4 ms·

As a non-vegan, these recipes truly baffle me. Why on earth would anyone eat that? Surely there are some nice, simple dishes you can make using fruits and nuts

by dtf 17y ago

As a non-vegan, these recipes truly baffle me. Why on earth would anyone eat that? Surely there are some nice, simple dishes you can make using fruits and nuts and vegetables, rather than these massively processed soy products pretending to be meat or fish or cheese? Seriously, what's the point?

theorique 17y ago
I'm a vegan primarily for health reasons, so I generally agree with you. I eat mostly 'plant-based whole foods', in the words of Joi Ito. At the same time, it's nice to be able to eat a variety of foods. Some people who are vegans primarily for ethical reasons rather than health or taste reasons may miss meat and/or cheese a lot (especially in the early stages). In this case, these products provide a substitute for the foods that they may remember and enjoy but no longer choose to eat.
- aristus 17y ago
  Doug Coupland called these kinds of people "crypto-carnivore". :) I enjoy meat and veggie food but I draw the line at egg and milk substitutes. Real vegan cheese is appalling and no amount of processing can make up for it. "Soy" cheese that uses milk protein is much better... and there are a lot more simple vegetarians than radical-Shiite vegans. Nor is there always a bright line. I have heard good arguments over whether honey is or is not vegan.
shaunxcode 17y ago
Truth - as a vegan I find the best meals are those which are almost entirely produce based with some simple grains to add texture etc. I am not a "raw food" type but I love well prepared raw food. Even working from home I have a hard time being able to shop and prepare to eat a healthy raw diet so I fall back on frozen veg, brown rice, quinoa, beans and lentils. Eating out is always going to be a compromise if you really care about what goes into your body. I would prefer to reserve it for when I am out of town or special occasions - but even then what is more special than actually taking the time to cook yourself?
yosh 17y ago
Yeah, I always thought faking meat with vegetables has a certain amount of hack value, but people who are serious about a vegetarian diet are better off mostly eating cusines that are designed to be vegetarian, to get the proper nutrient balance. True veganism is really hard, because you can't really trust processed foods. From the food hacking perspective, it'd be cool if someone did the opposite: fake vegetables using meat. Making beef have the taste and texture of a carrot would be pretty impressive.
pyre 17y ago
Depends on what you mean by 'processed' too. There are some very rich flavors that can be produced just by throwing cashews into a food processor/blender. I don't think that many people would say that throwing nuts through a blender would really 'processed'. (I really think that a lot of people just see 'processed' as some block box where ingredients go into a factory and come out the other side somehow 'tainted', but how and why they are 'tainted' is absent from the discussion)

by dtf 17y ago

theorique 17y ago

I'm a vegan primarily for health reasons, so I generally agree with you. I eat mostly 'plant-based whole foods', in the words of Joi Ito. At the same time, it's nice to be able to eat a variety of foods. Some people who are vegans primarily for ethical reasons rather than health or taste reasons may miss meat and/or cheese a lot (especially in the early stages). In this case, these products provide a substitute for the foods that they may remember and enjoy but no longer choose to eat.

aristus 17y ago
Doug Coupland called these kinds of people "crypto-carnivore". :) I enjoy meat and veggie food but I draw the line at egg and milk substitutes. Real vegan cheese is appalling and no amount of processing can make up for it. "Soy" cheese that uses milk protein is much better... and there are a lot more simple vegetarians than radical-Shiite vegans. Nor is there always a bright line. I have heard good arguments over whether honey is or is not vegan.

shaunxcode 17y ago

Truth - as a vegan I find the best meals are those which are almost entirely produce based with some simple grains to add texture etc. I am not a "raw food" type but I love well prepared raw food. Even working from home I have a hard time being able to shop and prepare to eat a healthy raw diet so I fall back on frozen veg, brown rice, quinoa, beans and lentils. Eating out is always going to be a compromise if you really care about what goes into your body. I would prefer to reserve it for when I am out of town or special occasions - but even then what is more special than actually taking the time to cook yourself?

yosh 17y ago

Yeah, I always thought faking meat with vegetables has a certain amount of hack value, but people who are serious about a vegetarian diet are better off mostly eating cusines that are designed to be vegetarian, to get the proper nutrient balance. True veganism is really hard, because you can't really trust processed foods. From the food hacking perspective, it'd be cool if someone did the opposite: fake vegetables using meat. Making beef have the taste and texture of a carrot would be pretty impressive.

pyre 17y ago

Depends on what you mean by 'processed' too. There are some very rich flavors that can be produced just by throwing cashews into a food processor/blender. I don't think that many people would say that throwing nuts through a blender would really 'processed'. (I really think that a lot of people just see 'processed' as some block box where ingredients go into a factory and come out the other side somehow 'tainted', but how and why they are 'tainted' is absent from the discussion)