Vegan Tastic for Two Weeks

[DandyFop]

I for one reason or another decided I was going to eat vegan for two weeks, just to force myself into eating healthy and making my own food.

I don't cook really so I need some ideas for easy shite that's yummy.

Help me!

Ps I love pesto.

[HEIRESS]

Im all for vegans and vegetarianism but sometimes unless you really research and do some crazy crazy pre-shopping these things dont work out
especially if you are thinking IF I CAN JUST GET THROUGH THESE TWO WEEKS AHHHH!!!!

and 2 weeks is a long time, I just did a two week detox and it can get rough at times because sometime you just dunt wanna cook
although I was on a quite strict diet plan so that made it hard

I just think that sometimes if you are going all vegan you start to think "as long as I dont eat meat, eggs, or dairy its all good"
and not eating those things is good
but then you may just load up on bad carbs and such because you come home from school or work and are just jonzing for some food, any food but you know you gotta follow your diet specifications

if you want to lose weight and get all pumped up with energy I think you should by all means cut out dairy
cut out meat products too, vegetarian stiryfries are where its at anyways
and maybe also cut out most or not all flour products, or atleast buy gluten-free ones
eat rice, lots of rice and brown/wild rice mostly, millet, quinoa, oatmeal, any whole grain that you can get your hands on
try no processed sweets or baking for the two weeks too
if you have a sweet tooth you will feel like shit for the first 3 days atleast while your blood sugar levels work themselves out
and dont go overboard on your fruit intake if you can help it to compensate as your "treats"
its all about them veggies

jesus christ this post is fucking long and maybe useless because you are just asking for recipes IGNORE ME

OK ILL STOP AND START TYPING RECIPES NOW

[HEIRESS]

tip one: go on more than one shopping trip a week if you can fit it in
cause at first you are all IMMA GONNA BUY EVERY DAMN VEGEATABLE I CAN GET MY HANDS ON RAWRRRGHHHHH
but then by the end of the week shit starts looking funky in the fridge drawer and you dont want to eat it and there goes your hard earned money

tip two: cook a big meal some nights so you have leftovers for lunch and maybe even dinner the next day
im weird about eating food that isnt freshly cooked or has been sitting in the fridge for more than one day, but chili is different because damn that shit just keeps on tasting better day after day

chili:
cook up 1 onion, 1 zucchini, 1 carrot, 2 fresh tomatoes, 1 type of pepper and lots of garlic in a little bit of oil in a big pot
throw in two cans of crushed tomatoes and about 2 cups of water
open up cans of beans, kidney, black, white kidney, chickpeas etc, drain them and then throw em in
spice it with cayenne pepper, chilis, salt, pepper, paprika, pepper flakes and a small dash of sugar
cook it for however damn long you want on a med/low heat but give it atleast half an hour
andddd done, shit you could probably survive off that for the whole week if you made enough

tip three: cook like 4 cups of rice on the weekend and then freeze that shit. so when you come home from school you can just chop up some veggies, cook em up real quick and then throw in the frozen rice which is defrosted in like 2 minutes
my favorite easy flavoring for a stirfry is just plain onion, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper and a low salt soya

tip four: make your own salad dressings and put a bare bare minumum of oil in them
sometimes I make a dressing just out of apple cidar vinegar, salt and pepper
good shit!
vinegar and grapefruit juice is good too!

tip five: I fukkin need to get up at 5 am so im going to bed dude!

[HEIRESS]

oh and this may sound weird but you know what tastes good with pesto

BRUSSEL SPROUTS

I SHIT YOU NOT, I EAT THEM WIF PESTO BY ZE POTFUL

ok really im leaving now....

[cosmo105]

sprouted wheat sliced bread
baked beans (vegetarian of course)
relish
mash beans and relish together
spread on bread like your legs
eat
enjoy


anywho, good lucks. airesse is right about all that. FRESH FUCKIN FRUITS AND VEGGIES, especially bell peppers and stuffs. red and yellow and orange ones.

[DandyFop]

Hey I really appreciate everything you said!!

Seriously, it's just what I needed.

I mostly do need to cut the dairy, I eat way too much of it. I'm going to prepare this week and hopefully start Monday. Thanks for all the tips, I am going to write it all down and start planning.

[HEIRESS]

yer verra welcome, I am what happens when you date a future Dietician

Im not a big fan of soy products because too much of something is never good

but maybe get some soy yoghurt and rice milk to replace some dairy products
potatoe milk is good too
nothing can replace real cheese thouhg *le sigh*

and get some frozen berries so you can make smoothies for breakfast or dessert

[sXe Boogaloo]

I for one reason or another decided I was going to eat vegan for two weeks, just to force myself into eating healthy and making my own food.

I don't cook really so I need some ideas for easy shite that's yummy.

Help me!

Ps I love pesto.
Vegan (http://www.americanvegan.org/vegan.htm), huh? wow, i have a lot of vegan friends who are trying (and have tried) to convert me in becoming a vegan with them... they tell me i'm more than half way there (i'm a vegetarian). but anyway choosing any new way of eatin is tough. it's not a diet it's more like a life style. if you're not big on dairy products, honey, and anything made by or from an animal then go vegan. but i can't help lovin' that cold goodness of icecream. as well as smoothies from java juice who use yogurt as a base for their smoothies.
but here are some cookin' ideas (http://www.veganmeat.com/recipie.html) for ya. and remember you are what you eat.:p

ps
while a lot of conventional markets are now starting to carry all natural and some organic items you're best bet for starting up is to shop at any health food stores. ie, whole foods market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com), trader joe's (http://www.traderjoes.com/), is a great place to get your new life started. i do believe they have some good recipes on their site as well. also, any asian markets are an excellent way to get your groceries. and if you are stuck don't hesitate to ask a friendly worker. they are all glad to help ya with your questions.
good luck and let me know if there is anything i can assist you with on this topic.

best,
boogaloo

[jabumbo]

dandy,

please post pics of you trying to cook

thanks!

your friend

[cosmo105]

yer verra welcome, I am what happens when you date a future Dietician

Im not a big fan of soy products because too much of something is never good

but maybe get some soy yoghurt and rice milk to replace some dairy products
potatoe milk is good too
nothing can replace real cheese thouhg *le sigh*

and get some frozen berries so you can make smoothies for breakfast or dessert
i have rice milk in my cereal and soy milk in my shakes. and soy yogurt with granola = sex

[DandyFop]

I adore soy milk and other soy stuff so no prob there.

Boogaloo thanks for all the great links! Yummy stuff.

[sXe Boogaloo]

Boogaloo thanks for all the great links! Yummy stuff.
shrrrrr .. so how ya makin' with everything?

[DandyFop]

I haven't started yet, I'll be starting next week. Probably monday, i'll let you know.

[funky49]

I don't cook really so I need some ideas for easy shite that's yummy.


Pita + hummus + cheese + tomatoes!!

[cosmo105]

cheese is not vegan, sweetie

[funky49]

cheese is not vegan, sweetie

whaaaaa? live without cheese? that's unpossible!

[cosmo105]

yeeeeeah...


so anyway, how long did it last, Barf?

[Licorice Donut]

This was a helpful thread for me as well! You're all so cute and helpful I want to hug each and every one of you. Go Fop!

[cosmo105]

another super easy vegan sammich:

get a small sandwich roll, crack the sucker in half. spread hummus on the inside, add alfalfa or broccoli sprouts, avocado, and whatever the hell else sounds good. soooo good.

[monkey]

bumping. i wondering how the experiment went. and im also trying out the vegan thing. mostly it started out cause one of my friends (and neighbor) right now is vegan, and ive been eating with her, and it'sactually not that bad. granted, we do eat a lot of chips at 4 am when we're drunk... but for the most part, i think im keeping healthy. so.. yea.. im trying the vegantasticness.

p.s:i tried hummus for the first time yesterday. it tasted kinda icky. so... do you guys recommendations on hummus that doesnt taste icky? im hoping it's a brand thing.

[HEIRESS]

wtf hummus can't be icky!

Tribe of Two Sheiks (http://www.twosheiks.com/index.html) makes an awesome hummus with added red pepper flakes so its kinda spicy too
they have alot of different varieties too made with either chickpeas OR soybeans

I bring hummus all the time in my work lunches and eat it with ryvita or melba toast

I also buy this organic brand that just comes in box and you add water, oil and extra garlic
not as good as fresh but still pretty damn good

[cosmo105]

oooh red pepper hummus. oh god yes. dipping it w/ blue corn chips = sex

the key is getting enough protein without overdoing it on the soy. it's easy to live off tofu chicken and shit, but that gets expensive and isn't that good for you. there are other awesome sources, like Seitan, which is made from wheat gluten, as well as rice protein and protein from other beans.

i love meeting other vegans at my store. i met this cute little teenage boy today that was so excited that we had so many vegan-friendly products...he was super thin and i could tell he wasn't exactly doing it the healthiest way. it feels really good to be able to help people become healthier :)

[monkey]

i made some chilli today. first time ever, my god it was amazing. i made it with pinto beans, red bell pepper, onions, ateeny bit of garlic, corn, carrots, basil, oregano, paprika, and some kickass tomato sauce. it was delicious. and im bragging. :p

[ericg]

A friend of mine in the Army had a bumper sticker that read "I eat vegans". I actually didn't get it because I didn't even know what a vegan was. Then I thought it was pretty funny. I mean if you have a medical reason to lay off certain foods... fine. But come on.

Then on the other hand, little cows and pigs and chickens and such... leave them alone Neanderthal man. Then there are those people, I forget what they're calling themselves, who only eat meat if the meat only ate a strict diet of natural...whatever.

Who do we think we are anyway. All I know is if there's a better and healthier way to eat for the human civilization, we should do it. Respect ourselves and the living things around us. I wonder, if all species did that on the planet, how many would die off. The whole reptile species, all the carnivors, hell, it's the cycle of life, whatever the hell that means. How does it help that we know better. It's a fucking curse I tell you. Sometimes I really feel that I was a bad angel and got born here or something. How can that be? If we know God is about more perhaps than good or bad.... I mean, just an idea: how I deal with idealism in our ideology. Anyway, perhaps maybe death is alright... as long as we really put our energy to good use and appreciate life....

I guess for now bacon still sounds good. So does a vegan diet though too. I hope my grandkids and their grandkids and so on... work it out alright. I really should become a neuro-surgeon and help unlock the keys to our brain.

[DandyFop]

The experiment went really well. I haven't stayed vegan, but I cooked a lot for myself in that time period and that has transferred over, I used to never cook anything. And I've started making "meals" for myself instead of just one thing. On a plate I will put the main dish, plus usually some carrots and maybe blue corn chips or some other kind of side thing. That's making me eat less, which is good, because I am bad with eating big portions.

And I found out the veganaise RULES.

Good luck Pauli!