So we’re what, maybe 4 weeks into the experiment? Overall it’s going great apart from the giant hole in the ozone layer that my methane is creating ;-)
I’m still picking at the odd bit of ham/turkey and I’m still doing the Friday Chicken Curry but apart from that, it is all veggie. If I removed the milk from my tea I’d basically be vegan. But that ain’t happening.
Foods I continue to love on this diet:
- Hummus
- Falafel
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Avocado
- Portobello mushrooms
- Beetroot
- Tomatoes
- Salad leaves
- Pomegranate seeds
- Porridge with linseed and goji berries/prunes
- Ryvita
- Brown Rice (surprisingly)
- Dee’s Burgers
- Linda’s Sausages
- Home made pizza (one reason for needing fake cheese)
- A wide range of relishes, chutneys and pickles
- Lemon, Balsamic and Soy sauce for sparkle Things I found a bit meh:
- German Tofu with Kombucha
- Quorn sausages
- Quorn chicken pieces
- Fridge Buffet with sliced meats (Fridge Buffet is the greatest phrase ever, coined by my old friend Oisín who runs The Ship Wandsworth gastropub)
- Toasted ham and cheese (another reason for needing fake cheese)
- Sheese fake cheddar
- Cheezly fake mozzarella
- Quinoa
- Chia Seeds (I literally just read about these in Born To Run last night. Some miracle seeds apparently. Or so the Beanstalk boy said.)
- Tempeh
- Udon Noodles
- Miso Soup
- Oatly oat-based milk substitute
- Stevia sweetener
- Sauerkraut
- Prunes
- Puy Lentils
- Smoked Tofu
- Apple puree
- Ramen
- More porridge flakes, brown rice etc
- Agave sweetener I have a blogpost forming in my head about how the veggie-world needs a giant processed food corporation (Kraft, Nestle, etc) to throw all the knowledge of their food scientists at making better substitute products. I’m convinced something far superior to all this extruded mushy stuff can be created. The fatal flaw in most of the products I have tried remains texture. The sponginess of the tofu, even fried, was particularly horrible. Looking forward to seeing if Tempeh is better.
Also, given how far removed a chicken nugget is from actual chicken, I am 100% sure McDonalds could do a Vegan McNugget that was indistinguishable in taste and texture to a “chicken” one.
So onwards we go. I need to expand the range of things so I don’t get bored. Time to dig into the Veganomicon more.
UPDATE 1: Just made a Sheese toastie. Not the worst thing I’ve ever tasted. The Sheese out of the packet smells rank and tastes like standard processed cheese. It doesn’t melt brilliantly but when paired with a decent mustard, I scoffed the lot. Needed a slice of ham or something tho!
UPDATE 2: Tried the Agave sweetener in my tea. Perfectly tasty but then it is mainly just fructose. It says low GI but really, I have to wonder. The Stevia thing is interesting tho. From the makers of Canderel. Very new product. No calories but lots of lactose. If it lacks the after-taste of Saccharin, Aspartame and Sucralose, I’ll be happy.
UPDATE 3: The Cheezly smells as rank as the Sheese but melts ok and tastes fine when melted. The third type of veggie sausage was nasty and dry. The ramen were lovely. And the real winner was the Tempeh. Nutty, solid, fries well, great texture. Gonna use a few different ways this week.
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