Im a new vegan? help plz? vegans?

Question

ok so im 17 and ive decided to become a vegan last week, since then i only have silk soy milk, and tons of veggies, salads, nuts, beans, idk wat else to eat tho. I dont know much about tofu so i brough tofu today and cookd it but im not sure i think its the way i made it.. it was so gross =( ... wats an easy way to make tofu i can actually swallow???

idk wat else can i eat????????.. easy stuff plz! . ive mostly only been eating veggies..

Answer 1

Hi Sharlon,

I recommend picking up a good introductory book on veganism, so you know everything you should about vegan nutrition. Try Becoming Vegan:

http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Vegan-Com...

Tofu is flavorless by itself; but there's many good ways to cook it. Try frying it in a pan with just a little olive or canola oil, then once it's browned add a little soy sauce or teriyaki sauce and let it sizzle and absorb all the sauce. Sprinkle on some garlic too!

Then add the tofu to a stir-fry or next to your steamed veggies.

You can also chop it/shred it and have in pasta sauce.

Here's another:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Tofu-...

It sounds like you're eating pretty healthy otherwise! Be sure you have a source of vitamin B12, a multivitamin or fortified soymilk are good. Leafy green vegetables like Kale and Broccoli have lots of iron and calcium which girls need.

Answer 2

i am not vegan, but i am vegetarian, so i have tried out the whole tofu thing.  for the most part it is kind of gross, its all about the flavors you cook w/ it. tofu is generally flavorless, so cook it with flavorful foods.  you can make tofu fajitas (use bell peppers, onion, mushroom, and fajita mix) i dont like it the first day, because the tofu still tastes weird, but after a day of sitting in the flavors, its really good.  so just use stronger flavors when you cook it, and maybe let it sit a day to soak up the flavor. good luck, tofu can be tricky!

Answer 3

Try this recipe:

Stovetop Tofu Skewers

Ingredients:

1 16oz tub of extra-firm tofu

1 bell pepper

1 6oz tub of cherry tomatoes

1 quarter of a pinnapple

Cut the tofu in to little squares. Then add the vegetables.

Either skew it on a stovetop or on a grill :]

Answer 4

try vegan burgers. there will be a bunch of veggie burgers in your store but only a few of them are purely vegan so just check the label.

here is a good site w/ lots of recipes too:  http://vegweb.com

Answer 5

I'll tell you a few things that I eat and maybe that will help to inspire you!  I try not to eat too many processed or soy based foods.

Breakfast - oatmeal w/ raisins & agave; whole grain bread topped w/ peanut butter & sliced banana; sliced apple topped w/ nut butter, sliced banana, hemp nuts, & cinnamon; brown rice w/ steamed veggies, soy sauce, & hot sauce; freshly made fruit/veggie juice

Lunch - salad of assorted veggies topped w/ a variety of nuts & seeds served w/ hummus & pita bread; beans and guacamole w/ corn tortillas; whole grain bread w/ avocado, tomato, sprouts, & vegenaise; veggie soup; vietnamese springroll w/ spicy peanut sauce; last night's dinner leftovers

Dinner - black beans, brown rice, & steamed broccol w/ nuts; black eyed peas w/ kale; half an acorn squash stuffed w/ whole wheat breadcrumbs, spices, chopped walnuts, mushrooms, and baked; lentils cooked w/ veggies & quinoa; veggie or bean patty on whole wheat bun w/ steamed veggies or baked sweet potato wedges; brown rice stir fried w/ veggies and ginger and topped w/ nuts

--------------

I am really picky about tofu.  Here's a good tofu recipe.  I make it about once a week with steamed brown rice and some type of steamed veggie sprinkled with nuts for a hearty meal.  There are a lot of ingredients, but it's really easy because you pretty much just mix them all together.

For this recipe you should first freeze the tofu in it's original water packed packaging. Then defrost in the fridge. Take the tofu out of the packaging and drain well. I usually press it slightly between my hands and that gets quite a bit of the liquid out. Then I wrap it in layers of paper towels and put it on a flat surface, put a cutting board on top of it, and stack some cans of beans or something else heavy on it. I usually let it sit for an hour and I replace the paper towels a few times.

Then I use this recipe that I got from an Indian cooking class -

Barbeque Tofu

1/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp asafetida powder (or 1/2 tsp onion powder & 1/2 tsp garlic powder)

1 Tbsp dried basil

12 oz tomato paste

3 cups water

1/2 Tbsp salt

1/2 Tbsp black pepper

1 tsp mustard powder

3/4 cup sucanat

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp ground coriander

3 (16 oz) packages extra firm tofu

Heat oil in a large pot over a low flame. Add asafetida and basil to the oil and allow to fry for a few seconds. Then add water, the rest of the spices, and the tomato paste to the pot. Use a whisk to mix the sauce and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on medium low heat for 20 minutes. (Taste for seasoning. I usually add a bit more salt.)

While the sauce is cooking, cut each package into 20 pieces. (If you want the tofu pieces a little larger or smaller, go for it.) Place in a baking dish. Pour part of the sauce into the baking dish and gently stir to make sure that all of the pieces are covered. Then pour the rest of the sauce in an even layer over the top of the tofu. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or 450 for 30 minutes.

The sauce tends to burn easily towards the outer edges of the pan so watch it carefully. This recipe makes a lot so you may want to cut it down some. One 16 oz package of tofu will feed between 2 and 4 people, depending on what else is served and how big their appetites are.

By the way, my husband always asks for me to make extra sauce for his brown rice because he likes it so much!

Enjoy!

Answer 6

you named pretty much everything that vegans can eat. the choice was yours to make, so deal with it. as for the tofu, i like it stir-fried with veggies and chicken (but since you are vegan, omit the chicken). I also heard that you could scramble it like eggs.

Answer 7

Fried the tofu in cooking oil until it look yellow. (chinese style)

Then eat it with chili sauce.

Answer 8

Have you tried quinoa or other grains? There are so many awesome recipes for tofu. Try going to http://vegweb.com/ where there is a ton of great vegan recipes!  

Answer 9

If you went from straight meat eater to vegan you might have some problems.  Try going lacto - octo vegetarian then take off one then another, until you go fully vegan.

Answer 10

You do not have to eat tofu but recipes:

Teriyaki Tofu

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=14636....

General Tao's Tofu

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8769.0

Smothered Tofu Steak and Onions

http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8396.0

More:

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=557.0

http://vegweb.com/index.php?board=437.0

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/vegan,...

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?ca...

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/search/searc...

And you need to eat more food, sites to help:

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2008/03/v...

http://veganpeace.blogspot.com/2008/02/v...