Craving meat pretty badly!

IWJ

I've been mostly sticking to a plant based, whole foods diet for just over the last 5 weeks.

Recently I've been craving some chicken! Where in Dublin can I find vegan meats and any brand recommendations?

Help before I give in to the craving!

Frynge

IWJ wrote: »

vegan meats

Does not compute...

IWJ

Frynge wrote: »

Does not compute...

Fake meats made with soya bean e.g tofurkey etc.

A lot are supposed to taste like the real thing. Would love to try.

The Sidewards Man

Did you make a hast decision on becoming a vegetarian?

IWJ

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

Did you make a hast decision on becoming a vegetarian?

Nope, I didn't. Did quite a bit of research actually- mainly from secondary sources though.

I've experienced nothing but benefits. However, I'm not labeling myself as a vegetarian or vegan- I just eat mainly plant based, whole foods.

But for the past week or so I've been craving some chicken!

Are you veg?

Frynge

I eat a lot of tofu that I get in Asia market but I wouldn't say that they are like any meat.

The Sidewards Man

IWJ wrote: »

Are you veg?

Craving will pass, meat eater myself.

IWJ

Frynge wrote: »

I eat a lot of tofu that I get in Asia market but I wouldn't say that they are like any meat.

I've actually tried tofu in the past and what I like about it is that it really absorbs the flavors of whatever you're cooking it in. I'd love to be able to eat it regularly. Great protein too.

My only contention is that apparently a lot of tofu is made with genetically modified soya beans and contains oestrogen! Don't want none of that!

IWJ

The Sidewards Man wrote: »

Craving will pass, meat eater myself.

They might pass today, but what about tomorrow or a month down the road.

Would like to have vegan alternatives in such scenarios.

I'm sure someone on boards can point me in the direction of tasty vegan meats somewhere in Dublin.

New Home

I believe someone here mentioned that Quorn now has a vegan range too, I'd say the larger supermarkets would stock it.

Level 5 Vegan

IWJ wrote: »

My only contention is that apparently a lot of tofu is made with genetically modified soya beans and contains oestrogen! Don't want none of that!

Tofu and soy products don't contain oestrogen and I don't think I don't think you could buy GM tofu anywhere in Ireland even if you wanted to.

I think the vegan Quorn stuff is starting to pop up in a few places in Ireland, could just be Northern Ireland for the moment idk. Hopefully it'll be widespread here by the end of next year. I've seen tofurkey and Fry's and a few other things in some of the 'health' stores around Dublin. Moodley meats are also available in a good few Supervalu stores now, but they do sausages, rashers and burgers, not chicken yet anyway. Linda Mcartney sausages are widely available in tescos, dunnes etc. Greasy enough but handy to have in the freezer, the sausage rolls are good. I'm not really up to date with the faux meats at the moment, but I see new stuff coming up on facebook all the time so just keep an eye on places like Nourish and Down to Earth I suppose.

L1011

Moodley sausages/rashers, hash browns and this stuff - http://www.reallancashireblackpuddings.co.uk/vpud/ from Down to Earth and you've got a damn good fryup. Might sate the desire for a bit.

gctest50

Level 5 Vegan wrote: »

Tofu and soy products don't contain oestrogen

In a population-based, prospective cohort study in Japan, frequent miso soup and isoflavone consumption was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer.

Soybeans are a rich source of isoflavones,

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11075748

Level 5 Vegan wrote: »

and I don't think I don't think you could buy GM tofu anywhere in Ireland even if you wanted to.
..........

hard to avoid GM stuff now

The results show that in an initial general screen, 18 of the 37 samples tested were positive for GM ingredients.

https://www.fsai.ie/monitoring_and_enforcement/monitoring/surveillance/gm_survey_2002.html

Level 5 Vegan

Yeah, a class of phytoestrogens.

IWJ

New Home wrote: »

I believe someone here mentioned that Quorn now has a vegan range too, I'd say the larger supermarkets would stock it.

What exactly is quorn? Is it a highly processed food?

Level 5 Vegan wrote: »

Tofu and soy products don't contain oestrogen and I don't think I don't think you could buy GM tofu anywhere in Ireland even if you wanted to.

What makes you so sure?

In Asian supermarkets around Dublin city center, I've seen tofu packages that explicitly state that they're GM free while others do not. I'm not sure, that's why I ask.

gctest50

yip, tis grand though

The soybean line GTS 40-3-2 was developed to allow for the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup®, as a weed control option.

The EPSPS gene put into GTS 40-3-2 was isolated from a strain of the common soil bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens called CP4 and the form of EPSPS enzyme produced by this gene is tolerant to glyphosate.

Level 5 Vegan

IWJ wrote: »

What exactly is quorn? Is it a highly processed food?

Can't remember what it's made from, grown from some fungi or something and yeah it'd be pretty heavily processed. No idea if it's healthy or unhealthy tbh and I don't know how different the new vegan range is compared to the normal vegetarian one.

IWJ wrote: »

What makes you so sure?

In Asian supermarkets around Dublin city center, I've seen tofu packages that explicitly state that they're GM free while others do not. I'm not sure, that's why I ask.

I'm open to correction but I was just generally under the impression soy stuff in Ireland wasn't GM.

I think the GMO free packaging is often more marketing than a regulatory thing. Because there's so much confusion and consumer awareness surrounding GMOs.

Anyway, few of the faux meats listed in this thread contain soy AFAIK.

GardeningGirl

Ah, cravings, such a test!
In my experience, they last a few months where you are about to tear the leg of someone and feast on their calf like a chicken drumstick!?
.... it'll pass though, be strong
The more balanced your diet the quicker they will go too.

Yep, been reading up, soy is more than 90%GMO everywhere.
Also, generally not great for health except small quantities of fermented soy...
NB.. admittedly these are self professed experts that this info is from so due care etc!

Best thing I find is to see a PETA video etc, puts me off even wanting 'pretend' meat! 

Also been thinking about Quorn and where it's really healthy or not... Closer to nature the better is the most obvious answer I guess.

Hope you find something to stop the gnaw!!

New Home

IWJ wrote: »

What exactly is quorn? Is it a highly processed food?

What makes you so sure?

In Asian supermarkets around Dublin city center, I've seen tofu packages that explicitly state that they're GM free while others do not. I'm not sure, that's why I ask.

Level 5 Vegan wrote: »

Can't remember what it's made from, grown from some fungi or something and yeah it'd be pretty heavily processed. No idea if it's healthy or unhealthy tbh and I don't know how different the new vegan range is compared to the normal vegetarian one.

I'm open to correction but I was just generally under the impression soy stuff in Ireland wasn't GM.

Quorn is made with mycoproteins - from their site

Quorn’s main ingredient is Mycoprotein.......Mycoprotein is produced by a process of fermentation similar to that used for yeast in bread.

Personally, I find it delicious, especially their 'chicken' fillets and pieces, their 'beef' mince, and their smoked, wafer-thin 'ham'. I believe the vegan range doesn't include albumen, which the vegetarian does, even though it's from non-battery hen eggs.

As for the GM soy, I remember reading somewhere that there seems to be a distinction made between soy and soya, just like there is one between corn and 'mais', where one is GM and the other isn't - I just can't remember which is which, unfortunately. If you wanted to avoid soy altogether and you don't like the idea of Quorn, you could always use Seitan, as long as you don't have an intolerance to gluten.

Tar.Aldarion

Nothing wrong with gmo or soy.
Here is why I am very pro gmo http://www.vegangmo.com/?page_id=655
And soy is said to be healthy and even countrer preventative by the american cancer society.

turnikett1

1) The cravings will pass. For me, giving up meat was like giving up cigarettes. I would get cravings, strong ones, but just ignore them. And everytime I ignored it, my genuine desire to taste meat weakened, and my willpower and belief in vegetarianism strengthened. After a few months of not having eat meat you will get sick at the thought of eating dead animal intestines

2) Try not to replace meat with fake meat, not saying that's what you are doing, but I would recommend rarely considering eating them, because they're in honesty not that good for you, and it's easy to breed a "dependence" on them. I would recommend making your own "meats" from tofu, seitan, tempeh, etc, and generally just cooking things yourself and avoiding processed food. Of course, when you're hungover as fug, some Linda McC's are what ya need, but overall, "fake meat" is generally garbage!

Best of luck and don't give in! I actually gave in a few weeks ago, and ate meat for a few days, after having been vegetarian for 3 years. I quickly regretted my decision and my belief in being vegetarian is stronger than ever I actually want to go vegan, just trying to figure out the smoothest transition.