Giving vegan another go.

fat bloke

I managed 18 months on a totally plant based diet until this time last year when a long holiday in France knocked me off the wagon. Even plain ol vegetarianism is difficult in France when eating out unless you reeeeeally like omelettes.... But non dairy is no fun at all.
But I'm back now as of two days, giving a vegan diet another try. I think I might alter my approach a bit for greater success. I've tended to combine and associate the veganism with weight loss in mind, which can make portions and recipes even more austere and strict. Eating can be reduced to mere perfunctory, joyless refuelling. Also I fell into a curried-everything trap, where every meal tasted of chili, ginger and coconut. I figure if i go a little more luscious on the fats, oils and tastes it could make it a more enjoyable and sustainable and long term.

Anywho, wish me luck, the falafels are in the oven!

Captain Flaps

Fair play.

Try doing the Camino de Santiago as a Vegetarian, they don't comprehend that you won't even eat chicken and menu items marked 'vegetarian' often come out laden with Tuna.

ElKavo

Good Stuff, I have heard that France is a pain in the ass.

Lots of new products and restaurants open since then so things should be a bit easier for you. If you need anything just shout!

davidjtaylor

fat bloke, whereabouts are you? Mix with some of the vegan get-together groups and you'll find, if your username is accurate, you're not alone!

davidjtaylor

I just made a 'sauce'. I thought I'd share it with you - give it a go.

Into a pan I put

Chopped onions
Sliced garlic
Chopped-up block of tofu
A tin of chick peas
A tin of tomatoes
Drop of lemon juice
Dollop of molasses
Sprinkling of drinking chocolate
Salt

I heated it, let it simmer for about 25 minutes.

Mixed it in with some wholewheat pasta, let the pasta soak for a while and it was wow.

Points to note:
Very low fat - no oil; high protein; watch it on the salt (don't need much - try black salt); mine had everything organic except salt; quick to make, no skills required - I didn't 'fry the onions, add the garlic' etc because I wanted things to have some bite. Not everything has to be complicated.

The combination of flavours was wonderful and I'm going back for more.

JoeyDoh

Yea, the French just cannot comprehend the Vegan diet at all. It's notoriously difficult down south to abide by.

davidjtaylor

If you have a look at Colette O'Neill's site bealtainecottage.com you can see the transformation that has been wrought by her adopting a vegan approach.

The 'then' and 'now' photos near the end of this page are revealing. She looks younger and far healthier than when I visited her some years ago. Let her be your inspiration!

duridian

davidjtaylor wrote: »

If you have a look at Colette O'Neill's site bealtainecottage.com you can see the transformation that has been wrought by her adopting a vegan approach.

The 'then' and 'now' photos near the end of this page are revealing. She looks younger and far healthier than when I visited her some years ago. Let her be your inspiration!

I watched her half-hour long video tour of her property on YouTube about 6 months ago. The one where she begins at the road and walks in along the boreen first, showing the contrast with the usage of the surrounding land.

It is quite remarkable the amount of work she has put into her place. Amazing determination and application of permaculture.

davidjtaylor

It's a paradise, similar but different to TerraNova garden in county Cork, the proprietrix of which (Deborah) is also vegan.

nthclare

Lately I ate in the vegan restaurant in Ennis a few times and felt great afterwards, wasnt hungry that evening.

Went to the canteen in work had a regular meal, and it was so different.

Im not a vegan but I'm thinking of trying more frequently build it up in the system then....taper off meat...

davidjtaylor

nthclare wrote: »

Lately I ate in the vegan restaurant in Ennis a few times and felt great afterwards, wasnt hungry that evening.

Yeah, and that's after the portion sizes went down with the new chef Matteo in May!

Incidentally, they're looking for a (preferably vegan) sous chef at the moment. Anyone out there fancies emigrating to Ennis?