Thoughts on veganism

[LacyH]

I know most are not vegan but are most up to trying healthy, satisfing, delicious vegan recipes?

[GraceW]

I was vegan for two years. After that I lived with family members--who were not vegan, I used to slip in dishes that were vegan. They never noticed except vegan desserts. Then they would taste most dry, but otherwise they liked the dishes.

Overall, there is definitely a difference because when I was vegan I had to check packages and make sure it contained no animal products whatsoever (even items such as sugar are considered 'not vegan' because... well, I will save you some nasty details). I eat fish and eggs now, but to be honest I probably never had more energy (flawless skin and zest for life) than the years I was a vegan.

[srsone]

im on the omnivore side also...i eat whatever i like...meat or fruits and vegetables....

i also dont need some earthy-crunchy-feely-good-hippie-type telling me what to eat either....
i dont go around telling anybody else to ..i expect the same respect for eating habits as i give to others..
whatever u want to eat is fine with me...

its allll good...

[Isolda]

If a recipe is billed as vegan, rather than delicious, I'm wary, because the emphasis seems to be about avoidance of animal products. But I cook and eat many, many things that would qualify as vegan and they are frequently complete meals.

[linguafood]

I think there is quite a difference between veganism and eating the occasional vegan meal.

One is a 'philosophy', the other is just variety.

[Harters]

A goodly number of things we cook have no animal content. I don't think of them as "vegan" just as dishes with no animal content in them.

[linguafood]

I don't think of them at all. I just eat them.

[Karl S]

Generally yes, though I am generally dubious about "healthy" as a goal as such for social dining (largely because "healthy" is too subjective, and what one person perceives as healthy is often a penance for others). While I do enjoy extra firm dofu, I am not as much fan of seitan and tempeh and TVP, and less fond of vegan dishes that use those things. Also, while I eat salads (lots of salads) when I am dining socially I do strongly prefer that the main course be cooked rather than raw, so the school of veganism that tends to strongly prefer raw foods is not one I am a fan of.

[lawhound05]

I am also an omnivore but have enjoyed some very good vegan & vegetarian food. The good stuff was of the beans/veggies/grains variety. The bad stuff was trying to look like non-vegan food, the worst being the fake-meat products and soy cheeses . Also not so good were some baked goods I had, especially a cake that was dense and rubbery without eggs or dairy.
Would I try vegan food? Absolutely, as long as it was not trying to look like non-vegan food.
No thank you to the soy burger, but I'll take the curried lentils!

[LovinSpoonful]

I'm always surprised at how many recipes that I rely on are vegan. I don't ever think about it other than when I have vegan friends coming over for dinner, but I have many, many recipies that are appropriate. Putting together a meal plan is never a problem no matter what the time of the year.

[Maximilien]

One can still eat crappy oversalted and over oily food while being vegan; nothing beat a good serving od french fries fried in olive oil!!!

I've had very good vegan food and all were advertised as is, not as _imitation_ meat (seytan, ...).

I eat everything ... I would say my diet is 1/4 to 1/3 meat dairy, and seafood and the rest is vegetables beans and grains.

[The Dairy Queen]

I am! I'm an omnivore and had some great vegan dishes. A black bean tamale from Veganomicon comes to mind.

~TDQ