[littleblacklies]

When I was a child I was a vegetarian "except I eat tuna." I know this annoys some of you; I was ten, plz excuse. I was a bit dramatic and apparently claimed I heard hamburger patties crying out to me, but really I think I was very sensitive to texture.

These days, if I eat meat at all, it's got to be cooked to a crisp. Anyone cooking for me asks me how I like it, and I cheerfully reply "Meat crouton!" And mean it. And end up cooking the rest of it, long after everyone else is nearly finished eating. I dissect and disassemble any meat on my plate, even when it is the charred juiceless and colorless lump I prefer -- because I have a soy allergy, and tofu causes extreme tiredness/sluggishness in me, as if I have been drugged, sometimes making my eyes swell even, and I'm not sure what else to turn to.

Some meat substitutes have effects worse than others; I do eat veggie only meals, but I don't have a lot of time, and usually I prefer something done to the produce rather than the clean flavors of raw, or lightly salted (think meatless lasagna, veggie soup, shepherds pie minus animal protein!). I was wondering if any of you have an issue with this, and what types of things you eat? My mother prefers a raw food diet but I found that incredibly complex and unsatisfying... and detox was long enough that in my busy college-and-full-time-employment schedule, I fall apart easily under that much extra pressure.

It's like eating meat makes me miserable, but I'm at a loss for something quick to prepare such as that due to morning star products making me damn near sightless.

[nelie]

I've known quite a few vegans that don't eat soy. For the first 6 months of me being vegan, I didn't eat soy although now I do eat it once in a while.

Beans - black beans, black eyed peas, lentils, adzuki, chickpeas, etc
Whole grains - quinoa, amaranth, millet, brown rice, whole grain bread, etc
Nuts - almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanut butter, etc
Seeds - sesame (including tahini), sunflower, etc
Veggies - kale, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, artichokes, etc
Fruit - bananas, apples, oranges, etc

Basically, eat a varied diet. You could also venture into vital wheat gluten and there are some good recipes out there for meat subs using it. I haven't made them myself but I've had sausages made with beans and vital wheat gluten that were quite good.

Although you'll encounter some soy recipes, blog.fatfreevegan.com is one of my favorite blogs. Also, I'd look into the cookbook "Appetite for Reduction" as it has a lot of good recipes and many are soy free.

You can also look into things like peanut tofu and chickpea tofu if you want to substitute those in recipes.

[MeganTheMushroom]

I'm a vegan, and I eat soy on rare occasions. There are plenty of vegans who don't eat it!
Morning Star and Boca aren't healthy at all, and they often have eggs in them too, and they process their genetically modified soy with hexane. They're owned by larger companies (General Mills & Kellog's).

I usually eat fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and some beans and whole grains, like quinoa, oats, and brown rice. I don't eat wheat much. I feel like I have a huge variety!