Quick Vegan Glossary

quick vegan glossary

 

Quick Vegan Glossary

Vegan: People who choose animal-free foods are vegans. Vegan foods are free of animal products including poultry, red meat, dairy, eggs, and fish.

Nutritional Yeast: Flavorful golden flakes or powder give a delicious cheesy taste and texture to gravies, sauces, casseroles, and salad dressings. Sprinkle on pasta and soups like parmesan, use for breading, whip with vegan buttery spread or vegetable oil in mashed potatoes, and add to stir-fries. Nutritional yeast is non-leavening and does not cause yeast infections.

Seitan: High protein food made of wheat gluten with a meat-like texture. Seitan is sold in many food stores in oven-ready and ready-to-eat forms, and is the grilled, baked, and sizzling “meat”in many vegetarian entrees. Like stirfried shitake mushrooms and grilled Portobello mushrooms, seitan makes giving up meat a lot easier that you think.

Tempeh: Highprotein, somewhat meat-like food with a nutty flavor made from fermented soybeans. Delicious cubed or thinly sliced in stir-fries.

Tofu: This versatile soybean product and meat replacement can be breaded, marinated, stir-fried, and baked in many different ways. A good source of protein and calcium, tofu (also called bean curd) absorbs the flavors of sauces and spices. 

It can be found in just about any supermarket in 1-lb packages ranging from extra-firm for meat-like textures, firm or soft for vegan scrambled eggs, and silken textures for puddings, mousses, pumpkin and cream pie fillings.