As a vegan (or vegetarian), do you eat any processed foods?

I almost never eat processed or premade foods. I make almost everything I eat from scratch. Every now and then I'll relax and have a treat, but honestly, my own cooking is better than what I can buy. Restaurant meals mostly serve as a source of inspiration and ideas for my own future creations.

I'm a vegan personal chef, so it is my job to make delicious, healthy food from scratch! I work super long hours, as do may of my clients. (I work as a personal chef Mon - Fri, and in a restaurant Fri - Sun.) People find that my cooking keeps them strong, healthy, and nourished - and it costs less than ordering takeout, and it's easier for them than cooking it themselves.

Despite the long hours and hard work, not to mention lack of profit margins thus far, I consider it a top priority to make everything from scratch. (Okay, sometimes I buy already ground almond butter and tahini, and don't always make those ingredients from scratch. But that's not that big a shortcut!)

I never use fake butter/margarine. I see no point! I use extra virgin olive oil, virgin coconut oil, and expeller pressed canola or safflower oil, depending on what I need the oil to do. I don't buy premade sauces. I make veggie broth and mushroom broth, and use those as the bases for sauces.

I'm allergic to soy and peanuts, and my partner has celiac disease so we eat gluten free. I know that sounds like a lot of constraints, but it makes me more creative. I can't just throw tofu or flour at something to make it work; I have to be more creative. I think this is how my cooking really blossoms! I base almost all my dishes on seasonal, fresh produce. I get as much of it as I can at the farmer's markets during warm months. The fresher and better your produce is, the less you have to do to it to make it really shine.

I create dishes with the fresh produce, gluten free whole grains, and the seasonings, nuts, and seeds that make sense to the dish. I am inspired by cuisine from every part of the world, by colors, textures, sounds, and feelings.

But you don't have to cook full time to make good food from scratch! Salads are always a good option - dress quickly with olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice, or with some avocado and lime juice, or a sophisticated dijon balsamic vinaigrette. I do not buy premade salad dressings! Waste of money.

My rice cooker is one of my favorite things. It keeps rice warm all day. You can make other grains and seasoned dishes in it too, not to mention beans; though a crockpot is even better for beans.

If you don't work on Sundays, take all your veg trimmings (celery ends, carrot ends, parsley stems, clean onion skins) and throw them in a pot with some thyme, peppercorns, and garlic and simmer it into a gorgeous veg broth you can use all week. Just strain it and you're ready to go. Cook grains in this broth, or use as a base for all your sauces.

Make soups - chop up whatever veg you like and simmer them together with water or broth and some herbs. Puree if you like, season to taste, and you have an awesome soup. Sauteed leeks, potatoes, garlic, parsley, and thyme make a simple and sophisticated soup. Even easier: cook potatoes in water, add whole garlic cloves, and at the very end of cooking throw in broccoli for a minute. Puree the whole thing, season with salt and cayenne, and you're done.

To avoid blandness, use different seasonings. Fresh herbs are wonderful, but dried herbs sometimes work just as well, depending on what you do with them. Curry spice blends that are quite good are available at better shops. Cayenne makes everything better - from just a hint that doesn't make the dish spicy as much as it just wakes up the flavors, to several good shakes that turn a sleepy dish into a hot one! Garlic and ginger both have strong healing properties, and are super delicious in everything.

Make vegan lasagna with almond milk bechamel and spinach on the weekend; you'll have lunches all week.

Happy cooking!

Vegenaise, and vegan butter. Once in a blue moon a vegan pizza IF there's NO cheese. Not even vegan cheese. Some pastas are vegan and 100% whole grain. I'll eat those sometimes. As for tofu...not a chance.

Otherwise I really don't like processed foods. Foods don't have to be bland if you learn to cook.

Yes (I'm vegan). I try to find a balance between fresh and non-processed foods, and processed food. However, the processed foods that I eat mainly consist of 'whole/real' ingredients.

Processed foods that I eat often:

-Lara bars

-Tofu

-Tempeh

-Amy's products (veggie-burgers, bowls, etc)

-Flax crackers

The ingredients in these foods are minimal but the foods are processed just the same.

I'd be very suprised if a vegan didn't eat condiments/breads/pastas etc. Ital rastafarian diets are the only ones that i think do not eat processed foods whatsoever but i don't know much of the movement

Sure.

Just because somebody else already prepared something so that I don't have to does not necessarily mean it's evil. Most of what I eat is freshly prepared by myself, as for the rest it's a question of reading labels and (most of the time) avoiding anything that's loaded with fat, sugar or salt etc.

Vegans eat prOcessed food if it's free of animal products including meat.

I don't eat fake meats, or prepared frozen meals. I do consume condiments such as ketchup, hot sauce, vegan mayo, Daiya cheese, etc.

I've been making my own bean burgers now.

I do eat faux butter though.

yeah. i try to make my diet as heavy as possible on fresh fruits and veggies, but i do also eat grains, amys frozen meals, stuff like that

Pretty much Everyone these days eats (some) processed foods.