Forums: September 2011 Kickstart Forum: Ingredient Check List
Created on: 09/10/11 06:35 PM Views: 1286 Replies: 11
MarionS Joined: 09/10/11 Posts: 8	Ingredient Check List Posted Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 6:35 PM Hello dear Vegan-Friends, I've been vegeterian for over 20 years now and decided to try the kickstart21 to become a full vegan. I do have a question though, besides fresh veggies, fruit and grains I find it quite tough in a regular supermarket to find something vegan. Does anyone feel the same way. Often there is no meat, dairy etc. added and the ingredient list seems "clean" however it often states that it could contain traces of milk etc. so would you still eat it if milk is no ingredient but traces of it could be in this product. I'm asking this because so many products have this statement labelled...I was wondering how everyone is dealing with this issue...
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chickadee Joined: 01/12/11 Location: North Eastern Ontario, Canada Posts: 52	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 7:21 PM Just depends, but usually it says about trace amounts of milk because milk products are used in other products produced in the same factory. I believe they are required to do this because of allergies. I will usually eat these products as long as there are no milk ingredients listed as being in the product.
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mollyhorn Joined: 03/03/10 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 582	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Saturday, September 10, 2011 at 8:02 PM Hi Marion, I consider myself 100% vegan (on my best days ) and my rule is this: If it contains milk, animal products, etc. then I do not consume it. If it says "may contain traces of..." due to being manufactured in the same factory as another product, then I will consume it. I'd say most average vegans do the same. There are, however, some out there who will not consume anything that was produced even in the same factory as an animal product. That is usually for ethical or, as stated above, allergic reaction reasons. Also, if I am in a situation in which I don't have much choice – say, at a dinner at a friend's house – and they've gone to the trouble of giving me a nice salad or other vegan dish, but I know the bread has eggs or milk in it – I will still eat the bread. I think in these situations we just do the best we can. Molly Horn
	Edited 09/10/11 8:05 PM Quote | Send PM | Link | Top | Bottom
kiwi Joined: 01/03/11 Location: New Zealand Posts: 405	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 12:43 AM mollyhorn wrote: Hi Marion, I consider myself 100% vegan (on my best days ) and my rule is this: If it contains milk, animal products, etc. then I do not consume it. If it says "may contain traces of..." due to being manufactured in the same factory as another product, then I will consume it. I'd say most average vegans do the same. There are, however, some out there who will not consume anything that was produced even in the same factory as an animal product. That is usually for ethical or, as stated above, allergic reaction reasons. Also, if I am in a situation in which I don't have much choice – say, at a dinner at a friend's house – and they've gone to the trouble of giving me a nice salad or other vegan dish, but I know the bread has eggs or milk in it – I will still eat the bread. I think in these situations we just do the best we can. Hi MarionS I have quoted Mollyhorn because my personal eating rules are exactly the same as hers. Including being in a situation where I dont have much choice. In those times I revert back to being vegetarian for a very brief time (one part of one meal). I never eat meat and have not since I turned vegetarian somewhere around 1994 or was it 1995. Anyway some time ago. Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food - Hippocrates.
	Edited 09/11/11 12:45 AM Quote | Send PM | Link | Top | Bottom
MarionS Joined: 09/10/11 Posts: 8	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 1:52 PM Thanks so much everyone, that's a huge help for me in the future.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Monday, September 12, 2011 at 8:41 AM What might sometimes help is to shop by brands because often vegan foods are produced by companies that only make vegan foods - or at least have an entire processing facility dedicated to such. As far as how we choose, we're with mollyhorn - we do the best we can with what is at hand. For our home use, we read ingredients. Since there are no allergy issues to foods, as long as the ingredient list doesn't contain animal products (learned lots of new words this way - casein, for example) we're good to go, even if it may have been processed in the same factory as dairy (for example). And, too, we're involved in weekly communal meals (each week is prepared by a different person/household) so we do the best we can with what is offered. This week is our turn so we're making a vegan mushroom corn chowder, tossed salad, and picking up a couple loaves of fresh bread from a local branch of Great Harvest bakery (they grind the grain fresh on-site for their baking). I'm still trying to figure out a "sweet after" - I might just pick up some assorted fresh fruit. --Deb R
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kapensy Joined: 09/12/11 Posts: 1	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Monday, September 12, 2011 at 10:44 AM I've been vegan for several years, but went back to eating cheese and eggs about six months ago and boy! Am I sorry! Getting back on track with the Kick Start program but I agree with others here, that if the label includes no animal products but does include that it may have been produce in a plant or on machinery that also produces animal products, I don't worry too much (well, except if it's shellfish-highly allergic so must avoid at all costs). I think it's more important to focus on what you can eat, than what you can't. As far as finding vegan foods, many grocery chains now include "organic" or "natural" aisles and you can usually find vegan options there. Also, try food co-ops and Asian food markets. I also depend on some wonderful cookbooks by Joanne Stapaniak who's cheese substitutions are legendary and easy to make. Her "Baked Mac n' Chreeze" recipe is to die for and one of the easiest recipes to make.
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tinabean Joined: 09/08/10 Location: Pasadena, TX Posts: 113	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 1:05 PM kapensy wrote: I think it's more important to focus on what you can eat, than what you can't. As far as finding vegan foods, many grocery chains now include "organic" or "natural" aisles and you can usually find vegan options there. Also, try food co-ops and Asian food markets. These are all very good points. Many of the healthfood brands have vegan friendly options (sometimes clearly labeled so). I usually check the ethnic aisles too. I once went into a store (same one as by my mom's but in a different part of town) and discovered that they had a kosher section there that had a lot of vegan offerings from brands I'd never heard from before.
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 1:48 PM [quote="tinabean]These are all very good points. Many of the healthfood brands have vegan friendly options (sometimes clearly labeled so). I usually check the ethnic aisles too. I once went into a store (same one as by my mom's but in a different part of town) and discovered that they had a kosher section there that had a lot of vegan offerings from brands I'd never heard from before.[/quote] And, sometimes, there are products that aren't in the veg*n aisle or labelled vegan that happen to be vegan by their nature. For example, the Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate chips (the yellow/gold package) contain no milk fat or milk powder (the bittersweet and regular chips do but not this package). I couldn't believe it! So, I went to their website and double checked the ingredients list (in case I missed something in the small print on the package). Sure enough, no dairy in there anywhere (and there'd not be meat or animal fat in good quality chocolate anyhow). Not label vegan, lives next to the regular chips in the baking aisle, but there it was - no animal products involved. So, it pays to read labels and/or check websites because sometimes companies are aiming for a broader market - if it gets labelled "vegan", it's liable to get pigeonholed into one wee area of the market where only a small percentage of shoppers will venture. --Deb R
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magda Joined: 09/09/11 Posts: 10	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 4:26 PM I agree with everybody here that "trace amounts" of dairy etc. are OK (unless, of course, you have a strong allergy to something). I guess all my food contains trace amounts of animal products as my husband is a meat eater and we use the same fridge and kitchen tools As for vegan products, I don't know where you're from, but when I visited US this summer (I'm from central Europe) I felt like I was in a vegan paradise Lots of non-dairy milk (almond, rice, hemp and more), non-dairy yogurts, tofutti cream cheese, dayia cheese, different varieties of hummus... Mmmmmm These things are basically found in every supermarket I went to. But ethnic groceries (Chinese, Indian...) are real fun Get ready for a culinary adventure
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MarionS Joined: 09/10/11 Posts: 8	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 12:46 AM Yes, I heard and read that too. I guess it's much easier in the States. Here in Germany you need to purchase vegan options via internet or go to special grocery stores where you still don't find a lot of vegan rather vegetarian options and these products are unfortunately quite expensive.
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carrottop Joined: 09/21/10 Posts: 36	RE: Ingredient Check List Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 11:10 AM That's so good to know about the Ghirardelli choc chips! I like the vegan chocolate chips I get from the health food store, but they're over $5 a bag. I can't remember the brand name but they have clouds and big red writing on the front of the bag. They're delicious, but I always wonder if there's an alternative out there in the regular grocery store.
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