Alternatives

[Krista-Eliza]

Hi,
right now Im a vegetarian trying to turn Vegan. Its really hard, since I dont know what foods to buy. I like to bake but I dont have enough money to buy all of the ingrediants for cookies and such. I was wondering what type of brands of foods I can get for my cravings.

cookies
pudding
chocolate bars
Yogurt
Sour cream

I also have trouble buying Vegan soups. I was wondering what type of brands Im able to buy. I have cravings for stuff like Mr.Noodle anything simaler to it would be great. Oh and I like to add that I live in Canada, so I was wondering places like Sobey's or Save on Foods would have anything.

Thankies

[Alicia]

Congrats on your transition! It can be difficult but you can do it!!

Go to the health food section of the food stores and you "should" be able to find some subs. I know that tofutti makes a sourcream, cream cheese and icecream bars. They all taste wonderful! Newman's cookies can be vegan just check the ingredients. Also, the mint oreos and the cream chocolate oreos are safe. There is a product called Energy Egg replacer that you can make cookies with. Its subs for the egg. You'll also learn as you go. It takes some time to check the ingredients, but once you get the hang of it, it's a breeze, till you want to try something new. :) They do make yogurt subs, but I wouldn't know where to find it in Canada.

Best of luck!

Alicia

[Ckflew]

For puddings, look for Mori Nu Tofu Mates mixes - just mix the package contents with a little water and some silken tofu and you're set (the recipe is on the package). These are very good and very addictive, however. :D

Cookies: I have to check ingredients on each package. My HFS has some ginger snaps that are vegan (can't remember the brand name), some dairy-free fig bars from Newman's Own. I've also unfortunately discovered some fabulous sandwich cookies with chocolate and mint frosting in the middle that are vegan. My regular grocery carries those, so I can get them a lot more often than I should.

Chocolate bars: my HFS has a number of dairy-free chocolate bars on their shelves - some with cookie or candy bits in them, too.

There are a few soy yogurts out there. I usually have Stoneyfield Farms soy yogurt (because my local grocery carries it), but O'Soy is also pretty good.

Keep in mind, too, that once you get your pantry changed over to a vegan pantry, it will probably again be cheaper to make your own cookies. Use Earth Balance for your butter/margarine, and use the Ener-G Egg Replacer that Alicia mentioned (the whole box of egg replacer is expensive, but it lasts a LONG time). Beyond that, make sure your chocolate chips are dairy-free, and you're usually ready to bake. You won't be able to tell the difference between your old cookies and your new ones.

As for vegan soups, Health Valley (I think) has some good canned vegan soups.

Congratulations on your new lifestyle!

Colleen

[ariix]

I'm Canadian too, lets see if I can help..

You can probably find the Tofutti sour cream and cream cheese subs at a HFS. I've seen them but never tried them though...
Also at a HFS or maybe some large supermarkets, look for So Nice soy yogurt, it's great. Near me I can also find another brand, forget the name but maybe it's Stoneyfield farms. It has a drawing of a Jersey cow on it anyway... But the So NIce brand is MUCH better.
Oh yeah and also Tropical source chocolate bars are really good, non dairy and come in lots of flavours.
I've also seen Belsoy puddings, and the Mori-nu tofu but not the "mates", however I haven't specifically looked for them so I might not have noticed them..
But yeah I agree with Colleen that baking yourself is cheaper as far as cookies go. Ener-g and Earth Balance are great. I think i posted this somewhere else, maybe the health/recipes forum (thread started by just-a-grrl), I posted a link to my favourite cookie recipe.. I actually make cookies using oil instead of Earth Balance cause it's cheaper and still tastes great.
Where in Canada are you? the mention of Sobey's makes me think S. Ont. (the only Sobeys' I've seen were there.) I don't know if all the Sobey's are like the one in my BF's hometown, but the one there is pretty hopeless for vegan stuff (it is only a small city though).
I can't really help for the soups though, when I have soup which is rarely I just make it myself... Maybe you could make some veggie broth from bouillon cubes and cook some thin noodles in it, would that be like Mr. noodles?

Hope this helped!
Joanne

[Krista-Eliza]

Sorry I didnt reply sooner <_>. I live In Alberta, Edmonton to be exact. I've been to a organic store and they have great alternatives, but nothing in cookies or sour creams and yogurt <_>. I also need a cheaper place thats why I asked for place's like Save on Foods and Sobey's.

[ariix]

There is a member on here, Gaia, who is near Quebec city now but used to live in Edmonton. I'll send her a message and see if she can help you!

And if the alternatives are just too expensive right now, remember that you don't need to use them, or at least not frequently... Whole grains like brown rice and barley, and beans and nuts and veggies and garlic, are cheaper and make a great meal when thrown together with curry powder! who needs yogurt when you've got a meal-in-one-pot! ;)

and check out the cookie recipe if you haven't, the link is on the recipes forum and the thread is called "vegan cookies", it's a lot cheaper than buying cookies..

[Krista-Eliza]

Thank yoooooooooooooooooou <3

[Gaia]

Well here I am :D
I'm sorry, I just found out that I had a private message from Joanne.

So hello Krista-Eliza !
I don't know if it will answer your question but when we lived in Edmonton, we used to buy vegetarian products at SuperStore (for Yves Veggie stuff) and at Save-on-Foods which have more selection of different kinds of "health food" than SS. But we weren't vegans at that time so I really could not tell you what they have there that is vegan.
I would definitely go have a look though and I would not hesitate to ask them to order the things that you want to buy and that they don't yet carry.

You could also contact "Vegetarians of Alberta" http://www.planet.eon.net/~voa/...
voa@planet.eon.net or at 988-2713
.
Vegetarians of Alberta Association
#201B, 10832 - 82 Whyte Ave
Edmonton, AB T6E 2B3

They have a message board on their website and they offer different events where you could meet other vegans in your area that could answer your questions.

Good luck !
:)

[NYCVeg]

You also might want to check out PeTA's "I Can't Believe It's Vegan" list.

http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/

It lists mainstream food items that happen to be vegan. A lot of it isn't the healthiest stuff in the world, but at least it gives you more options.

[Gaia]

The problem with that list, I have found out a month or so ago, is that some products on it are vegan in the US but made differently in Canada, thus not vegan.
One example of it, if I remember correctly, is Oreo cookies.
So just to be sure, check the ingredients anyway. ;)