Sugar Free Vegetarian\Vegan

so.. i have been looking up a lot of vegan recipes and there are a lot of carbs and a lot of sugar.. 

i am not a fan of sugar or carbs.. 

my thought that is while organic sugar is better... sugar is sugar is sugar... if you replace maple syrup with sugar you are still getting sugar.. 

the only bread i will buy is the ezekiel bread because it is flour free.. and flour is a starch..

i have a vegan friend and she made vegan cupcakes... they were still loaded with sugar, and it's not good to eat a bunch of vegan cupcakes just because they are vegan... 

i buy fruit. the E. bread, beans and tofu mostly.. i also like pickled stuff... sundried tomatoes, pickled shrooms.. kalamata olives... and there is an organic miso ginger viniagrette (sp.. sorry, it is late)... that i cook with a lot or put on stuff... it is animal free... 

just curious about what other folks think... i have a tendency to think that there are junk food veggies and then a cleaner version... i don't know.. just would love to hear some thoughts! 

thanks yall

i am so with you there! i am afraid i might have accidentally offended a few people when i first joined because i was aghast at a conversation going on regarding vegan candy and (if i remember correctly) whether skittles were vegan. i was horrified because even if they are vegan, they are basically sweetened chemicals. I will never forget that one person mentioned that her vegan friend basixcally lives on vegan pop tarts...anyway, I asked the group if they had given any thought to the lack of nutrients in the food they were discussing and no one had anything to say about it...

I chose a vegan life style not only to be cruelty free, but to be healthy and to step away from this seeming expectation that the only way to participate in modern society is as a consumer so I really try to avoid processed foods altogether- though I may be addicted to soy milk. I am about to cut it out due to some of the things coming to light about the processing and what it does to the soy so we will see. If I am eating out at a "standard" restaurant, I will get a garden-style burger but only if it is made with veggies and grains- not bocca style...

i eat a lot of veggies and use tons of spices, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. my best friend is into ayurvedic cooking and i am trying to see how well it translates into a vegan diet...

i was eating some eggs and dairy if i knew it came from cruelty free sources (i still think eggs are okay if I know the chicken personally) but have decided that at least for now, it is advisable to get used to eating completely vegan on principle...

anyway- I started a forum for recipes- havn't checked in a while but as far as i know, no one has added any of their own. I am always looking for yummy new stuff will you consider posting a meal you might eat involving pickled shrooms, etc? I don't really like sweets so they don't really call to me- but your list of sun-dried tomatos, pickled shrooms and olives has me drooling... a lot of people here seem to be vegetarian wanting to transition to vegan but without any ideas on what to eat and it sounds like you could really contribute some ideas...

i hear of a lot of "junk food" vegetarians and vegans ~

i am a very basic eater at home ~

boca burgers ~ soy beans ~ black beans ~ sometimes egg whites, but i haven't been buying eggs lately ~

which sucks because i was waking up in the morning and making egg white omelettes with sundried tomatoes, and black beans with maybe some tobasco. i might have to go back to eating eggs ~ my mama has chickens, and i don't feel bad for eating their eggs, i just try to know where my eggs are coming from.

i have pretty much cut cheese out of my diet, but don't know that soy cheese is good for you either...

i am a fan of unsweetened soy milk, silk ~ i had not heard of bad things about soy  milk ~

i don't think that living on vegan pop tarts is a reasonable way of living ~ i find that if i eat the densest food with the lowest calories i keep the weight off better ~

i had been buying ezekieal bread, but if it is in the house i eat the hell out of it. so i think i am going to have to go back to cutting carbs out, with the exception of fruit maybe?

i did south beach diet and it changed my life ~ and it is how i eventually began cutting meat out of my diet ~ meat was just too many calories ~ and i also don't eat processed foods either ~

it has been my birthday this week and i ate at least three things that were horrible horrible for me and i am so depressed ~ or maybe it is lack of sunshine... i don't know ~

Hi mint!

I am with you. I do not eat any processed sugars, unless you count what goes into soymilk. I don't eat any vegan junk food and I don't add sugar to my meals unless absolutely necessary. I don't eat cookies, cakes or candies of any kind. Of course, I'm fine doing this, not a lot of people could handle it. I feel like sugar is highly addicting and really, do you need all that extra sugar in your body? I have insulin resistance as it is so I have to be careful that I don't eat too many carbs/sugars. My meals consist mostly of canned or fresh vegetables and fruits, tofu, tvp, some low sugar or sugar free cereals, and for dessert, some granola with frozen fruit with half a cup of very vanilla soymilk poured over the top. That's as sugary as I get, haha.

I'm definitely with you there.  I didn't feel this way previously, but I've always known that I was just making excuses to be unhealthy.  I currently stay away from any and all isolated sugars.

And while I do agree with you, not all sugars are the same.  It's still no excuse to load up on vegan cookies, but there are definitely different types of sugars, and the sugars in fruit - mainly dextrose and fructose - are not absorbed in the same way as sucrose (white sugar) and are not as damaging to one's metabolism.

At the same time, it takes a certain special level of creativity and adventurousness to bake good-tasting vegan foods.  A lot of vegans are really proud when they devise original, non-traditional recipes that actually taste good.  That's why there's so much hype over it.  I think it really is okay to make a few vegan baked goods every once in a while, provided that you're making it as natural and wholesome as possible, and I don't think it's fair to vegan baking fanatics to say that they're doing no good by making some awesome vegan cupcakes.  Personally, I still prefer using stevia and buckwheat when I bake, but it's not for everyone.

In regards to your second post: processed soy products aren't good for you.  Be it soy cheese, tofu or soy milk.  These products make you retain water and can cause other health problems as well.  When it comes to soy, edamame, tempeh and miso are the best options.  However, any type of soy, consumed in large quantities over long periods of time, will give you hormonal imbalances and can be very taxing on your body.  You lose a little protein content, but almond or rice milk and almond cheese work great as very tasty replacements for their soy counterparts.

(I realize that I've been missing the point and getting off topic.  But I still think these things should be known.)

Hi pink,

I am not saying you're wrong, but I think the whole soy thing has been blown way out of proportion by anti-vegan/vegetarian interests. I, and others I know of (not even to mention the countries that practically live on it), have been consuming soy for many years without any hormonal issues what so ever. I do agree you should avoid genetically modified soybeans, but other than that including it in your everyday diet doesn't seem to be hurting people other than those with soy allergies.

Just like wheat - some people can eat it and it is good for them, others are sensitive to it.

There is so much natural sugar in plant foods, carrots for example are loaded, and the cooking process makes them even sweeter.  Most Americans are addicted to simple sugars and it takes time and motivation to wean from sugar and fats.  For optimal health, we should not add sugar to anything.   This is what I think!

I agree, Swayne!