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Hi! Just a little introduction to confirm I'm not a spammer! I'm Catie, an 18 y/o from Australia and vegan of 2+ years.
I found this forum through Unnatural Vegan's recent recommendation video. I've enjoyed reading through some of the discussions in the past few hours and can see this forum being a really useful and interesting resource, so I decided to sign up. I may hold off actually participating in discussions for a little while, because I'm still exploring ideas and working out how to articulate myself in a way that feels right... we'll see! For now though, I'll be a happy & intrigued spectator
For me, it's great! I'd say in most of the capital cities (definitely in Melbourne and Sydney) it's very easy! It'd probably be harder, but still possible, in many of the smaller towns and more remote areas.
I'm very lucky in that there are a number of completely vegan or vegetarian restaurants within a few minutes drive from where I live, and many restaurants have vegan options or will cater if you ask.
I think I've also had it pretty easy with the social/stigma side of things - I'd say about half of my friends are vegetarian or veggie-curious (well,the females at least), and my family have been almost entirely supportive of my decision! That definitely makes things easier.
Wow, that's great.
What're the all-vegan restaurants like? The closest I've come to that is buying stuff from the store inside of the store Whole Foods. Mmm, vegan pizza.
I'm in the US, and people here seem to be generally open-minded towards veganism also. I'm guessing it's very different in the Bible Belt, though.
EquALLity wrote:What're the all-vegan restaurants like?
There are a couple of outstanding ones that "veganize" popular meals really well. Ah, just thinking about their food is making me drool! They're a hit with the non-veg crowd too. There are also a few raw/organic/healthy type ones which are nice if thats what you're into.
I wish we had something similar to Whole Foods here though! Our supermarkets are definitely lacking - if you're looking for (palatable) cheese and ice-cream substitutes, mock meats or any sort of pre-made vegan meal (like vegan pizza, yum!) you'll have little to no luck at any of the big supermarket chains. The only places that stock those products are health food stores, but the range is still small and everything is quite expensive. I guess we'll just have to wait until the demand is higher.
Are there not many restaurants near you with veg options, or do you just prefer not to eat out?
Last edited by catie on Sat Jul 16, 2016 12:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
As for mock-meat options, unfortunately in the big supermarkets there isn't much choice. I'm lucky again to live nearby a few health food stores and vegan/cruelty free shops, where you can find Gardein and a couple of other brands, though they are quite pricey.
They look great but I'm yet to actually try any of them out. I'm not sure what the range is like for you, but if there are any products you recommend, let me know!
EquALLity wrote:What're the all-vegan restaurants like?
There are a couple of outstanding ones that "veganize" popular meals really well. Ah, just thinking about their food is making me drool! They're a hit with the non-veg crowd too. There are also a few raw/organic/healthy type ones which are nice if thats what you're into.
I wish we had something similar to Whole Foods here though! Our supermarkets are definitely lacking - if you're looking for (palatable) cheese and ice-cream substitutes, mock meats or any sort of pre-made vegan meal (like vegan pizza, yum!) you'll have little to no luck at any of the big supermarket chains. The only places that stock those products are health food stores, but the range is still small and everything is quite expensive. I guess we'll just have to wait until the demand is higher.
Are there not many restaurants near you with veg options, or do you just prefer not to eat out?
Oh, Whole Foods isn't in Europe? That's too bad.
Unfortunately the nearest Whole Foods to me is pretty far away, but the few time I've been there were amazing. There was also taste testing in the store, and one spot had taste testing for vegan ice-cream.
I just don't do it often I guess. I'm a teenager, so it's not so much of my choice.
I find that nearly every place I've been to has some kind of vegan option, though. Sometimes the small niche restaurants are confused what I mean by 'vegan', but they usually have something vegan without realizing it at first.
Lurk if you like, but this isn't a "regulars only" type of forum. They let me talk, so you should be fine to jump in a discussion! The fact that you use "articulate" in a sentence properly suggest you are capable of being able to fit in here, so dive in!
The fact that you use "articulate" in a sentence properly suggest you are capable of being able to fit in here, so dive in!