how long have you been vegan/vegetarian

plink

?
i've been vegetarian for over 4 years...and this is my first vegan week
what about anyone else?

cat

Tar.Aldarion

i can't remember.....was trying for so long so it was an incline to it.

kestrel

well i've wanted to be one since i was 11, but my mam would keep doing the whole 'you don't appreciate all i do for you' etc etc whenever she cooked dinner, so i was always forced to eat the meat. then they banned me from borrowing vegetarian books from the library (??) finally, at the age of 14, i said DAMMIT! i want to be a vegetarian! and took over my own cooking and was a stubborn little brat basically.

i'm now 19, so 5 years.

Cathy

I was never really into meat... I went completely vegetarian at the start of last summer, but the only meat I'd eaten for a couple of years before that was chicken, and even then it wasn't much.

Tar.Aldarion

all i ate was meat.......

humbleCounty

just over two months now, but been thinking about it and gradually weaning myself away from meat for quite a while.

Love the food and dont miss meat at all, one thing though, tofu is terrible! ugh :mad:

seamus

Going on 6 years now (Jeebus). Though I have had from time-to-time indescretions and eaten a burger because it was bought for me by accident and I was starving, or I was drunk. Rarely though.

plink

yeh tofu is gross, eeeewwwwwwww!!!

seamus

Tofu is awful? What kind of tofu are you eating? It does need to be cooked quite specifically, is the only thing. Simply cooking tofu on its own, and the putting it with the rest of the food (as you would do with chicken/beef) doesn't work. Ever. It's like a blank canvas that you need to flavour yourself. Best way I've found is to dry fry the tofu for about 7-10 mins. This gives the tofu some solidity, so it's not breaking up while you cook it. Then it needs to be stirred into whatever you're cooking. The tofu will absorb the flavours around it.
If you're just doing something like Roast potatoes and veg, it is possible to bake the tofu, but you will need to spread oil on the tofu pieces, and add some sort of seasoning before baking.

kestrel

seamus wrote:

Going on 6 years now (Jeebus). Though I have had from time-to-time indescretions and eaten a burger because it was bought for me by accident and I was starving, or I was drunk. Rarely though.

i don't think anyone can say they haven't slipped up. i have never intentionally done it, but my mother used to mash meat into my vegetables, or chicken through my rice. if i wasn't feeling alert and had forgotten to check, i would put it in my mouth. and i had been eating some pasta sauces that on closer inspection had chicken in them. also, cadbury's mousse has pork gelatine etc etc. there was this one time at a restaurant when i ordered a veggie burger and got a chicken one instead-they insisted it was a veggie burger, so i swallowed a couple of bites before i was CERTAIN it was chicken (i hadn't tasted it in like 3years, so it was hard to be sure). they checked, and it was, so i got a free meal

12 years, and still in my teens.

Tar.Aldarion

I havn't had tofu ever,i must try it out.hmm....just have seen it been eaten..

vibrant

8 years and counting! Like other posters mentioned, I have unintentionally eaten meat (beef stock and gelatine being the main culprits).


You can buy some delicious tofu in the various Asian Markets in Dublin. My favourite is the deep fried cubes of tofu - they can just be tossed into a stir fry and are absolutely wonderful. High in calories though (fried!) but feck it, soooo yummy Those markets seem to be the best place to buy tofu actually, it works out about 2 or 3 times cheaper than the main supermarkets (well, the ones that actually *sell* tofu)...

sweet-rasmus

i've been veggie for 5 and a half years, so far...

of course, i've had the unintentional moments (last summer, damn spanish students were cooking and insisted there was no meat, when i questioned. later on, half way through the meal, i knew that those tiney bits on the pasta were not just some foreign receipe... uuuuggghhh. any amount of chocolate and ice-pops wouldn't rid me of the lingering taste...). plus, i figured about the chocolate mousse before opening the pack. i was soooo disappointed. but, choc mouse can be made to taste brill if ya make it yourself!! oh yeah.. i hate that; once you forget to be alert, bam! someone tries to feed you meat. bah!!

oh yeah, i've bought smoked tofu before. i didn't particularly like it, but i know plenty who did, so why not give it a try?!

Tar.Aldarion

smoked tofu eh....like you once said...i'll try not to be put off by something in the category of fungi
now to give it a try....maybe if i poke around tesco they will have it...

kestrel

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

smoked tofu eh....like you once said...i'll try not to be put off by something in the category of fungi
now to give it a try....maybe if i poke around tesco they will have it...

tofu isn't fungi...its a product that occurs when you do to soy what you do to cows milk to get curds and whey i think (not accurate in the slighest)

quorn is the fungus one!

Tar.Aldarion

oh i was just told by a person who shall remain unnamed that it was.

humbleCounty

hmmm, you put forward good arguements for tofu, but to be honest, twice bitten now, (both in good restaurants) so gonna stay well away! Anyway, at the moment its all about red cabbage!

flikflak

Been one for about 15 years. Now am slowly cutting out diary.

kestrel

humbleCounty wrote:

hmmm, you put forward good arguements for tofu, but to be honest, twice bitten now, (both in good restaurants) so gonna stay well away! Anyway, at the moment its all about red cabbage!

y'know, i only tried raw red cabbage there for the first time last week, and i'm hooked now! it's really sweet! i didn't think cabbage would taste like that!

ClareBear

Almost 6 years now.

miss serena

11 years now. I started when I was 12. My mum took a while to get used to it and did the whole hiding meat in my food a few times, but when I just keep spitting it out she got the message. I think she thought it would pass so kinda went along with it. Ha ha! She still trys to get me eating meat or fish now and again. A few months ago she got me a tuna sandwich and tried to convince me tuna was vegetarian! Twas funny!

Tar.Aldarion

'f1sh d0esn't count as meat'

mother tried that one too

Cathy

It's amazing how many people think vegetarians can eat fish, actually. Including a couple of 'vegetarians' I know...

Peanut

about 16 years..

btw 'tempeh' is the tofu like substance with fungus cultures in it.

Gadgie

About a year now - it was this time last year that I gave it up.

Tar.Aldarion

Cathy wrote:

It's amazing how many people think vegetarians can eat fish, actually. Including a couple of 'vegetarians' I know...

i know,tbh i am like 'wtf are you an idiot' at this point..
at least my friends don't think that and quite like you put those ppl who do in the auld "vegetarians". 'you're not one of those "vegetarians" that eats meat i believe they asked me.up till the last two weeks nobody i know knew i was a vegetarian but living with them has brought it out so that is why i get the questions.

mateo

3 and a bit years. I gave meat up for lent in 2002 and never ate it again. Recently I've cut down immensely on dairy and eggs, and will only eat them on occasion.

Usually I freeze tofu and allow it to thaw. It has a much meatier texture then and alot easier to eat.

taibhse

well i've wanted to be one since i was 11, but my mam would keep doing the whole 'you don't appreciate all i do for you' etc etc whenever she cooked dinner, so i was always forced to eat the meat. then they banned me from borrowing vegetarian books from the library (??) finally, at the age of 14, i said DAMMIT! i want to be a vegetarian! and took over my own cooking and was a stubborn little brat basically.

That's exactly how it was for me, I was determined I wasn't going to eat meat so I just refused to eat it and then started cooking for myself. Im a veggie 7 years now. The only time I've tasted tofu is in the juice vegetarian restaurant in Georges St. I just replace meat with quorn

kestrel

quorn is delicious. and so versatile. it's probably a staple food in my diet at the moment, although i am experimenting with all the pulses and nuts and trying to vary my diet and be adventurous.

Blub2k4

kestrel wrote:

y'know, i only tried raw red cabbage there for the first time last week, and i'm hooked now! it's really sweet! i didn't think cabbage would taste like that!

Try red cabbage made into sauerkraut.
Cut it finely then saute it in a pan with some peeled and sliced apple wedges then when that is all gone soft throw in some apple juice, not an awful lot, at most a 1/2 cup, then add a little salt and put a lid on for a few minutes, near the end if there is still a lot of liquid from the apple juice then let it reduce a bit.
This is really nice and very sweet.

<edit> I'm not vegetarian at all but do make sure that my meat is ethical and sourcable, organic small farms rock.