, firstly 'cause it seemed hypocritical to me and now because the idea grosses me out (the idea of eating meat turns my stomach now as well). Even the feel of leather gives me the heebie jeebies, it's odd how the mind works. I still only have them because I they're in too good nick to throw out. Keep meaning to give them away/sell them but still haven't got round to it.

turnikett1

Yesterday after dinner to help my sweet tooth I ate 3 spoonfuls of organic honey. While nomming on the honey I was holding the jar in my hand and looking at the pictures of the bees on the label. Then it hit me, that I was eating hundreds of hours of hard beework! Just scoffing down completely stolen goods. Hadnt occurred to me once throughout my life that honey was non-vegan... Time to add it to another list of things I can't eat! Heard agave nectar is a good replacement though (if not an apparently unhealthy one?)!

Is it possible to get "ethical honey"? lol I feel like such a sap asking that

Zombienosh

I've never heard of someone eating honey from a jar lol.

I haven't tried agave but it seems to be catching on. I'm a sucker for maple syrup.

Killer_banana

turnikett1 wrote: »

Yesterday after dinner to help my sweet tooth I ate 3 spoonfuls of organic honey. While nomming on the honey I was holding the jar on my hand and looking at the pictures of the bees on the label. Then it hit me, that I was eating hundreds of hours of hard beework! Just scoffing down completely stolen goods. Had occurred to me once throughout my life that honey was non-vegan... Time to add it to another list of things I can't eat! Heard agave nectar is a good replacement though (if not an apparently unhealthy one?)!

Is it possible to get "ethical honey"? lol I feel like such a sap asking that

Whether you can call yourself a vegan and eat honey is hugely debated actually. I had read about the cruelty of mass produced honey before going vegan so automatically cut it out (not that I ever really ate it anyway) but recently found out a lot smaller honey operations actually treat the bees quite well and take good care of them. So if buy from smaller companies your honey should be okay to eat.

I've not had agave so can't say how good a sub it but curious as to why you've called it unhealthy. Do you mean 'cause it high in sugar? I thought honey was as well. I've only ever eaten honey about twice in my life though so I don't actually know anything about it...

turnikett1

It's just from what I read on the wiki article for agave nectar - "Agave syrup has been marketed as a "healthful" sweetener, but this fact has been the subject of criticism due to its very high fructose content (which is even more than high fructose corn syrup in its fructose content by weight) and its potential to lead to insulin resistance and significantly increased triglyceride levels (a risk factor for heart disease)"

I know that fructose is one of the more harmful sugars

Feu

In Bee movie the bees go on strike and world food production grinds to a halt. Worth watching

I get my honey from a friend whose brother produces it himself, pure irish honey, none of your "EU and NON EU blend" muck. It's as local and ethical as possible, but then I'm not vegan. My understanding is that vegans would be fairly anti-honey due to the mass production and treatment of bees, and profit from the bees toil, but to each their own.

re: agave, my understanding is that many people head to it as they don't want to eat refined white type sugar, but it is just as sugary, so it's a bit of a misnomer. Just because it comes from a tree, rather than a cane or beet, doesn't mean it's good for you Think of maple syrup, that Sh!t is mental! And on honey, i think it has one of the highest fructose content of ANY food. (i have a friend that is fructose intolerant).

I love the taste of honey on a fresh out of the oven slice of bread, but dislike honey flavoured things, e.g. cake, frosting, so i tend not to use it in cooking, but will use maple syrup instead

--LOS--

turnikett1 wrote: »

Yesterday after dinner to help my sweet tooth I ate 3 spoonfuls of organic honey. While nomming on the honey I was holding the jar in my hand and looking at the pictures of the bees on the label. Then it hit me, that I was eating hundreds of hours of hard beework! Just scoffing down completely stolen goods. Hadnt occurred to me once throughout my life that honey was non-vegan... Time to add it to another list of things I can't eat! Heard agave nectar is a good replacement though (if not an apparently unhealthy one?)!

Is it possible to get "ethical honey"? lol I feel like such a sap asking that

haha! Bee vomit! But one of the hardest things at the beginning is forgetting things, I was forever doing that like ordering a white coffee and getting it , and then... oh yeahhh. You can't feel bad for it though.

I like agave, use that in sauces etc as honey replacement or just for sweetener.

And I don't think there's such thing as ethical honey no :P From small producers would be better but bees still get killed in the process and they're still having their honey stolen, and they need that honey....

Why Bees Need to Keep Their Honey
Plants produce nectar to attract pollinators (bees, butterflies, bats, and other mammals), who are necessary for successful plant reproduction. Bees collect and use nectar to make honey, which provides vital nourishment for them, especially during the winter. Since nectar contains a lot of water, bees have to work to dry it out, and they add enzymes from their own bodies to convert it into food and prevent it from going bad.(12) A single worker bee may visit up to 10,000 flowers in one day and, in her lifetime, produce only one a teaspoonful of honey.

I would be wary of any company saying anything about happy bees or bee friendly. I was at that rude health trade show a while back, 'Doctor Manuka' was there, trying to sell me 'bee-friendly' products. They're all about happy bees. They were giving away bee venom facemask. I looked it up when I went home and this is how they are bee friendly......

http://www.manukadoctor.com/purified-bee-venom

"We love bees
Our bees live happily in open, natural surrounds and are not affected by how we source their venom"

"Bee friendly - no bees are harmed in the sourcing of our raw ingredients

"Harnessing nature's essence"


except this......

"A glass pane, with a light electrical current running through it is placed near our bees. The current attracts the bees to sting the glass, which leaves the venom on the surface. Because it’s glass, the bees don’t lose their lances, nor are they harmed in anyway.

See how we collect the bee venom and watch our bees fly away after!"

And they even have a nice video for ye(thought there used to be sound on that, I think that was removed)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1QRq0VigDE

I couldn't call this bee friendly even if the bees didn't die which probably some do.

--LOS--

I saw this on fb before, you can make a honey from dandelions, healthier but of course all these things are going to be sugary.

turnikett1

I found out that Starbust is vegan... Yay! Something to replace my Tangfastic addiction

Killer_banana

turnikett1 wrote: »

I found out that Starbust is vegan... Yay! Something to replace my Tangfastic addiction

My starbust consumption has risen about 900% since going vegan. :P

turnikett1

They're so good though! Kind of completely forgot about them until recently, and they have sour versions too!

Apparently the US version has gelatin though... Should make a mental note of that in case I ever go to the States :eek:

BMJD

Opal Fruits (yeah I'm older than you) are vegan? Srsly? This is a great day.

--LOS--

Ye we probably all remember when they were opal fruits, but they've been starburst since '98, get used to it haha. Yep they are and so are jelly tots! I'm always bringing back starburst and jelly tots from Ireland with the intention of giving them to people but then I mostly eat them myself :pac:

turnikett1

How long did it take everyone to be completely vegan? In dietary terms, I suppose. This is my 2nd time trying it and I'm doing ok. I'm in my third week of it, to be honest there havent been too many days where I completely avoided all eggs and dairy, just a few. I generally end up having at least one small thing a day be it an accidental cup of tea with milk in it or an intentional 2 cookies the next day or me being drunk on a Friday night and eating a slice of cheese pizza when offered. But still, compared to my non-vegan days I eat much much less dairy. When vegetarian I pretty much replace meat and fish with cheese and eggs. The first time I tried to be vegan I once went 3 weeks without eating any animal products - I felt great! It felt so good knowing that my mental and physical energy is being fuelled by nothing but the goodness of nature and all it's blessed plants

...I want to feel like that again It's mainly just sweet things which get me to be honest. I'm a fiend for milk chocolate, I love dark chocolate too, especially sea salt and orange dark chocolate, but milk chocolate is so irresistible sometimes... Big bag of Malteasers anyone!?

--LOS--

hmm when I was vegetarian and decided to be vegan, I was pretty much totally vegan then straight away, food wise. I kept a food dairy for about a month and wrote down everything I ate, to sorta make me eat healthier. But I definitely broke the rules every so often, like if my bf had cheese pizza leftover I'd eat it, but I got out of doing those things, took a good while though. I've probably only recently like in the last 2 months maybe, really had a look at those little things I was still doing and thought about why I was doing them and what I thought was wrong with them, and pretty much stopped.


I don't really know about the chocolate coz I wasn't so into chocolate ever. But TarAldarion has recently gone vegan and he is very much into chocolate so maybe he has some input I don't know if you're into cooking but I always see great dessert recipes, might be easier than trying to track down these specialist vegan choc products.

I saw this the other day which I'm gona try soon...

"Coconut Rough"

turnikett1

Looks good! I absolutely love cooking but I'm not mad into baking, I usually let my gf do that. Though I guess I'm going to have start making more of an effort in order to replace my sweet tooth!

Feu

The coconut rough looks great! I had a try at making sugar free vegan flapjacks last week, used date paste, and although the taste was good, the consistency was not great! the coconut rough consistency looks excellent

--LOS--

turnikett1 wrote: »

Looks good! I absolutely love cooking but I'm not mad into baking, I usually let my gf do that. Though I guess I'm going to have start making more of an effort in order to replace my sweet tooth!

It's a no bake recipe :P


Here's some more I had bookmarked.....

No bake chocolate mousse cake

No bake oreo truffles

No bake copycat reeses eggs

No bake strawberry creme truffles

These all look easy enough coz I don't really bake either, I've no oven at the min anyway.




(I decided to put up the pics to tempt ye)

Killer_banana

I have a on week trial in a vegan restaurant in York in June and then hopefully I'll get the job and then not come back (except briefly to move over more things and that).

Just Like Heaven

Thanks for the links Los, gonna have a go at one of those this weekend. And congrats on the modding!

That's really exciting KB

Zombienosh

25 mins left in work, can't wait for bed.