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Vegan Safe Space

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Sideways

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Hey guys

I've (finally) committed to making the leap from vegetarian to vegan while my sister is away and I won't be quizzed endlessly while I'm still making the switch.

I have some dumb questions (and some less dumb questions that I'll probably have to work up the courage to ask) if anyone can help out.

Please keep this thread vegan-friendly - as in, if you think my choice is dumb etc, please write about that elsewhere!

First up - milk alternatives. This is the hard one for me, and has been my downfall trying to vegan in the past. I'm fine with soy on my breaky cereal, but I hate it in my coffee. Hate, hate, hate! And coffee gets me past that initial morning seroquel-hangover.

I'd prefer not to go almond, partly because it's all shipped from miles away, partly because of the farming land required. I've heard that oat milk is okay? Can someone help me out here? What do you put on your tea and coffee??
 
I'm not vegan but dairy intolerant. Oat milk is good yes, also use oat cream. I don't drink tea or coffee with milk so can't help on that. Though I have had coffee with oat cream from cafes and it was fine.

My fav milk for cereal / drinking is a brand called Koko, tastes most like milk out of all I've tried.
 
Almonds are horrible for the environment and the California almond farms are using up all the available water.
Yeah, cheers - I remember reading about issues with almond milk and the sustainability issues. Oat milk I think I've also got a much better choice at being able to buy local, which I definitely prefer.
 
My kid's like macadamia milk, but it ain't cheap.
How frustrating, right? Macadamias are a Qld native, and based on the giant tree my mum had at her last proprietary, each tree smothers itself with nuts. No farming required for them here!

Coconut milk tends to be out for purely calorie reasons - because ya, I could drink that stuff all day long:)
 
Plum - Gratifying Vegan Dishes From Seattle’s Plum Bistro
(I linked it from Amazon AU)

Has some of the BEST dairy-subs I’ve ever come across. She blends, mixes, and emulsifies different fats to create incrediably well balanced, lovely, cheese & dairy subs. As well being cover to cover with simply badass cookery in general.

Cashew Cream is my go to for most cooking subs, but absotively for any kind of curry or creamy soup. <swoon> So damn good. And super easy. Soak raw cashews overnight (or bring to a boil, turn off and let sit for apx an hour, until completely cool and swollen soft), drain and reserve the very oily liquid, add soaked cashews to high speed blender (nutribullet, super cheap, works as well to this purpose as the oh so expensive vitamix), and add in as much of the reserved oily liquid as you choose for the consistency you want. From a thick paste, to a luscious cream.

Vegan Mayo > Ranch Dressing is as simple as soaking a pinch of dried herbs (mostly parsley, with a small pinch of dill/chives+etc, but always parsley/dill/chives), and a little salt/pepper, in a tablespoon or two of cold water, then stirring in a glob of mayo. Voila.

Greek Style Plain Coconut Yogurt > Cold Sauces, Wet salads, Frozen Yogurt, & “Buttermilk” There’s only 1 brand here, locally, that works well... and by well, I really mean holy wow! :woot: ... CoYo LOL my UK brother says it’s not at Tescos anymore, but -double woohoo- the web says it’s more available in Aus than here! (Very very few places carry it here. Like 2 in the whole state, and most states don’t have it at all). By cold sauces I mean things like cucumber tzaziki, wet salads like Fatoosh/Israeli salad, and “buttermilk” via simply adding a splash of applecider vinegar and letting it sit for an hour or so until it starts bubbling, unless it’s a marinade or similar where it’s all going to be sitting, in which case I just throw everyhing in together.

Coffee... I can’t reeeeeally help you out with? :bag: I drink espresso & Cuban coffee for the most part :inlove: When it’s hot out I’ll occasionally make a Thai Iced Coffee... which is simply reeeeeally strong coffee (or espresso with a splash of water, nowhere near enough to make an americano) and a splash of sweetened condensed milk or sweetened condensed coconut milk which is what I use, when I can find it. The asian markets around here carry it, as does Trader Joe’s. But I’m always buying an armload of the tins when I come across them, because neither stocks it consistently. (In addition to Thai iced coffee, I used sweetened condensed coconut milk for lemon curd, pavolovas, custards, and other dessert-ish items).

Tofu... I grew up mainly in Japan. There are something like 8 kinds of commonly found tofu, all used to different purpose, so a) you’d have to be more specific as to what you want to use it for? & b) it’s kind of like asking a Parisian about how to make cheese good ;). Um? They’re all already good? ...But having subbed tofu for meat :wtf: I get your meaning, I think. General rule? Don’t. Just don’t. JACKFRUIT subs well for meat (especially pulled pork in bbq sauce), but with very very few exceptions, tofu simply doesn’t. Tofu dishes, on the other hand? Yum.
 
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I like marinated tofu best.

If eating chinese - tofu in black bean or monks three vegetables ( which has tofu in it) are both delicious and my often first choices for ethical reasons .

Good luck!

( team really good black coffee is a good option too)
 
@Friday - super grateful for the inspiration:). Getting fresh ideas into the mix is the only was it's gonna be possible to pull off the transition. I thought I was saying goodbye to ranch dressing - if I can pull that off? yeeeeeah!!

General rule? Don’t. Just don’t.
My attitude to tofu in general. I'm not a mad fan of meat substitutes to date. I have limited experience, but just...yuk!
 
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