I have been vegan for over 2 years now but I know it has become much more popular in that time so was wondering if there were others who played Subeta?

Yay! Hello fellow vegan! My boyfriend and I will be vegan for 2 years this May. I'm glad that the movement has become more popular - it sheds more light on the idea and also shows that there are varying degrees of it, not just the angry PETA vegan lifestyles.

Well hello there :) I was beginning to think I was the only vegan in Subeta : Yeah, I'm not a fan of PETA, they are really just a business and not all is as it seems where they are concerned but at least they do raise some good issues and gets veganism out there :)

I've been vegan for almost 5 years and was vegetarian for 11 years before that - my only regret is that I waited so long to ditch the dairy. It's awesome to see veganism becoming more and more mainstream in recent years, there are more options available now than ever before! I rarely eat 'junk food' (I'm kind of a health nut, haha) but it's still cool to hear that companies like Ben & Jerry's and Blue Bunny are coming out with vegan ice creams and Wendy's is launching a black bean burger...times are a'changin'! While I am an animal rights activist I'm also not big on PETA or their tactics and absolutely hate how people lump all vegans into that stereotype. I'm just about living a healthy, environmentally friendly, cruelty-free way of life. It's wonderful to meet fellow vegans on here! ^u^

I've been vegan for about 3 years and was vegetarian for a long time before that. Nice to know there are other vegans on Subeta! :)

Hello there :D Yes, also a vegetarian for years before I realised the dairy industry was just as cruel. I don't eat much junk food either but I agree it's great that alternatives to just about everything are becoming more mainstream. I am in the UK and in my town alone, we have at least 20 places we can eat vegan which is amazing considering when I first went vegan there were about 3 :

That's awesome! I live in a small town and while we don't have any 100% vegan restaurants I've noticed an increase of options. There are plenty of places to eat out without worry, even a local pizza joint that offers Daiya vegan cheese.

I know the feels - my hometown is a small town and there's no place you can get anything specifically vegan or has any sort of vegan awareness. I've since moved to a more metropolitan area and there's a LOT more choices - multiple Thai restaurants that easily cater to vegans and also a pizza place that offers Daiya cheese! I'm not a fan of Daiya (tastes gross and is super processed) but it's great that there's awareness!

We can get a vegan pizza from Pizza express but if we want cheese on it we take our own and they will add it :) My children prefer my homemade ones though :D

Oh yeah, I took a trip to Chicago last year and it was like vegan paradise - Native Foods is the coolest place ever! But my town still has a fair amount of options available. My favorite is a local Mediterranean restaurant that offers a delicious veggie kibbeh among other things. I like Daiya but I don't eat processed food like that very often. Have you ever tried Chao? It's pricey but it's probably the best vegan cheese I've ever had.

That's awesome; homemade pizza is the best! Bah, now I want some... :p

I'm on the Crissi Carvalho diet at the moment, so no pizza for me. I'm aiming for my first competition befor i'm 50 :D

Ugh I've tried Daiya's cream cheese and their provolone slices and I just don't like the taste, way too fake-tasting, like they're trying too hard haha. I've seen Chao but we've never tried it - I will have to buy some now! The cheese we use is made from almonds (can't remember the brand name) but I don't think it's 100% animal-product free. We've always wanted to try and make our own cheese at home but a cheese maker/cheesecloth might not be the most practical investment right now, haha. We mostly use the cheese to put on our "chicken" parm dinners - long cooking process but sooo worth it.

Hello fellow herbivores! :D I've only been vegan since last summer, so I'm still kind of a newbie, I guess ^_^ I'm lucky to live in a fairly vegan-friendly place, lots of restaurants have vegan options, Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, and even the "normal" grocery stores have vegan products :) Plus we just had a vegan "butcher" shop open nearby, which is cool (and yummy! but expensive)

I second the Chao recommendation! I haven't liked any prepackaged vegan cheese I've tried so far except Chao. The original flavor especially is awesome, imo, it's like a mild provolone/Swiss, but coconut herb was also really good :)

I'll definitely have to try it, then! We like mozzarella on our chicken parm, but my boyfriend likes provolone on anything, so we'll have good use for it. They sound like they have some interesting and different flavors, that's exciting!

I'm trying to be vegetarian right now, but if I could be vegan one day, that would be pretty much the best thing ever. I admire those who are vegan so much. I'm into animal rights, I'm a supporter of Sea Shepherd, I'm an environmentalist/conservationist. I just love cheese and chocolate so damn much, lol. The only meat I eat is chicken and fish, once in a while, but I'd really like to give that up too. I'm just trying to find a way to work around my myriad of allergies and other problems.

I was "addicted" to cheese before I went vegan so I became hooked on vegan alternatives and up until Chao Daiya was the best I'd had. It's still my go-to brand because it's cheaper...but I'm a health food nut now so it's just a "sometimes" treat anyway. My favorite recipe these days is a sauteed kale mix (kale, collards, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and mushrooms with nutritional yeast, garlic and onion powder) The yeast gives it a wonderful "cheesy" flavor! I know my friend has an awesome recipe for homemade cheese that she keeps saying she's gonna try one of these days (when you do I want some XD)

Oh awesome! Good luck! :D I'm very strict with myself these days too although I'm not following anything in particular, just eating a lot of whole foods with a prime focus on leafy greens. I started doing this about a year and a half ago and I've lost 94 lbs since so I guess I'm doing something right! I'll still take one or two "splurge days" a month but honestly I don't really miss the junkfood...and it always gives me a stomachache when I do "indulge" in it.

Oh man I've heard about the vegan butcher shop, I'm so jealous! Probably not something I would eat very often but I'd love to try it. It's awesome to see that even small town grocery stores are carrying vegan products now - and even their own brand names! Here we have Kroger and their Simple Truth brand has a line of vegan meats. I love it because it's less expensive than the more mainstream brands but just as good - the meatless griller strips are my favorite.

Best of luck to you! Have you tried Gardein's fish filets? I absolutely love them, which is funny because I never liked seafood before. They also make some great vegan chicken tenders and if you have Kroger stores I'd highly recommend the Simple Truth brand. If store bought isn't your thing you can always make your own vegmeat using something like seitan or tempeh - or even jackfruit! There's an awesome list of alternatives here. As for cheese Chao and Daiya, as mentioned above, are some of the best but I have to say nutritional yeast satisfies my cheese craving just fine...and it's so healthy too!

As for chocolate...I love it too, it's one of my weaknesses lol. It's not too hard to find vegan chocolates, most dark chocolate is okay and there are brands like Enjoy Life that have their own line of dairy-free sweets. Actually, Enjoy Life is one you might want to look into because their products are free of all top allergens - here's the site) I recently found an "accidentally vegan" chocolate bar at the Dollar Tree. XD Speaking of Dollar Tree they've been pretty awesome about carrying more and more vegan products - they even sell veggie burgers now. :D

Congrats on making the effort! I can understand the "addiction" to some foods - it's so hard sometimes! But you just need to keep at it. Just showing some self-control here and there makes a difference, and before you know it, it's not too hard after all! What helped me along was research, research, research. Find vegan/vegetarian versions of your favorite meals, or meals that look super interesting and flavorful that just don't happen to have any animal products in them, or meals whose ingredients are easily replaceable, i.e. vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, almond/soy milk instead of regular milk, etc. And when it doubt, Google it! There's an equally flavorful substitution for literally everything. Easy go-to meals that helped me out: soups! Load the pot with everything you have in the fridge and pantry and go to town! They're wicked easy and super filling. My favorites are lentil & veggies and wild rice & mushroom. Eat whatever you want, go out of your comfort zone and eat foods you've never tried before, do a ton of research and learn as much as you can, and you'll get the vegetarian/vegan ball rolling :)

Oof that sounds delicious! I totally want to try that now, especially since raw leafy greens upset my stomach, sautéing them would be a great way to get the nutrients without the plant fiber overload.

we in the UK have heard about the vegan butchers and are so jealous it's not over here....you are lucky!

have you seen Cowspiracy and/or Earthlings? I recommend if you are looking for a good reason to go vegan but be warned, Earthlings is graphic and hard going. You can get just about everything vegan that you normally like to eat. It's so easy these days :)

WTG on the weight loss! Yes, we all like a splurge every now and then :)

Here's a recipe for homemade cheese from the book Bountiful Health that I've been wanting to try. It looks super easy! When I try it I'll post how it turned out; if you try it first do the same please.

Sliceable Cheese

2 cups water 3 tsp agar powder 3/4 cup cashews 1 Tbs lemon juice 1 Tbs nutritional yeast flakes 1 1/2 tsp onion salt 1/2 tsp tumeric (for yellow color cheese, leave out if you want white cheese)

In a sauce pan mix water and agar; bring to a boil, and boil for 1-2 minutes. In a blender add remaining ingredents, and then add boiled agar and water. Blend until VERY smooth. Pour into a container the thickness you want, refrigerate. Use when sliceable. For grated cheese, freeze, take out of freezer and grate. Keep cheese refrigerated or frozen.

Absolutely!

super surprised i never commented on this board before but yes!!!!!! i'm a vegan, hi, hello!! i think i've been vegan since mid december.... had to take a break in late november due to low LOWWWW iron, but i've been vegan ever since!!! i live in a small town in texas so it's not very... exciting to eat here. but! i have kitchen access, which makes a world of difference. :)