The Vegan Thread

I've used a fair bit of the Bike Food range. The raw food bars are fantastic - great energy and taste lovely too.

As for the raw protein powder... well I saw an article in Cycling Weekly a month or two ago which mentioned the benefits of protein first thing in the morning helping to 'regulate' your appetite. I took that to mean it meant you ate less.

Now for me my main problem is not so much eating healthily but eating too much. I cycle a lot but just end up eating more and more so that although I lost weight initially I’ve pretty much stayed the same weight for a while now.

The article mentioned the hemp protein powder and I thought I’d take a chance and see how it goes. Ordered it online and received the package in about three days (great service by the way).

The stuff itself tastes rank, looks horrible but bloody well works. Almost immediately I found that I hardly wanted an evening meal some nights, and other times even when hungry I had the same portion as my girlfriend - I’d normally have 2or 3 times as much.

I’m not sure if that alone helped me lose weight – that was probably the extra non-cycling exercise I started doing - but within a relatively short time my moobs began to shrink and I could really notice the difference.

I’d recommend it seems to work well for me at least. That and it’s vegan – result!

Do they all have to have such bloody awful titles? I couldn't bring myself to buy anything with 'Yum Yum' in the title. I am not six.

You have got to be kidding. ;)

Red rice with a sauce made from tomatoes and balsamic vinegar, pasta (without egg) cooked with homemade pesto (and no parmesan cheese), and for starters you could have (cornflour) tortillas with salsa made of avocados, onions, chillis, tomatoes and coriander. Of course, you wouldn't be able to have cheese in the tortillas, so you can replace that with something else.

Great recipe suggestions, jujimufu!

I am not a vegan myself, and I am trying to be a vegetarian but I am a very bad one! I really like meat, and I don't think there is any reason to not eat meat as long as it is done so in an ethical manner.

Well, many vegetarians and vegans believe that killing animals is wrong, which is one of the reasons why they refrain from eating meat. If you believe this, you are unlikely to think that it is possible to produce meat in an 'ethical' manner. (It is, of course, possible to eat carrion, such as roadkill, but that's arguably not a very important counter-example).

I also believe that vegetarians and vegans have the same effect in the meat-producing industry as people who just don't like meat: which is none. If you want to change the industry, then boycott the ones who do bad business and support those who do good business, and all in all just limit your meat input to as little as possible,

As long as there remains the same number of meat-eaters and the same amount of business done around animal parts, of course there will be no effect. The idea, of course, is that with more vegetarians and vegans around the number of meat-eaters and meat-related business will decline. Whether that's happening is something I don't know, and that I suspect would be difficult to show. The basic idea, however, is completely sound.

but I believe being fanatic about anything is very stupid and in the past has lead to the world wars, the crusades, slavery, witch hunting and destroying invaluable ancient relics such as writings, paintings and statues. Hitler was a vegetarian too, so BE CAREFUL! :P

Well, it's hard to tell at what point you move from being serious to being facetious, as the smiley/tongue-in-cheekey suggests. You probably know that there's a bit of a debate about whether Hitler really was a vegetarian. I also think that you're not going to find a lot of 'fanatic' vegans on here. As for the implication that veganism is a form of 'fanaticism', about which it seems to me you are serious, it just isn't. It's just a perfectly normal and highly enjoyable lifestyle without any apparent drawbacks, unlike one that involves meat consumption. But do correct me if I read you wrongly.

Catching up on this thread has made me hungry.

Not losing weight much through cycling as you build up your 'initial' cycling fitness is actually quite a normal thing, olaf_von_pokemon. You should really be able to lose weight through regular cycling as soon as you're as fit as you should be. It sounds to me as if you're feeling good with it right now, but just be aware, if you didn't already know, that the important thing to watch is that in losing weight you don't impair your strength and power on the bike too much. (Perhaps that's what bikefood is supposed to do?) If you rode too hard for the food that you've eaten to ensure your performance and recovery, there might be adverse effects. That said, of course if you're moderately fit you shouldn't really have to eat that much food, and quality should be most important. Good luck with it.

Not losing weight much through cycling as you build up your 'initial' cycling fitness is actually quite a normal thing, olaf_von_pokemon. You should really be able to lose weight through regular cycling as soon as you're as fit as you should be. It sounds to me as if you're feeling good with it right now, but just be aware, if you didn't already know, that the important thing to watch is that in losing weight you don't impair your strength and power on the bike too much. (Perhaps that's what bikefood is supposed to do?) If you rode too hard for the food that you've eaten to ensure your performance and recovery, there might be adverse effects. That said, of course if you're moderately fit you shouldn't really have to eat that much food, and quality should be most important. Good luck with it.

You are right Oliver and thanks for the advice. It's more that I'm a fat bastard (well certainly overweight) and for me it's about reducing some of that extra lard - I've been cyclign a fair few years and have slacked off the longer runs of late and I can feel it.

I always feel better when I'm vegan but I'm a crap one and manage about half a year vegan and half a year veggie -its not so much about the commitment but I start feeling sorry for my girlfriend who doesn't eat beans and end up cooking veggie, if she wasn't so lovely I'd try and swap her for a vegan, that or get her to eat beans.

I always feel better when I'm vegan but I'm a crap one and manage about half a year vegan and half a year veggie -its not so much about the commitment but I start feeling sorry for my girlfriend who doesn't eat beans and end up cooking veggie, if she wasn't so lovely I'd try and swap her for a vegan, that or get her to eat beans.

Ah, is your girlfriend allergic to beans? Even an aversion will reduce the vegan range considerably, as pulses are such a basic food.

I'd imagine that someone, somewhere has done bean-free recipes, but a quick Google doesn't yield much that's interesting.

On another note. Is Guinness vegan now?

this could be considered a bit of a gray area.. they do use a fish based product called isinglass to help remove yeast from the beer. theoretically none of this should reach the final product, but on the other hand, it's likely that some of it does. to some, it's shame enough that they use isinglass at all, to others, it's no different from sharing a deep fryer with a chicken mcnugget... "Extra Stout" does not use isinglass. and of course belgian and german beer is all vegan- it's the LAW!

Guinness is not vegan, no. The last time I checked, it wasn't even vegetarian, but many vegetarians deliberately choose to be 'short-sighted' vegetarians about these sorts of (what you might consider to be) fairly marginal issues. I used to drink Guinness long into being 'officially' vegetarian, but in my case this was because I was genuinely clueless at first. (Some would say that this hasn't changed in any way at all.) I then drank ales long into being 'officially' vegan until I realised what went on there generally. It happens, no need to be too exacting about it until you really want to.

Ah, is your girlfriend allergic to beans?

If only it were that simple. She just doesn't like the texture :(

I tried slipping them into her mouth while she was asleep. I thought subconsciously she would then learn to love them. Funnily enough but it didn't really work.

If only it were that simple. She just doesn't like the texture :(

I don't think I've ever met anyone before who doesn't like beans.

If only it were that simple. She just doesn't like the texture :(

I tried slipping them into her mouth while she was asleep. I thought subconsciously she would then learn to love them. Funnily enough but it didn't really work.

I would have you arrested for that.

"oh, you're awake..."

:)

Guinness is not vegan, no. The last time I checked, it wasn't even vegetarian, but many **vegetarians deliberately choose to be 'short-sighted' **vegetarians about these sorts of (what you might consider to be) fairly marginal issues. I used to drink Guinness long into being 'officially' vegetarian, but in my case this was because I was genuinely clueless at first. (Some would say that this hasn't changed in any way at all.) I then drank ales long into being 'officially' vegan until I realised what went on there generally. It happens, no need to be too exacting about it until you really want to.

beer goggles!

My sisters housemate is vegan and doesn't have caffeinne or alcohol. Wheres the fun!

beer goggles!

My sisters housemate is vegan and doesn't have caffeinne or alcohol. Wheres the fun!

Ach well. There's always sex.

And heroin.

is heroin vegan if its been smuggled in an animal?

My sisters housemate is vegan and doesn't have caffeinne or alcohol. Wheres the fun!

I don't know--ask her. I@m sure she has reasons for her decisions. (There's obviously lots of vegan alcohol and coffee is normally vegan--I haven't heard of non-vegan coffee (unless you dump animal milk in it, of course).)

whats the vegan rule on finding a mouse in your flat? the smallest cutest mouse i ever saw, but a mouse nonetheless. humane traps? but where do you deposit the mouse with a clear conscience? let them be? im doing building works and at some point when i put the skirting boards back on all their ways will be blocked. one cute mouse is fine i suppose but if i see one how many are there likely to be (yes yes utfs)?? quandry. suggestions?

humane trap then take 'im for a 3mile ride before release 'cause the can find their way back if you've a larder they lust after

whats the vegan rule on finding a mouse in your flat? the smallest cutest mouse i ever saw, but a mouse nonetheless. humane traps? but where do you deposit the mouse with a clear conscience? let them be? im doing building works and at some point when i put the skirting boards back on all their ways will be blocked. one cute mouse is fine i suppose but if i see one how many are there likely to be (yes yes utfs)?? quandry. suggestions?

As far as I know, there is no humane way of getting mice out of an old house--unless you want to do a huge amount of work. The only way would be to seal all the ways into the house, which in many old houses is likely to be impossible. If you seal the visible holes in the flat, they'll find another way eventually. You may only have seen one mouse at a time, but I guarantee you that there are many more around. Even if you caught them all in humane traps, another crew of mice would be in the vacant space pretty soon. Some people try using mouse deterrents--I forget which substances people say work, but I think there are certain herbs that mice don't like. Or try to understand the mice--they basically come for food and warmth. If you don't leave any food lying about, their summer visits will be considerably reduced. And if you have mice, I think that means that you don't have rats--which is a good thing.

get a cat.

Ach well. There's always sex.

And heroin.

presumably it's OK for vegans to eat each other?

I would have you arrested for that.

You've got to be kidding me!

If I woke up and a woman was trying to feed me beans while I was asleep, I'd marry that diamond in a fucking heartbeat.

You've got to be kidding me!

If I woke up and a woman was trying to feed me beans while I was asleep, I'd marry that diamond in a fucking heartbeat.

I assumed it was euphemistic.

I thought it was about beans

Life: it's never about beans.