Vegetarians and Vegans

[Tsukuyomi]

Sooooooooooo, who here likes salad ^__^

[Warrior4Christ]

In case people thought I was serious.. I wasnt at all. I eat and enjoy meat myself. The verses they quote on the page are horrendously out of context. God has a heart for PEOPLE! Humans! They are his special creation! Jesus desires us to protect the vulnerable, powerless, etc humans! He had compassion for humans! Humans are not the same as animals! Humans are able to obtain salvation, not animals!
RANT! OVER!

[Nate]

"Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for 'The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it.'"
--1 Corinthians 10:25-26, NIV.

I'm not sure if this verse is particularly relevant or not, and here's why. Back when the Bible was written, there weren't mass slaughterhouses. Now there are, and it is true that some (not all, but some) slaughterhouses do abuse and mistreat their animals.

What these people are trying to say (though they take it too far) is should we, as Christians, be promoting (even indirectly) the abuse of God's creatures?

The problem with this line of thinking is numerous. First, they seem to think that eating meat in any capacity is wrong, apparently even if it's killed by you (it doesn't really say that but it's implied). God did allow humanity to eat meat after the Flood, and it is a permission God never rescinded, so as far as eating meat itself, they have no leg to stand on.

Second, if torture/abuse of animals is their problem, then free-range animals, or again, animals killed personally by you (we ate a few of the chickens we raised when I was a kid) should be acceptable, but again the site implies that it isn't.

Third, as I've said before, millions of animals are killed yearly by wheat threshers and heavy farm machinery harvesting crops. Are these animals "acceptable losses?" If abuse of animals is the case, then these animals weren't abused, but then again neither are many of the animals in slaughterhouses.

Fourth, even if there was a way to harvest the plants without using heavy machinery, what is there to do about insects that eat the crops? Pesticides would be killing God's creation, would it not? Even using "eco-friendly" methods such as introducing natural predators of the bugs can have screwy side-effects on the area.

Finally, if this site is serious about our charge not to kill or harm God's creatures, what about bug zappers? What about swatting mosquitoes? What about termite infestations? If these people are seriously trying to reduce all harm to living things, it must be very inconvenient.

"The only reliable unfortified sources of vitamin B12 are meat, dairy products and eggs."

Not entirely true. "Eggs are often mentioned as a good B-12 source, but they also contain a factor that blocks absorption."

In order for vegans to get enough B12 in their diet, they have to eat foods fortified with it. No plant is a natural source of sufficient B12.

Well they could also take vitamin supplements, but yes, no plant has B12 naturally.

[Radical Dreamer]

In case people thought I was serious.. I wasnt at all. I eat and enjoy meat myself. The verses they quote on the page are horrendously out of context. God has a heart for PEOPLE! Humans! They are his special creation! Jesus desires us to protect the vulnerable, powerless, etc humans! He had compassion for humans! Humans are not the same as animals! Humans are able to obtain salvation, not animals!
RANT! OVER!

Oh GOOD. XDD I was a little worried about you for a minute there. XDD

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Sooooooooooo, who here likes salad ^__^

I like salaaaaaaddd!

As stereotypical as it may be, I love those "Asian" salads that places have. XD Mandarin Orange Slices and Noodles/Wonton crunches mixed with greens and chicken (Doesn't need to have it, but it's preferred!) and some of that "Soy/Ginger/Sesame/Whatever" dressing makes Ryan a happy Ryan. =D

[blkmage]

I enjoy salads when they, ironically, contain meat in them.

[FukuokaGirl]

I actually do not like salad. Haha and I eat as little of it as possible... though I am a huge fan of greens.
Well... for any vegans/vegetarians/pescatarians/whatever... who are interested... this is my own recipe for Vegan Stuffed Peppers.

(by the way, I'm definitely not a professional cook and I guesstimate amounts by eye a lot of the time when I'm creating new stuff off the top of my head haha...so you can definitely gauge your own amounts!)

Ingredients
4 bell peppers - I like red best, but have used green and yellow before just fine.
1 jar of your preferred pasta sauce - I like Ragu chunky garden personally.
1 block Vegan Rella (this is a mozzarella substitute)
1 bag of Soy veggie meat crumbles (these can be found at any supermarket..I use Publix generic brand, but Boca makes them as well)
vegan parm (this is a parmesan cheese sub) - this is optional, I've made it with and without

Directions
preheat oven to 350F
clean and hollow out the peppers
shred the cheese
fry up the veggie crumbles with salt, pepper, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning and olive oil. (These are my staple spices, but you can play with what you like!)

Spoon a little sauce into the bottom of each pepper and then add a layer of cheese. Next spoon in a layer of the veggie crumbles. Continue layering until the peppers are full. Top off each pepper with some sauce and loads of cheese (best part!). Put the top of the peppers back on and place the peppers in your baking tray.
Bake for 9-11 minutes... check on them. =)

Serve and enjoy with some pasta and garlic bread! =)
If you have any questions or if you tweak this and like some of the changes, let me know! I'd love to try your new changes!!!!

[king atlantis]

[color="Red"]isnt not eating any meat bad for you, since you dont get certain vitamins and proteins you can only get through red meat?[/color]

[chibiphonebooth]

[Nate]

No, THIS is life:

[Sheenar]

I give this thread 24 hours before Nate posts a picture of a Hamdog.

You were just a little bit off, SA. But just by a day.

[Raiden no Kishi]

No, THIS is life:

: : nausea : :

.rai//

[Nate]

WAIT PEOPLE WERE BETTING ON ME WHAT IS THIS?

: : nausea : :

no u

[Doubleshadow]

No offense meant, Nate, but still, yuck.

Fav. dish time!

Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers
Cherry tomatoes
Onions, white or red, not overly strong
Vegan mozzarella cheese, I use vegan gourmet
Oil and Vinegar Dressing

Slice the cucumbers and then cut the slices in half. Cut the tomatoes in half, and slice the onions into rings, then cut the rings into quarters, or as you please. Cube the vegan cheese. Place all in a bowl and pour the oil and vinegar dressing. Toss and serve cold.

[Sheenar]

No offense meant, Nate, but still, yuck.

Fav. dish time!

Cucumber Salad

Cucumbers
Cherry tomatoes
Onions, white or red, not overly strong
Vegan mozzarella cheese, I use vegan gourmet
Oil and Vinegar Dressing

Slice the cucumbers and then cut the slices in half. Cut the tomatoes in half, and slice the onions into rings, then cut the rings into quarters, or as you please. Cube the vegan cheese. Place all in a bowl and pour the oil and vinegar dressing. Toss and serve cold.

Salad with feta cheese is amazing --but true vegans don't eat cheese (which I don't understand --cheese is amazing--I don't think I could live without it.)
I'd take out the tomatoes, though. A bit too acid-reflux-inducing for me. I'd also add some sliced bell peppers--I like to eat one of those as a snack. And no dressing. Maybe add some green onions.

[Nate]

No offense meant, Nate, but still, yuck.

I'LL SHOW YOU NO OFFENSE.

"Greetings, friend. I hope this evening finds you well."

YEAH HOW ABOUT THAT HUH? I TOTALLY OUT-NO OFFENDED THE CRAP OUT OF YOU I AM THE MASTER.

[NekoChan_C]

I'LL SHOW YOU NO OFFENSE.

"Greetings, friend. I hope this evening finds you well."

YEAH HOW ABOUT THAT HUH? I TOTALLY OUT-NO OFFENDED THE CRAP OUT OF YOU I AM THE MASTER.

That is the hands down MOST awesome retort I have ever had the pleasure of reading...

[termyt]

I like salaaaaaaddd!

As stereotypical as it may be, I love those "Asian" salads that places have. XD Mandarin Orange Slices and Noodles/Wonton crunches mixed with greens and chicken (Doesn't need to have it, but it's preferred!) and some of that "Soy/Ginger/Sesame/Whatever" dressing makes Ryan a happy Ryan. =D

Since MSP, er He's Asian, I'm Not says those are OK, then they must be OK for all of us. I won't question if they are truly Asian ever again.

[Stephen]

*Sees the hamdog*


*Drops to one knee*

"Excallibur"

[king atlantis]

No, THIS is life:

were can i get one? that thing looks delicious.


*note: im serious :/

[Nate]

Apparently that particular kind is sold at a place in Decatur, Georgia.

I need to go back to Georgia sometime. D:

[ShiroiHikari]

I don't know about you guys but I kinda find the idea of "vegan cheese" silly. That's cheating, isn't it? XD

[Kat Walker]

Vegans avoid honey because they, being the more serious of the bunch, avoid anything that enslaves animals to humans - so anything produced through the labor of animals is off limits. It's like it's stealing form them or some such. Honey is eschewed for the same reason milk and cheese are.

Some vegans consider honey to be kosher, from what I hear. Apparently it's a by-product of plants, not from the bee's body itself (unlike milk), therefore it can be ethically justified.

Anywho...

I'm vegetarian, have been for a good 4 years now. I think it's great. I've had to do a lot of experimentation and try a lot of new things, but once you open your mind to delicious foods you've never considered before you definitely don't have to miss meat. Just be creative. Think beyond the "typical American diet".

The only 'drawback' I've experienced is that I have to cook for myself more often since going out to eat can be a hassle... but then again, that's much better for you. Don't get me wrong, there's options for you if you look hard enough, and most restaurants will gladly take special orders. Of course, it might be a little inconvenient if you're on the go and have very short lunch breaks. Try to make lunch and bring it with you to work/school if you can.

If you're primarily interested in health I suggest going for fresh, organic, homemade food as much as possible. Even if it's just a sandwich or something simple like that. You'll save money, too.

As for the health concerns and other nutritional info, you can find some good articles here: http://vegkitchen.com/vegetarian-tips.htm

Don't be worried too much about protein - practically *everything* edible has some amount of protein in it. Tofu, veggie meat, and other soy products actually have more protein per serving than beef. People tend to overrate its importance, anyway. It only needs to be about 3% of your daily diet. Way too much can actually be bad for you - my best friend suffered mild kidney failure due to an overabundance of protein while on the Atkin's diet.

B12 isn't an issue if you drink milk, but it can be for vegans. B12 can be stored in the body for years, so chances are good that you have enough for quite a while, especially if you were raised on meat most of your life. Of course, if you have anemia or some other disease that interferes with your body's ability to process B12, that is something you must take into account.

There are vitamins and supplements out there, and most vegan foodstuffs (tofu burgers, soy milk, etc) are fortified with B12. So again, you don't have to worry *too* much. It's something of a contentious issue, so do a lot of research first. http://www.veganhealth.org/sh and http://www.veganoutreach.org are good sources of honest information on a myriad of health questions.

That being said, the health benefits of plant-based diets are amazing, and more than worth it. These are really very minor issues compared to the big picture.

Happy eating! This topic's making me hungry....

[FukuokaGirl]

Doubleshadow... I just made your salad for dinner! It was sooo enjoyable! Thanks for sharing! I also made some amazing marinated tofu using tonkatsu sauce! Yummyness. Send over that ice cream recipe! I'm gonna post my cupcake recipe for you soon! <3

[Tsukuyomi]

Doubleshadow... I just made your salad for dinner! It was sooo enjoyable! Thanks for sharing! I also made some amazing marinated tofu using tonkatsu sauce! Yummyness. Send over that ice cream recipe! I'm gonna post my cupcake recipe for you soon! <3

Awwwwwww, I want some cupcakes o_____o

[Doubleshadow]

Darn my busy work schedule. I only got to go to the grocery store yesterday after starting this thread and I forgot a bunch of what I planned to buy! ><

I'm going to try your peppers recipe this weekend so I can focus on it. If I tried to cook it during the week I'm sure I'd ruin it. I wasn't able to find some of the ingredients I needed for my ice cream and some of my substitutes suffered technical difficulties, so I'll let you know when it works. XD

In the mean time, another fav. recipe.

Winter Salad

Baby greens mix
1 Green Apple, Diced (I use Green Delicious)
Dried Cranberries
Cubed Vegan Cheddar (I use Almond Cheddar)
Crushed Walnuts

The dressing I'm using right now is honey mustard, but I found a vegan substitute mustard dressing I'll try when I make it.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Dude, Doubleshadow. Salads with cranberries and/or bits of sliced apples are ALWAYS an A+ in my book.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Croutons, bizatchies. S'all I'm gonna say.

[FukuokaGirl]

Ooh! Doubleshadow~~ I loooove fruit in my salads. Let me know how that new dressing is as well! Okay...as promised...

VEGAN CUPCAKES~~!~
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Icing

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).
3. Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.


Variation:Cookies ‘n’ Cream Cupcakes: Mix into cupcake batter 1 cup (about 10 cookies; chop first, then measure) of coarsely chopped like Oreos. Bake as directed.

[GeneD]

VEGAN CUPCAKES~~!~

This makes me think of non-vegan cupcakes as being cupcakes made from meat. What kind of icing would you put on a meat cupcake?