Help Please, on vegan menu

Black Phase

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me set up a one day vegan menu. BigBecka had suggested that I try a vegan day for myself some time and I thought that it was a pretty cool idea. I am not even vegetarian at all, so I am not sure where to even begin with this. Please, NO soy. I cannot eat it for health reasons. Thanks. So here I go to give it a go. :)

BigBecka

Hey, Black Phase! Here's the sort of thing I eat in a day: Breakfast, with fruit juice and some really nice black filter coffee: :D - Wholegrain toast with sunflower spread and marmite (yeast extract), - or porridge (made with water) with a spoonful of golden syrup. - If you eat a cooked breakfast, you could have baked beans on toast (the perennial veggie favourite!) or a veggie full english: toast or potato cakes with baked beans, veggie burger (you can get some soy-free mixes) and fried or grilled mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. - I know people who will have a fruit smoothie, with rice or oat milk, and perhaps some protein powder (you can get trial sachets of hemp protein from www.nutiva.com ) Lunch: Most vegans seem to go a bit crazy about hummous, so it's definitely worth trying if you haven't already! Usually it's eaten with warm pitta bread (and maybe salad), or used as a dip. If there's anywhere selling falafel near you, I'ld recommend trying that for lunch. I'm not very imaginative for evening meals! Hopefully someone else has a good idea! :lol: I tend to cook vegan versions of non-vegan food, with chunky vegetables and/or beans or lentils (or tofu / soy mince) instead of the meat. You can indulge in a good splash of healthful oil, and some salt, since a vegan diet is low in these things :wink:. In summer, I'll make salads with rice, buckwheat or quinoa stirred in. Between meals I'll eat a few pieces of fruit or nuts, or I might make some vegan flapjacks or cookies. Some brands of potato crisps (chips?) are vegan. Here's quite a good link on the sort of things you need to eat in a day if you're vegan. It's a little prescriptive, and emphasises using fortified foods (I don't tend to use them if I'm eating well, although I do take B12 supplements) You won't need to worry too much for just the day, though :roll: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/vegetarian_and_vegan/veganproteins.shtml And a concise introduction to nutrition here: http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/

Black Phase

Thanks, BigBecka. I am going to give it a whirl. Yes, I've had hummus. The stuff is incredible. I first tasted it about a year ago, and was hooked instantly (my friend loved it too). None of this stuff looks odd to me (I do not eat ANY processed food, only natural. I shop the perimeters of the stores, but avoid the bread section. I get my bread homemade 100 % whole grain with quite the variety of grain in it). I just didn't know how to put it together. I am going to check out the sites, I think that I Am to aim for a vegan day next week. I will let you know how it goes.

BigBecka

:) I love homemade bread too - my boyfriend calls it lemnas or dwarf bread because I put way too many seeds and stuff in there... It's a bit dense... :lol: I ought to add my usual disclaimer, that I'm not a nutritional expert or anything! These are just few ideas intended to be start... :wink:

Black Phase

I love dense breads. What do you put in there for seeds? Ever taste real pumpernickel? It's like a brick! lol

BigBecka

At the moment I have hemp seeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds :) I'm out of poppy seeds and sesame seeds :( I have some recipes for "rustic" bread, where you add some oats and golden syrup to the mix - that comes out very dense! I'm also experimenting with some of the flours the shops have started stocking, like spelt, buckwheat and rye flour. I just rediscovered pumpernickel over the last year :D Before then, I hadn't seen it since I was little! You can lightly fry it and use it to make reubens and warm sandwiches :P They are very addictive - I'm going to have to limit my intake :roll:

ChrisCrossCMP

hey BigBecka, where'd you get those hemp seeds? There's some in my granola but I'd like to find them separate... and is there a such thing as "hemp butter"? I thought I saw it somewhere. Hemp is amazing :D

Sergio

BigBecka, are you making your bread with bread machine or manually?

BigBecka

ChrisCrossCMP wrote: hey BigBecka, where'd you get those hemp seeds? You can get them quite easily in health food shops over here - even some supermarkets stock them. It is illegal to grow hemp in the US, so that might explain why it is harder to get the seeds? :dontknow: Nutiva seem to import them: there's some information here . You can mail order through the Nutiva website, though I haven't tried :wink: ChrisCrossCMP wrote: and is there a such thing as "hemp butter"? I thought I saw it somewhere. Hemp is amazing :D I read that Hemp Butter was made in medeival times by grinding the seeds - I guess you'ld have to de-shell them... If you google "hemp butter," there seems to be a few places manufacturing the stuff :) I'm trying to vary the seeds and oils I eat - every week there seems to be new oils and seeds for sale! Sergio wrote: BigBecka, are you making your bread with bread machine or manually? Oh, I have to confess I use a bread machine :roll: I used to make bread by hand sometimes, but I'm lazy... :lol: The machine does save a lot of time and effort, and I think it uses less energy than warming the oven (unless you have a proper baking day - yes I am that old fashioned!) Using a machine feels like cheating - I'm sure my Gran wouldn't approve :lol: Are you thinking of buying a machine? That reminds me, you can make some really nice energy breads, to eat before training, or to take rambling or cycling. You can use mashed banana instead of egg, and add seeds, raisins and extra sugar. Hmm, I'll see if I can find a recipe...

Sergio

I'm interested in bread machine, although they are not in my soon to buy list. By the way, here you might be able to order hemp seeds from Canada: http://www.hempseed.ca/hemp-seed.ihtml

BigBecka

I'm also quite interested in what everyone else eats in a typical day :roll: My new years' resolution (well, one of them...) is to cut down on the comfort food and see if I can be a bit more healthy :wink: