UK Hi,from South West

Jake-

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Oct 18, 2022
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  1. Vegan newbie
Hiya , I'm Jake , I'm really happy to be here , I have a lot to learn , I've been vegetarian all my life and now I'm hoping to be as vegan as possible soon , I set out to do so about 2 years ago , and food wise I'm getting closer , I'm committed to trying to do the least harm I can in life . Already advice from people here has helped , but also made me realise I need to learn so much more to get to where I'd like to be to feel I'm starting a journey into a vegan life.

Any help and advice or conversation and or recipes would be really welcome , for me I had real difficulty giving up cheese , and had a hard time getting used to vegan cheeses , it took a while to learn that they can taste better than dairy when you get used to them , and if you disguise the smell quite a bit with some and flavour to an extent , with other strong flavours .

I also learned to add tofu and similar to dishes in place of meats which some non - vegetarians might have in them , but I had never done , I think this can be useful , because a lot of vegan cheeses are low in protein and high in fat , if you are used to being vegetarian and getting some sizeable amount of dietary protein from dairy it helps to think about what you can add to get a balance , it took me the 2 years just to work that out , so all help is really valuable , I would love to get hold of some Ackee again , I find it a great soya free alternative to scrambled eggs . Its the fruit of a tree originally from Ghana West Africa and nearby , very popular in the Caribbean I'm a big fan ! I'm kind of rambling , but I wanted to share what little I can , thanks for allowing me to be here.
 
Hello and welcome! I can relate to you with regard to cheese. I still have a hard time after 16 years, but it’s probably because I live with two omnis and it’s in my face almost every day. The struggle is real.
 
welcome to the forum, Jake - we are happy to have you and look forward to your contributions and hope our's are helpful for you

The thing I found most helpful was watching youtube videos by vegan/whole food plant-based tubers - 6 years later and I am still watching many of them as it keeps me focused and although we are pretty set in our vegan ways now it is always nice to grab a new idea or see a new product.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com
 
Hi Jake, welcome to the forum. I come originally from SW UK too, though I live in Sweden now. :)
Thank you Brian, Hope you're enjoying Sweden :) have you been there long ? Are there many traditional foods that are vegan , there ? or can easily be adapted ? I have some distant family in Denmark I think and also Austria . I wondering if vanilla kipfurls can be made with aqua faba. I know they are eaten north of Austria and Germany as well as South but I don't know how far either way , are there things like them there ?
 
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welcome to the forum, Jake - we are happy to have you and look forward to your contributions and hope our's are helpful for you

The thing I found most helpful was watching youtube videos by vegan/whole food plant-based tubers - 6 years later and I am still watching many of them as it keeps me focused and although we are pretty set in our vegan ways now it is always nice to grab a new idea or see a new product.

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com
Thank you Emma , fantastic! :) its great to have your advice , I'm looking forward to learning what I can , many thanks
 
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Hello and welcome! I can relate to you with regard to cheese. I still have a hard time after 16 years, but it’s probably because I live with two omnis and it’s in my face almost every day. The struggle is real.
Hi thank you , yeah it can feel a real struggle and when the cupboards are almost empty and some one you live with has a cake or something that is non vegan, especially if you have avoided thinking about food because you know you don't have it in , maybe illness can be a reason or just no where open to buy anything from , sometimes non vegan things can be really tempting ! I'd love to know how you and other people cope with these times because as a vegetarian , I would have never , knowingly eaten meat , but in times like those when there's temptation I still find it very hard and too be honest fail with a bit of cake here , a bit of chocolate there around once a month or less , so I sort of think of myself as a pre-vegan.

Regarding cheese though , I have definitely found it hard and had a few binges , but I first compromised by trying to go slaughter free , regardless of other pro's and cons , it tastes and smells different to commercial cheese , less appealing maybe , and its so expensive , I think these things helped me although I don't know if it could help you as you seem to be much further on in the vegan lifestyle , but maybe someone . If you go down that route you soon realise that cheese is not entirely what you think , and how willing you are or not to navigate the balance with regard to keeping yourself going and letting other living things keep themselves going . It can maybe help make it gradual and sustainable to shift towards being . I don't know yet , because of my cake and chocolate issues , but it's great to know it's not just me being weak willed . I hope in 16 year time I can say the same as you ! Thank you :)
 
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Thank you Brian, Hope you're enjoying Sweden :) have you been there long ? Are there many traditional foods that are vegan , there ? or can easily be adapted ? I have some distant family in Denmark I think and also Austria . I wondering if vanilla kipfurls can be made with aqua faba. I know they are eaten north of Austria and Germany as well as South but I don't know how far either way , are there things like them there ?
Hi. I've been in Sweden 7 years now and it's a lovely place, although I really miss the English countryside. Sweden has a 10% Vegetarian/Vegan population so you will find good vegan options in almost every restaurant and food stall. The traditional foods here are very easily adaptable and I am very grateful for aquafaba as it makes cake baking so much easier. Swedes love their sweet foods and frequently have buns with their fika. This year I want to try making vegan versions of Lussekatter - the traditional Swedish saffron buns that are eaten on St. Lucia's day. I haven't come across kipfurls before but they look delicious. I'm sure aquafaba is a great way to add air to the cookies. Definitely worth a try. :)
 
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HELLO Jake.
I live in the south east near WATFORD.
I lived in BRISTOL for a bit and W-S-MARE. They are still my favourite places.
 
Hi Jake and welcome! Regarding cheese, you need to give your tastebuds time to forget what dairy cheese tastes like. It's much easier to appreciate vegan cheese then. Having said that, I've got used to cheese not being a big part of my diet now. Really just for sprinkling on to a pasta bake or in a lasagne, then I use a small amount of the cathedral city plant-based cheddar. Like you say, it's not great nutritionally and it's also expensive! For protein I eat tofu, lentils, chickpeas, nuts and seeds. All of which are incredibly versatile, eg hummus, falafels, farinata, lentil flatbreads, home made burgers, dhals, curries etc. Tofu you can add to stir fries, marinade, fry and eat with a salad or simply buttered new potatoes and green veg, you can make coronation tofu with chopped up tofu in mayonnaise to which you add curry powder and mango chutney, you can thinly slice smoked tofu and fry with smoked paprika and soy sauce to make "bacon", the possibilities are endless! Toasted seeds are gorgeous sprinkled on salad or hot dishes. Nuts - you can make pesto, nut roast, toast, chop and sprinkle on porridge, add to salad or anything really!
 
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Hi there Jake,
I'm in Taunton.
Good luck man,
I found M&S do a jar of Miso paste that tastes nothing at all like cheese (more like soy sauce)
though it more or less has a similar nutritional value and texture.