New and Nervous :)

[RyleeChef]

Hello :)
I found this link thanks to Capersmama :) Im trying to switch my 2 little boys and I to a Vegan lifestyle not just for personal beliefs but for health risks. My 3 yr old had horrible eczema and asthma and my 4 yr old is borderline ADHD and I hope I can help them with doing this change. Im nervous though on how to start, we are currently going veggie but not sure how to take out eggs and milk . Im studying culinary arts and to tell you the truth they reallllly dont like Vegan or Vegetarian cooking :(
Also being 25 weeks pregnant Im not to sure how to make sure I get what baby needs..I was hoping maybe someone could point me in a good direction on where to start this change :)

I also saw some posts regarding fear of children being taken away for vegan lifestyles...Im not sure I understand why this is a problem?
Thank you for your time its much appreciated.

Rylee
Mom of 2 boys, 3rd on the way :)

[annie7]

For a better understanding of social services interference with vegan families go to the forum "vegan Children". Go to the thread "An interview with Gayle... mother of six year old quintuplets" and then click on "read the story". As for the questioning about diet while pregnant and vegan, I'm sure you'll recieve alot of postings from those here who are just that! (Or have been many times!)

[Erin Pavlina]

Hi Rylee,

Welcome to the boards and congrats on your transition.

Here are links to some good resources:

Vegan Pregnancy articles (http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-pregnancy/index.htm), including what to eat while pregnant.

Vegan Children articles (http://www.vegfamily.com/vegan-children/index.htm)

You may also want to check out my book, Raising Vegan Children in a Non-Vegan World (http://www.vegfamily.com/raising-vegan-children/index.php?src=forums), as it contains an entire chapter on how to transition you and the kids.

Kids and social services... on rare occasions, someone at Social Services decides that feeding children a vegan diet is harmful to their health. There have been families who were harrassed by Social Services because they were raising vegan children.

Gayle's interview is at: http://www.vegfamily.com/interviews/gayle.htm

[sarahrose]

Instead of eggs, you can use energee egg replacer. It tasts exactly the same, and you can make Quich, baked goods, pastry, all the same stuff as you can make with eggs. Instead of milk, use soymilk. I use Soydream enriched, regular flavor, because it doesen't have a thich texture and strong soybean taste, which most people (myself included) hate! Do you live near a Trader Joe's store? They have these great, delicious, soy meat balls, which I crumble up and use in Lasagna(or keep whole for spaghetti sauce, meatball sandwiches, ect) . I also have a great recipe for Vegan Ricotta, if you want it. Follow your heart brand cheese substitute is great for pizza, Lasagna, nachos, you name it. I even brought a bag of grated up cheese substitute to Papa Murpheys pizza, and had them make me a vegan pizza. Also, gardenburger makes these "ribs". They were so real my husband had to see the package to beleive that they werent meat. You can make virtually anything vegan, once you have the products down, and really know what's out there. There is vegan jell-o, vegan chicken breasts, vegan beef ( Try TVP, marinated and added to burritos or enchiladas), vegan cheese, even vegan fish fillets and Tuna cans(called "tuno") Experiment!!! respond if you want the Ricotta recipe, or any other recipes for that matter. Hope this helped! Sincerly, Sarahrose P.S. Also try Soy delicious ice cream-it is soooooo good! My favorite is mocha fudge.

[annie7]

Can you make a sort of "egg white" omlet with the energee egg replacers? You know, with peppers, onions, shrooms, and such inside? Or is it not designed to work like that?

[VOW]

The Ener-G egg replacer is not for egg dishes, but to replace eggs in baking.



~VOW

[Erin Pavlina]

One of my favorite all-vegan restaurants, Real Food Daily, makes a tofu omelette that is to die for. I'm not sure how they do it because it doesn't seem too tofu-ey.

I've also had great luck using scrambled tofu in place of scrambled eggs. Hubby once made a tofu, potato, veggie-bacon-bit concoction that was amazing.

[sarahrose]

VOW- it seems like energee would only be for baking, because thats what I thought too, but there are tons of recipes on the box for Quiche and other egg dishes. I have not tried it because I never liked egg dishes anyways, but if you ever try it, let me know how it comes out- I have relatives who are definite "egg" people. Annie7- It won't work for scrambles- only baked goods and baked "egg" dishes, but I'm sure that soon someone will invent something that will, at the rate that the vegan foods market is booming!

[annie7]

Does anybody know how to make something that would be "omlett-like"? My husband is really wanting to try vegan living and is successful up to that point. I want to be able to offer an alternative to "egg white omlet" for him. It's the last hold out, and I haven't seen anything in any vegan cookbook so far that would be silmilar enough. Help if you can.... thanks!

[Fiona]

I've got an idea, but it's completed theoretical and untested (by me at least). .....What about combining a pancake recipe with some mashed tofu, so you get something that sets but also has a slightly wet texture? (Perhaps the tofu would need to be added when the pancake batter was in the pan, for it to work?) You could add grated vegan cheese, onions, or other veg to make it more interesting.


Fiona

[annie7]

That's definitely worth experimenting with....oh well, I guess that's how EVERYthing becomes invented, huh? Off to the kitchen I go!

[Christa]

I have tried the quiche recipe on the Ener-G egg replacer box & it is not too bad - maybe a little thin, but not terrible. If I am remembering correctly, I thought that it called for soy cheese, though. I haven't found any soy cheeses that I am nuts about & I have tried all of the vegan versions. I like vegan parmesan, though & that might be useable.

I am not sure that you could use Ener-G for omlets, though.

[Erin Pavlina]

Christa, have you tried vegan gourmet alternative? My friend made me a fantastic quiche using that cheese... man it was good. I'm not sure what else was in it though.

[Kelly]

There is an "omlette" recipe in Vegan Vittles by Joanne Stepaniak.


Kelly

[Christa]

Erin,

I actually have tried Vegan Gourmet. I have to order it online & have is shipped to me - which was too expensive to do regularly. My local Wild Oats & Vitamin Cottage both claimed that they would be carrying it by August/Sept, but it hasn't happened yet.

Honestly, I wasn't as crazy about Vegan Gourmet as everyone else seems to be, but it does work somewhat better than other vegan cheeses, so I would probably buy it if I could get it locally. The main problem that I encountered was that it separated into puddles of oil/grease & sticky, cheesy stuff when I melted it. I think that the large amount of grease kind of turned me off. I imagine that if I mixed it together with enough other stuff, the oil wouldn't be so obvious to me, though.

[sarahrose]

Christina, I buy Vegan Gourmet and have also noticed the "puddles" and how it can get really thin when melted. I discovered that if you put the food in the broiler at the end of cooking for just a few minutes, it turns very cheese-like. Try it- it really is MUCH better!

[Erin Pavlina]

At least it melts right? ;)

I use the cheese on pizza and it comes out great. Lasagna works well too. I also sprinkle it on enchiladas and it turns out well. Quesadillas also work for me. Oh, and mac and cheese works too. I posted my recipe for that in the recipe section.