The Vegan Thread

It's vegan

Pastis glazed, I'm in!

This is most unfortunate behaviour for one of the new vanguard of vegan products:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/20/beyond-meat-douglas-ramsey-biting-nose-road-rage-accusation

Think we went to both Ca n'Ela, and Temple Natura for food.

Thanks for mentioning these @hvsds did both and they were unreal. The food was better at Ca n'Ela but the Temple Natura garden was amazing and the food still wasn't bad at all. We arrived as they opened and it was just going dark out which was lovely as it became candle lit and they had a DJ playing lo-fi jazz in the background

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Men Impossible - ramen but a little different. It’s small and you need to book.

De School - a bit chefy but not crazy expensive, good wine and the service was great. The flavours didn’t blow our minds but it was a fun night out.

ah! great to hear it!

ohhh dear......

wowwww...looks amazing

Probably a bit late, but I really like Margo's for amazing vegan croissants and pastries and Plant Based Sushi for dinner.

I'm in Lisbon for the weekend, would definitely recommend A026 (as recommended in another thread by @dancing james I believe) if you're ever visiting. Lovely little place with great food and wine. Really reasonably priced as well!
We also managed to get our mitts on some vegan pastel de nata yesterday, so good.

vegan pastel de nata

Ooh, I'm jealous.

If you have a cafe de nata near you they do vegan ones, spendy but worth it

cafe de nata

Looks like they haven't made it out of London yet.

I had one in bath!

Edit - Ah, the one in bath is called Nata and Co. They do them too! But it wasn’t as good come to think of it

Can we file this under "What happens when you hire someone who spent most of his career at McDonald's and Tyson Foods"?

Sad news. This looks like the kind of menu where the proprietor doesn't have to worry too much about occupancy.

tl;dr - looking for yummy snacks that deliver essential amino acids

The last 25 years or so I have been mostly vegan or vegetarian (though the vegetarian phases have been basically vegan-but-with-cheese for the most part, and a piece of cake with butter / egg in it two times a month maybe).
I was feeling good all in all, at some point my doc said I really needed to take supplementing B12 more seriously, and I did.
Was just eating quite a varied diet with lots of vegs and legumes, snacking nuts etc.

Now I started running regularly (never really did endurance sports like that before really), it's nothing crazy, just about 3 miles 4-5 times a week - but after doing this for a couple months I really do notice I eat way more food (like, almost twice as much) and I'm often tired, and also have become quite lean.

Long story short I need to take nutrition more seriously I realize.
I have found the FAQ on the Vegan Runners website, thought this was pretty comprehensive.
Basically know what to do now / what to keep in mind / what to take care of,
but what I'm looking for is: yummy recipes that combine "high quality protein with other complimentary EAA profiles", like the ones mentioned in that FAQ (beans on toast, lentils and rice, beans and potatoes, muesli with oats, nuts and seeds).

Any suggestions?
Thanks!

+1 for Men Impossible, was great when we were there recently!

A handful of toasted seeds goes with pretty much anything.

Are you sure you're lacking in amino acids though? A diet with plenty of legumes and veg is pretty high up there on the "good diet" scale however you're measuring it, and will have plenty of aminos.

I run a lot. 60 mile weeks aren't unusual and I run ultramarathons. Eating mostly whole foods means I'm full for a long time after a meal. I have lost weight since going vegan but I'm not skinny.

What sort of intensity are you running? You could try backing off on some runs to see if that makes a difference to how you feel.

If you feel you're eating too much volume then try to stick to quality and avoid processed stuff - again veg, beans and legumes, seeds, nuts. All have loads of nutrients. Plenty of leafy greens too.

Thank you for your feedback!

Are you sure you're lacking in amino acids though?

Not really, not sure what exactly I'm lacking.
Just starting with the base of that FAQ I linked to - A number of nutritional concerns have been identified in the scientific literature for endurance runners consuming vegan diets which includes; energy, protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D and riboflavin.
..and I basically know how to take care of all of these things, be it through food or substitutes.
What I'm the least familiar with is the specific protein (EAA's) - I gather that apparently a combination of different ones is ideal - so my body can build the 'complete' proteins needed.
So what I'm looking for is actual recipes for enjoyable food that does deliver on that front.
One example I've found is tacos (so, an advanced version of the suggested beans on toast : )

Oh and I'm not doing any crazy intensity things, just jogging about 15 miles a week at quite an easy pace (ok, plus biking around and work, but that's not overly taxing, physically).
But it's really noticable, after a couple months of running all my jeans are too big and I'm definitely lacking energy.

So what I'm looking for is actual recipes for enjoyable food that does deliver on that front

Yeah, sorry I realised I wasn't answering your question. All of those nutrients, except B12 and vit D, should be plentiful in a varied predominantly whole food plant based diet. B12 needs to come from suppliments or enriched foods as you already know. Vitamin D is produced by the body when you have sunlight on skin so if you're out cycling and running that shouldn't be a concern until the Winter. It's also in mushrooms but I think you'd need to eat a LOT of mushrooms to get enough.

Spanakopita (I just have it without the cheese) is a good way to get a load of greens in.
We have a lot of beans (pinto, black, cannelini etc). Refried beans are super tasty and full of protein. This recipe is a good one, just swap butter for olive oil etc https://www.wahaca.co.uk/frijoles-recipe/
Also just bean salad with cooked beans, mix in some herbs, capers, add dressing.
Roast mixed veg is really easy and will give you loads of nutrients. We normally have sweet potato, onion, courgette, aubergine, garlic, squash all roasted up together and then a grain (rice or spelt etc) with a non-yoghurt based sauce (oatgurt, herbs, capers, olive oil / oatgurt, garlic, olive oil are two easy ones)

TBH I'm not the head chef in our household so I mainly do the eating part of the meal :)

Thanks again for your feedback and the suggestions, I appreciate it!

does anyone know of any good vegan caterers that would cater for a 50+ person event?

Any recommendations for vegan food on the run from Highbury and Islington to Angel on Upper Street; or the Islington Green end of Essex Road? Early evening, quick sit down rather than a longer meal.

Is ‘tofu vegan’ in the right area?