100 Foods To Eat Before You Die (vegan friendly)

Lists are fun. Read (or watch) High Fidelity. I’m 124 films into the 1001 movies to watch before you die. Lists are fun because we can tick things off and scribble things out. Last week I filled out ‘The Food List Challenge’ on Facebook, and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of vegan, or potentially vegan foods on there. Still, I felt we could easily compile a list with the title ‘100 Vegan Foods to Eat Before You Die.’ This title, however, would be somewhat misleading as a lot of the foods I list here just happen to vegan; this isn’t a list of terrible cheese substitutes.

The first 45 are taken from the original 100; they are the already vegan and the potentially vegan. I am certain that some will disagree with my decision to include vegan caviar, but what I have tried to keep in mind is the experience. If I was eating my seaweed caviar on toast-points accompanied with some champagne and dressed in a dinner-jacket, then does it really matter that it’s not fish-eggs? This philosophy led me to include some other foods such as English chips from the paper and birthday cake. Of course the experience isn’t everything. Not everybody is going to be able to take a quick trip to Murray’s Bagels, NY. But I kept it in mind.

Also, I must confess that I haven’t eaten everything on this list. I’ve never even had tempeh, but it pops up on lots of other foodie lists. Besides, I bet not many of you have ever sampled sufu (aka ‘chinese cheese’) - truly a unique experience.

All of the vegan alternative recipes are easy to find online.

1. Absinthe

2. Baba Ghanoush

3. Baklava

4. Bellini

5. Biscuits & Gravy

6. Black Truffle

7. Borscht

8. Caviar - http://www.beverlyhillscaviar.com/specialty-seaweedcaviar/vegan-caviar/

9. Cheese Fondue

10. Chicken Tikka Masala

11. Chile Relleno

12. Churros

13. Clam Chowder (Isa Chandra Mosckowitz has a recipe for a delicious Glam Chowder in her book ‘Appetite for Reduction’)

14. Cognac

15. Dandelion Wine

16. Dulce De Leche

17. Durian

18. Fresh Spring Rolls

19. Fried Green Tomatoes

20. Fried Plantain

21. Frito Pie

22. Funnel Cake

23. Gazpacho

24. Goulash

25. Gumbo

26. Heirloom Tomatoes

27. Honeycomb (easily made with golden syrup)

28. Key Lime Pie

29. Lassi

30. Mimosa

31. Morel Mushrooms

32. Nettle Tea

33. Paella

34. Phaal

35. Pho

36. Pistachio Ice Cream

37. Polenta

38. Prickly Pear

39. Root Beer Float

40. Sauerkraut

41. Som Tam

42. Sweet Potato Fries

43. Umeboshi

44. Wasabi Peas

45. Zucchini Flowers

MY ADDITIONS

46. Quinoa

47. Tabouleh

48. Falafel

49.  Dried Mango

50. Dried Dates

51. Agave Nectar

52. Scrambled Tofu

53. Sufu

54. Guacamole from scratch

55. Physalis

56. Vegan Sushi

57. Tarka Dhal

58. Dolmades

59. Bean Chilli

60. Seitan

61. Tempeh

62. Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

63. Mojito

64. Bloody Mary

65. Miso Soup

66. Pistachios

67. Candy Floss

68. Figs

69. Refried Beans

70. Artichokes

71. Lychees

72. Chanterelle Mushrooms

73. Roast Potatoes

74. Arable Pie (Vegan Cottage Pie)

75. Canarian Potatoes with Mojo Sauce

76. Ginger Beer

77. Jelly and Ice Cream

78. Marmite

79. Vegan Chop Suey

80. Sangria

81. Deep Fried Tofu

82. NY Bagel with Vegan Cream Cheese

83. Peanut Brittle

84. English chips from the paper

85. Wedding Cake

86. Christmas Cake

87. Birthday Cake

88. Pina Colada

89. Coconut Water

90. Real Ale

91. Champagne

92. Chilli Jam

93. Mai Tai

94. Hummus

95. Cornbread

96. Grits

97. Naga Chilli Sauce

98. Maple Syrup

99. Vegan Yuk Sung

100. Thai Green Curry

We are familiar with the myth that a vegan diet cannot be diverse and exciting, but this collection, which had to be cut down, shows how varied it can be. Many may point out the obvious: ‘vegans just can’t eat as many foods’ but in many cases I think the vegan is prompted to try a wider variety of dishes that are sometimes overlooked. 

PETA's obesity poster

Today my attention was drawn to an article on the BBC website concerning a billboard created by PETA.

 

(image taken from the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-17665260)

The poster was displayed in Gloucester near to where a mortuary has recently been built to accommodate obese bodies. Many vegetarians and vegans that I know have a conflicted attitude toward PETA, appreciating in some ways their dedication to animal rights but in many other ways despairing at their militancy. In short, they give us a bad name. But perhaps it’s unavoidable.

The poster has been criticised for its insensitive and irrelevant placement (Gloucester is one of the less obese counties in England), but reading through some of the readers responses on various news websites there also appears to be other criticisms. Some have suggested that the billboard proves that not eating meat makes you stupid; others have expressed their opinion that the poster is simply inaccurate (they followed a vegetarian diet and gained weight). 

So what is it that is so controversial about this poster aside from its location? This blogger thinks that the controversy lies somewhere between the suggestion that if one follows a vegan diet one will not be obese, and the confusion as to why someone should GO VEGAN. As one commenter aptly stated, a vegan diet does necessarily equate to a healthy diet, and equally a meat diet does not necessarily equate to an unhealthy diet. So the PETA’s demand ‘FIGHT OBESITY. GO VEGAN’ is already a misleading and misguided one. What the group is also guilty of is alienating the act of going vegan from the reasoning behind it. This is not to suggest that one person should not go vegan simply for health reasons, but rather that PETA, an animal rights organisation, should not be confusing the issues in this way. Please try and keep animal rights and healthy eating separate, PETA.

Michael

The Vegan Label Part 1: Tesco Free-From

At the end of my last blog I promised that I’d be discussing the vegan label in supermarkets, during my research however I stumbled upon a new range at Tesco: Tesco Free-From (see: http://www.tescorealfood.com/our-food/tesco-free-from.html) and I feel it demands some attention. The new range is very exciting and means another step toward more variety for vegans, but what are the implications of the free-from/vegan label?

            This week I have tried three items from the range: coconut milk, dairy-free cheese spread and the crème caramel. The coconut milk is delicious, the dairy-free cheese spread is tasty if a bit bland, and the crème caramel is practically the real thing. My enthusiasm for the new range is, however, shadowed slightly by my awareness that the vegan label has not been adopted on every Tesco product. The range was pointed out to me when I complained to my mum that Tesco don’t label foods as ‘Vegan’. It is possible that this is simply an oversight; however, I have begun to consider what else might lie behind the vegan label.

            Would it be too expensive to change the packaging? After working in retail I am aware that a change of packaging is likely to be a big and expensive operation. It could well be that Tesco have planned to add the little green ‘V’ but consider it too costly. It could simply be that the process is a slow one.

            It might be the case that, due to strict regulations, any product that is produced in factory that handles milk and egg cannot be labelled as vegan even if the recipe itself is dairy and egg free. It is my opinion that a product with a vegan recipe is still vegan even if this is the case because it does create demand. I do appreciate, however, that it is a complicated situation when one considers allergy and intolerance sufferers.

            My final thought is that the vegan label might be bad advertising. When a non-vegan sees the vegan label on their doughnuts they might avoid them without realising that they were probably vegan anyway. I have been in tongue-biting situations involving people who declared that they preferred the normal roast-potatoes which were in fact vegan anyway. I do believe some non-vegans have a bias against food that is labelled as vegan. So could it be that Tesco’s avoidance of the vegan label is a tactical manoeuvre?

            As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, I have been doing some research into the little green ‘V’ in Britain’s biggest supermarkets. My research is currently incomplete but I thought I’d share for now my list of vegan-friendly shops (based on labelling.)

The big four

SAINSBURY’S – VEGAN FRIENDLY

ASDA – NO LABELS

TESCO – NO LABELS (Except on Free-From range)

MORRISONS – NO LABELS

The rest

THE CO-OPERATIVE – VEGAN FRIENDLY

WAITROSE – VEGAN LABEL PRESENT ONLINE BUT NOT IN STORE

MARKS AND SPENCER – NO LABELS

ICELAND – NO LABELS

In my next blog I shall be concluding the labelling issue and be suggesting ways to bring attention to the issue (although finding out who is best to contact is more difficult than I expected.)

Michael