n00b

[azuraran]

Hi. I'm seriously considering being a vegan because there are just so many wonderful benefits. Losing weight is a contributing factor, but I'd like to think there's more to it (sad animals, healthy body, glowy skin etc.). Anyway, I think that the only thing that I wouldn't be able to give up is butter. I just couldn't replace it with margarine - it

Comments

[concha_corazon]

I don't know where you are, but in the uk there's a dairy-free spread called Pure, it has no hydrogenated or trans fats. I'm not sure how many margarines are vegan anyhoo. Hope that helps a little :)

[soharavsalienta]

There's coconut butter, which only oxidizes at very high temperatures, there's olive oil, walnut oil, pistachio oil, hazelnut oil, avocado oil, flaxseed oil...lots of opportunities!

Toast

[azuraran]

Haha. I'm in Texas. There isn't a whole lot of variety here for veganism unless you go to a super store. As for the butter thing, I'm mostly thinking about toast. If I see coconut butter in my (somewhat) local super store, I'll definitely pick it up and try it

Re: Toast

[soharavsalienta]

Try almond milk! I've switched to that after soy milk and love, love, love it! Plus you can research controversy on soy: whether it is or isn't that good for you. In small amounts and the Japanese beancurd way, yes, but otherwise we kinda overuse it. There's even something about the high amount of aluminum in tofu sold in Hawaii giving men a higher rate of Alzheimer's.

I do not mean to scare. Well, I sort of do, but only in a friendly, warning way. And tofu is incredibly versatile; if you marinate it, it sucks up whatever flavors you add to it; you can make smoothies, you can mash it up to make a cottage cheese-like concoction, you can fry it (well, if you must), etc.

Also, Amazon is my go-to for things like coconut butter/oil, carob powder, vanilla beans, etc. If you can't find anything, just check Amazon and see if you can find it for a reasonable price; you often can.

Re: Toast

[soharavsalienta]

Also, shoot, it really is getting cold! 35 degrees last night in Georgia! Georgia! A few years ago, we were wearing shorts on Christmas! Craziness.

Re: Toast

[azuraran]

It's global warming I tell you! For the last two winters in my area - couple hours south of Houston, it's SNOWED. Yes, it was absolutely gorgeous, yes I danced and played in it for the three hours it lasted, and YES I hope it snows again - but two years in a row? It's kind of unnatural. Last time it snowed here (before two years ago) was TEN years ago. Of course, I think by the EPA's standards, Texas is kind of a polluted crap hole. I'm going to point the finger at our governor, however. He's all for pollution. >_Amazon is a great idea! I order all kinds of things from Amazon. It's where I got my bento. =D Yesterday, I bought a used book for a penny! Of course, I had the expedited shipping option so that brought it up to $7 even - but it was still cheaper than Amazon's new book

[withinmywill]

There are butter substitutes that aren't artificial. Like Earth Balance! There are also tons of yogurt substitutes made from soy and coconut that are pretty close. Eggs get trickier, though. I find for dishes where the egg is featured (like scrambled eggs), the tofu just isn't quite the same. However, for lots of baked goods, there are lots of substitutes that work fine. I use Ener-G egg replacer all the time.

[azuraran]

Thanks! Applesauce is a pretty good egg replacer too. :)

[withinmywill]

I've heard good things about Mashed bananas and ground flax seed, too!