My name is Tracy. I love people. I love being helpful. I love fast cars. I paint art. I am a paralegal. I have vacationed at Niagara Falls. I painted there. I love traveling. I am not a vegan. My best friend is a vegetarian trying to be a vegan. I make veggie dishes for my friend's house parties. The smokey mountains are one of my favorite places and I hope to travel there soon. I visited the smokey mountains before. I don't think I have the stamina to go hiking.
My name is Amanda. I am a vegan. I enjoy going to the gym. I am not a singer. I love art. I have a husband who is a lawyer and also loves art. I am a baker. I do zumba. I have a Jeep. I love traveling in the mountains for the exercise. I love vehicles that handle rough terrain.  My favorite food is pizza. I went to the smokey mountains when I was young. I like to take day trips hiking that last 8 hours. I have a very small individual tent for camping.
My friend told me she's having another house party. Do you have any ideas for vegan dishes I could bring? Depending on what kind of party it is, if it's a buffet then there are some great vegan sausage rolls in the supermarkets now, and also vegan pizzas and burgers. If it's a bit more of a sit down dinner, vegan curries are so easy to make. I made one last week with sweet potatoes, red pepper, chickpeas, onion and garlic. It can be served with rice or other grains.  That sounds amazing. I am just starting on this vegan journey. Do you have any suggestions for cook books? There's a book called "The Plant Kitchen" which is quite good but I can't remember where I got it. You can borrow it if you like! I was also going to say to you that there's a cheese shop nearby that has started doing loads of vegan cheeses... here come the cheese and wine nights! Really? I would love to borrow it. I've spent time at the market looking around and even the farmers market. It just seems so overhwelming at the moment but I know the long term benefits far outweigh my confusing right now. When I first went vegetarian (before I thought about going vegan), I realised the best way to do it was eat what you would normally, but just miss out the meat. For example, if you're getting Chinese food, have whatever you usually have (my fave is sweet and sour), but just get the veggie version. Gradually I realised that I wasn't missing the meat at all as I was still eating my favourite dishes. What's your favorite food? So like with Chinese food I can still order my favorite...beef and brocoli but without the meat. What about tofu? Do you eat that? Haha yes in that case you might need to find a replacement for the beef. Tofu would be a good substitute but it's got a very different texture. I do eat tofu sometimes, I chop up a block of it into cubes and oven bake it, or I marinade it in BBQ flavourings and fry it on the pan. It's great with all sorts of things. Is it like rubbery? I can't do rubber feeling things. I think I would have to be like you and just cover it in sauce. How do you get your protein? Tofu can be rubbery if you don't make it crispy. But if it's fried properly it's so delicious; crisp on the outside and softer on the inside. I get protein from peanut butter, brown rice, quinoa, beans, oats for breakfast and loads of veggies. I've always loved vegetables though, so it was quite easy for me to convert! What's your favorite vegetable? You know, I never even thought about frying it. I'm heading to Trader Joes later today so hopefully I will be able to have more choices. I never thought of vegetables as a protein source. I love all veggies. Things like broccoli, kale, spinach and even sweetcorn are good protein sources. Also if you work out a lot you can get protein shakes with vegan protein added to them, but I've never tried that before!