Enter original "Hi, I'm..." Title Here

[the4leafclover]

Hello, all. I'm Jo from Riverside, CA.

Um, I hope I'm doing this right...and that I'm posting my intro in the correct place. Being a little gadget stupid, it's a crap-shoot.

My apologies in advance if I goofed.

I've been a vegan for less than 10 years but, sorry to say, I'm still quite a lazy terrible vegan cook. My diet consists mainly of the vegan side-dishes I cook for my non-vegan family members (rice, veggies, salad) and processed vegan foods. I also cook vegan B.L.T.'s and ramen noodles with fresh veggies (usually cabbage, carrots and onions) w/a plethora of Asian ingredients (mirin, soy sauce, Mongolian fire oil...) on a near-daily basis.

I'm looking to break out of my rut. To be enlightened.

I have a TON of vegan cookbooks (Veganomican, etc.), however, we're on a pretty finite budget, making vegan shopping and cooking a luxury.

I also find that so many vegan cookbook recipes have a long laundry list of ingredients, some hard to find. We do have a few grocery stores that cater pretty well to vegans, none of them, of course, around the corner. I'm willing to make a weekly or bi-monthly trip if I can keep my food costs reasonable.

I would also love to find a vegan cooking class for hubby and myself to attend. He's not vegan (and neither is our son) but both are supportive of my veganism and would be happy to have a homemade vegan meal once or twice a week.

Our dream is to eventually leave California and head up to the more vegan-friendly Pacific Northwest.

That's about it.

Thanks for letting me introduce myself via a long-winded soliloquy. Looking forward to that enlightenment and getting to know everyone.

Peace and serenity,
~Jo

P.S. This site = Best. Smilies. Ever.

 

[shyvas]

Hello and welcome on board 4leafclover. It is always nice to see someone from lovely California.

I hope that you find lots of new cooking ideas and recipes on this forum.

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any queries or need help. We are all a friendly (and a bit nutty) bunch.

 

[Moll Flanders]

Hi and welcome. xxx

 

[Chryssie]

Welcome!

 

[ledboots]

Hi and welcome! You can cook great vegan food on the cheap. I buy as much produce in season as I can, and frozen veggies are cheap and easy. Beans can be incorporated into many dishes. Potatoes and rice are good bases to put stuff on.

Theveganstoner.com and fatfreevegan.com have some easy yummy recipes. I like Isa's cookbooks, but they are ingredient-heavy sometimes. Also this blog post has some quick good recipes. http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/easy-vegan-recipes?s=mobile

 

[Amy SF]

Welcome to VV! You've posted your intro in the right place, and you've come to the right place to break out of your rut and be enlightened.

And by the way, I'm a couple hours away from you in lovely Santa Monica. Riverside could be better at the vegan thing, it's true, but the further west you go the more vegan friendly it gets. Don't discount California entirely.

 

[Calliegirl]

I'm also in the Inland Empire, but up the the hot, dusty, cactus filled part.

The Inland Empire Vegan Meet-Up group is going to be offering cooking classes (hopefully) soon, and they have a monthly supper club (fancy way of saying potluck ) with a changing theme. You might want to join up with them, they have events going on all the time.

 

[the4leafclover]

Welcome to VV! You've posted your intro in the right place, and you've come to the right place to break out of your rut and be enlightened.

And by the way, I'm a couple hours away from you in lovely Santa Monica. Riverside could be better at the vegan thing, it's true, but the further west you go the more vegan friendly it gets. Don't discount California entirely.

Thanks, Amy. No, not discounting southern California at all -- I was born and raised here (I'm 47), as was hubby and our children (the oldest of which is now a Spokane, WA. transplant, happily).

However, outside of LA (after all, Santa Monica and West LA have 'Real Food Daily') and Orange County, the I.E. (Inland Empire) is sadly lacking in places to eat -- and to find vegan/vegan-friendly products takes a toll on my gas tank and wallet. My local Food-4-Less (right around the corner from us) even did away with all 'Boca' products and the like.

You're looking at an average of $4.oo per product everywhere else: veg. burgers, "chicken" patties/nuggets, Gardein, Daiya....I've been in Riverside over twenty years now. Seems to be getting worse, not better. A smattering of 'Fresh and Easy's' have helped a bit. And naturally, there are exceptions: Clark's, Ralph's, Sprouts, etc. Super-pricey and, again, none really close by! Yikes! Riverside is a HUGE place (vegan restaurants in Upland and Moreno Valley, both of which are a good 40 minute plus drive) and not everything is centrally located here, sadly.

So, I have to learn find a way to simply cook within the boundaries of easily-found products. Eating out is a rarity, but when we do venture out it would be nice not to have to travel an hour plus (give or take) just to accommodate me. So, on the rare occasion we do eat out I usually have to alter my item of choice and/or ask lots of questions. Sometimes it has come down to eating vegetarian or not eating at all.

I'm-a-tryin'!

Will just have to keep on truckin'.

 

[the4leafclover]

I'm also in the Inland Empire, but up the the hot, dusty, cactus filled part.

The Inland Empire Vegan Meet-Up group is going to be offering cooking classes (hopefully) soon, and they have a monthly supper club (fancy way of saying potluck ) with a changing theme. You might want to join up with them, they have events going on all the time.

Thanks so much, Callie! That is extremely helpful! Looking forward to checking that out!

Hi and welcome! You can cook great vegan food on the cheap. I buy as much produce in season as I can, and frozen veggies are cheap and easy. Beans can be incorporated into many dishes. Potatoes and rice are good bases to put stuff on.

Theveganstoner.com and fatfreevegan.com have some easy yummy recipes. I like Isa's cookbooks, but they are ingredient-heavy sometimes. Also this blog post has some quick good recipes. http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/easy-vegan-recipes?s=mobile

Hello and welcome on board 4leafclover. It is always nice to see someone from lovely California.

I hope that you find lots of new cooking ideas and recipes on this forum.

Don't hesitate to ask if you have any queries or need help. We are all a friendly (and a bit nutty) bunch.

Hey, I love nuts! Thanks a bunch!

 

[the4leafclover]

Hi and welcome! You can cook great vegan food on the cheap. I buy as much produce in season as I can, and frozen veggies are cheap and easy. Beans can be incorporated into many dishes. Potatoes and rice are good bases to put stuff on.

Theveganstoner.com and fatfreevegan.com have some easy yummy recipes. I like Isa's cookbooks, but they are ingredient-heavy sometimes. Also this blog post has some quick good recipes. http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/easy-vegan-recipes?s=mobile

Yes, I sooo agree with you about Isa's books. I did buy Chloe Coscarelli's last year...but just haven't tried anything out in yet. Lazy, lazy, lazy! Perhaps also a bit intimidated...

Thank you so much for the encouragement.

 

[Amy SF]

Food-4-Less got rid of Boca products? Well, that sucks.

 

[the4leafclover]

Food-4-Less got rid of Boca products? Well, that sucks.

It really does, doesn't it? Food-4-Less -- at least the one around the corner from me -- doesn't even carry 'Morning Star' products anymore, either. Not that there's even an excuse for how truly awful 'Morning Star' products are anyway, but...if you're a near-by vegetarian it was at least an option.

 

[shyvas]

Fresh n Easy have Daiya and Gardein products.

 

[Amy SF]

What about Target and Wal-Mart? I don't know about Wal-Mart, but I know Target also carries some Boca and Gardein and I think other vegan products.

 

[the4leafclover]

What about Target and Wal-Mart? I don't know about Wal-Mart, but I know Target also carries some Boca and Gardein and I think other vegan products.

My Walmart doesn't, but my Target does, yes. Odd, eh? Go figure.

 

[beancounter]

Welcome to VV!

 

[the4leafclover]

Welcome to VV!

Alice Cooper: "Ugliest. Woman. Ever."

Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Snowcone]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[the4leafclover]

Welcome to the forum.

Thank you, thank you.

 

[thefadedone]

Welcome Jo! Glad you have joined us.

I'm sorry your area isn't very veg friendly. Do you at least have a decent amount of ethnic restaurants or markets in your area? Those are great for vegan options.

My Walmart doesn't, but my Target does, yes. Odd, eh? Go figure.

Wow that is indeed odd! A lot of Walmart stores have actually slightly increased their vegan products by carrying more Amys, Yves, and Gardein products. I guess your store got overlooked.

Have you ever heard of Plant Based on a Budget? There are some great recipes on their Facebook page and website. www.plantbasedonabudget.com. Their recipes are usually cheap and easy. Of course there's always www.vegweb.com as well.