Vegan substitutes?

[disney_mommy]

I hope this is in the right place... If not, can someone please direct me to the more appropriate section?

Okay, quick back story - I have been vegetarian for nearly 8 years and just last week went vegan. I wasn't as prepared as I should have been and so have been eating pretty much the same thing every day.

What I really want to do is find a way to eat some of my favorites, just veganized. (I will definitely venture out and try new things, but I do still want some old standbys.)

So, what I'm asking is - how can I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? I know some PBs are vegan, and I know jellys aren't, but what about jams? And sliced bread? Does anyone have any suggestions?

[fiamma]

how can I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? I know some PBs are vegan, and I know jellys aren't, but what about jams? And sliced bread?

All peanut butter should be vegan - normally it's just made from peanuts, or sometimes they add vegetable oil. You can even make your own if you have a blender/food processor!

Jelly - is that like a "set" jam? As far as I know the gelling agent used is pectin, which is vegan, you should be OK.

Jam... again should be vegan, normally made with fruit, sugar and pectin.
(Check that your jelly or jam doesn't contain gelatine, which isn't vegan).

As for bread, companies often sneak in milk or honey (or lard here in Italy - maybe check it doesn't contain animal fat), so check for those; otherwise you should be fine.

Enjoy your sandwich!

[harpy]

Jelly is a confusing word. What I think is called Jello in the U.S. contains gelatine, but jam-type jelly doesn't as far as I know.

Reading ingredients lists for individual products is the only way to be confident something is vegan though, because manufacturers sometimes put non-vegan ingredients into things when you least expect them.

[disney_mommy]

Sorry, I forget there are people in here to don't know exactly what I mean when I say it!

Jelly is kind of like a looser jam, not as firm. A little lighter in consistency, maybe.

I have a list of animal ingredients to stay away from, but it's so long and sometimes I forget and leave it at home, or in another bag. I was hoping someone could give me a brand name for the above.

But, it looks like I'll have to not be lazy and do my own legwork, I guess. Darn!

[fiamma]

There are chemical additives that manufacturers add to products, and often it's difficult to know if these are animal derived or not.

I'm gonna stick my neck out and say it's very unlikely that PB or jam/jelly is not vegan. At most, as I said before, the latter two may contain gelatine, so watch out for that. In the case of bread, watch out for milk, honey or animal fats.

Apart from that I would not worry about the additives for the time being; some people may not agree with me on this but I think you have to take it in stages; avoid the more obvious animal ingredients first, then worry about the others.

You might want to post a specific thread in the America forum asking for specific brands - that's another possibility.

[veganwitch]

Out of the pnb, jelly/jam, bread....the bread will be the biggest problem. I buy natural pnb b/c it doesn't have added sugar or hydrogenated oil. Teddy Bear and Smuckers make natural ones. Some stores also have their own brands in natural style.

Do you have a Whole Foods or Hannaford or Shaws near you?

For jam / jelly, I buy the 100 % fruit ones like Smuckers or Poland. For organics, try Cascadian Farms, they have added sugar but at least it's organic.The Cascadian Farms ones are thinner too, more like jelly than jam.

Bread is tough. If you have a Hannaford, their Nature's Place brand has some vegan bread. Also Rudy's breads are vegan. Breads can have enzymes which may or may not be plant based. Rudy's enzymes are plant based. Breads also have mono and diglycerides which are usually animal based I think. I just steer clear of those breads altogether b/c they have way too much crap in them.