After
watching a film about being vegan, I decided to try some vegan food.
I ate vegan butter, chocolate, meat and cooked with vegan eggs. First
I tried vegan butter on toast with dairy free cheese. The butter was
delicious and tasted like real butter.
The
real test is how it works in baking, which I tried with pumpkin
(vegan) chocolate chip cookies. Instead of using eggs, I substituted
one teaspoon flax seed mixed with three teaspoons of water. This
mixture works for one egg and needs to be doubled for multiple eggs.
The cookies baked fine but there were two problems. The batter tasted
strange from the butter and the cookies gave me gas even though they
were dairy-free. The pumpkin chocolate chip cookies also gave me a
headache.
Vegan
American Cheese:
I
thought I would try dairy-free, vegan American cheese in a meal. I
made mini grilled cheese sandwiches to go on top of home made
vegetable soup. The cheese was so-so because it tasted a little
strange. The cheese stuck to the wrapping when I was trying to remove
it from the wrapper and was also slimier than regular American
cheese, which grossed me out.
Even
though I tried going dairy free while I was in college, I knew I
could not give up chocolate and ice cream. When I first learned about
lactose intolerance, I found the company So Delicious and
learned they made dairy-free ice cream.
Chocolate
Peanut Butter Ice cream:
The
dessert itself is the normal consistency of ice cream: creamy and
thick. It also melted like traditional ice cream. In terms of flavor,
it tasted just like peanut butter and chocolate ice cream. It did
have a strange taste that went away as I ate more of it.
Chocolate
Chips
When
I was making my cookies, I decided to try the chocolate chips. They
tasted just like chocolate and were delicious. I think it is the
ingredients: non-dairy chocolate liquor, cocoa butter and cane juice.
The chips melted nicely in the cookies and were smooth when I ate
them. I would definitely get them again if I have a hankering for
chocolate.
Imitation Chicken (Chick'n)
The imitation chicken is meat-free and vegan. It looked like chicken nuggets
and came with a sesame sauce. The taste was not bad and reminded me
of a healthier version of chicken nuggets I would get from a fast
food place. The sauce made the brussels sprout and of course the imitation chick'n taste great. If I had the choice, I would eat them again.
Chipotle
Bean Burgers
After
trying Dr. Praeger's Asian style bean burgers, I thought I would try the chipotle
flavor. The burgers cooked well and got a little crunchy, which is
the way I like them. Taste wise, they were spicy but not too spicy.
They went very well with spinach leaves and alone. I like that it
doesn't only have beans but other foods as well such as potatoes.
The
Results:
It
was an interesting change but I do not think I will be continuing
eating vegan. For some reason, after eating all those different imitation foods, my digestive track was not very happy. I might just try to eat
less dairy since I know that will help me better than cutting out
meat, eggs and dairy. If I had to choose my favorite vegan food I
would say the ice cream, chocolate chips, and black bean burgers.
