Overwritten.net
Community => Serious Topics => Topic started by: Quemaqua on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 06:18:53 PM
-
Finally decided to bite the bullet and do it. Day 3 is today. Lunch is a pair of whole wheat pitas with non-dairy mayo in between, smoked tofurky slices, raw kale and spinach, and some Frank's Red Hot sauce. Oh, and a slice of vegan cheese. Good shit.
I've been an animal rights activist for a long time now, though I've also been convinced of the health benefits of vegetarianism and veganism for a long time, but I just never made the effort. I always looked at it as sort of a Shangri-La, an eventual end point, somewhere I'd get someday if I had the time and energy to spare. I was 99% vegetarian for 3 years or so, but never made it all the way and never completely made it vegan, despite keeping an almost-vegan kitchen at home.
It isn't one thing or the other that led me to it... I never considered it any kind of moral wrong to eat meat, just a moral wrong to treat livestock the way we do (and I've always been completely aware that I could never kill an animal just to eat it, if push came to shove), and I've always enjoyed meat and animal byproducts. I used to drink practically a gallon of milk a day, and I could kill a burger like nobody. Cheese was essential.
The other night I just got fed up. I'd been feeling progressively more sick whenever I'd eat meat, and I had some eggs my landlady was letting spoil basically, which didn't go down well at all after I cooked them... then I saw a picture of a dog being boiled alive in Korea for food purposes, which is done routinely there with dogs and cats. I've seen hundreds of pictures of animal atrocities over the years, including that, but that was the worst I'd ever seen and the last one I could take. It pushed me to just stop making excuses and be done with it.
So here I am on the other side and really enjoying it. Just figured I'd share for anyone that cares.
-
Ive had some really good vegetarian foods. Went to a catered dinner recently where mom had the vegetarian lasagna and I had teriyaki beef. I was jealous, hers was way better.
But man, vegan in Texas? Thats hardcore.
-
But man, vegan in Texas? Thats hardcore.
It's actually not as bad as you may think. A lot more vegan and vegetarian friendly options have popped in the last several years, especially where I am at. If you are near a college of some sort or a place where a lot of younger people live you are bound to find vegan and vegetarian stuff in stores and restaurants fairly easily. Hopefully it goes well for you, Que.
-
Thanks mates. It isn't too bad here. You definitely have to do more work and there aren't a lot of restaurants that have much to choose from (or anything at all), but you don't have to be too fancy as far as getting stuff for the home kitchen. I'd kill to be near Austin, though, I'm sure there's all kinds of good stuff. We do have one good vegan place (http://www.spiraldiner.com, pretty awesome!), but that's about it. Back home there are like 4 vegan restaurants around where Mom lives.
-
Good luck. Just don't turn into an asshole, 'cause pretty much every vegan I know is a total douche.
-
Awesome dude, we're with you! Going with what Cools said, just don't turn into a preachy, holier-than-thou prick. I'm not saying vegans are pricks but the majority of the ones I met certainly were.
I'm an animal rights activist but I despise Peta.
-
I don't really know many vegans (and for the record, I hate most animal rights organizations because most of them cause as many problems as they try to solve). I've met a few vegan pricks over the years for sure, but those have usually been more lifestyle people rather than people with something behind them (lifestyle people are usually stupid no matter what arena you're talking about). I've known just as many chill folks, and I'm not preachy or judgmental. I don't expect anybody to come to a change in their life unless they find a real reason and conviction to do so. That comes at different times and in different forms for everybody. This just happened to be my time. I like to share things that I think matter, but I don't instantly judge every person on Earth who doesn't turn it around right off. I do hope they'll end up thinking about stuff like health, social responsibility, and the humane treatment of living things, but most modern societies set our lives up on different foundations. It takes time to get away from that even if you want to. Case in point, me. Logically, this is a choice I should have made a long time ago, I just made excuses not to because I didn't want to make the effort to learn a different way and to give up conveniences I'd come to rely on. In the end, though, it was a lose-lose proposition. I've been unhealthier than I should have been for years, wasted more money than I should have, and all for what? To eat something tasty but empty that forced me to spend money on supplements just to get proper nutrition? Usually it just made me feel sluggish and depressed anyway. My mood and energy and outlook all improve by leaps and bounds when I'm eating right, and it's not like you have to sacrifice delicious or substantial food. Vegan food is fucking awesome!
-
Boba is vegan, right? THIS IS IMPORTANT!
Wait, fuck, milk tea. No its not. This is the worst news ever. We're going to have an intervention.
-
Boba is vegan, right? THIS IS IMPORTANT!
Wait, fuck, milk tea. No its not. This is the worst news ever. We're going to have an intervention.
They make ones with soy milk.
-
Respect. I'm not in tune with the concerns but it's something I could never do even if I was.
-
Note: I'll still probably find ways to make fun of you from time to time.
Kinda unrelated: still smoking?
-
They make ones with soy milk.
Sorry, I was instantly reminded of this.
-
Not smoking, no. Lungs have suffered enough, and I still suffer with them. Little bastards.
And man, I haven't seen Lewis Black in forever. Whatever happened to him? One of the best guys in stand-up during my lifetime, I'd say.
As for milk: God I loved milk. Between my Dad and I, when I was younger, we used to go through a gallon a day. But the stuff isn't really even naturally digestible. There was some research that even suggested folks thousands of years ago couldn't process it, and that the tolerance had to be developed. Even still most people can't process lactose, whether they tolerate it or not. Plus it's awful for you, basically just liquid fat and sugar, and there's evidence to suggest that it actually strips you of calcium despite what we all grew up believing thanks to ads (we've learned a lot about calcium in the last while). It's pretty horrendously cruel, too, on the scale in which we produce it, which I was totally ignorant of for years. Funny enough, I don't miss it at all even though I'm not too fond of most soy and rice milks. I've found certain brands of almond milk that are delicious and are a really great substitute. They taste creamy and rich despite being not even remotely as high in fat and calories as animal milk, and I've also had several kinds of oat milk that were delicious and probably even closer to the real thing (though for some reason I can never find places that stock it anymore... no clue why).
-
A few years ago I had to make a cake for a friend who is lactose intolerant; I made a chocolate cake that was "almost vegan" since it had no dairy products. I say "almost vegan" because I still had to use egg whites. But I bet we can find an alternative to make the recipe proper vegan.
What I learned was that apparently orange juice makes a great alternative to milk in cake batter! I didn't use butter anyway and pure cocoa powder is about as vegan-friendly as you can get ;D
It's tough being vegan but if there's a will there's a way. You can always find great alternatives. When I was vegetarian I was hooked on fungi-based alternatives, which I preferred vastly to soy-based stuff; that said, I do love edamame!
-
I don't really find it all that difficult. If you're attempting to replicate every single non-vegan food you can, then yeah, it's a bit rough. If you were raised like me to just make good stuff with whatever it is that's in the kitchen, it's really just a matter of stocking your shelves with what you know is good. Cakes and baked goods are tricky until you learn how to do them, though vegan baked goods and desserts can actually be wonderful (and some not... you have to know your taste in sweets, and "just how vegan" you're going to be, like whether you abstain from using refined sugars because most of them are processed using animal bone char). I've had some vegan cheesecakes that were unbelievably good, and a lot of chocolates/mousses/shakes.
As for soy... yeah, I'm not super big on that. I'll eat it and enjoy it, but I don't believe it's terribly healthy in large doses, and I think like 90% of the world's soy supply is now genetically modified bullshit. The mycoprotein/fungi stuff can be pretty good, though I've found that a lot of it doesn't agree with my system in any large amount. I generally try to stay away from stuff in boxes too much and just eat whole foods straight up, make stuff from scratch.
Breakfast this morning is organic steel-cut oats, raw almond slices, maple syrup, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries, tossed with a handful of flax seeds and some almond milk. I've only been doing this strictly for 3 days (today will be the 4th), and I already feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. My body is still adjusting since even though I didn't eat much meat prior to this I did get dairy protein and stuff, but I feel so much less toxic it isn't even funny. Which isn't new. I felt that way when I'd get back to 100% vegetarian, which I did for long stretches. Mostly got fucked up when I'd go home and such since I didn't want to complain when people would feed me something else, and sometimes that would lead back to bad habits it would take me a little while to get out of.
-
Protein is probably the greatest challenge for a strict vegetarian. Make sure you get enough of that, and you should be OK. Good luck with the big change, man. You may not want to call it a "lifestyle" change, but it's a big one nevertheless.
-
It is at that. And thanks!
I don't find the protein too difficult. You have to be conscious of it but it isn't really that hard to get complete protein if you're paying attention.
The best part for me right now is that basically giving up eating out has given me an operating budget for the kitchen that's just awesome. I can afford so much good stuff that in the past I had to do without or only get a little of. For lunch today I made an organic spinach, kale, and butter lettuce salad smothered in a blender-blended mix of habanero salsa, balsamic vinegar, agave nectar, and a fat-ass avacado. And it was cheap despite the quality of all the ingredients. Dinner likely to be black beans, garlic, onions, and rice, with hot sauce and soy chorizo. Per serving, that will cost practically nothing.
-
That's making me hungry. Yummy stuff. :)
-
As for milk: God I loved milk. Between my Dad and I, when I was younger, we used to go through a gallon a day. But the stuff isn't really even naturally digestible. There was some research that even suggested folks thousands of years ago couldn't process it, and that the tolerance had to be developed. Even still most people can't process lactose, whether they tolerate it or not. Plus it's awful for you, basically just liquid fat and sugar, and there's evidence to suggest that it actually strips you of calcium despite what we all grew up believing thanks to ads (we've learned a lot about calcium in the last while).
How is this true? Pretty much all mammals rely on their mother's milk at some point while growing up. Unless you are talking about processed milk that you find in the grocery store...
As far as going vegan, I could never do it. I like the taste of animal muscle too much. But I have been trying to eat leaner and healthier, and save my fattier and less healthy foods for irregular occasions.
-
Humans are the only species to continue to drink milk into adulthood, obviously because milk's sole natural purpose is for the nursing of infants. If you don't continue to drink it with much regularity, your body stops producing the enzymes needed to digest it properly (one of the reasons for lactose intolerance) since there's no real nutritional reason for you to keep drinking it (some debate the merits of using it to rehydrate after a workout, and cite the long chains of amino acids as assisting in building muscle, but there's really nothing you get from milk that you can't get elsewhere, in certain cases in much more bio-available forms, i.e. more readily usable by the body). But milk is not a universal substance, and it differs compositionally between animals. Milk from a human female is actually higher in lactose than cow's milk, and higher in fat. Cow's milk has minerals human milk doesn't, and is higher in protein. Different breeds of cow also produce milk that differs from other breeds. And, of course, unless you're getting it from a consistent local source or are paying for better quality organic stuff (and even then you're really not guaranteed anything because many agricultural companies lie pretty much constantly about basically everything), it's going to have residual hormones and antibiotics in it. And no matter who you get it from, it's a biologically produced substance from mistreated animals forced to eat feed made from all kinds of bad shit, most especially renderings of other ground up cows (legislation hasn't stopped this practice entirely), euthanized shelter animals, roadkill, dead horses, pigs, chickens, and turkeys, fecal matter from chickens, and bovine blood and fecal matter. This all varies from place to place, but this is what rendering plants produce, and even if you're not drinking milk that comes from cows fed all that, they're usually still fed other bad stuff like cheap, shitty, genetically-modified soy, corn, and other stuff that isn't very good for them (especially given that both of these are the crops most overloaded with pesticides; along with cotton and wheat, they get about 80% of the pesticides used in the US). Hell, they can even get stuff like DDT remnants that are still in the ground after all these years. And as we all know from nursing mothers of our own species, milk is highly susceptible to contamination, which is why mothers are so careful about avoiding certain things that could cause harm to their babies.
-
I thought you said you weren't going to be an asshole about this?
-
JUST KIDDING BUDDY!
But fuck, milk is delicious.
-
Hey, I'm not telling anybody to stop, or saying they're stupid for liking milk. I love the shit, and I readily admit that nothing is quite the same. I do, however, consider not ingesting shitloads of poison to be a worthwhile tradeoff, though.
-
I know, I'm just giving you a hard time. Obviously, I'm more than happy for you...and the reduced competition for the cheese of the world stemming from your exit from the market.
-
I will definitely miss cheese too. Though I have to say, you'd be amazed at the "cheese" sauces vegan chefs can make using cashews. Fucking delicious.
-
Humans do naturally become lactose intolerant over time as they age anyway. Ever get gassy after a glass of milk or some cheese? That's happening, deal wiv it! :P
I'm not against drinking but I do believe that at some point it becomes needless for us. More than anything else I think we drink it for taste. I've taken to occasionally drinking "lactose-free" milk or using it in recipes instead of regular milk.
-
My wife is vegetarian for spiritual reasons (bhuddism) and she is doing pretty OK in a culture where people love meat.
If you really want great veg. options try Thai cuisine. Also, this won't be easy. The first few months will be hard... but you will manage!
-
Oh quiet Pug, we all know you have a perfect wife. :P
-
It really isn't as hard as people think. And I've been strictly vegetarian at home for several years now, so it's only been when I went out or did stuff with friends that I had meat. My focus now is just on ditching animal byproducts in my home (not that difficult) and getting more strict about making my lunches and stuff for school days, learning what places sell at least a few food items that I can eat in case I get stuck, etc. It's really not too bad. After the first week, I've already dropped like 3 and a half pounds without exercise.
-
Yeah, that's going to be tough. The hardest for me would be cheese.
-
They make a lot of vegan alternative cheeses that are pretty excellent. They don't taste quite right on their own all the time, but are a quite reasonable substitute when you put them on things. That said, cheese is fucking terrible for you anyway. I find I don't miss it much even though I used to eat an awful lot of it. Which actually goes for most things. We think we can't give something up because we're too used to it or like it too much, but I haven't found a single food that was even 1/15 as difficult to give up as cigarettes. The taste of your food is over almost instantaneously with the end of each bite, but the lingering effects of what it does to your body last a good while over the course of the day. I'm not saying tasty food is irrelevant, only that I get enough of what tastes really good to me on a vegan diet that I'm not at all concerned about getting pleasure from my food.
Actually, it's been a bit strange. I've found myself taking joy in food and cooking in a way I haven't in years, and I've always loved cooking (including meat... grilling outdoors especially). Lately I'm getting a charge out of it just during prep. I'd say it's just the newness of it, but a lot of what I make now isn't really so different from what I used to make at home, since I got to the point where I just didn't prepare meat at home... not sure what the deal is. I feel a lot less pissed off in general lately too.
-
I enjoy cooking as well. I'm not great at it, but I do want to get better at it.
We [my family] actually don't eat a lot of meat. My dad complains about it, but in general we only have a bit of it a couple of times a week. We aren't even that much into eggs or dairy products. I mean, I only drink milk as part of cereal and that's only because I'm too lazy to make something else in the morning. Even though I love cheese, I could probably go without it at some point as well since the stuff commonly sold here isn't anywhere close to what I used to have when we lived in Europe.
-
I love vegans. The ones I know always bring the tastiest food to potlucks and are all great cooks.
Check out the Veganomicon if you haven't already. Most the vegans I know have a copy of this cookbook and every recipe I've had from it has been delicious. Shoutout to the Apple Chili in particular.
Also, if you're into Indian food, there's a huge amount of diversity in vegan selections. I eat everything but a good chunk of my meals end up being vegan for that reason.
-
Yeah, I actually have been eying the Veganomicon for a while now, and Indian food is awesome. Curries are fantastic.
-
I love vegans. The ones I know always bring the tastiest food to potlucks and are all great cooks.
Check out the Veganomicon if you haven't already. Most the vegans I know have a copy of this cookbook and every recipe I've had from it has been delicious. Shoutout to the Apple Chili in particular.
Also, if you're into Indian food, there's a huge amount of diversity in vegan selections. I eat everything but a good chunk of my meals end up being vegan for that reason.
Is Indian food vegan or vegetarian?
-
Depends how you make it. Most Indian food is vegetarian because they load everything up with butter. If you take that component out it's usually vegan unless the dish is based on a meat or dairy product.
-
Yea I think it is more vegetarian than vegan. I think going Vegan is way harder, considering that you have to let go of dairy. Milk and eggs are a tough thing to lose.
-
Meh. I gave milk up for the most part long before going vegan. Butter is far harder, and even that really isn't that bad. Eggs are a bit harder, but there are a lot of workarounds, and you'd be surprised how many things that "require" them really don't. The thing that mostly sucks is just not being able to eat eggs outright, though I'm anxious to try this one thing I found. Vegan chef makes a fake hardboiled egg she swears to god tastes just like the real thing, and can do it a bit differently to make an egg salad sandwich with no eggs.
-
I'll have to see what I can replace eggs with in my molasses cookies. Unless my eggs are ok, since our chickens are free range most days and the cage is quite spacious when they go in. So..I dunno, guess thats up to you to decide.
-
Haha, we'll have to see how bad the temptation comes down on me come holiday time. If it was strictly about inhumanity then I'd just consider other sources for things that I really wanted, and some people do. It's not like there are any hard and fast rules about it. I think for me it just becomes easier when you draw a line and decide not to cross it.
-
So why go vegan and not vegetarian?
-
Because the inhumanity does exist, and because even if you have absolutely no moral qualms about eating animals, the health standards of factory farming are something you can't logically be aware of and continue to take part in. That includes eggs and milk. I haven't always made the best health decisions, but I've always striven to do better. And not for any sort of moral reason. I just want to be healthier. People don't seem to understand how well you can eat on a vegan diet. Vegan food is not inherently healthy, it's just inherently animal-free. There are tons of vegan cookbooks filled to the brim with cakes, cookies, rich sauces, what have you, and if you've ever been to a really good vegan restaurant that isn't strictly focused on healthy stuff, you know there are tons of wonderfully delicious things that have no animal products and are still not what you would call a healthy choice.
[EDIT - Er, and I sort of stopped here mid-thought. My point was that it doesn't have to strictly be about morality or health, nor about this great call to abandon pleasure (which is how almost everyone views it, and that's totally wrong). But for me personally it definitely is about health, and I like to make healthy food. Plus by giving up animal products, which are among the most expensive food items we buy, I can afford higher quality organic items across the board and still eat pretty cheaply. And since the food I'm buying is healthier (even if you're talking about lower quality produce, heavily covered in pesticides, it's considered to be healthier than meats and a lot of other animal products, since the animals absorb many of the same toxins through their own food, plus others, and they're absorbing it through ingestion, thus saturated with it), I can eat some richer, fattier, more delicious food on occasion—the equivalent of an occasional big steak dinner or mound of dessert—and feel at the very least that I'm negating some of that extra damage. Aside from the fact that a lot of those things will still be far healthier in the end, even if they aren't health food, than their animal byproduct counterparts.]
For me, I find it easiest to just acknowledge the baseline ideology. The root concept is to respect life, to not take from an animal what is theirs any more than we would steal from another person: neither steal their life nor the things they create for themselves. It's an imaginary line, just like everything else, but certainly not an arbitrary one.
-
I think you should write a blog on how you, a lifetime meat eater, have gone vegan.
-
I would be blogging about it if my website wasn't still broken. I haven't had time to fix the damned thing. I'm really sick and tired of reinstalling Wordpress.
-
Switch to something else, like Weebly or something.
I'd love to read your experiences and thoughts on the subject and also to share them with others.
-
It's a time issue... I already built everything with WP and figured out how to use that, at this point I just don't have the time to start over. I might at some point, though, when I have time. Either way I hope to get it back up soon and I'll likely dedicate the occasional post to updates on how it's going, what I'm doing, what I've learned, interesting surprises or bizarre food experiences. Should be good times.
-
Yea I think it is more vegetarian than vegan. I think going Vegan is way harder, considering that you have to let go of dairy. Milk and eggs are a tough thing to lose.
Don't forget the "pure veg" options in India which are vegetarian but also no eggs. Then all you need to do is have a milk substitute and it's vegan.
I'm lactose-intolerant so all my vegetarian Indian food ends up being Vegan so maybe I just think it's more prevalent than it is.
I'll have to see what I can replace eggs with in my molasses cookies. Unless my eggs are ok, since our chickens are free range most days and the cage is quite spacious when they go in. So..I dunno, guess thats up to you to decide.
I haven't found good Vegan cookies but there are some delicious vegan cakes around.
-
Dude, there are good vegan cookies. The Alternative Baking Company sells packaged stuff that you would never be able to distinguish from a "regular" cookie. I think they're based in San Francisco, but there are a bunch of other companies that make similar packaged stuff for supermarkets and health food stores. You like the Veganomicon... check out Isa's prior book, Vegan with a Vengeance, which has more guilty pleasures, as I understand it, and another she did with her co-author, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I've heard great things about both. I actually got a copy of the Veganomicon the other day. Been checking it out... looks like some awesome stuff.
-
I found a recipe for vegan molasses cookies that I'll have to experiment with sometime.
Tonight I ended up making a vegan dish, chickpea curry. I saw some recipes online and got the general idea and just went and threw something together. Big can of chickpeas, some diced tomatoes with garlic and onions (we never use these normally since dad doesn't like garlic), I chopped up a yellow bell pepper, added a few scoops of our hot pepper blend we made after our garden went crazy last year, some vegetable broth, and then spiced it with some curry powder, turmeric, cumin, and a little cloves. Plan on serving it on some rice, I'll let you know how it all turns out.
-
Sounds awesome! I've found that vegan food has invigorated my love of cooking, I guess mostly because it's... new. Not boring. There are so many interesting combinations of things to try that don't rely on the old standards, and it makes cooking a lot of fun for me. I'm really enjoying the time I spend in the kitchen, despite my shitty kitchen.
-
Note: it was delicious. I recommend it. Getting excited about cooking counts for a lot. For me its not just trying a new recipe, but also sort of winging it. "What do I have? Ok...lets see, some of this, some of that, chop one of these...DINNER!" So far I haven't made anything bad.
-
Oh totally. My mom basically taught me to never use a recipe, and I never do. Even when I use a recipe to get an idea for something, it never turns out the same. I always throw in a bunch of crap or mess with the texture or make a flavor more or less prominent. Usually I don't have 50% of what's on the list so I just use what I have, and probably 85% of the time I don't even look at recipes at all and just fiddle with stuff. It's what's the most fun about cooking for me for sure.
-
Usually I'll follow a recipe if its my first time making something, that way I sorta know what I'm aiming for and can then judge like, maybe I'd like it with less of this spice or more of whatever.
Though I do follow recipes for baked goods. There's some science going on in those things so you can and probably will totally ruin them.
-
Haha, yeah, in agreement there. I'll maybe add some stuff but generally I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to baking, so I'll stick pretty close to a recipe for that since I don't want to screw it up.
-
(http://www.aaanything.net/wp-content/gallery/funny-animals-are-cool/thumbs/thumbs_cat_thats_right_bitches_its_science_time.jpg)
-
Posted by a girl I used to date on Facebook. She actually started going vegan as I was dating here and started out totally non-militant...this is something that (From what I can tell) has ramped up over the last six months or so. She totally has a personality that gets caught up in stuff, but I really don't know what I was thinking.
(http://i.imgur.com/96GHIws.jpg)
-
Oh, yeah.....that's what I was thinking.
(http://i.imgur.com/zdSz38A.jpg)
Maybe vegan really is a lot better for you.
-
Sorry, I totally didn't mean to hijack this, but thought it was kinda hilarious how (some) people start casually vegan and then start posting about how much more Awesone it is once they have super human bodies. Carry on.
-
No worries man. I think it's hard to remain sort of casual or unexcited about it once you do it. I've only been at it for like a couple weeks, and I'm losing weight without any more exercise than walking the dog, getting nearly all my nutritional needs met from food and drastically reducing the need for any vitamins or supplements of any kind, I have more energy and focus, and just all around feel a lot better than normal. Even emotionally I feel less prone to getting down about shit, and I've not been nearly as angry. Some of that I was expecting, or at least to a certain degree. Some of it I wasn't, or not to the degree I've experienced it thus far.
-
Ok, I did not know this was a thing but apparently one of my friends has revealed that she is a "raw vegan." Which means she's vegan and she will not eat anything that's cooked.. Raw plants. This could technically work with Arabic cuisine, as we do have a lot of raw vegetable and fruit options but I had never heard of anyone exclusively eating raw veg.
-
Raw is generally considered to be somewhat better for you since anything you cook has a tendency to lose a lot of vitamin and mineral content during the cooking process. But there are also some foods that are considered better cooked, and some that gain different properties when you cook them, so I think the jury is out on whether or not being exclusively raw is as beneficial as some think. I haven't done enough research on it to know. That said, you'd be amazed what some people can do with raw foods. There's a vegan place in Berkeley that's got one half of the menu that's cooked, one half that's raw. And the raw stuff I tried there was pretty tremendous. It sounds super limiting, but you can do more than you'd at first think. Must definitely take some creativity, though.
-
I almost exclusively eat all my vegetables raw....which totally isn't the same thing, but whatever.
I had a friend growing up who was vegetarian (or fagetarian, as we used to like to say). His sister was friends with mine and she only ate raw (not adhering to anything, just didn't eat anything cooked ever). I remember her not being very healthy, but that's probably just because she was purely living off of vegetables and fruit.
-
That's a good way to kill yourself. Any vegetarian diet needs a solid base of starches, grains, etc. You'll be completely calorie deficient without them even if you're good on your vitamins. Probably totally lacking in protein, too. It's actually really hard not to be sufficient in protein despite what most people think, but if you're entirely avoiding nuts and beans and stuff you're probably not hitting the mark.
-
It's funny, despite not eating too much meat my physician says my body is retaining too much uric acid, which would suggest I'm consuming too much protein. However, in my case it seems to be a genetic condition where my body just naturally hangs on to more uric acid per consumption and releasing less than the average person, which could potentially lead to gout if I'm not careful. Fortunately, I had already adopted a more veg-friendly diet anyway, but my doc says I should still avoid beans and nuts in general and focus more on grains, starches, and leafy greens. Fine by me, I love spinach and potatoes :D Oats are great too!
-
Watch the dairy intake also, that can be a contributor.
-
Watch the dairy intake also, that can be a contributor.
Oh yeah, thanks! Either way I'm relatively lactose intolerant now, so I avoid it anyway. No need to be gassy :P
-
Vegan hippie kills a baby. Feeds it to a man eating plant:
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/baby-breastfed-by-vegan-mother-dies/
-
Uh... okay. I can't tell if you're trying to make a point or just screwing around. Comments denote the real issues only a few down. Where do people even think animals get most of these wonderful things from? Oh, right: the plants they eat.
-
And bacteria! Plenty of bacteria! Mmm, mmm good!
-
Uh... okay. I can't tell if you're trying to make a point or just screwing around. Comments denote the real issues only a few down. Where do people even think animals get most of these wonderful things from? Oh, right: the plants they eat.
However that doesn't mean plants are the most efficient method of getting everything you need.
In the case of the baby: there are very few non-animal sources of B12 and while an adult has enough of it stored to last a long time in a low B12 diet a baby doesn't have the stores yet and has higher vitamin requirement so are more susceptible to problems. Parents didn't know what they were doing, didn't have enough B12 in their diet and as a result the kid died.
-
B12 generally comes as a soil nutrient, deficient today because we use so many pesticides and wash our food to such a ridiculous degree, depriving humans of normal soil nutrients that animals get more abundantly from eating plants. This is a modern problem with plant-based diets, not a natural one. My point being that stupid, uninformed people who eat shitloads of meat kill babies all the time from malnutrition and neglect, and most people who hurt their kids from a nutritional standpoint do it by shoving fast food down their throats 10 times a week, feeding them soda, overdosing them on sugar, etc. etc. etc. Just because one unfortunate person made a mistake that fucked their kid up (and as was discussed, the kid should have been on some solid food by that point anyway) doesn't mean the death has anything to do with veganism. Stupid is stupid. Neglect is neglect.
-
This thread always makes me think of this: :P
-
Explain this one, baby-killer. (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18574603/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/vegan-couple-sentenced-life-over-babys-death/#.UZ-ffLXvt8E)
Totally joking, but in all seriousness it's amazing how people react to these kinds of things. Or any story about veganism....or fast food. Honestly, once you hit the point where you're making a big deal about how someone else wants to eat you need to step back, take a time out, and check yourself...because you're an asshole of the most pathetic type.
-
There's really only 3 scenarios that dietary intervention would ever be necessary: 1. health of your children's diet or if the food is contaminated 2. when massive consumption could lead to extinction of a species, and 3. cannibalism. Apparently it happens.
Hmm.. How do we feel about carnivorous plants? I'm going with Awesome! ;D
-
Haha.
An acquaintance of mine just posted a tweet about how she hasn't had meat or fish in her diet in over 10 years. I'm very tempted to ask her how often she's been in the hospital during that time. She lands in the hospital at least once a year for something digestive and whenever I talk to her she's always feeling weak or sick. Yet she constantly preaches about how awesome being a vegan is and how everyone else is horrible and doesn't care about their diet.
My point? I get why people might pick one diet or another, but just because you do it doesn't mean everyone else doesn't know anything about the food they eat.
Just wanted to say that, again.
-
... okay?
-
Don't be one of those vegans Que. We like you too much.
-
"One of those" in what fashion? When I get irritated that the only thing people use my thread for is "I'd just like to remind you that vegans can be just as stupid as everyone else"?
-
"One of those" in what fashion? When I get irritated that the only thing people use my thread for is "I'd just like to remind you that vegans can be just as stupid as everyone else"?
Oh come on, man. Don' take it so personally.. This is the first and only vegan thread we have :) All vegan-related material will naturally fall in here, good and bad :D
After a few vegan hot chicks, you're my favourite vegan, Que!
Also, vegan is not to be confused with "Vegan" the native and former inhabitants of Planet Vega in the classic anime series Grendizer. Just thought I'd put that out there. yeah. k.
-
Post just seemed in poor taste to me. "Hi vegan thread, just wanted to say for no apparent reason that I know this vegan chick who's a bitch, thus subtly implying that you are probably also a judgmental asshole who is likely to wind up in the hospital because of your stupid life choice. See ya."
It's easy to write off vegans as touchy if they respond poorly to something, but you guys don't see the other end of it. Neither did I until I switched, despite having been vegetarian for several long periods prior. I've gotten a metric fuckton of jokes, insults, "advice", and judgments from people over having gone vegan in a very short period of time, and it's grown more than a little tiresome, especially considering that most of the people it comes from are in far less than ideal shape or overall health, and most of them don't know dick about food or agriculture, nor ever claimed to until in they came to feel the need to defend their choices. I've basically given up corresponding with my uncle for now because in literally every single email he's decided it's necessary to make a joke about how many animals he's eaten in the last few days, how they were killed, and boy how tasty they were. And this guy has been on death's door for years, in large part due to his horrendous diet, and we've never even had a discussion about veganism, nor have I made even the slightest comment on the way he eats. But as soon as he heard about it, this is what he now feels the need to do, even though he's gay and has always been a die-hard liberal. You'd think he of all people would understand and have compassion for a choice outside the mainstream, but apparently not. Heather's also had at least 5 people who never before commented on anything she posts to Facebook all of a sudden feel the need to start commenting on any health or diet post she makes telling us how deluded we are, then start preaching about mankind's God-given right to kill anything that moves (this is the prevailing opinion in the south), or how they know it's wrong but they don't care, or even about how they like hurting animals because animals are so evolutionarily primitive they deserve it. So yeah, I'm pretty fucking tired of it, especially given that I don't tell anybody a damn thing unless they talk to me about it, and then all I do is just tell them what I like about it, not judge them for whatever their choices are.
Vegans aren't any touchier than anyone else. We just get substantially more shit about something it doesn't make sense that we get shit for to begin with. It's amazing that as a group we aren't more insular, because this seems to basically be the story I get from anybody I ask. It's almost always the same, with some variation in whether family members or close friends are being supportive or not.
I've actually been very grateful to the guys during the meet. We took them to our favorite vegan restaurant right when they got here (which everyone seemed quite pleased with, thankfully), nobody's poked fun or given me any shit, and they've even talked to me about it and let me ramble a little. I just bring my own dinner when they make their meals, and everybody's happy. It's been really refreshing considering the reception I've gotten in some other circles.
-
Explain this one, baby-killer. (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18574603/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/vegan-couple-sentenced-life-over-babys-death/#.UZ-ffLXvt8E)
Jesus. Life for both? I had to do a double take on the link, make sure it wasn't The Onion or similar. That is way excessive--Stalin-totalitarianism excessive.
-
Suddenly, I feel like you get what being a Muslim in today's world is like! :D hehe
I get you, man, it is a touchy subject. If something is in poor taste it's on the one who posted it, not you.
It doesn't make much sense to me either that vegans and vegetarians get a lot of flack for it. In Arabic we have a saying that basically goes "dress like people dress, eat what you like to eat." It essentially means that perhaps people can judge you for what you wear but no one has the right to judge you for what you eat (unless you're a cannibal or something so exceptionally wrong).
-
Yes, except that Muslims make a religious choice, and like any other religious believer also have their own versions of morality and theology that conflict with others. That at least seems like a more fertile field for conflict than someone who simply decides he'd prefer not to participate in the killing of other living things and would rather not eat burnt corpses at every meal. You know? Religion is so far-reaching. Veganism isn't. You just don't eat or wear animals or animal byproducts.
It's just so simple I don't understand why people care. I wouldn't naturally even try to find a reason but for the vehemence of the backlash I've gotten from some. The only thing that seems to make much sense is a need to defend what they know and have done for so long, regardless of facts. Or maybe guilt, that they're somehow aware of what they're contributing to and don't want to admit it's wrong because to do so would be to force a change or admit that they care more about the temporary pleasure of food than they do about more important matters. And these are judgments I make only because I've been forced to in attempting to figure out why the fuck I'm attacked constantly for a personal choice which shouldn't offend on any level, even from a moral standpoint.
But I get the kind of reasoning in the prior post all the time. That chick could have had the same digestive problems long before going vegan (I've had digestive problems for upwards of probably 4 or 5 years now that hasn't cleared up since going vegan, nor ever cleared up when I was vegetarian, and are just as likely caused by my former diet than by genes or anything else, who knows), could have issues with genetic disease, could be living or have lived somewhere that messed her up due to an immediate environmental cause, she could have one or more unknown allergies, God knows what. And who knows how much worse off she'd be if she wasn't vegan? A ton of common gastro problems are often traced back to meat, which doesn't pass through human intestines well (natural carnivores have straighter, very short intestinal tracts to pass meat quickly—humans have intestinal tracts akin to those of natural herbivores, long and with lots of places that meat, which is difficult for the body to digest, can get stuck in, leading to colon blockage, cancer, appendicitis, all kinds of fun stuff). And regardless, there are absolutely no studies that show vegans to be less healthy than others in almost any respect that I'm aware of, but for a couple that were simply far too small to be usable. All the others are neutral or positive, mostly the latter. There is virtually nothing a vegan has to worry about nutrition-wise as we get generally get more consistent and more available nutrient resources than others do. And it's not really fair to blame veganism as a source of issue when I'd say probably the majority of vegans ate like everybody else for 20 or 30 years prior to switching, thus incurring all kinds of residual issues that simply switching isn't going to magically clear up after funneling decades of shit into your body. I ate whatever I wanted for over 25 years, and was mostly vegetarian for probably less than 5. If something happens to me now, you can pretty much bet it's related to those several decades and not the couple months I've gone vegan.
Anyway. Sorry. I'll get off my soapbox, my ire is just up over some other shit in addition to this.
-
Jesus. Life for both? I had to do a double take on the link, make sure it wasn't The Onion or similar. That is way excessive--Stalin-totalitarianism excessive.
I know, right? It did say that it was an automatic life sentence, which I guess goes with killing a baby even though its not like they drop kicked it or anything. I think it's certainly harsh in this case and hope there can be some appeal. As just plain dumb as they are it wasn't malicious and sentencing should reflect that.
It's just so simple I don't understand why people care. I wouldn't naturally even try to find a reason but for the vehemence of the backlash I've gotten from some. The only thing that seems to make much sense is a need to defend what they know and have done for so long, regardless of facts. Or maybe guilt, that they're somehow aware of what they're contributing to and don't want to admit it's wrong because to do so would be to force a change or admit that they care more about the temporary pleasure of food than they do about more important matters. And these are judgments I make only because I've been forced to in attempting to figure out why the fuck I'm attacked constantly for a personal choice which shouldn't offend on any level, even from a moral standpoint.
Don't take this the wrong way, but this is a part of why people are going to bring it up; it's blowback stemming from the fact that a lot of vocal vegans are judgmental assholes. Well that and people are going to poke fun at anything different than them. It's what people do.
Don't let it get to you, people aren't going to stop, just figure out how to blow past it and not take it seriously.
-
Yes, except that Muslims make a religious choice, and like any other religious believer also have their own versions of morality and theology that conflict with others. That at least seems like a more fertile field for conflict than someone who simply decides he'd prefer not to participate in the killing of other living things and would rather not eat burnt corpses at every meal. You know? Religion is so far-reaching. Veganism isn't. You just don't eat or wear animals or animal byproducts.
It's just so simple I don't understand why people care. I wouldn't naturally even try to find a reason but for the vehemence of the backlash I've gotten from some. The only thing that seems to make much sense is a need to defend what they know and have done for so long, regardless of facts. Or maybe guilt, that they're somehow aware of what they're contributing to and don't want to admit it's wrong because to do so would be to force a change or admit that they care more about the temporary pleasure of food than they do about more important matters. And these are judgments I make only because I've been forced to in attempting to figure out why the fuck I'm attacked constantly for a personal choice which shouldn't offend on any level, even from a moral standpoint.
. . .
I have no problem with anyone making personal choices. My problem starts when they try to impose their morality on others. If you look impartially at what you posted, you must admit that it is highly judgmental. You are likening the American traditional diet to atrocities. Such an intolerant tone can easily spread to a crusading bloc, which could then threaten the freedoms enjoyed by others, freedoms that you probably feel they shouldn't have. Therein lies the perceived threat.
I've used the vegan movement as an example of why we shouldn't judge past generations with current standards of morality. I can easily see a future society where the vegans have won politically, and they look at their ancestors--us!--with disdain. We would fare no better in their eyes than slave-owning early Americans look to us.
Edit: gpw ninja'd me!
-
Chill.
Just because you made a post about how awesome your experience has been thus far doesn't mean we can't comment on what it's like dealing with friends and acquaintances that talk about their diets. Note that I didn't say specifically vegans, because there are plenty of people who like to preach about how great some new diet they are on is and assume that everyone around them doesn't know shit.
It's funny that you mention getting shit for being a vegan and quickly start to judge the people around you. You know why people don't like vegans? Because of the constant preaching about how much better their choice in diet supposedly is. That's why I made the comment about my friend. She preaches and bitches about everyone else's supposedly horrible diet, yet is constantly sick because she doesn't know shit. Does that make all vegans that way? Of course not. Do I tell people about my specific dietary choices? Nope, and I don't waste my time telling them what they should or shouldn't eat either. No drama.
Again, chill. We are allowed to comment on things you post and you don't have to constantly put yourself in a corner and rant like this is the worst possible thing that has ever happened to you. I'm assuming that when you made this post it was to talk about your experience and progress and maybe get other people interested (you have btw, I'm actually eating even more meat now). I also assumed that after all these years we as a community are comfortable enough around each other to be able to take jabs at each other without creating more pointless drama.
-
But I get the kind of reasoning in the prior post all the time. That chick could have had the same digestive problems long before going vegan (I've had digestive problems for upwards of probably 4 or 5 years now that hasn't cleared up since going vegan, nor ever cleared up when I was vegetarian, and are just as likely caused by my former diet than by genes or anything else, who knows), could have issues with genetic disease, could be living or have lived somewhere that messed her up due to an immediate environmental cause, she could have one or more unknown allergies, God knows what. And who knows how much worse off she'd be if she wasn't vegan? A ton of common gastro problems are often traced back to meat, which doesn't pass through human intestines well (natural carnivores have straighter, very short intestinal tracts to pass meat quickly—humans have intestinal tracts akin to those of natural herbivores, long and with lots of places that meat, which is difficult for the body to digest, can get stuck in, leading to colon blockage, cancer, appendicitis, all kinds of fun stuff). And regardless, there are absolutely no studies that show vegans to be less healthy than others in almost any respect that I'm aware of, but for a couple that were simply far too small to be usable. All the others are neutral or positive, mostly the latter. There is virtually nothing a vegan has to worry about nutrition-wise as we get generally get more consistent and more available nutrient resources than others do. And it's not really fair to blame veganism as a source of issue when I'd say probably the majority of vegans ate like everybody else for 20 or 30 years prior to switching, thus incurring all kinds of residual issues that simply switching isn't going to magically clear up after funneling decades of shit into your body. I ate whatever I wanted for over 25 years, and was mostly vegetarian for probably less than 5. If something happens to me now, you can pretty much bet it's related to those several decades and not the couple months I've gone vegan.
I like how you assume to know my friend better than I do.
-
You have friends? 90% of your IRC conversation is bitching about the perceived inadequacies in the human beings around you with the explicit contention that you're better than all of them. And you talk to me about being judgmental? Jesus Christ. All I asked was for you to have some fucking tact, not change your mind.
Whatever my opinions are, I have no interest in attempting to convert the unwilling. Though I will admit it gets hard to just blow past it, as gpw puts it, when everybody makes it their personal mission to fuck with you. Again, the degree to which I've experienced antagonism over this single issue from people who had never before exhibited that behavior—even over religion or politics—is crazy. Obviously I have my own personal convictions about the way I feel things should be, so yeah, that automatically implies on some level, like any other choice one makes, that I disagree with those who make an opposite choice. I didn't go vegan for no reason, so of course the above line of thought demonstrates my viewpoint. If I didn't have the viewpoint I wouldn't have made the choice. But that's not a direct action or active persecution toward anyone else. I haven't said anything judgmental to anybody about what they do or don't do. For fuck's sake, I ate just like everyone else for over 98% of my life. Who am I judging? I just changed my mind about the utility of the status quo. I haven't even once suggested to friends or family members that they do anything different than they've ever done, and the earlier extrapolation was merely an example of my attempts to figure out what makes people so hostile, what makes them suddenly change just because they find out this one thing about me. To go from friendly to downright confrontational because I prefer to wash my hands of the cessation of life and spend my money on things that don't contribute to it. That's no different than boycotting a company because you don't like the way they do business or because they funnel money to a cause you don't support. So why the emotional response? It seems to me there must be something deeper going on to make people so full of bile over someone else's ideal that has no effect on them whatsoever, and I can't figure out what it is. Vegans are like 2% of the citizenry in the US and UK, and though the number seems to at this point be doubling every year or so lately, it isn't as though anyone is suddenly going to have to change their diet because all their favored foods have disappeared.
Honestly wish I'd kept my fucking mouth shut at this point. Just thought it would make for some interesting conversation, which is definitely not what this is any longer.
-
You have friends? 90% of your IRC conversation is bitching about the perceived inadequacies in the human beings around you with the explicit contention that you're better than all of them. And you talk to me about being judgmental? Jesus Christ. All I asked was for you to have some fucking tact, not change your mind.
That's clearly uncalled for. You are hardly in IRC to even know what I or anyone else talk about. Seriously, name even one case where I talked about the people around me in such a way? And at least with the regards to that chick I mentioned I shouldn't have called her a friend since that hasn't been the case for some time now.
Whatever my opinions are, I have no interest in attempting to convert the unwilling. Though I will admit it gets hard to just blow past it, as gpw puts it, when everybody makes it their personal mission to fuck with you....
Here we go again, taking things to the extreme. I don't even know where this is coming from...
Honestly wish I'd kept my fucking mouth shut at this point. Just thought it would make for some interesting conversation, which is definitely not what this is any longer.
No, you just need to stop bitching and make everything a huge issue for you to deal with. You took my stupid comment and turned into this giant rant about how oppressed you are as a vegan. I mean, really? Of all the issues in the world to bitch about? Like I said above, chill, especially now that you are with the gang.
You know what's sad? It's that I assumed that after knowing each other for this long you would know when someone is just taking a jab at you, making a joke, etc. Since when are we supposed to be so serious about everything? This is supposed to be a place were we can talk about anything, even if occasional that means posting things that are stupid.
-
I blame Keebs and his Asianism for all of this.
-
Ok, guys. This is turning into a shitstorm. I hate shit, especially when it's flying around.
I love you both, so let's stop taking jabs at one another and look past any transgressions and indiscretions and steer back to the key discussion.
-
No, not done here.
There were plenty of jokes and jabs right from the start in this thread, yet mine suddenly crossed the line. Apparently I wasn't tact enough. Well if you didn't like my comment you could've just ignored it, brushed it off and moved on. Or hey, here's an idea: you could've just messaged me personally about and that would've been the end of it. Instead, lets open the flood gates and write so much nonsense that I still don't understand how most of it relates to my post.
But who cares? It doesn't matter what you post as long as you post something! Right?
-
Yeah! Talk this shit out like that pussy Keebs would never do!
-
Keebs you asshole.
-
You have friends? 90% of your IRC conversation is bitching about the perceived inadequacies in the human beings around you with the explicit contention that you're better than all of them. And you talk to me about being judgmental? Jesus Christ. All I asked was for you to have some fucking tact, not change your mind.
That seems pretty harsh and personal, considering Cools didn't do anything you haven't done before many times before in video gaming threads. I am not condoning any baiting in this thread on your new lifestyle, but I feel you've reacted a little too strongly.
Anyway, no harm done. Let's not anyone do the "I am done with OW" thing. Think of the children.
Is it possible that you are feeling a bit sensitive because your body is finding the adjustment to a no meat lifestyle difficult? I am speaking from experience. I tried the no meat thing a few years ago, and it made me really cranky and moody. I didn't give myself a chance.
I have been thinking about the whole vegan thing. I wish I could go vegan, not because I don't like meat, but because the demand for meat from human beings has resulted in industries, that supply chicken, beef, mutton, and pork, which create a lot of suffering for animals only because it means a significantly higher profit margin.
Could the suffering be avoided?
Yes.
Could the animals be kept in an environment where they are happy, have the freedom to move, live, and breathe? Yes.
Unfortunately, giving such an environment to the animals would result in costs rising to crazy levels. As of this moment, pigs are kept in farms which drive them crazy mentally and physically. These are intelligent beings which don't deserve to suffer. Chickens live in their own filth, and aren't treated like living creatures, stored in confined quarters like a non-living product such as a block of cheese, only given enough resources so that they can survive.
Competition for meat is tough as it is, so you can't have any business risk raising costs by improving conditions.
Why do we ignore these truths?
Because it helps us swallow our food better.
So while I think Cools deserves an apology, on an unrelated note, I can understand the self-righteous attitude of some vegans. I get it. By buying any product from the animal industry, we are adding to the evil. What is happening is just not natural.
-
For a thread about a dude just not eating meat, this turned surprisingly hostile.
-
(https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/4591747328/h6B55CC58/)
-
Anyway, no harm done. Let's not anyone do the "I am done with OW" thing. Think of the children.
I know. Where the hell am I supposed to send Mabel when she wants to start going online?
-
I am a bit disappointed this thread is dead. People need to resolve things rather than just saying their piece and disappearing when the shit hits the fan. Really.
-
Unless someone is going to say something more constructive on being vegan, I don't think anything else can should really be said. I honestly don't think Que has come off threatening at all until some mean spirited posts came up. So yea, just agree to disagree.
-
The subject can't be discussed rationally because it involves conflicting belief systems--exactly like religion. Maybe we should add veganism to the list of subjects you don't mention in mixed company.
I hate what happened here. But happen it did, and only two people can make amends for it. I'm not one of them.
-
I honestly don't think Que has come off threatening at all until some mean spirited posts came up
I sure hope you aren't saying that my original post was "mean spirited". Like I've already said before, the thread had plenty of "non-serious" posts. There was absolutely no reason for him to snap like he did out of nowhere. What he said about me in his last post was completely uncalled for. Disappearing afterwards isn't going to help. Especially when you are the forum admin...
The subject can't be discussed rationally because it involves conflicting belief systems--exactly like religion. Maybe we should add veganism to the list of subjects you don't mention in mixed company.
There was no conflict about veganism here.
This isn't the first time this has happened and I'm tired of having to walk on eggshells on this forum when dealing with this. We've known each other for a long time now to be able to talk about whatever we want around here, to disagree on topics yet still have respect for each other, to call out people when things go out of hand and not worry about them disappearing.
-
Has anyone noticed how Kale is the new hipster food? Last year it was all about quinoa but that seems to have died down and Kale has taken over full blast.
-
Haha, I just watched a food show on Russian TV about it. :P
-
Que, I don't give a shit what you eat. I am happy the vegan thing is working out for you.
I will say this. We have a few vegan/vegetarian friends. Most of the friend-circle entertaining happens at our house. It makes a party menu more difficult to make sure they are accommodated. But we always ensure they are. More often than not though it feels more tacked-on than anything.
But seriously, I'd personally break a cow's neck Rambo-style if it meant having some of the top-tier ribeyes I've had in my lifetime.
-
It's common enough around here but lately it's been the trendy cabbage-replacement anywhere I go. Most restaurants/cafes have also been serving up kale and/or rucola salads.
-
Has anyone noticed how Kale is the new hipster food? Last year it was all about quinoa but that seems to have died down and Kale has taken over full blast.
Weird, I apparently went about this ass backwards. I just found out about quinoa and think its the bomb for a rice replacement. Kale, on the other hand...only good for chips.
-
Speaking of funky healthy green stuff, anyone ever tried Malungay? Also known as Drumstick leaves or Moringa.
-
Here's a funny story. Ground moranga is used as a water purification additive in some places. It works like a flocculant which means it effectively neutralizes surface charges on suspended particles in water allowing them to come together forming larger, easily removed, bits of solid material. I'm actually having some students test it out today along with more "traditional" chemicals.
But yeah, when I was looking this stuff up it was being billed as the most nutritious plant out there pound for pound.
-
Here's a funny story. Ground moranga is used as a water purification additive in some places. It works like a flocculant which means it effectively neutralizes surface charges on suspended particles in water allowing them to come together forming larger, easily removed, bits of solid material. I'm actually having some students test it out today along with more "traditional" chemicals.
But yeah, when I was looking this stuff up it was being billed as the most nutritious plant out there pound for pound.
Yeah, everything I've read about it has been overwhelmingly positive.
I started reading up on it when I checked the leaves and the seeds of the tree in our yard and discovered that is indeed a Malungay tree. Apparently, the Filipinos and Indians in the neighbouring area often pass by and pick some leaves and small stems from its branches which go over our fence. No issue for me there, I mean it's for everyone! But that could be a testament to it being the real deal.
-
Quinoa freaks me out every time I eat it because it looks like there are tiny worms everywhere.
-
Weird, I apparently went about this ass backwards. I just found out about quinoa and think its the bomb for a rice replacement. Kale, on the other hand...only good for chips.
You are so behind the times. Which surprises me because you're from BC which as far as I know is the Hipster capital of the country, possibly universe. Then again you're also really old so I'll let it slide. In a year you're going to find every place is selling smoothies with either Kale blended into it or on the side as garnish.
-
My apologies for the ruffled feathers. I already explained what I was thinking and feeling, but you guys know that I have a tendency to get angrier than I should sometimes. A personal failing. Sorry, Cools... shouldn't have taken a shot at you like that regardless of any disagreement. Hope we're still good?
Wasn't exactly running off, just felt it was better for me to chill the fuck out elsewhere for a bit, and I got involved in work and sort of forgot to come up for air until Pyro sent me a link a few days ago. I often spend too much time on the Internet, so sometimes I try to just... leave. It almost always results in my feeling better about life.
Quinoa is pretty good, has a nice array of uses. Kale can be awesome or horrible... it's something you really have to learn to cook with, to play to its strengths. There are also a number of different kinds, and they can differ pretty widely from one another. It's great if you know what you're doing, but if you don't, the stuff can truly be tough and flavorless.
-
Welcome back, man. I'm glad to see you home again. :)
-
Good to see you guys too! I never leave for long, no matter the reason, and it's always good to be back. What I really need to do is quit Facebook.
-
Welcome back! :)
-
I don't know if anyone is interested but that chick I know won her body building cookbook and went on to write an ebook about vegan diets which allow you to still build muscle....in like a week.
I wouldn't do it, but if anyone hates money I can post a link to where you buy it.
-
I've actually discovered quite a number of vegan people that are really into bodybuilding or fitness in general. A friend of mine out here is one of the most ripped dudes I know and has been vegan for like 15 years or something, and there are several bodybuilding teams, and a number of athletes, a couple MMA fighters, weightlifters, and strongmen (and obviously chick versions of the same). Since I really don't know a lot about that stuff in general it's been interesting reading some of the science behind it all and listening to their rebuttals against commonly held beliefs about what you "need" to build muscle and recover from workouts.
-
(http://i.imgur.com/RQfsrr1.jpg)
-
Don't ever believe a potato. Lying little bastards turned on the Irish, and even though they claim to be vegetables, you always see them hanging out with meat.
-
Hodor.
-
Don't ever believe a potato. Lying little bastards turned on the Irish, and even though they claim to be vegetables, you always see them hanging out with meat.
It's Eggplants we should be worried about. With their holier-than-thou attitude, "Aubergines" are the Devil's fruit!
-
Thankfully, you won't ever be as vegan as this guy.
(http://i.imgur.com/8e11VRa.jpg)
-
That guy is going places.
-
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/magazine/broccolis-extreme-makeover.html?pagewanted=1&=_r=6&_r=0
They're trying to make brocolli the new kale. As outlandish as these marketing campaigns seem, I actually hope this goes well and shifts food culture, if even slightly, towards vegetables.
-
I've learned to like broccoli. I now prefer it over other veggies, like spinach.
-
Any vegetable you don't like can be made delicious by using it in a curry. But if you don't like curry then there's no hope for you.
-
Any vegetable you don't like can be made delicious by using it in a curry. But if you don't like curry then there's no hope for you.
This. So this.
I have no opinion on that article just because it was too long and I don't have time to read it. Who's paying them to advertise? I kept looking for it and not finding it, but I can't imagine who would have the money to sponsor that ad campaign unless it's some horrendous company like Bayer or Monsanto.
I love broccoli, though. If you don't overcook it and put just a little mayo on it (or in my case vegenaise, which tastes basically exactly like mayo), it's bloody wonderful. Even the stalks are good, especially in stir fries and such.
-
Any vegetable you don't like can be made delicious by using it in a curry. But if you don't like curry then there's no hope for you.
I love curry. I know it's all vegetable matter too. I'm down to only a few things I can't stand: beets, cauliflower and lima beans. I can eat every other veggie I can think of right now.
That does sound yummy, Que.
-
With great curry comes great responsibility.
Warning: awesome Yakuza 4 side mission spoilers
Secret best character in Yakuza series.
-
Haha.
I'd say I'm around 80-90% veggies right now. At least from looking at the dinner plate each night. I was never a huge meat eater, but after having relatives over recently who demanded meat every night I can't stand looking at anything red right now.
-
Haha, wow. That guy had some moves.
Also, I was considering getting curry on the way home and now I really wish I had. We've got this Asian place with the best vegan curries, and they have vegan eggrolls too. We gorge ourselves there whenever we go.