661-Pete wrote:Disappointing, but not really surprising. Lots of people, trying to 'go vegan' with the above suggestions, will probably react the same.Ride-sleep-repeat wrote:Our daughter is Vegan.My wife won't try any of her food.I've tried most things and to be quite honest I find it all just bland.The 'cheese' made from coconut is particularly rancid.It's not for me,none of it.The pretend milk is also rancid.
I find the Vegan 'bacon' and 'gammon' a bit odd.Although it's now being marketed as 'plant-based whatever' it's still aimed at Vegans.
The absolute worst stuff is Quorn.It all tastes like cardboard but with the texture of rubber.
The mistake that - possibly - your daughter is making and passing on to you (forgive me for being presumptive, I know nothing about her) is that vegan food comprises no more than a list of substitutes for non-vegan foods. I.e. that the total gamut of vegan foods consists of substitute meat, substitute fish, substitute cheese, substitute eggs, substitute milk .... and so on.
It does not.
There is a place for vegan substitutes, true, but they do not have to dominate a vegan diet. Quorn (which is not actually vegan, it contains egg) for example, can be very tasty, but only if it's used in the right sort of dishes. For example, we regularly do a 'chilli-con-quorn' in which quorn mince takes the place of the minced beef - and it is delicious. If 'chilli-con' is on your 'likes' list, and if you have the time and inclination to cook it yourself, try it!
But many other vegan dishes that we do (and alternate with our non-vegan dishes) have nothing in common with non-vegan equivalents. We have many specialities which are out-of-this-world as far as tastiness goes. For example, our version of Masala Dosa (somewhat simplified from 'official' recipes) would not only make your mouth water, it'd bring tears to your eyes (not literally).
But what it boils down to, I'm afraid, is you need to have some time and inclination to cook. If you don't cook, or if you do only very basic cooking, I probably can't help you. If you can (and lots of people have switched to home cooking due to lockdown) - good luck! PM me if you want some recipes.
I cook all our food from scratch.We have no processed foods or jars of Curry/Bolognaise/Chilli or any of that rubbish etc I make all my own sauces.I always have a 'Base' sauce in the freezer(a tip from an Indian friend).I have around 60 herbs and spices in the cupboard plus a small outside herb garden.I have the time and inclination but for me meat free is just not the same.I've been doing this for the past 15/16 years or so now and have tried 100s of different things from all over the World and anything made solely with Veg,or pulses etc is a side dish.
My daughter has Vegan cookbooks and is learning slowly.The Quorn was from her Veggie days.I've tried both Quorn chilli and Quorn curry cooked exactly the same as our usual Chilli(by me) exactly the same spicing etc and I'm sorry but it just does not have either the taste or the texture of the ones made with meat.
I've had vegetable curries in Indian restaurants and they don't do it for me either.Meat just adds a certain flavour and texture