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A Rant of sorts...
Started
by Lilysmom
on December 28, 2009
I don't know if this will help spice things up, but I stumbled upon this website that has lots of yummy looking dishes with natural ingredients that should be relatively easy to find. I have been a flirt for about a week and intend on going vegan starting next week, so I haven't tried any, but hopefully it will help!
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/
I was just visiting my fiance in Nova Scotia and I couldn't find anything so I totally understand Sunshine24! The health food stores has some random fake cheeses which I totally agree are not for me, the smell alone turns my stomach. The only substitutes I will eat if I'm craving something "meaty" in texture is Boca chickn nuggets but I try to avoid most of that anyways since they are so processed.
I'm afraid to try some of the recipes that have some of the alternatives in them b/c they are expensive and if you don't like them, you can waste a lot of money. Your best best is go with the staples of the Superhero diet and pick up some of the odd ingredients here and there and it won't hurt so much.
I can't help but feel a little taken aback by this discussion as I am in the dairy and cattle industry hub of rural Washington (pop. about 80,000) and have had no problems finding any of the ingredients even at regular grocery stores. I can't eat a lot of substitute products anyway because of gluten intolerance so bring on the quinoa, rice, beans and veggies! I have been a flirt or flexitarian for 8 years and was vegetarian for 10 years prior. I have had good tempeh and tofu and nasty tempeh and tofu, as well as good substitute meats/cheeses and icky versions so it takes time to find the product and preparation that fits your tastebuds. One example of learning through practice came from Soy Chorizo. I think I may have left the casing on the first time because it was awful and didn't try it again until recently in which my experience (and my carnivore husband's experience) was fabulous. So keep trying and ask lots of questions. This is a positive forum with lots of positive feedback. I encourage you to identify the foods you like most and branch out from there. Try adding one new ingredient to a dish you already enjoy. Keep flirting until you fall in love :)
Lilysmom - I know the point of your post is to find other cookbook suggestions, but I wanted to comment a bit about grocery shopping.
Where in Ontario do you live? Do you have a zerhs/loblaws/independent/another grocery store of the same chain there? I know that these stores all sell premade sushi, which suggests to me that they'd also sell the seaweed wraps to make sushi. Even though it might not be the exact sea vegetable called for in a recipe, the paper could still be cut up to go into soups, for example. Also, in the "health food/organic" section of these stores, you should be able to find some products.
I'm going to guess that because you cant find some ingedients, you're from a smaller town. Is there a Mom&Pop grocery store there? I think because they would already buy in smaller quantities, they wouldn't mind ordering an extra product or two for you. Plus, because their prices wouldn't be able to compete with the big chains, they would need to rely on excellent customer service/developing customer loyalty to keep business. I know that prices are a bit of a concern to you, but the trade-off between shopping locally and needing to travel might be worth it.
Do you ever go to the bigger cities nearby on business/for another reason? You could also combine a grocery shop for the hard-to-get items with this, so that you're not making extra car trips. Also, if that city has a China Town (as already suggested), you'd be able to find some of these items at lower prices than in the chain grocery stores.
Oh, and one more thing: Just remember to consider price per serving. When I first bought some of the stuff to make miso soup (the paste and seaweed), I thought it was totally expensive. Then, when I got home and looked at how little of each ingredient was required, I realized that in the end, each bowl of soup (including the price of other veggies) was going to be under a dollar. Same thing with umeboshi plums.
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