#and if vegetarian or vegan go with some tofu

[noodlesnatcher]

Rice + Broth, I think, is the best thing that man has ever conceived

[what-even-is-thiss]

As an omnivore who likes vegan and vegetarian cooking I think the mistake a lot of people make when trying to convince meat eaters to go plant based is trying to convince them that something you’ve got will replace meat for them.

I like vegan nuggets and real chicken nuggets for different reasons. They taste different. They only taste identical to you because you haven’t eaten meat for five years.

When cooking for myself I only eat meat maybe like three times a week because vegetarian cooking is often cheaper and it tastes good.

Like just give people the actual recipes you use that aren’t pasta. Every time you ask what to eat on a meatless day people are like. Pasta. I don’t want pasta every day.

Point out the foods people already eat that are vegetarian. Like sweet potato fries, veggie chow mein, grilled mushrooms, mashed potatoes, black bean enchiladas, peanut butter sandwiches. Tell people what you microwave when you’re drunk at 3am. Show people that vegetables are so good they’ll want them in their diet.

Also some people are just never gonna go vegan. They’re just not. I’m certainly not, and I love vegan food. But since I’ve fallen in love with vegetarian cooking I eat meat much less and I’m much more careful about picking the meat I do eat. Doesn’t that align with a lot of your goals?

Impossible burger doesn’t taste like meat. But you know what tastes really good? A mushroom fajita taco. Falafel. Potato pancakes with applesauce. Smoky vegan collared greens. Hot potato salad with herbs. Palak paneer with rice. Tofu Pad Thai with extra peanuts. Some of my favorite foods of all time, and I’m a dirty rotten meat eater. Use THAT to get your foot in the door. And be more accepting of some half-assed victories. I’m on your side for the most part, believe it or not. But stop trying to claim certain things are just like meat. You and I both know you don’t plan most of your weeknight dinners around meat substitutes.

[anewbrainjughead]

the late night food offerings are absolutely dire in this fucked up city

[systlin]

People that are absolutely convinced anyone can be vegan/vegetarian baffle me. I eat meat fairly regularly and I am already courting a B12 deficiency (for anyone who doesn't know the easiest source of B12 that the human body likes to absorb is red meat, you can get it from other sources primarily leafy greens I believe but your not getting as much because it's not as easy for your body to absorb) my levels aren't low enough to be considered clinically deficient but it's a near thing so my doctor has told me to take 2 B12 vitamins every day. I'm hoping this fixes my levels because if it doesn't that's a sign of a much more serious problem where my digestive system is biologically struggling to absorb B12

Gods, I feel you

When I got my Chron's diagnosis, the gastroenterologist and I talked about diet. High fiber is my enemy. I'm mostly OK now thanks to maintenance medication, but even now I can't have more than a single handful of nuts or popcorn without Suffering after. Raw vegetables are iffy; I can eat a couple of radishes or carrot sticks, but celery sets it off and raw broccoli or cauliflower is misery. I can have ONE small bowl of salad a day, which sucks because I LOVE salad. I have to be careful to limit servings of raw fruit, which also sucks because I adore cherries and pears and peaches.

Cooked vegetables are mostly fine, though I still have to keep the broccoli and brussels sprouts servings small. Cooked fruit is fine too. Beans are iffy. I can have some, but not a lot, which sucks because I love beans. Tofu is OK, but during my flare it gave me worse gas.

During a flare, my safe foods were cheese, meat, eggs, milk, fruit juice, vegetable juice, white bread, and cream of wheat. It was a fucking nightmare to try and get all the nutrients into me that I need. You will note that most of these are in fact animal products. I was under literal medical orders to keep the hell away from non-juiced fruits and vegetables.

Of course, a bunch of people came out of the woodwork to tell me that I could heal myself by cutting out all dairy and wheat and going vegan/raw vegan. People still do this regularly. I've deleted ten out of my inbox since yesterday.

If I tried to go vegan, it would be very, very rough on my traitor-ass large intestine and would probably send me into a flare. If I tried to go RAW vegan, it would probably mean surgery and might kill me.

[stardropsaloongossiptrain]

Bachelor/ettes and Cooking

Gonna rank how I think the marriage candidates would do in the kitchen

----

Bachelors:

Elliott -- it takes a while, but once the man has a real kitchen at his disposal and some encouragement to try, I think he would really enjoy cooking and could be very good at it! I HC him as growing up in a wealthy home where he probably wasn't allowed to cook for himself, and then the cabin has nothing... but he remembers dishes he really enjoyed. I like to think he starts cooking just trying to help out once he moves to the farm, and there is DEF a learning curve... but there's a master chef hiding in there. I can feel it.

Alex -- you do not grow up with Grannie Evelyn and not learn how to cook. Impossible. Now, he's not a fancy chef by any means, but he can make a meal without issue. If you get this man a grill, he will 1000% become Grill Master, Kiss the Cook apron wearing Grill Dad. Also, though he rarely does it, he can bake up a storm. Generally only bakes for birthdays.

Harvey -- He can cook, but only cooks healthy meals. He will need to be taught that it's okay to season your food. Brown rice, steamed veggies, and plain tofu/ chicken breasts type guy. Otherwise, it's pre-packaged frozen food. Maybe he can get better w/ encouragement but he's always going to be checking portions and making sure you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and watch your sodium intake. The most likely bachelor to be vegetarian/ be willing to go vegetarian. Gets nauseated if he's preparing meat.

Shane -- Mid-tier like Harvey, but even though he's had kitchen access he rarely feels like cooking. He knows what seasoning is-- his usual cooking style is the exact opposite of Harvey, mostly family recipes. All flavor, calorie count who?? Loves making food covered in cheese, sauce, or gravy. His chili would win awards, but he only makes it once a year.

Sam -- He could keep himself alive if the box has directions. Anything more complicated than boxed mac and cheese, though, and he gets a little lost. Can help YOU in the kitchen very well, but to be honest he would rather be doing something more exciting.

Sebastian -- The only one who is a worse cook than him is Abigail. He is NOT allowed in the kitchen even to watch. Could burn iced tea.

---

Bachelorettes

Emily -- Oldest sister + working at the Saloon added together means she's definitely going to be a decent cook, but she genuinely enjoys cooking. She loves to experiment with different cultural dishes. She only cooks vegetarian or vegan dishes.

Penny -- She's pretty self sufficient. I don't think she knows too many recipes, but she enjoys experimenting if she moves to the farmhouse. She's very adapt at stretching a budget, and I think she would enjoy making jams/ pickles. Not the big amount the farmer does, but small batches in special flavors.

Leah -- She's a simple cook. She prefers raw dishes, or things like buddha bowls. A lot of texture and flavor. Loves using herbs and edibles from foraging locally. Leans vegetarian but doesn't mind fish from time to time.

Maru -- Maru is proficient at cooking, but I think takes after her dad too much and is very nutrient focused vs what actually makes a good meal. Occasionally makes questionable decisions in the name of efficiency. Could go from making some sort of casserole if busy w/ a project to Extremely Experimental if she has the time. No in between.

Haley -- I considered putting her higher but no. She has rarely if ever had to cook for herself before, so if she's at the farmhouse she will be surprised if you expect her to do anything in the kitchen. Eventually I think she could be fine. It's not hard. She just hates doing dishes. Enjoys baking somewhat, especially w/ Alex.

Abigail -- She eats rocks as a snack and thinks if you just crank the oven to 600 for fifteen minutes it's better than 350 for an hour. Her stomach is alien to this world. Can and will eat anything without issue.

[emo-batboy]

Depression meals Battinson has made himself at least once while unsupervised to the shock and horror of Alfred

(Alfred has to sleep at some point. that’s when Bruce decides to wreak havoc and make these barely edible monstrosities)

(Btw he’s vegetarian, fucking fight me)

Pepper jack cheese between two seaweed sheets

Uncooked ramen dipped in the seasoning packet

Ready rice with cold tofu

Spoonfuls of peanut butter

Instant grits with one slice of American cheese

Pop tart dipped in hot chocolate

Spaghetti noodles with no other ingredient than a mountain parmesan, didn’t even put salt in the water

“Technically bread” (water and flour, microwaved…he was having a really bad day)

Bread, cheese, ketchup, microwave = pizza

Cream cheese and jelly sandwich

Vegan hot dog microwaved without a plate. He picked it up from the microwave with a piece of white bread and ate it just like that. No dirty dishes

kraft mac and cheese with one single raw asparagus

Various little kiddie-themed smoothie shots

Dry cereal

Cheddar cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla

Vegan dinosaur nuggets (microwaved, tho he tried to cook it in his hot coffee once, it didn’t work)

Frozen snap peas straight from the bag, unthawed

Tomato soup with cheez-its sprinkled on top

Tried to make a meal completely out of vitamin supplements once, based entirely on the exact amount of nutrients you need in a day

A family-sized bag of generic brand corn chips

Hard boiled eggs (they were supposed to be soft-boiled) and paprika

Blueberry bagel, toasted, no butter

Cold chicken noodle soup in one of those paper cartons from the corner store (it gave him food poisoning)

Microwave grilled cheese

Cucumber rolls (cucumber slices he rolled in microwave rice)

Leftover cake washed down with a protein shake

A hunk of mozzarella cheese, microwaved

Frozen Garlic bread (it’s actually good like that, he swears)

Four 5-hour energy shots to make a 20-hour energy (his heart rate didn’t go back to normal for two days)

Fruit snacks squished between two slices of wheat bread

Tried to dry scoop protein powder once, worked about as well as the cinnamon challenge

Pistachios with the shells (it was an accident. He did not notice)

Refried refried beans (for protein)

Handfuls of mushy, room temperature blueberries

Tofu block cut up with a spam slicer and dipped in mustard

[myloveisinthefood]

paprika hendl (vegetarian version)

Reading the start of Dracula yet again via Dracula Daily gave me a craving for paprika hendl, as Jonathan Harker eats at the Hotel Royale in Klausenburgh. Paprika hendl is also known as chicken paprikash, or paprikás csirke.

I don't like touching or cooking chicken, and I prefer to eat plant-based or at least vegetarian, so I decided to make a vegetarian version. My paprika hendl is made with roasted cauliflower and pan-friend high-protein firm tofu. I served it with nokedli, which I also made, and some of the roasted cauliflower leaves, with a gherkin on the side. I personally prefer Polish-style dill cucumbers.

Vegan paprika hendl recipe

For the roasted cauliflower, I cut 1/2 a cauliflower head into florets, and retained the leaves. I tossed them in a mixture the same as the one for tofu in this recipe:

½ tsp fine sea salt

¼ tsp black pepper, freshly ground

2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika

1 tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

And then spread the florets and leaves out on a roasting tray, then put them in the oven at 200C for around 25m (I just kept checking until they were a bit charred). I added the roasted cauliflower to the paprikash at the same time as the tofu.

I also used dairy sour cream instead of vegan sour cream, and omitted the extra milk/mylk because I liked the consistency of the sauce as is.

Nokedli recipe

I didn't follow the vegan nokedli recipe, and used this egg recipe instead. Following the given measurements, my batter was quite runny, so I adjusted with a bit of extra flour, which I think was the right choice. The resting time is crucial! I was able to use a flat grater to shape the nokedli, and it was quite easy. The nokedli keeps in the fridge quite well, in an airtight container with a little oil tossed through to keep them from sticking.

So, go forth and enjoy some Hungarian fare like our good friend Jonathan Harker! It's warming, and filling, and nutritious, and comforting! Definitely a fave dish for me.

[vikenticomeshome]

Cyberchase Character Discussion (for your local Cyberchase trivia quiz) - #3: Jackie

Here we go again. I've made this style of post about Inez and Matt, and now it's Jackie's turn.

#3: Jackie

Let's start with her bio from "Meet the Cybersquad". Again, this almost 25 years old now, so who knows how much of it is still canon.

So, we get our introduction to Jackie. She's smart, funny, has a plan, and is over-the-top. Yeah, that's accurate so far.

For some reason, this page was not in her original bio when they released it in 2001. They went back and added this page later in 2002. This is the only bio that I have seen that had content added like this. This page lets us know that her favorite color is yellow, and she loves tofu burgers. I don't know if the show has confirmed that she is a vegetarian or vegan. She is shown to care about animals, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was canonically a vegetarian.

Her favorite book is one that I hadn't heard about until now: "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech. In this story, the 13 year old protagonist, Salamanca (Sal) Hiddle, goes on a cross-country road-trip to visit her mother. There are themes of coming to term with loss and building new relationships. It makes me wonder if, at some point in development, the show-runners might have been interested in giving Jackie a tragic loss similar loss to Sal. I haven't seen the later seasons where they bring in the kid's families, but I don't believe they have gone that route so far.

For her favorite music, we get two bands: Destiny's Child and NSYNC. These are very much a product of the time. Destiny's Child actually disbanded in 2006, as the members went off to do solo work. NSYNC disbanded in 2002, and then reunited in 2023. Well, we know that Jackie loves her R&B and Pop music, so I'm sure she found other bands to follow since then.

Her favorite movie is Shrek, which only came out in 2001. Matt and Inez have definitely sent her all the memes that have come out about that movie since then. Her pet peeves are bugs and anything messy. Yeah, that still tracks. She has a "Wheaton Terrier" named Brandy. I don't know if the spelling has changed over the years, or if they just made a spelling mistake in her bio, but I have only seen it spelled as "Wheaten".

Jackie also gets a bio from Nelvana, which is pretty cool. I've only been able to find surviving archives of bios for her and Matt. They have sections for Inez, Dr. Marbles, Motherboard, The Hacker, Buzz, and Delete. However, all of those are left empty in the surviving archives of the pages. I don't know if bios were completed for those other characters.

We get emphasis on the point of Jackie being organized. We also get more insight into how she solves problems. She uses diagrams, charts, and graphs among other things. She also touched on her tendency to use initials as shorthand for things. I remember the Blue Bunny Place (B.B.P) from "Of All The Luck". Was she hip in 2002? Is she still hip now? I'm not qualified to say.

We also get an introduction to Jackie through the official prequel web comic, "How It All Started: Episode 3". We see Jackie making her own skirt out of strips of fabric. I assume it is for cheer-leading.

Narration: Meanwhile, on Earth, three kids who don't know each other are about to have the adventure of their lives.

Jackie: I gotta organize this stuff

Narration: meet Jackie, who has her own sense of style...

Narration: And her own way of doing things!

Here's Jackie's Official Cyberchase Trading Card.

When they picked her favorite line as "Make room! I gotta pace!", they probably picked her most iconic line. She loves video games, piano, and foreign languages, which is great. We do get to see her play an unnamed videogame during Season 1 Episode 25 "A Battle of Equals". The hero "San Man" is trying to save the environment by stopping the villains that are trying to pollute it. One villain is called Johnny Grime. There are number riddles, and they are the same sort of riddles that the kids solve during the episode.

I don't think we ever see her playing piano or speaking a second language on the show. Quick question: What are those shoes that she wears? Inez has a pair or blue boots. Matt has a pair of red and white sneakers. Jackie's shoes are a little harder to place. They are purple, and they have considerable heels. Were these meant to be high-tops? I don't know that I've seen high-tops with heels in that size before.

The big thing that people remember Jackie for are her dramatic outbursts. And her most iconic one is probably from Season 3 Episode 4 "A Piece of the Action". You can tell that someone in the animation department had fun with this one.

Here's a transcript.

Jackie: Great! Now we'll never get into Hacker's control center. And if we can't get in there we can't stop Hacker. And if we can't stop Hacker, he'll erase Motherboard's memory with the magnetite! Cyberspace is doomed! Doomed I tell you! Doo-hoo-hoo-hoomed!

Matt: And the award for best dramatic outburst of today goes to Jackie!

Jackie: Matt!

What else can I say about Jackie. Well, she has an amazing tolerance for cold weather. Even in Arctic Cybersites, she still made do with the same short skirt.

Anyway, here's the prototype for Jackie. She had a completely different hairstyle and outfit. She was also called Julie. Again, I consider her current design an upgrade from the prototype.

And here's the Who's Who document on her.

We get more discussion on Jackie being a gymnast and artist. She loves Instant Messaging. I guess that would have been AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) at the time.

[dystopicjumpsuit]

This might be a weird ask, so please disregard if you’re not interested in answering it.

I think you mentioned once that you like to cook, and a lot of your fics have mentions of food (which I love btw). So I was wondering: Do you have specific meals/recipes that make you think of certain clones? Or, do you have any headcanons as to Earth-based meals/foods specific clones would deem their favorite?

Not a weird ask at all! I do love to cook, and I'm always down to talk about food 💚

I will always think about fresh pasta with wild mushroom ragu when I think about Waxer thanks to "The Sixth Language." I have actually made that meal, and it's delicious. (I also tried to do the sexy cooking lesson with my partner, which was... Less successful 💀)

I personally headcanon that every clone has a massive sweet tooth thanks to their enhanced metabolisms and the fact that they didn't get sweets growing up. I also think they would pretty much all enjoy spicy food. This HC is for sure influenced by how spicy Mandalorian cuisine is supposed to be.

I think a lot of family-style meals would be really appealing to the clones, just because they would appreciate the sense of community. Any meal where a big group of people gathers around a table to eat and drink and laugh and talk and bond—I think that would be a dream come true for a lot of the clones. NB I'm not necessarily talking about literal biological family here; I mean it in the sense of the people you love and care about most—whomever that may include.

As far as specific foods:

I think Gregor would have a weakness for cheeseburgers (and apparently pineapple).

Dogma seems like a risotto man to me, for some reason (the technique would appeal to him, I think). He would probably love the precision of molecular gastronomy.

We know the Bad Batch loves sushi! I think seafood would be popular with a lot of the clones because they grew up on an oceanic world (though to be honest, I don't know whether their diets actually included seafood on Kamino, or whether it was just nutrient sludge).

I think Crosshair would love ramen—if he ever got a chance to actually take a bite of it.

Jesse seems like he would be very aware of his macros, and he'd be a surprisingly good cook. Mapo tofu would be his specialty. He would tell you exactly how many grams of protein was in it.

Tup... Vegetarian. Idk why, he just gives the vibe. But he'd be sneaky about it. He'd feed you the most amazing meal of your life, and you'd never even realize it was vegan.

Fireball would probably love poke bowls. Extra avocado, please!

Kix is addicted to junk food, and if anyone teases him about it, he'll be extra shaky next time he has to give them an injection. Jesse is constantly trying to get him to do better.

Rex has been a Sunday roast fan ever since he ate dinner with Cut and Suu.

Wolffe and Hunter seem like barbecue men—legit barbecue, not burgers and hot dogs. Like cochinita pibil, Texas-style brisket, barbacoa, Carolina whole hog. FIRE🔥

Cody secretly loves cheap pizza (think Little Caesar's), but if you asked him his favorite food, he'd probably say something like coq au vin. Don't get me wrong, he likes coq au vin too; it just doesn't scratch that particular itch.

The entire Coruscant Guard loves street food. Any kind of street food. If it comes from a food truck and can be eaten while walking, they're happy.

Damn, this got out of hand! I could go on until the world ended, but I have to stop somewhere. Thank you for the amazing question, Alli! It was so much fun to think about. And I'm so happy you enjoy the way I work food into my fics! One of my upcoming multichapter stories has an OC who is an aspiring cookbook author, and there is SO. MUCH. FOOD in that fic.

[acti-veg]

Hello, I would like genuine advice because my situation is often seen as taboo by some vegans but I would still like to try my best in the position I'm in.

I have been a vegetarian for 3 years now and was planning to go vegan gradually, I often learned vegan recipes, went to vegan cafes and restaurants, participated in veganuary, followed vegan activists...etc

The problem is even while still eating eggs and dairy (as well as lots of red beans, chickpeas, lentils, tofu, leafy greens + vitamin C to help absorption) my iron levels keep plummeting. I have been trying to take iron supplements for a year now but never managed to stop being anemic. I also have to say my period is quite heavy which doesn't help much.

I'm now feeling so tired I'm considering going pescetarian for a while to see if I manage to get my iron levels back up this year. I feel very disappointed because I had planned to consume less animal products, not more but alas it looks like my body can't follow.

I would like to know if you have any advice to lower animal suffering both in my diet and in my day to day life while being pescetarian for health-related reasons ?

The trouble with fish is that it really isn’t very high in iron compared with the plant sources you’re eating now. Tuna is the one people often cite for iron, but even that is only about 1.6 grams per 100 grams, compared to say tofu which you’re already eating, which is 5.4 grams per 100 grams. The iron in fish is heme iron which may be easier to absorb, but with much less of it available it’s unlikely to raise your iron levels at the rate you need.

I think that your focus should really be on your health above everything else right now. Have you been to a nutritionist at this stage? That would be my immediate recommendation, infusing iron is an option for people with long-term anaemia and would get your iron up far quicker than eating fish would, and lower the risk of any health complications. You need to know if there is some sort of underlying absorption issue before you can know what you need to eat to deal with it.

Focus on getting yourself healthy again, don’t make any further dietary changes until you’ve seen a doctor and talked through options with a nutritionist. Only once you’ve got a handle on things and understand what is going on should you start thinking about any further dietary changes to shift towards veganism, and in the meantime you can still be vegan in every other aspect of your life.

[ryttu3k]

My mom: "We tolerate your vegetarian thing every other day of the year, but if you expect to have Thanksgiving dinner with the family, you're going to have some turkey. We don't want to offend the relatives". What would your response be?

First, apologies for the lateness!

Second, well, we don't do Thanksgiving here. That said, in a similar situation ("If you want to share a holiday meal with family, you'll have to eat meat so you don't offend people"), I would opt to sit it out. If it was a matter of being polite, I'd eat a whole lot of side dishes that I can eat, then politely say, "Oh, no, I'm sorry, I think I ate too much already and I don't want to give myself a stomach ache, haha!" or something like that. If I wanted to be more open with my convictions, I'd eat beforehand and say something like, "I won't be joining you at the table, but I'd be happy to spend time with you before/after!"

For an IRL example, I usually don't go to my aunt and uncle's Boxing Day lunch because a) they never have any vegan options, but also b) I do see them all the time anyway, so I'm not really missing out, and I'm not interested in going. That said, if I did, I'd bring my own food, or contribute a dish for everyone that I know I can eat as well.

I did that last year going to my brother's for Christmas, too (I made my loaded potato salad, Mum made all the desserts to be vegan, and my brother made sure at least two other salads were vegan and specifically made me a starter with tofu. He and his wife are very not vegan and love their meat, but they are both extremely considerate hosts!). I'm fortunate enough that even when I'm not catered to (my aunt and uncle), they'd be okay with me bringing my own stuff, and for bigger events, like last Christmas lunch, I could both bring stuff and also was catered for.

Anyway, back to your original dilemma - for situations like this, I would be polite but stick to my convictions. I'd offer the compromise of eating side dishes but avoiding meat, and offer to feign that I've eaten too much already to avoid 'offending the relatives', if that really is your Mum's primary concern. If that's completely unacceptable, then I'd just say, "In that case, I don't see I have any option, and will sit out the meal."

Best of luck for the rest of the holiday season!

[indnwitch]

Vegan/Vegetarian shopping list:

Pre Made salad bags (it’s a lot cheaper to just buy bagged salad and add to it, then buying a bunch of ingredients that will go bad if not used)

Make a list of fruits and vegetables that you like and get them (some times if you get the funky shaped ones you get a few cents off, even if you don’t that stops the funky shaped produce from being tossed)

Nut butters (most almond and peanut butters are vegan, jelly and Jams aren’t because they’re made with gelatin)

Bread, check the ingredients because a lot of breads are accidentally vegan/vegetarian ( Vegetarian/Vegan (link) Sandwiches will be your best friend)

Pasta (like bread a lot of pasta is accidentally vegan, CHECK THE INGREDIENTS)

Rice and beans are some of the cheapest things to buy, buy them dry and you can have them for a while in your pantry

Google vegan ramen, (if you’re like me and love spicy ramen then you’ll be happy to know Samyang 2x spicy hot chicken flavor Ramen in the red pack is VEGAN they use artificial chicken flavor rather then animal products. Vegan Kimchi regular and spicy is a lot easier to find then you may think just look for ones without fish sauce and shrimp)

Tofu (tofu is very versatile and it’s great source of vegan/vegetarian protein made from soy, it takes flavor beautifully and it’s relatively cheap firm/extra firm is best)

Cheese (there are so many vegan cheese options, for grated parmigiana follow your heart has both grated and shredded, Violife has a block. Violife has the best shredded substitutes, and singles. Daiya is a little weird in my opinion however they’re cheddar dairy free Mac and cheese is amazing (you just gotta use different pasta then it comes with)

Meat substitutes ( We’ve come a long way with decent vegan meat substitutes, beyond meat makes a whole variety of plant based meat substitutes that are very tasty especially if you’re still craving that meaty texture. Impossible meat substitutes also has amazing plant based meat substitutes, Impossible also has vegan chicken nuggets that tastes like McDonald’s and even have dino shaped ones. Light life has everything from vegan sausage crumbles to Bacon, the vegan bacon and hot dogs are amazing)

Eggs (just egg and simply egg are planted based substitutes for eggs, they’re liquid like an egg beater but can be used in place of eggs from a scramble to a baking ingredient)

Dairy (Vegan milk/coffee creamer you got options coconut, almond, soy, oat, pea protein. Pick what you like best. Personally California farms Oat milk in original and California farms oat vanilla creamer are my favorites. I’ll throw cream cheese and Yogurt in here as well Kite Hill regular and Strawberry cream cheese are my favorite, Kite Hill blue berry, and Strawberry vegan yogurt are my favorite. MIYOKO’S vegan butter)

Snacks (Lenny and Larry’s plant based chocolate chip cookies, Spudsy sweet potato puffs they have a million different flavors I like the hot fries. Vegan rob’s dragon puffs these are the vegan equivalent to hot Cheeto puffs but without the red dye 40. Vegan rob’s also has cheese puffs)

Sauces (Anne’s goddess dressing is very tangy, Diaya blue cheese and Caesar dressings are amazing, can be thick though, they also have ranch but I got a vegan homemade ranch recipe. Hot sauce, Franks, Cholula, Tabasco, and Tapatío are vegan. Ketchup& mustard are vegan. Hellmans and follow your heart have vegan mayonnaise,Sir Kingston’s and Follow your heart also have chipotle Mayo. Follow your heart also has vegan sour cream)

Seasonings (seasons you should have in your cabinet click here, the dollar tree sells all these for a dollar and most grocery stores sell adobo)

[nova-dracomon]

Vegan Kin Food Ideas

S'up! So, we've been seeing a lot of kin food posts, but the focus is always on meat. Then when vegan or vegetarian options are listed it's like salad + fruit and that's it. We've been vegan for some years now so here's a list of things we eat that we think others might enjoy too!

A piece of advice we found helpful is to think about the food item you miss and break it down into what exactly you miss. If you miss eating gems, is it the appearance? The crunch? Gritty texture or dry taste? In that spirit of that, our list will be largely broken up by texture/experience.

Crunch Crunch Snacks

This includes snacks/sides that get your jaws working or have a satisfying "snap" to them.

Roasted chickpeas

Kale chips

Ants on a log (celery, peanut butter and raisins)

Hummus + baby bell peppers/sugar snap peas/carrots

Granola / cereals (a lot of types are vegan, read the ingredients before purchasing)

Banana chips

Nuts + seeds

Popcorn (avoid "buttery" packages, buy plain or kettle corn)

Peanut butter pretzels (crunchy outside, delicious soft inside)

Smartie candies

Keep your cookies/chocolate bars in the fridge or freezer

Also, load cookies up with extra nuts/seeds/choco chips

Soft, but with some crunch

This section is for dishes/sides that are overall easier on the teeth, but with elements that still crunch or snap. If you're looking for recipes that combine different texture elements check these out.

Lentil nachos + nacho cheese sauce

"Crunchwrap" (quesadilla made with refried beans and homemade cheese sauce that we open and place tortilla chips and lettuce inside after grilling)

Tempeh bacon (we like this on a BLT or grilled cheese sandwich)

Crispy tofu sandwiches

Grilled asparagus

Apple slices with nut butter

Pickles

Apple turnovers

Vegan sushi (there's a ton of recipes, check out these two collections to get started X, X)

Falafel (can be used a hundred different ways, sandwiches, wraps, on it's own, etc.)

Roasted chickpeas again, but with a caveat**: You can roast them at 350 F for 30 mins and they'll be cooked enough to pop between your teeth, but soft in the center. We like to either eat them as-is or top our salads with them. (We season with salt/pepper before going into the oven, nothing else) **Must be eaten after baking, they will not keep

For the foragers in the crowd

These dishes focus more on having either multiple different foods in a visible way or a tactile element to how you eat them.

Chia pudding

Smoothie bowls

Overnight oatmeal

Trail mix

Pumpkin bars (We replace the egg with a flax egg and use vegan butter)

Chocolate chip banana monkey bread

Corn on the cob

Grilled veggie kebabs

Cranberry cilantro quinoa salad

Chili

Bush's beans and rice

Salads topped with sliced fruit, nuts, grains and/or beans

Edamame (a favorite, we love pulling out the insides with our teeth, you can get ones without the pods if they bother you)

Plant-based burgers, the kinds with the chunks of veggies (our favorite is dr. praeger's black bean quinoa burgers)

Chewy Foods

This section is for foods that work your jaw, but more in a "needing to chew" way.

Potato gnocchi

Dried fruit (comes in all different flavors, not just raisins)

Swedish fish, red vines, skittles or sour patch kids

Granola bars (a lot of types are vegan, read the ingredients before purchasing)

Thick bread-y pizza (our favorite dough recipe)

Pancakes

Chewy chocolate chip cookies

Peanut butter cookies

Baked oatmeal

Potato skins

Meat Substitutes

The most obvious way to make a dish vegan is to sub in the appropriate mock meat. We've eaten quite a few and we won't sugar-coat it: a lot of them are either going to match the taste, texture, OR look. It's hard for mock meats to copy meat 1:1, some get way closer than others, but if you go into this expecting no difference you will be disappointed.

Our two favorite brands are Impossible and Gardein. We've tried a lot of their products and have yet to eat one we don't like.

These aren't your only options though!

Beans

Falafel (deep-fried balls of ground chickpea)

Tofu

Tempeh (fermented soybeans)

Seitan (made from wheat gluten)

Jack fruit

You might have guessed based on the recipes shared, but we usually opt for beans. We haven't eaten much seitan or jack fruit, but they are options. At our local grocery stores they're sold in the "free from" section and can be brought pre-seasoned and ready to cook with. Jack fruit in particular is a popular replacement for shredded pork.

The trick with a lot of these is to marinate them. Tofu in particular so you can infuse it with flavor. Here's a few recipes we love:

Lentil and sweet potato loaf ("Neat"loaf)

Marinated tofu

Crispy tofu sandwiches

Tempeh bacon

Chili (our mom's recipe that we modified)

Soft / Squish

For things that are soft or squishy and you can slurp up.

Seaweed salad

miso soup

Pico de Gallo Black Bean Soup

"Nice" cream

Chocolate mousse

Oatmeal

Popsicles

Applesauce

Brownie batter hummus

Chia seed jam

Lavender syrup (to flavor other drinks, we use it in coffee)

Lavender lemonade (final product will be a light brown color)

Mashed potatoes + Gravy

Slow cooker apple cider

Tofu scramble

JUST egg

Non-dairy mac and cheese (our favorite brand is the upton's)

Smoothies (if you're looking for a protein powder to include, we recommend Vega)

**Just a reminder to supplement for B12 if you're consuming a vegan diet. There are some foods that are fortified with it; however, a supplement is cheap, easy to find and all-around a more reliable way to ensure you are getting enough.

[antigne]

this is more of a personal rant but people are so fucking weird about vegetarianism/veganism. i’ve been vegetarian for almost 5 years now and it’s definitely been getting better to have conversations about it and find good food at restaurants but like. sometimes you’ll go to a restaurant and ask what the vegetarian options are and the waiter will be like let me think… i think our only option is the Unseasoned Slab of Cabbage. people think vegetarian food is like that green slime carly makes in that one episode of icarly. but like. a regular quesadilla? vegetarian. rice and beans? vegetarian. ceasar salad? vegetarian. but then the second you replace meat with tofu some people act like you are performing an otherworldly ritual. my dad calls vegetarian food “naturey food”. like it’s literally cheese calm down

[kerakeriza]

i really don't think any moral (as in killing and eating something with some undefinable levels of intelligence or pain sensors = bad) argument is gonna convince people to go vegetarian. let alone vegan lol. the best one is for environmentalism reasons but that is still being so hotly debated as to what the Truly Best Most Environmentally Friendly way to dine even is. locally sourced everything is probably still the best just based on like, a guess on my end, and that includes plants and animals and fungi. but non-animal foods can be very environmentally unfriendly too is basically what i'm saying so it's less about whether you're eating meat or plants (or fungi) and more about the specific thing you're eating like tofu vs chocolate vs chicken vs beef or whatever.

[kinshenewa]

Sun and Moon made their way to the cafeteria, where all sorts of foods were being served. Celestial Jesters are, inherently, omnivores, yet most prefer a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Sun skipped happily, darting over to the fruits section while Moon meandered over to a different part of the cafeteria, where they were serving human food specifically.

Sure, this is the first time a human is on the council, but human food is known the galaxy over for being some of the best shit you can find. Humans were known for their exotic tastes, and Moon couldn't help but like the strange foods that humans consumed.

Especially the meat replacements, those were the most unique things he has ever eaten.

He grabbed a tray and a plate, piling some tofu on it before he stopped. It was the human, and she was only a few feet away. She wore headphones over her ears, but what really caught his attention was the fact that her plate was piled high with sweets and meat. His eyes widened as he saw there was a whole steak among the cluster of food, and only when the plate was piled high did she go and sit down.

Moon hesitates for a moment, getting something called an 'Impossible Burger' that is made by 'Burger King' (he is not well versed on the food makers of humans), he walked over, clearing his throat when he was a few feet away.

She looked up from her food, taking her headphones off. "What's good?" She greeted, jerking her head up.

Moon was confused, but would ask about it later. "Um.... You... You sure do have a lot on your plate, even for a human." He stammered, adjusting the collar of his dark blue shirt nervously as he resisted the urge to blush.

She smiled, chuckling as she responded, "Eh, maybe I do. But I can't really tell when I'm hungry, so when I do remember to eat, I make sure to eat a lot." She tilted her head, giving a closed-eye smile, pulling her short sleeve up before she flexed her right bicep, which surprisingly jumped up a large degree, with some flexing happening in her forearm as well.

Moon's eyes widened as he tried not to blush. Oh god, she's so strong...

"And besides, these babies need ta eat." She chuckled, pulling her sleeve back down.

Sun skipped over, some honeydew on his plate. He also really liked human foods, they were a kind of sweet that he had yet to taste anywhere else.

"Hellooooo!" He chirped, setting his plate down on the table before plucking Moon's plate from his hands and setting it next to his plate. He leaned against Moon, who was only a tad taller. "Oh wow, that sure is a lot of food!" He gushed, grinning cheekily at Cadence.

"How much do y'all eat? I haven't yet found an article about your species." She replied, resting her chin on her interlocked hands as she quirked a brow curiously.

Sun chuckled, elbowing Moon lightly in the side as he replied, "Oh, we Celestial Jesters don't need much to stay going. We can actually convert motes of light into energy we can use, meaning we can go for long periods of time with no food as long as we are in a bright area!"

Cadence blinked, thinking for a moment before saying, "Oh, like photosynthesis?"

Sun and Moon blinked at the same time, both looking confused before Moon pulled out his trusty tablet and typed something. "Oh! Photosynthesis is the word humans use for the process which plants use sunlight to make energy." He said after a moment.

"Well, we need to go. We like to eat our food in our room." Sun said cheerily, picking up his and his brother's plates after waving, "Bye!" He turned and sauntered off.

"Uh, bye. See you later." Moon said, waving shyly before following his brother.

Back at their room, Sun plopped down onto the couch with a sigh, Moon sitting down moments after.

"Simp." Sun said simply, smirking as he took a bite of some honeydew.

Moon gasped, looking offended as he exclaimed, "Says the brother who liked it when she hit him with a thermos!"

Sun laughed, smirking as he replied, "Says the brother who would love to be beaten at wrestling by a female."

Moon huffed, his face turning a light blue from his blush as he stammered, "S-says the brother who would also love to be beaten by a female!"

Sun cackled, lightly kicking his feet.