Veg*n Roll Call ...

[catnip]

Who's still here? I've been growing discouraged lately with all of the animal-food endorsing posts, and feeling like I'm posting into a void sometimes. This is sort of my last-ditch effort at reconnecting with folks before leaving.

So hi. I'm Michelle, 38 y-o SAHM mom to 7 year-old Kaia. Also in my household are my husband, David, 47, a postal carrier who walks 15 miles a day, and my step-son, Cayden, (21). Kaia, David and I are strict vegetarians who eat some honey and other insect foods, but no other animal foods, Cayden is a L-O vegetarian but eats strict vegetarian at home.

We eat lots of fresh, local foods, mostly shop at the farmer's market and local co-op, though we buy bread and soymilk at Costco, and pasta and tofu at Trader Joe's. Kaia has some sensory processing issues, and is a super-picky eater. One of our best friends has celiac, so we do a lot of gluten-free cooking around here, though the only allergy we have in our home is to walnuts. We garden, grow green beans, tomatoes, peas, greens, strawberries and asparagus, and have 9 fruit trees - orange, lemon, plum, cherry, apple, pomegranate, nectarine, apricot, and fig, grape vines, blueberry and raspberry bushes. I've also got herbs growing, both culinary and medicinal.

I love to cook and develop recipes. I'm one of the moderators at the LJ vegancooking community. I suck at baking bread. We have 2 altered, indoor, rescued cats, they eat meat.

[mumkimum]

Catnip - OMG, I totally covet such a fruit tree bounty as yours.  

I'm mumkimum, 32 - been vegetarian (in some form) for 14 years now (wow!)  -- currently L-O.  Dh isn't and never was, though when we were first dating we spent lots of time cooking vegetarian indian food together.  We've got two girl kids I (5) & O (2) who are lacto-ovo veg. and 2 cats that eat meat.

We have an awesome urban CSA we're part of, and a less nearby meat/egg CSA we're members of.  We have a bounty of herbs in our yard, some blackberry bushes & a gooseberry bush but a really small yard so we end up with a 'garden' about the size as half a couch, a slim one at that, and we mostly experiment with whatever we can there.  I have LOOVED the forum for helping with weird CSA bounties and combos of foodstuff.

I have been trying to get bread making together, but my yeast keeps dying on me so it's going slowly.  I'm hoping to can a little this year.  In the past few months, I just made homemade seitan for the first time ever, and I was way impressed (kids hated it though).

I just made banana bread - it's delicious.     

[caiesmommy]

Im 27y old stay at home mom to ds 5.5 dd 3 and dd 6m married to dh nearing 5y

Dh and I were both veggies before meeting but had been eating meat at the time. We both stopped again when we met. Dc have never eaten meat

Were all dairy free(unless people accidentally feed it to us...sadly it happens) we do eggs and honey.

Ds has texture issues-nothing pureed or mashed doesnt really dig his food mixed tho hes getting better with it() hes also the worse with dairy

Dd is pretty good with everything tho she has an issue with raw foods like carrots. Shes still young so I think it's an incapable thing still. Doesn't do well with dairy or tomatoes(sometimes)

Dh loves everything...whatever he doesnt love he just throws hot sauce on and then hes fine. Doesn't do well with dairy

ME!!!-I love everything...too much. I'm a major carb junkie w a gluten intolerance and a dairy allergy.

We try and limit processed foods,very little soy products. Mostly live off beans,grains and tons of veggies
 

[CatsCradle]

Hi Catnip.  I know the feeling.  Sorry for not posting here a lot but always shying away from getting a lecture!

Anyway, I'm 48 and DH is  62.  We started our vegetarian journey in the late 80's, so all in all we've been vegetarian for over 20 years.  I've been vegan for most of the time and DH has been vegan for almost all of that time.  DD, who is 5.5, has been a vegetarian since birth.  We live in a densely populated city in an apartment building, so while we don't have a garden, we belong to a great food cooperative where we get both locally and closely locally grown food for great prices.  

It took us many years to get into a groove with our dietary needs and balancing the types of foods that were needed for ultimate energy and health (DH is a cyclist and I'm a runner).  Early on, we fell into a lot of first-time vegetarian traps (too much pasta and bread; too many vegetarian "meats").  Since then, and to our advantage, we've adopted a food lifestyle that really works for us.  

Our kitty is not vegetarian, but I'm okay with that.  She would eat bugs anyway.  

Please don't leave, Catnip.  I always appreciate your posts and have always felt that you articulate yourself so well here.  

[es1967]

Hi, I'm a 44 yr old mom to a 5 yr old boy.  I've always loved reading about health and became a vegetarian when I was around 21 yrs old. I read the book Fit for Life and after doing the diet for a few weeks I never ate meat again.  I just felt great and also got my parents eating a similar diet.  Well, its been over 20 years and I feel great being a vegetarian.  My husband is a meat eater but will eat whatever I cook.  A few yrs ago he did the architecture for a vegetarian restaurant in town and we eat there often.  He loves it.  My husband at times made fun of my veggie ways but heard him say to his mom that he feels a veg diet is the healthiest. LOL.  My husband and friends have had numerous health issues and weight problems (friends).  I''ve been the same weight since I was in my teens.  My son is mostly vegetarian and eats whatever I eat.  I was so proud yesterday he ate blueberries,raspberries,and entire avocado, lg handful of green beans,ear of corn,sweet potatoe and banana.   We picked up our organic veggies and he loves eating them!!

He ate other things(all healthy) but those were just the fruits & veggies.  I love to shop for healthy foods.  My DH says tells everyone I have a Whole Foods addiction.  I buy farm fresh eggs for my son and a little raw milk.

The raw milk I use for my only addiction-my cappocino.  Other than my morning coffee I don't eat eggs and try to stay away from dairy.  Love,love raw foods but also enjoy cooked foods.  I juice almost every day.  I love green smoothies.  DS and I love to pick our own vegetables.  We live in a condo but would have a garden if we had a backyard.  The more veggies I eat the healthier I feel!  Being a vegetarian just works for me. 

[dbsam]

I don't post here often, but I read the veg*n forum a lot and appreciate all the information.

I'm a 47yo SAHM and have a son and daughter - both age 7.  I've been L/O veggie for almost 25 years*.  I've tried to be ovo or vegan but tend to eat dairy occasionally.  My children have been L/O veggies their entire lives.  My husband has never been veg*n but he only eats meat outside the house and he is very supportive of raising the children vegetarian.

We have a nice sized garden but rely on the grocery stores for fresh produce in the winter and buy most of our other food from UNFI. (We have no Trader Joes or Whole Foods in our area.) I do not shop at Costco much any more because in our store most of the organic items are Kirkland brand - and I like to know who I am buying from.  We eat mostly all organic.  I have fallen into the 'fake meat' habit the past few years and want to get out of it.  I also eat too many carbs - I am insulin resistant so my carb intake needs to be really low.  I suspect I am gluten intolerant and have been tested recently but do not have the results.  I've been afraid to know if I need to remove gluten from my diet because I felt it w/b so difficult. But, when I look through my pantry and freezers, I see I have quite a few GF options.

I do not like cooking so I am always looking for easy and healthy recipes. 

We have one carnivorous dog - Rocky (had two but we lost Harry).   We also have two herbivore guinea pigs - Duncan and Caramel.  My son wants to be an herbivore too...until he wants nuts, granola, etc.

* What made me commit to becoming veggie...I commuted from Indiana to Chicago for many years and saw the livestock transport trucks daily.  I couldn't stand it.  One day I came home and told my husband I am never eating meat again.  He teases me that it is the only thing I have ever stuck with for so long.  It has always been easier for me to do something for someone else (like the animals) than for myself.  However, since I have started to eat a less than ideal vegetarian diet, I need to make changes for myself.  My children and husband eat much better than I.

[willfulmama]

Hello, fellow vegs! 

I'm 32, living in central N. Carolina and a WAHM. My husband works full time away from home and our son is 19 months old. I'm currently 5 months pregnant with DS #2!

I've been vegetarian for 14 years now. Both my husband and son eat meat occasionally--usually when cooked/offered by someone other than me. :) We're trying to both eat minimally processed foods and stick to a budget, so we've been getting creative with using what we have and making the best of the fridge and pantry.

Right now, we have two small raised beds and we're currently swamped with heirloom lettuce and arugula, kale and spinach. We've got cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, herbs and all sorts of other goodies growing for the later summer.  We've been talking a lot about replacing a lot of the bushes/etc around our house with either herbs or plants that can be eaten or used in some other way. Part of my plans for the next year also include a medical herbal garden.

I love cooking and learning how to make things from scratch. I just wish I had more time to devote to making healthy, yummy foods!

[annaknitsspock]

I'm new here so I feel a little silly posting, but I've been lurking for a while so I guess I'll introduce myself too. 

I'm a 24-year-old working mom with an 18-month-old daughter named Aoife. My husband Brian and I have been married for 3 years but have been dating for almost 10 (since we were fifteen). I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 21 years and my daughter has been since birth and will be until she is WELL old enough to choose for herself. DH is omni but doesn't eat beef, and our house if vegetarian unless DH has takeout or leftovers from a restaurant. I do all the cooking so all the food is veg! I like to cook and in the past year have been striving to make more vegetable-centered home-cooked meals instead of relying on prepared foods like I was before I got pregnant. We eat all-natural, organic when reasonable, and local whenever possible. DD doesn't love veggies, much to my dismay, but we're working on it. She's still a bit of a picky eater which I'm hoping will improve with time. We are very strict about good nutrition--no candy, sweets, or junk until DD is older, and then only as a very special treat. (DH and I struggle to uphold these rules for ourselves when we are away from DD, but I'm trying really hard!)

Being veg is basically all I've ever known and what works best for me. My in-laws have always thought I was nuts and (I suspect) have no idea what I eat, since they are very traditional, meat-and-potato eaters and to them nothing else is actually food. We have gotten some pushback about raising DD vegetarian but we know it's what's best and, thankfully, my DH is totally committed to our decision and endlessly supportive of vegetarians. 

I'm so totally ready for the farmer's markets to start--I'm sick of the sparse winter veggies! I'm glad this forum is here for all the veggie mamas to chat and share recipes!

[ShadowMoon]

Hi! I'm Steph, 28 yrs old and a WOHM. I've been vegan for over 13 years now and vegetarian for a years before that. My DS is 5 and has been raised vegan since birth, (or since conception really )

His father and I are no longer together but he went vegan after a few years of dating me and has remained so. My SO is vegetarian but becoming more and more vegan everyday. We strive to eat minimally processed, whole plant foods and grains. We don't limit soy but don't overdo it either. I would love to garden but we live in an apartment so it's regular trips to the store and farmer's market for us. Grains are not an issue for us so those are not limited either. 

DS loves veggies and variety food which is great! His favorite foods are kale, beans, couscous, avocados, quinoa, peppers, etc. My family is very supportive of our dietary choices and we have a great support system. Being vegan comes naturally to me and has benefitted our family greatly. So nice to meet you all 

[4Marmalade]

I'm 38 and a sahm to 4 dc's.  Dh and I have been vegetarian in varying degrees for about 14 years now.  We're all currently lacto-ovo.  It would be nice to move towards a more vegan diet but right now my goal is to just try to provide a fairly balanced, healthy, non-processed diet for everyone and with 6 people and each with their own unique tastes that's all I can handle right now.  I actually love cooking and baking and could probably spend the whole day in the kitchen if I could be left alone and no one trashed the rest of the house while I was in there .  It's a slow process, with lots of ups and downs.  Thankfully, there are no food allergies or other issues so we have a lot of different foods available to us.  We have a couple of small plots at a community garden and a few things growing at home on our deck.  We love being able to grow our own vegetables but it doesn't go nearly as far as I would like it to in terms of feeding us all.  We are really trying to watch our budget lately so I'm keeping meals simple.

My dc's all eat fairly well except for my oldest ds who is a carb addict.  We really struggle with that.  He would eat bread, pasta, cereal every day if we let him.  He likes 1 or 2 fruits, same with veggies.  Doesn't like "mixed" foods and has a major sweet tooth.  Dd1 is probably the best eater.  I admit to a huge sense of satisfaction when I see her shoveling kale into her mouth .  The youngest two dc's are almost 4 and they have days where they want "kid food" and other days where they're more adventurous.  

Family is pretty supportive.  MIL no longer thinks it's a phase and FIL actually recently decided to become mostly vegan after reading a few books.  It's been neat having him forward recipes for us to try.

Our family is rounded out with one carnivorous 14 year old dog and 2 herbivore guinea pigs.

I'm looking forward to tonights dinner of curried cauliflower with chickpeas and spinach on basmati rice .

Edited by 4Marmalade - 5/18/12 at 9:43am

[dovey]

I hear you catnip, about the veg*ns converting to meat eating.  I have no veggie friends left (except my sister and SIL) - they've all started eating meat as per the latest trend.   It is very disheartening to me.  I hope you don't leave, catnip.  I always appreciate your point of view.

I've been vegetarian for 17 years now, vegan for 8 of them.  We've recently started eating eggs again - only from my daughter's pet chickens, not for health reasons.  The pet chickens definitely make me feel more strongly about factory farming.  The chickens are much more intelligent, social and interesting than I ever would have expected.  Each has his/her own personality, and we've grown to care about them a great deal.  I can't imagine ever wanting to eat one of these sweet and smart creatures. 

 My partner and I have three children, 8, 6 and 1.  They're all vegetarian too.  We're working on producing as much of our own food as possible.  This year we're growing lettuce, kale, tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, squash, turnips, radishes, arugula and fruit (hopefully.)

[tropicmama]

Hi, I'm new to this awesome forum:) I have been a vegan for only little over 6 months but a vegetarian for close to 23 years! I'm a part time nurse, and a mommy to awesome almost 5 year old and almost 2 year old.  Recently I am trying to learn how to cook more whole foods and "from scratch". I love reading this forum, always pick up something new:)

[mamaboss]

Hi there!

I'm Sarah, 26 y/o SAH vegan mama to a 4 y/o {mostly vegan, grandma sneaks ice cream sometimes} daughter & a 9 m/o nursing baby boy- vegan by default! :)

DH & I only recently went veg. I've never been a huge meat eater but he was die-hard so I went along with it until we both decided to overhaul our diet-eliminating almost all processed foods and all animal products (with the exception of honey).

In the few months since we made the switch, the changes in our overall health, energy, appearance, etc. have been truly amazing, and proof that we are absolutely doing right by our bodies. Add to that everything I have read and learned about the meat/farming industry and I know without a doubt that this lifestyle doesn't just go along with optimal health but also with our values.

I *love* to cook and have really enjoyed experimenting with new recipes, ingredients and flavor profiles. We are also working on our second year of gardening: tomatoes, peppers, kale, collards, green beans, peas, carrots, squash, lots of herbs... yum! Last year was a total bust so hoping for better luck this time!

(I'm more of a lurker on MDC but I will definitely do my best to be a more active part of this particular niche.) 

[MaverickMother]

Hi

I am brand new to this forum, hope it's ok to just dive on in!

I have been vegan since the end of 1999, DH has been vegan for about the same time. We met as vegans, so that made things nice and easy. 

We have a toddler son (b Autumn (Fall!) 2010) who is being raised vegan. 

We are British, currently living in Germany, but I've seen a lot of good activity on this forum, so here I am! It is easy being vegan in Germany, there are plenty of options in the supermarkets, and several specialist health-food stores, though I am yet to find great vegan ice cream like I have had in America. 

[catnip]

MM, do you have an ice cream maker? I can give you a great recipe that turns out a lot like the Coconut Bliss from the stores ...

Welcome to all the new folks. Please, post! Post questions, post recipes. Post what you ate for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I'd love to see this board more active again.

[MaverickMother]

Hi, Catnip,

No, no ice cream maker, we have recently moved countries and I am coping with the most minimal of minimalist kitchens! We currently don't miss ice cream enough to want to invest in an ice cream machine. They do awesome vegan yoghurt here, which will suffice for now.

I did a potato, spinach, tofu, tomato, sun dried tomato, red onion and pepper (capsicum) stir fry type concoction for supper tonight. Pretty scrumptious, if I do say so myself!

Breakfast was cornflakes, and we graze during the day rather than have a set lunch. Bananas, sandwich, cereal, yoghurt, usually lots of grapes.

[catnip]

Well, my stepson swears that he and his friends made ice cream at college with 2 ziploc freezer bags (a quart and a gallon) with 1:4 ratio of rock salt and ice in the outer bag and 2 cups of proto ice cream in the inner one. He says that it is essential to get all the air out of the inner bag. I've also heard of doing something similar with a coffee can inside a bucket, and scraping the sides with a rubber spatula.

[MaverickMother]

Impressive ice cream-making skills!
We actually have a shoe-box sized freezer compartment in the fridge at the moment, really not set up for ice cream here at all!

[Anna06]

I have been a veg'n for about 6 yrs.  I don't come here to often, except to get inspiration.  And see if Catnip has posted lately.

I'm an older mom, and nobody in my house is veg'n.  I have from time to time fallen off the wagon.  I have never admitted that here before, but anyway here I am today looking for something......new.......anything.  No excuses, and I know the veg'n diet is best.  Life can be hard and it has happened.  I'm just trying to do the best I can.  And I wonder if others have not felt/done the same? 

So I had to post and say pls don't leave, Catnip, I need to read your wisdom.

I would love to see a thread about what everyone is eating.  I think you all use to do that.  I would come here for ideals.

Anyway, thanks for all your input - Catnip - and all who do post.  People like me always learn.

[MaverickMother]

Hi, Anna

What's an older mother? You were old when you had them, or you are old now? I was 36 when I had my son, officially classed as an older mother, but I don't feel like it!

I am so grossed out by meat, dairy, bee puke etc, that I have not fallen off the wagon. The very thought of eating something that comes from an animal really repulses me, so I guess I have it easy! I subscribe to various vegan groups and activists on Facebook, it all reiterates what I feel and know, maybe that will help you? I actually forget that we are a minority!

Tonight we had quinoa with various veg. Nom.