The ethics of where vegans buy food

Galaxy

I have been using Tesco online for 2 years and have never seen that option since they stopped using bags.

Perhaps it's just Waitrose now.
They're just the right size; we only ask for them every few months
?

Galaxy

It's that Fanny getting me all excited

No need to apologise Galaxy!
It’s all thrilling stuff

My Morrisons and Ocado shopping always comes in bags.
And they are actually identical grey ones - colour coded for fridge, cupboard and freezer.
Ocado give you 10p for each bag returned (can be any plastic bag)

I might even post a photo of a bag later.
The fun never stops!

StarDreamer

MissAdventure

I hadn't thought of that, because of the "collect" part, but again, I might have the means, soon, to work out a taxi or something to collect?
My area also run a minibus shopping service, but up until now I haven't been eligible to join.
I'm not sure I could walk around a supermarket at the minute, but I could work on that as a goal.

I was thinking that if you are going to have click and collect you might as well have it delivered, though I suppose that if you are collecting that as you would be there you could refuse some item and then go into the store and choose something yourself, while still not having to have gone round the store getting most of it.

And please bear in mind that you will need to get the shopping home.

How are taxi drivers about helping? Is humping stuff for the customer regarded as part of the job or is it that some will do it and others take the line that they are a driver not a porter?

Would a taxi driver see you safely into your home or just want to drop you off at kerbside, or does it vary depending upon customer need and driver attitude?

KatieKnitSocks, pleased you are fit and healthy on your vegan diet. I know of only four vegans who all have stomach problems. It could be bad dietary choices, coincidence I don't know. I think the best thing for everyone is to have a conscience when shopping, it was indeed Shirey Porter I was referring to, we should all look into who owns these big stores, how they treat thrum staff etc.
It must be do hard Stardreamer on your diet, could you not cook and purée vegetables etc and freeze in portions. I never eat take aways or ready cooked meals, If I want an instant meal, it is usually an omelette or pasta with salmon and peas and some creme fraiche or a jacket potato with baked beans and melted cheese., I want to know what I am eating. Each week I cook enough soup to last the week, but as a non vegetarian, I do add a chicken portion, not always, I use a lentils and pearl barley for added texture and vitamins. I use marmite, not a lot.
I use cotton bags that are now very old but still serviceable, one advertising a flower show I went to in 2012.
Did you see that man in Wales who has developed a plant that turns used nappies into road dry surfacing equipment. That always been a bugbear to me, all my grandchildren used them, but I never said anything, it wouldn't have made any difference, so I think that guy deserves a medal.

I was wondering SD, do you eat soup? You didn’t mention it.
If I could only eat smooth food, and especially as a vegan, it would be my absolute go to food.
Especially lentil soup.

The problem is that I cannot find any soup that is all three of vegan, no gluten, no lumps.

So-called tomato soup is usually "cream of tomato", no gluten, no lumps, NOT vegan.

Vegetable soup, vegan, no gluten, LUMPS.

Pea soup seems to ALWAYS have ham in it.

The only time I have had any soup in many years is when I made some with hot water and two sachets of Ella's kitchen 4 month plus baby food on a cold winter day.

I would love to be able to open a can of soup, heat it and eat it, but it is as far as know, not an option available to me.

If you or anyone reading this knows of any then I would love to know about it please.

Another type of food that is not impossible to get, but rare, though I cannot eat it now anyway, is gluten-free vegan read meals. Vegan ready meals often have wheat in them, which is a pity because using cornflour woud make them suitable for more people.

Thanks, Allsorts. There’s sometimes an assumption that a vegan diet is a healthier one but it isn’t necessarily the case. Vegans made poor choices too, especially if they are choosing or reliant on ready meals. Soy, which is so common in ready meals, both vegan and non-vegan, is a case in point.

www.smallfootprintfamily.com/why-soy-is-bad-for-you-and-the-planet

I’m another enthusiastic soup maker and make a big batch that will last a few days. Peas soup is a favourite. A leek and a pack of frozen peas. Ready in the time it takes to have a shower. Lots of protein in that. Lentil soup of course. I throw in butter beans, cannellini beans or haricot beans for extra protein in most of my soups. I found a copy of the Covent Garden Soup for in a local charity shop for 50p and it's been a revelation. 365 recipes. Soup a day.

I hadn’t heard of the nappy recycling scheme so thank you for that. I’ve just read an article about it on gov.uk. It’ll be interesting to see how well that stretch of the the A487 between Cardigan and Aberystwyth wears with this new material. It certainly highlight the issues around single-use plastic which nappies are considered to be.

SD I’m a bit confused about the lumps thing, as you are after Vegan GF ready meals?
And I’m not quite sure what constitutes a ‘lump’ !

As for vegan GF soup - have a look at these

Fresh soup: Soupologie, Tideford Organics, Yorkshire Provender, Deliciously Ella, BOL

Tinned: Fresh and Free, Amy’s Kitchen, Baxter’s

All available at Ocado.

Soup is so easy to make - and will freeze. As for lumps, put the food through a liquidizer.

DD has never liked, what she would describe, as food with lumps in. So when she is home I liquidize all soup. Irrelevant to the thread, she will not eat any cake that has 'bits in it': fruit cake, walnut cake and is not that keen on stews etc, which we love. When she is with us, I make sure the pieces of meat (sorry, Vegans) and vegetables are in big enough lumps to each form a mouthful.

I’m not a great fan of cooking, but I really enjoy making soup and stews.
You can’t go wrong really!

It's an interesting point, M0nica. As a teenager, my decision to stop eating meat was much to do with not liking the taste, smell and texture of it rather than any knowledge of or protest about how food got onto the plate. That may explain why I have no qualms about other people eating meat so long as the animals have a decent life, as discussed above. Food is a very sensual thing, taste, smell and texture but also visually. Some people love seafood but I struggle to watch anyone eating oysters or the chewier sea creatures.

FannyCornforth

SD I’m a bit confused about the lumps thing, as you are after Vegan GF ready meals?
And I’m not quite sure what constitutes a ‘lump’ !

As for vegan GF soup - have a look at these

Fresh soup: Soupologie, Tideford Organics, Yorkshire Provender, Deliciously Ella, BOL

Tinned: Fresh and Free, Amy’s Kitchen, Baxter’s

All available at Ocado.

Hi Fanny

I wrote Another type of food t^hat is not impossible to get, but rare, though I cannot eat it now anyway, is gluten-free vegan read meals. Vegan ready meals often have wheat in them, which is a pity because using cornflour woud make them suitable for more people.

I cannot eat them now. For years I tried to get gluten-free ready meals and the only two I could get were canned ratatouille and a Tesco Finest side dish, sold as for two, but I used to have a whole one, sometimes with oven chips, sometimes with rice, sometime with both, and that was diced potatoes with rosemary with olive oil and it was lovely. So now that vegan ready meals are now available, alas I cannot eat them.

A lump in the context of my food, with the exception of plain rice as it breaks down easily, is anything solid, other than very tiny pieces of herb leaf such as parsley or basil.

It is just how it is now. I survived and I can work round it when at home, much like someone who has bad coeliac disease is fine if they avoid ingesting gluten but can be quite ill if they do ingest gluten.,

Are you going to join us on the virtual cruise, Fanny?

Der goldene Delfin is at Frankfurt am Main today.

LINK > Virtual cruise from Mainz along the river Main

Soup is a simple meal to make vegan vegetarian or not. My grandchildren all help make batches of it under supervision. Use what ever vegetable available roast steam or boil cool down add stock seasoning herbs. Blitz in a processor or just mash down to required consistency I blitz half and leave the other half chunky. Add cooked grains small pasta or beans for extra protein and carbs.
It’s fresh nutritious and because it’s been prepared at home it’s easily frozen comfort food.

Meals and soup can be thickened with arrowroot as it’s gluten free and vegan forgot to say….

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Maximillian

My partner is a vegan and makes delicious soups. I am not a vegan. It seems quick and easy and not expensive. Could you try that StarDreamer, or if you have a partner ask them to do so?

Not easily, because my food must not have any lumps in it, so if I used a blender I would need to filter the output so as to remove any lumps in it where something might have not got blended properly. I need a sieve. A flour sieve is too fine to get the purée through the holes effectively.

If you get one of those hand blenders that makes soup really smooth. I make butternut squash, sweet potato, carrot, red lentils into a soup add some turmeric, cumin, whatever cook, blend it’s super smooth tasty and nutritious.

I use a stick blender too. It’s brilliant. Really easy

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Thank you, all.

I would have thought that making soup using fresh or frozen vegetables and vegetable stock would be more nutritious and you could use as little salt as you wish too.

Some bought soup is very salty and I wouldn't think that baby food would contain enough nutrients for an adult man, although the fruity ones might be nice as an extra or over icecream.

A blender would be essential or a soup maker which cooks and also blends - it does most of the work for you! Or a small hand blender like a Bamix (other makes available) is useful.
It can then be frozen in portions.
Potato is a good thickener too.

Callistemon21 wrote ... I wouldn't think that baby food would contain enough nutrients for an adult man, ...

That is interesting.

I worked out what to have as the suggestion from whoever is to have "5 a day" where each "1" is 80 grammes.

So 400 grammes = (5 x 80 grammes).

The baby food content varies, some 100 grammes, some 120 grammes, some a bit more. Some include some water in the ingredients, some do not.

The ones that I choose are mixtures of various vegetables, fruits, or vegetables and fruits.

So I do not usually get 80 grammes of any one type on any one day, though as sweet potato is in several I may some days get 80 grammes of sweet potato. Most days I get various quantities of around seven to nine different vegetables and fruits.

So maybe I have got it wrong, based on a wrong premise.

So no fats or proteins?
Babies on pureed foods would normally be drinking milk too.

Callistemon21

So no fats or proteins?
Babies on pureed foods would normally be drinking milk too.

I consume three 250 gramme packs of microwave rice and a litre of Alpro no sugars soya drink each day.

Also, some of Alpro chocolate drink, Alpro strawberry flavour drink, Alpro vanilla flavour drink, pure orange juice, not all on any one day, just as I fancy at the time. I often dilute the flavoured drinks with the no sugars drink.

StarDreamer

Maximillian

My partner is a vegan and makes delicious soups. I am not a vegan. It seems quick and easy and not expensive. Could you try that StarDreamer, or if you have a partner ask them to do so?

Not easily, because my food must not have any lumps in it, so if I used a blender I would need to filter the output so as to remove any lumps in it where something might have not got blended properly. I need a sieve. A flour sieve is too fine to get the purée through the holes effectively.

A soup-maker like the Morphy Richards one makes beautifully smooth soup in one go - cook then blend - and also has a button you can press to blend it some more if you wanted to. I have never found any lumps in the soups I make with it. It also makes smoothy drinks.

You would know exactly what is in the food you made, and you would save a vast amount of money. It would soon pay for itself.

I've said this before on Gransnet StarDreamer but a soup maker was the best present I was ever given. All the veg going off in the fridge, throw it all in, practically no chopping, no effort, no mess. Mine has a creamed soup and easy clean button, so no lumps, minimal washing up.