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Aldi and Lidl vegan products.

RHJ

Firstly I'm sorry if this has been asked before.

Anyway, I recently turned vegan partly because I wanted to give it a try and secondly with all the recent news about climate change I want to lower my carbon footprint. So I decided I'll give it a try for this month and see if it's something I can stick to long-term I find using eatthismuch helps take all the hassle out of planning meals and arranging a shopping list as well as making sure I get adequate nutrition.

Anyway, I've never really shopped at Lidl or Aldi I preferred Tesco due to being able to use the automated checkout. But lately maybe it's just me but some of their prices seems to have increased especially with vegan suitable options.

Sorry, I tend to go on a bit too much just curious how do you find the selection of vegan-friendly Foods at the two German supermarkets?

Finally where is the cheapest place to buy tofu?

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pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Nutritional yeast on popcorn will change your ****ing life

duridian

davidjtaylor wrote: »

I also use it to make a fake parmesan, which I wrote about here.

I reckon I’d love this, but I wonder would it work without salt or a very minute amount of salt?

I have to be careful with my salt intake, as I used to be very obese and had very high blood pressure which I have now brought down to normal levels via lifestyle and dietary changes. (I was 10st heavier 4 or 5 years ago.)

davidjtaylor

duridian wrote: »

I reckon I’d love this, but I wonder would it work without salt or a very minute amount of salt?

I have to be careful with my salt intake, as I used to be very obese and had very high blood pressure which I have now brought down to normal levels via lifestyle and dietary changes. (I was 10st heavier 4 or 5 years ago.)

10 stone, yikes. Well done.

Yes, lose the salt, Engervita is kind-of salty anyway, just up the ratio of yeast flakes to nuts. I find it's best to make in very small amounts, the smallest your chopping machine can manage, so you can experiment with ratios.

Or, as I say, use some black salt, which is divine in the tiniest amounts.

Tar.Aldarion

No harm trying it with no salt or very little, and adding something else if you don't like the taste as much. With black salt you can only have a small amount in most food anyway as it is very strong and not at all like normal salt.

Eating nutritional yeast on everything or just from the tub changed my life

duridian

I think that I have seen packets of Himalayan salt down at my local Slice of Life health store.

I simply never knew what it was. I might get adventurous and try a tiny bit. I guess I can get away with a little as long as I don’t go too far with it.
Thanks for the idea David.

davidjtaylor

duridian wrote: »

I think that I have seen packets of Himalayan salt down at my local Slice of Life health store.

That might be the pink stuff, which is odourless. The real black salt is dirty pink and whiffs!

duridian

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

No harm trying it with no salt or very little, and adding something else if you don't like the taste as much. With black salt you can only have a small amount in most food anyway as it is very strong and not at all like normal salt.

Eating nutritional yeast on everything or just from the tub changed my life

True. I may just test it that way first. Although I like a somewhat salty taste in things, I have very much adjusted quite well to minimal usage.

The most common salty thing I encounter now is a bit of another Marigold product, their reduced salt vegetable bouillon. (Despite the name, it is still very salty.)

Though I have recently been using Kollø brand organic vegetable stock cubes more than the reduced salt bouillon, simply because it is a good bit less salty, and tastes really well when added to a really simple mix of boiled veggies.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

It's not as much hassle as you might think to make veggie stock if you've a freezer. I just throw all ends and skins etc from veg into a freezer bag for a week or two (keep them frozen), then when there's enough boil them and simmer and strain, you can add very little or no salt. When it's cooled you can even pour into an ice cube tray and you've got little stock cubes!

duridian

I have thought of trying homemade stock, I’ve just never got round to the habit of organising enough spare bits and leftovers unfortunately.

By the way, just to get back to Lidl and Aldi vegan products, here is one which I love. I was very surprised to discover was vegan when I was looking around the freezer at Lidl a few months ago.

Alpen Fest Apple Strudel

It’s really nice.
I don’t think it is a regular, but comes in a special from time to time. I had ignored it before as I assumed it wasn’t vegan. Grabbed about 6 for the freezer when I realised, and have it as a treat every 5 or 6 weeks. Still have a couple left.

davidjtaylor

(See attached) I got this as a backup from Aldi some months ago and decided to try it just now. It's very good, it's got a great bite to it, though it needs seasoning a little. I used some spicy Herbamare and black pepper.

It says 5 minutes in a medium hot pan but it needed 7 from frozen.

It also says, 'contains 6 servings'. What? Two is nearer the mark, one serving if you want it to be a main meal and even then, I'd add stuff.

ElKavo

Erick Mammoth Bum wrote: »

It's not as much hassle as you might think to make veggie stock if you've a freezer. I just throw all ends and skins etc from veg into a freezer bag for a week or two (keep them frozen), then when there's enough boil them and simmer and strain, you can add very little or no salt. When it's cooled you can even pour into an ice cube tray and you've got little stock cubes!

That is a fantastic idea! Plus you can just compost the sludge afterwards too. Cheers

duridian

Just wanted to say that today I tried one of Lidl’s Vemondo Soya Ice Desserts in Cherry flavour and give it a big thumbs up.

It’s practically indistinguishable from ice cream. Really delicious.

Strange how some of the tubs are called “ice dessert” and some others like the “peanut & pistachio” are called “ice cream”.

Then again, all the plant milks say xxxx drink on the label as well.
Perhaps the peanut is immune to this attention from lobbyists, as peanut “butter” is so long established, they feel they couldn’t win over the general public’s use of the term?

davidjtaylor

duridian wrote: »

Then again, all the plant milks say xxxx drink on the label as well.
Perhaps the peanut is immune to this attention from lobbyists, as peanut “butter” is so long established, they feel they couldn’t win over the general public’s use of the term?

I personally don't use 'milks' from any source but my wife uses almonds and cashews to make what she calls 'nectar'.

Tar.Aldarion

That cherry ice cream, I need it again!

duridian

davidjtaylor wrote: »

I personally don't use 'milks' from any source but my wife uses almonds and cashews to make what she calls 'nectar'.

Since I went vegan, I eat a selection of various seeds and nuts every morning for my breakfast.
Porridge with a spoon of linseed or chia seeds, mixed in along with some oat drink, followed by a mix of almonds, cashews, walnuts, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, and pecans, and the occasional peanut if they came in a mixed pack.
I find them so much a part of my nutritional intake for the day, that now I don't think I could get by without eating them.

Are there any sources for raw almonds or cashews that are more affordable than the likes of the 200g packets in Lidl?

Making a homemade almond drink is definitely something I've been meaning to try. I can't deny the long dates on commercially available plants drinks are a bit worrisome.

From what I've gathered, it's a matter of soaking the almonds overnight or longer. Drain and rinse to remove any phytic acid. Blend with a ratio of two cups of water to one cup of almonds. Strain and drink. Use remaining solids in porridge, bread etc.

Seems straightforward enough hopefully.

duridian

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

That cherry ice cream, I need it again!

Between the ice cream and the Linda McCartney sausages, it took me nearly half an hour to find them in my local today - BUT oh wow, so worth the effort!

Tar.Aldarion

How much are 200g of cashews in ludl? Theyre like 2e in Tesco I think, you can get 10kg bags from Asia market, you'd have to ask them for price as they don't sell to normal consumers usually, but to restaurants.

duridian

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

How much are 200g of cashews in ludl? Theyre like 2e in Tesco I think, you can get 10kg bags from Asia market, you'd have to ask them for price as they don't sell to normal consumers usually, but to restaurants.

Lidl 200g cashews are I think €2.19 and 200g almonds are €2.99. Wouldn’t you need about a pack and half of those to make a litre?

davidjtaylor

duridian wrote: »

Making a homemade almond drink is definitely something I've been meaning to try. I can't deny the long dates on commercially available plants drinks are a bit worrisome.

Seems like everything's pasteurised these days!

duridian wrote: »

From what I've gathered, it's a matter of soaking the almonds overnight or longer. Drain and rinse to remove any phytic acid. Blend with a ratio of two cups of water to one cup of almonds. Strain and drink. Use remaining solids in porridge, bread etc.

Seems straightforward enough hopefully.

My wife's usual one is cashew nectar. We buy organic cashew pieces (they're cheaper than whole nuts so it'd be silly not to use them) and don't soak, neither strain the liquid, though some people might want to.

This is because we use a Vitamix mixer, which is 2.2HP, enough to homogenise the liquidise and pour straight into a bottle. It may need a shake if it's been stood for a while.

The blade spins so fast that there are recipes for soup in the manual - just add the ingredients and blend for 6 or 7 minutes: it comes out piping hot. :eek:

She sometimes soaks and peels almonds for her nectar but I've made it without soaking the almonds - it's just got tiny bits of fibre floating around, almost too tiny to see.

Again, no sludge, you eat/drink the whole lot.

Tar.Aldarion

duridian wrote: »

Lidl 200g cashews are I think €2.19 and 200g almonds are €2.99. Wouldn’t you need about a pack and half of those to make a litre?

I'm not sure of the amounts but the one from a shop is much weaker than that, maybe 2% almonds. To quote Napolean Dynamite: "I see you’re drinking 1%. Is that ’cause you think you’re fat? ‘Cause you’re not. You could totally be drinking whole if you wanted to"

Your's would be very calorific but would taste better and creamier. 300g would probably make like 2 litres of strong stuff.
Cashew milk is amazing btw.

davidjtaylor

Cashew ratios for us is generally around 4:1 nuts to water for her coffee, 3:1 if she's fancies some custard!

duridian

Thanks for the tips folks.

The reason I mentioned draining away the soak water waa something I read specifically about using raw almonds. It said that the soak water from almonds would contain pythic acid, which can inhibit the body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

davidjtaylor

duridian wrote: »

Thanks for the tips folks.

The reason I mentioned draining away the soak water waa something I read specifically about using raw almonds. It said that the soak water from almonds would contain pythic acid, which can inhibit the body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

Thanks for that. Worth further investigation.

A line from Wikipedia: Phytic acid, mostly as phytate in the form of phytin, is found within the hulls of seeds, including nuts, grains and pulses.

The hulls? As in husks? We don't eat almond shells! Again, worth following up.

duridian

davidjtaylor wrote: »

Thanks for that. Worth further investigation.

A line from Wikipedia: Phytic acid, mostly as phytate in the form of phytin, is found within the hulls of seeds, including nuts, grains and pulses.

The hulls? As in husks? We don't eat almond shells! Again, worth following up.

Oh well, if that’s the case then the amount in the seed part must be incredibly minute, if any is present at all in the brown “skin” part of the seed.

davidjtaylor wrote: »

Or, as I say, use some black salt, which is divine in the tiniest amounts.

I got some of this today when I was in town. Blimey, it is very flavoursome - I just got a few grains on my fingertip for a taste!

It also seems less “salty” in the sense of table salt, which is good. I probably will use in moderation anyway, but hopefully it is less impactful on blood pressure due to having many other minerals besides the sodium chloride.
(I had blood pressure of 245/195 before. Insane, I know! It was 125/75 last month when I had my doctor’s check up in July.)

Oh, and they also had the pink variety that you mentioned.

Tar.Aldarion

That tub will last you forever haha. I've never seen a big container of it like that.

davidjtaylor

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

That tub will last you forever haha.

Nope. :rolleyes:

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

I've never seen a big container of it like that.

I have one that size, he brags.

Tilikum17

https://cdn.aldi-digital.co.uk/hlGHxEIkPcaBaIFkp98QsoSdVVQ.pdf

davidjtaylor

duridian wrote: »

The reason I mentioned draining away the soak water waa something I read specifically about using raw almonds. It said that the soak water from almonds would contain pythic acid, which can inhibit the body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

A little more about phytates.

(Quoting from a book here) "Simply soaking seeds has only a modest effect on phytate levels unless the seeds have been ground. However, sprouting seed greatly reduces phytate levels as the phytate is converted to other forms of phosphorus to make it available to the new plant for growth."

Phytate generally inhibits absorption of iron but this can be offset by adequate concurrent ingestion of a source of vitamin C, very easy on a plant-based diet.

Another snippet: soy, eggs and cow's milk all inhibit iron absorption. So, whether you're a carnist or veg*n, avoid those three if you are, or suspect you are, a little anaemic. It's possibly why some say they feel they have more energy after following a veg*n lifestyle.

Something else I came across made me realise I've been doing something right without realising how right: phytates also inhibit absorption of zinc but sprouted mung beans (hence no phytate) are one of the richest sources of zinc. I'm forever sprouting seeds and beans, mung being a favourite. I'm really pleased with that bit of info.

Tar.Aldarion

I absorb much more iron than other people, so I'll be eating the things that others are supposed to avoid

davidjtaylor

Another Aldi thing we had in the freezer - see attached pics.

I added some fresh garden peas because we've so many. It made a quick snack when we hadn't much time to cook; not enough for a full meal but it would have been good with some steamed broccoli or some such.

Quite tasty & creamy, much better than that last one I posted about.