Vegetarian Living

[WitchyPoo]

There's a local natural grovery chain that has really tasty vegan cupcakes. They're super filling too, kind of heavy. I think it's due to the coconut oil they use for the fat. So yummy though.

[chonies]

Yay, I get to revive a thread! I'm trying to eat a more vegetarian diet, and it's trickier than I thought, even though I was vegetarian for more than ten years...more than ten years ago. Balancing carbs and proteins is a major pain. I can't tell if I'm hungry all the time because I'm eating less meat, or if my stomach is just missing the heaviness of meat and I'm not actually hungry. Or if I feel hungry because I'm working out more and am in fact actually hungry.

In the interim, Morningstar Farms products have gotten a bit better. Also, and this is just a fussy thing I have, I am glad that 'plant-based' eating is a socially acceptable way to describe something. I've had a mental weirdness about veganism for ages because it seems (to me) so competitive and so binary, with moving goal posts and everything, that it was kind of off-putting and I've resisted it.

[canuckcutie]

I haven't eaten meat since 2001. I was on/off with meat in high school but found it so difficult to find meatless options back then. I still eat some fish and diary. Every once in a while I briefly think about going vegan but I don't think I could do it.

I was just in the US and I think the Morningstar options are far better than what we have here in Canada. I know I gave to try and not load up on bread and potatoes as yummy as they both are. I'm currently on an eggplant kick. I've started making eggplant parm and I absolutely love it.

[chonies]

I love eggplant! My favorite eggplant manifestation is either baba ghanoush or baigan bharta, but i think they're too much of a pain to make at home.

[tabby]

We had an office lunch at a Chinese restaurant last week, and one of the dishes we shared was an eggplant dish with garlic sauce. Oh my gosh, was it good.

I made a vegetable lasagne for dinner on Saturday. We'd bought lovely small zucchini and yellow squash at the farmer's market, and that was a great way to use them, along with mushrooms. I grew up eating only meat-sauce lasagne, but I rarely make it that way now.

[LAX]

I love eggplant too, especially a good eggplant parm sandwich and baba ganoush. I find I'm too lazy to put the work into making my own eggplant dishes, especially when there are so many places around me that can do it so much better.
Morningstar Farms does make some tasty stuff, but I'm super fond of Yves and Quorn. My inner child loves Yves bologna, and I prefer the texture of Quorn chick'n over other brands.

[chonies]

Question! If you were vegan, and your coworker brought in a home baked cake that was represented as vegan, how trusting would you be? And for that matter, would you even eat it?

A friend asked me to bake a vegan cake for her coworker, whom I know to be very vocally vegan. I have baked many vegan cakes in my life, but I am not vegan and while I practice good kitchen hygiene, my utensils and pans have touched meat and dairy.

[dragonflie]

Hmmm - this is tough. Everything you say (regarding you cooking) I would be fine with. I am more unsure when it comes to things like butter/dairy, etc. I am always surprised at how few people know what vegan actually means (ie- that many/most margarines have dairy... that yes, butter is not vegan etc). I'm not saying this is you chonies- at all. What I am getting at is: I am always cautious. I would eat a cake someone made for me- if I trusted that they knew what vegan meant.
** and I suppose this is a slippery slope. What vegan means to me may not be the same to another person. For example- many vegans will not eat white sugar at all- or - in some cases any processed sugars... some may be picky about utensils (although- if they've been cleaned... well- yeah- I'd be fine with it- but that's me).

[Carolinian]

Can the co-worker be questioned or is the cake a surprise?

[chonies]

I really don't know, Carolinian. The birthday has already passed and the person who requested it is traveling, and it feels like a well-meant afterthought. I don't know the recipient well enough to quiz them in a casual, low-key way on their preferences, either, although I absolutely would otherwise.

Dragonflie, thanks--that was exactly what I was trying to sort out. To paraphrase the Simpsons, I don't know if the recipient is a level 5 vegan or eats anything that casts a shadow. My most recent vegan cake was made for my students, and they didn't say anything about the history of the utensils, and I assume they trusted me as a person. This person, though, is probably of a different mindset.