veganism for the poor

[Guest guest]

In message <1091354983.111.20466.m12 >,

writes

 

>Message: 2

> Sun, 01 Aug 2004 10:06:07 -0000

> " Leonor Gomes " <mais1mae

>veganism for the poor

>

>Unfortunately veganism seems to be a middle-upper class thing, as it

>turns expensive especially if you do all the substitutes. But I've

>found this really interesting page with cheap spicy recipes. It's part

>of a project in the US it seems:

>

>http://www.alternatives.com/bfa/recipes.htm

 

There are also 2000 vegan recipes from all around the world at

www.ivu.org/recipes - you can choose a cheap or seasonal ingredient and

find a whole host of possible vegan recipes for it.

 

It is a pity that people imagine a vegan diet to be expensive because

obviously it doesn't need to be since we are consuming many products

that would otherwise be eaten by animals.

 

One exception is the cost of milk versus soya milk - because the dairy

industry is vast and subsidised while the soya milk industry is neither.

I'm not sure what you mean by doing all the substitutes, by I imagine

this probably means processed foods of one kind and another and these

are naturally more expensive [they are also much less healthy, though we

all use them from time to time for convenience]

 

In fact, one can live perfectly cheaply and easily without spending the

whole day chopping carrots or soaking beans - people just don't know

quite where to begin. The only things you really do need to be careful

about are B12 [through fortified foods or supplements: it's the same

stuff either way - all B12 is made by bacteria and there are plenty of

vegan brands] and iodine [which is lacking in this country due to soil

depletion in the last ice age - the rest of the population get it

through compulsory fortification of cattle feed, plus iodin-based udder

disinfectant due to widespread mastitis in the dairy herd] which can be

obtained from iodised salt if you can still find it, but better by

buying a small packet of Clearspring kombu [kelp] and grinding it in a

coffee grinder [this will last a year!]

 

All the hype about special so-called balanced oils for omega-3 fatty

acids is designed to make you spend money unnecessarily - it's just

linseed [flaxseed] oil laced with cheaper sunflower oil for omega-6,

which vegans don't need extra anyway because most of us get too much of

it. The way to get omega-3s cheaply and more healthily is either to

cook with rapeseed rather than sunflower oil, or better, buy a kilo of

culinary flaxseed/linseed, grind it in a coffee grinder as required [if

you leave it whole you gain no benefit] and chuck it in bread, porridge,

cereal, anything you like. It has a nice nutty taste [unlike the oil

which tends to get bitter as it gradually goes rancid], but don't eat

too much of it raw. To keep the right balance between omega-3s and

omega-6s, lay off the sunflower oil and cook with either olive oil [high

in monounsaturates] or rapeseed oil [which contains omega-3s in its own

right]. Supermarket brands labelled " vegetable oil " are more often than

not rapeseed oil and very cheap. If you're worried about GM, go for

olive oil instead or get an organic rapeseed oil.

 

So prevalent are these beliefs [fostered by the food and supplement

industries] that the winter issue of The Vegan is planned to have a

major article on healthy [which means vegan!] eating on a budget.

 

For the meantime, though, get your B12 and iodine as suggested above -

the total cost should be no more than a few pence a week if you get a

sensibly priced one [the Solgar vegan 1000 mcg nuggets come in 100s and

250s and you only need one or two a *week* so they last forever while

the Clear Spring kombu costs no more than a couple of quid and lasts one

person more than a year - too much iodine is nearly as bad for you as

too little]

 

If you head for the market stall rather than the freezer cabinet it

should cost a lot less for a much healthier lifestyle [and I'm really

not talking about down-home cooking three times a day: I'm far too busy!

20 minutes is the longest I *ever* spend throwing a meal together!]

 

Do have a look at www.ivu.org for ideas

Alternatively, go to www.vegansociety.com/shop and have a look at some

of the cookbooks there, particularly the international series " Taste of

Italy...India...Greece...France etc etc published by Jon Carpenter.

Many countries have brilliant peasant dishes which are healthy and

either already vegan or easily veganised - I have never been anywhere in

the developing world where a plant food diet was regarded as expensive

compared with a meat-eating one! The Vegan Society also publishes Plant

Based Nutrition and Health by Stephen Walsh PhD, which I edited for them

and on which the above rather sketchy comments about B12 and iodine are

based [neither I nor Stephen makes anything out of the book and no

expensive supplements or substitutes are recommended].

 

In general, both the health industry and the food industry are into

making things seem complicated and difficult because they want you to

spend money on processed stuff and supplements that you don't need.

Simple but delicious plant-based dishes from India, Thailand, the

Mediterranean, whatever takes your fancy, are a much cheaper and

healthier bet.

 

All good wishes,

 

Vanessa

[Guest guest]

I dissagree with that generalisation ( middle upper class thing? ), , but yes if you want to buy all the analogues/ready processed crap then it would be. You can live a lot cheaper by buying reduced veg in the supermarkets, or street markets (haggling isn`t dead yet!), and cooking yourself. If , like me , you do not own a PC ( I am sitting in my local library typing this), the best thing you can do is join a library. If they don`t have many books on veganism and recipies, they will always order one or two, or you can do as I do and use their computers to look for recipies. How expensive is that?! -Middle Upper Class? I dont think so! - more enviromentally friendly too! ( O.K. pushing my luck now! ).

The Valley Vegan......Leonor Gomes <mais1mae wrote:

Unfortunately veganism seems to be a middle-upper class thing, as itturns expensive especially if you do all the substitutes. But I'vefound this really interesting page with cheap spicy recipes. It's partof a project in the US it seems:http://www.alternatives.com/bfa/recipes.htmLeo

[Guest guest]

, peter hurd <swpgh01@t...> wrote:

> I dissagree with that generalisation ( middle upper class thing? ),

>, but yes if you want to buy all the analogues/ready processed crap

>then it would be. You can live a lot cheaper by buying reduced veg

>in the supermarkets, or street markets (haggling isn`t dead yet!),

>and cooking yourself.

 

I realise that, but I have a kid and he likes yogurts, ice cream,

sausages and ham. When we lived from smart price products it was quick

easy to put a tasty meal he liked together. Many recipes I came across

so far use tofu wich is expensive and spoils easily.

 

I was wondering if people would like to share their favourite simple

kid friendly recipes here.

 

Leo