[Closed] Gone veggie for a week....

Well, I've just finished eating home-cooked organic leg of roast lamb, bio-dynamically farmed in Hampshire. Even if I say so myself, it was absolutely delicious. 8)

Give up good quality meat? Never!

Turn it into a tofu chocolate moose. Or is that mouse haha.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/25/vegetarian-recipes-black-pepper-tofu

Throw it in the bin.

helpful as ever, STW!

THM, what type of tofu is it? firm, soft, silken? flavoured already at all?

Lol @ Kuco. 😀

not my favourite food stuff tbh but you can make a sort of scrambled egg type thing

It crumbles fairly easy and just cook with whatever veg you have - I usually use mushrooms [ tomatoes are too liquidy IME], onions pepper , perhaps some courgette Wocester sauce for flavour - NB the real stuff has anchovies

cook veg first add tofu to heat basically

I quite like it fried so it is crunchy ion the outside - cut it sort 2 inch by 1 inch or the middle dries as well and you get crutonsEDIT: you can use any type for my recipe FWIW

The flavoured stuff is much better IMHO

rob81 +1 -my local chinese does that black pepper tofu (but call it salt & spicy beancurd) and it's well nice.
Otherwise, I have been veggie for 15 years and never found much else yummy to do with tofu besides various permutations of wet or dry stir fry.
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/scouse_eggs_95239 ]Bit I might have a go at this soon. [/url] 😀

I eat veggie (inc fish) probably half the week these days. I hate Tofu and what this teaches you is not to buy any more 🙂

Marinate in soy sauce, garlic, black pepper and a drop of sesame oil. Fry until golden brown then chuck it in a stir fry or a salad.

Thanks rob, looks nice but v similar to what I have just cooked.
Xherb - not sure, it's cauldron original tofu. Guessing unflavoured and in a sealed lump. I have marinated some quorn as an experiment this week and essentially stir fried it - no recipes just winging it - but need a new idea for the tofu.

It's only a temporary (at the moment) thing CG in prep for a half Mara in a few weeks. Washing up a meaty pan and looking at all the gunk made me feel like a change for a week or two. So far it's been delicious and 3lbs down. The later could be the hard intervals yesterday and the 8 miler XC run today though! Still ELMM!!!!

Trouble with this veggie stuff, it looks so good I am not actually doing the EL bit!!!

Looks like another stir fry variation then! I guess the key is the marinade??

I am 99% veggie! every once in a while I eat sausages (I do not want to give them up) but even I would chuck tofu in the bin.

😕

IME, despite the claims, it does not absorb any marinade flavour hence why the flavoured stuff

http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?PID=2636&searchterm=tofu&rdcnt=1

or the varieties from here

https://taifun-tofu.de/en/produkte/taifun_tofu_produkte.php?NID1=3&NID2=9&NID3=0&ProdGr=9

Both dearer than cauldron but worth it

bio-dynamically farmed

WTF does that even mean? Sounds cruel..... 😉
I prefer lamb from sheep that have been running around in a (Preferable Welsh) field somewhere.

🙂

It is cruel. Just makes the consumer feel better is all.

I have never eaten meat or fish in all my life & I hate tofu. A friend made some sort of bake with it once which wasn't too bad.

Goes well in Thai curry

Eating tofu isn't going to convert you.

Go for actual vegetables instead mate.

on and off veggie for most of my life but got to agree with the above. chuck it in the bin. my rule is if a labrador wont eat it its not food

Miso based soup with ginger and chilli worked in somehow and cubes of plain tofu floating in the middle of the bowl and chopped spring onions on top. You have to appreciate it for its blandness or not at all.

If you're intent on this meat replacement stuff try the Kosher sossies from health food stores. Can't remember who make them but they're Ace!
Also look out for Wicken Fen goodies.

Funny and helpful answers thanks. I lived in Japan in the 80s so not new to tofu. Came in miso soup with pretty much every meal. I quite like it - and really only bought it for the protein. I accept that it's dull in itself.

Cha****ng - eating plenty of vegetables this week!! I am not looking to be converted, just a change for recent meat heavy diet.

Wrap in bacon and fry till crispy.

Remove the filling and eat. Red or brown sauce to taste.

Bumped into a colleague yesterday contemplating buying Tofu steaks for her and husband's tea, he was off looking at beer, told her to forget about it and buy some proper steaks. Her reply was that it's healthy was thinking about trying it. I pulled out to the 2 fat sirloin steaks and just bought at the butchers and showed them to her, she put the bean curd back.

Meat eater prefers steak to tofu shocka

Dan 😀 haven't got that far yet!!!

Meat eater prefers steak to tofu shocka

Yes that was my point well done.

I eat veggie (inc fish)

So not veggie.

The thing I like about being veggie is how my idea of what constitutes a meal has fundamentally changed from how I was bought up. Veggie food for me has been heavily influenced by the explosion we have had in this country from worldwide foods to which it often lends itself naturally.

I'd try to leave out meat-substitutes (chuck it in the bin) and really get into what fantastic stuff is out there from all over the world.

I've never found Tofu either tasty or easy to use. We all like easy food now and again though so maybe get some frozen Linda McCartney type stuff to wang in the oven now and again.

Glad you're seeing the benefits. 🙂

Tofu is nice roasted with a load of vegetables...

Noone has mentioned scrambled tofu? With some nice mushies and lots of paprika. Best if you can get it a wee bit crispy on the bottom.

The ultimate acquired taste is the Chinese fermented tofu... stinks but surprisingly nice if you can get it past your nose.

Thanks - roast it with vegetables! Greta's idea! Just looked up some recipes. Parsnips, carrots, broccoli and tofu roasted together. Sounds good. Maybe some parmasan on the parsnips!?!

Last time I showed my neighbour my meat in a supermarket, I was arrested.

in terms of texture, cauldron brand is unlike pretty much any other brand of tofu. and not in a good way sadly.
but if i absolutely had to eat cauldron again, i think i'd press it to get as much of the liquid out as possible, then crumble it with my hands and make tofu scramble with softened chopped shallots, chopped red pepper, leeks, crushed garlic, a small chunk of fresh turmeric peeled and grated, a few sliced chestnut or small portobello mushrooms, a small red chili finely chopped, a dash of soy sauce and a teaspoon of turmeric powder stirred into it all.

but that's just me.

i quite like cooking with tofu.

Agree with the others, you don't need meat substitutes like Tofu and Quorn to be vegi. Eat it, then don't buy any more 🙂

Since when was tofu a meat substitute? And quorn is just muck...

As above, the tofu was for protein not a meat sub. Ok, the quorn was. I quite liked it for an easy meal. Not looking for meat subs anyway, the quorn was more of a one off. Reckon I have eaten a lot more protein this week.

Well, I've just finished eating home-cooked organic leg of roast lamb, bio-dynamically farmed in Hampshire. Even if I say so myself, it was absolutely delicious.

I just ate a chicken. Not a poncy one. No pseudo science. Kitchen-cooked, tray-roasted, chicken-farm-farmed in Phuket. Very tasty.

Back on-topic, chop it up into thin slices ad flour it. Fry it with salt, butter and pepper. Not meat, but not bad.

As a vegan I confirm that tofu is shit!

Japanese do a good job of it in sushi though.

[img] [/img] You could always make some stinky tofu. If anyone ever says that tofu tastes bland should try some of this! It tastes like pigs smells, is the best way I can describe it but after a while it became my favourite dish in Taiwan!

As a veggie of 20 years plus, I never got on with tofu.

I use Quorn mince / chunks a lot. The key thing to remember though is that you can't cook it like meat, the mince especially. I've seen recipes for stuff like (meat) spag bol or chilli which involve simmering for hours to tenderise the meat, if you do that with Quorn you'll end up with slurry.

If I'm cooking something that needs to be cooked for ages, I'll chuck the mince in ten - fifteen minutes before it's due to come off, it only really needs warming through. Alternatively, frying it off first and then adding it makes it a bit more robust.

IME when people say they don't like Quorn, it's almost always because they've boiled the arse out of it for an hour.

tofu is the same as any food item, in that some people like it and some people don't.
doesn't mean it's "shit". it's actually an incredibly versatile source of protein as the different types of it can be used in many different dishes, e.g. i can blend soft silken tofu with melted dark chocolate and freshly squeezed orange juice then put it in bowls and refrigerate overnight to make a choc orange mousse, or i can press and crumble regular firm tofu then mash with a fork along with finely chopped basil, nutritional yeast flakes, crushed garlic and seasoning to make a soft cheese style ravioli/canneloni filling, or i could just marinate chunks/strips of it then fry or bake...
if you take it for what it is, it's a handy thing to have in the fridge (if you're veggie/vegan). if not, then that's fine.

the amusing/sad thing is that if someone had asked about how to use some cut of meat and one of the forum veggies had replied saying "it's shit", you lot would have been all over them.

Only one person said it was "shit" and that person was a vegan. Whilst I don't disagree with anything you've said, it seems a little unfair to be pulling up the carnivores for it.

Been a strict vegetarian for 30 years and definitely don't need a "meat substitute" of any description. I never got on with tofu either, but as a recent convert to Quorn, I think it's quite good (not in the meat flavoured variations, obviously!)

Tofu has been around a lot longer than the concept of "meat substitutes for veggies".

Only one person said it was "shit" and that person was a vegan. Whilst I don't disagree with anything you've said, it seems a little unfair to be pulling up the carnivores for it.

It has to be said there were a couple of "I've just had a lovely leg of lamb ner ner ner" type posts, though 🙂

Only one person said it was "shit" and that person was a vegan. Whilst I don't disagree with anything you've said, it seems a little unfair to be pulling up the carnivores for it.

Yeah, fair point!
I was including the crass "i ate a lump of sheep" and "throw it in the bin" type comments too i suppose.

Tofu has been around a lot longer than the concept of "meat substitutes for veggies".

true.
i for one don't view it as that anyway.

IME when people say they don't like Quorn, it's almost always because they've boiled the arse out of it for an hour.

IME it's because they are comparing it to meat.

It's alright on its own terms, but never anything more than that.

maybe if it was cruelty free biodynamic quorn and three times the price...

nutritional yeast flakes

and definitely don't need a "meat substitute" of any description. I never got on with tofu either, but as a recent convert to Quorn,

i dont have a problem with veggies who eat meat substitutes to be clear.

If you eat tofu as a meat substitute you will be very disappointed

Just to be clear, my post was light-hearted and clearly not taken by some in the spirit in which it was intended!

Lighten-up peeps. 🙂

I was including the crass "i ate a lump of sheep" and "throw it in the bin" type comments too i suppose.

Eh, I thought the bacon one was funny.

I am fairly confident that Quorn should be considered a meat substitute [ it is certainly advertised as this] - its not vegan so i dont eat it.

It is in the UK, at least. In the US the main thrust of their marketing is as a low fat 'diet' food.

Some Quorn has egg as an ingredient, so isn't vegan. I didn't realise that applied to all the products though, I thought some didn't.

You might be correct re the egg - i dont check tbh so cannot be sure

Scurries off to check the vegan bible 😉

there's no quorn products outside of the US so far that don't have egg in. i think they talked about making an egg free burger (because i think that's their US vegan item) available here last year but i didn't see anything come of it.

Just to be clear, my post was light-hearted and clearly not taken by some in the spirit in which it was intended!

Fair enough. hard to tell on here sometimes, with the proliferation of ****ery...

Fair enough. hard to tell on here sometimes, with the proliferation of ****ery...

Ladies never fall into that category, we leave it to the blokes. 😉

I've never enjoyed the tofu from supermarkets.
We to travel every-so-often to chinatown to get the nice fresh stuff (which can soak up flavour). Absolutely love it then.

forget about it and buy some proper steaks. Her reply was that it's healthy

Steak is healthy 🙂

Anyway I don't like eating food that's pretending to be something else. If I eat a veggie dish it's a dish that is good without meat - chili or dahl for instance, or the other day I had a very nice chickpea biryani. Likewise when making iDiet meals I just make things that don't need bread or mash rather than try and substitute.

xherbivorex - Member
Only one person said it was "shit" and that person was a vegan. Whilst I don't disagree with anything you've said, it seems a little unfair to be pulling up the carnivores for it.
Yeah, fair point!
I was including the crass "i ate a lump of sheep" and "throw it in the bin" type comments too i suppose.

POSTED 5 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

I stand by my throw it in the bin comment. The op wanted ideas what to do with it so I gave him one.

Steak is healthy

is there not a limit to the amount of red meat you are advised to eat and a MINIMUM number of veg?

Neither diet is healthy per se but red meat is only ok in moderation

That is like saying cakes are healthy or similar.

Anyway I don't like eating food that's pretending to be something else.

It's not pretending to be anything, it's just that you're conditioned into expecting things a certain way. A lamb bhuna isn't pretending to be a chicken bhuna now, is it?!

It's a mistake to think of this stuff as "fake meat." I've had people ask why I'd eat fake sausages, I clearly want to eat sausages so why not eat them? But that's not the case; sausages, burgers, mince etc are just convenient methods of packaging protein. There's nothing inherently burger-shaped in beef, it's ground up and squished into a flat disc so it's convenient to eat on a bun. People make chilli with turkey mince and no-one bats an eyelid. Why's Quorn / TVP any different? They're all just chewy savoury bits in a rich sauce.

What do you do for a good amount of protein without meat? Not a dig just curious as I wouldn't mind cutting down on the amount of chicken I eat (just because I'm getting a bit bored of it) but veggie stuff aeems a bit bland for stuff with good protein content as well - lentils or beans pretty much?

Quinoa meant to be really good as it contains all of the essential amino acids, but I didn't like it when I tried it. Sky team chef Søren Kristiansen serves it up a lot to the team.

Despite being an absolute meat fiend, I made the decision to go pescetarian a couple of weeks ago. A friend sent me a video of animal slaughter in an abattoir, and the general treatment of animals in them. I only bought organic meat, in the hope that they at least lived a decent healthy life, but I still can't reconcile myself with their fate. I'd seen a similar video before, but this one struck a chord with me. I also donate every month to several animal charities, and even that couldn't alleviate the guilt I felt. So I made the decision to try and go pescetarian. It's actually a lot easier than I expected. I've no interest in meat substitutes like quorn or similar stuff, just lots of good veg and seafood. However I have purposely avoided the smell of bacon...

I made the decision to go pescetarian a couple of weeks ago. A friend sent me a video of animal slaughter in an abattoir, and the general treatment of animals in them.

It's not all laughter and happy frollicking in commercial fishing either. You should check that out too. 😕

I only eat Quorn etc when I'm feeling especially lazy, but most of the time I've found that being 'conscious' of my diet means that I'll generally eat way less processed crap than your average meathead, which can only be a good thing.

I'll have to get into Tofu a little more though as I guess it's pretty versatile.

yeah, quinoa is a very good plant based source of complete protein but it's definitely an acquired taste.
otherwise, yes- legumes. beans and that. as wide a variety of them as you can.

It's not all laughter and happy frollicking in commercial fishing either. You should check that out too

Yeah I've seen that too. Again I avoid farmed fish, plus fish are ugly and aren't cute and fluffy like sheep etc 😆

Think I might have to give quinoa another go.

Quinoa is great, I really like it. I normally use it in a paella in place of rice or just roast a load of diced veg in olive oil then mix the quinoa in.

The protein content is a bit of a red herring though IMO as the carb content totally outweighs it. Kind of the veggie equivalent of eating loads of bacon sarnies "for the protein" 🙂

I love quinoa but the boss told me that sainburys have stopped stocking it.

Must be hard to give up eggs - two omelettes down this week already after runs.

Not heard that but I buy it from LWFS (local whole foods shop!) anyway. I've seen it in Waitrose, Co-Op & also Tesco I think, plus Holland & Barrett. It is pretty popular these days so you should be able to find it easily.

Roast tofu and vegetables with some quinoa for supper then? Hopefully the boss left some haloumi to grill as well,

Just the thing after a Swinley soaking????

chakaping - Member

IME it's because they are comparing it to meat

I reckon so- I do a lot of substitutes because of allergy, and for ages I kept comparing things directly- "This doesn't taste exactly like X, therefore it sucks", then I stopped that and just started thinking "Is this good in its own right".

Grilled haloumi... now you're talking! Yeah I'm definitely going to add that in next time!

Yes that was my point well done.

You want to have steak rare, not well done.

As for meat substitutes - I really like dried mushrooms. They seem to have a meaty savoury flavour, plus the water you use for rehydration makes a great base for a stock.