Is it easy to live as a vegan in New Zealand?

[M4L]

Lynsdon't know about the clean rice and gloves but the sushi place I go to told me that the vegetarian ones with avacado and tofu and stuff in them were vegan, so I pressume its ok, although I doubt they did it with clean gloves and stuff. They're really nice adn might do it if I asked, but the place is quite busy so again, they may not!

[Kitteh]

Hello NZ'ers, thought I would have a read of your thread and see what it's like being vegan in NZ, sounds a lot like Australia! My bf and I joked the other day that if Aust. ever becomes a nuclear waste dump or gets nuclear power we will be moving to N.Z! Good to know you guys have some cafes and shops with vegan products.

Burgerfuel (who pride themselves as the healthy alternative to other burgerbars) has Vegan burger that is fucking delicious, and several vegetarian ones that you just need to ask not to have aioli and cheese and they will make them Vegan for you, and they have Vegan soy maltshakes.

There are 2 in Sydney, I've never heard about them before! They're not near where I live but we have meet ups so I might try it out one time. I LOVE that they offer gluten-free buns too!

[~Lyns~]

M4L oh awesome. Sorry wasnt meant to sound rude i was just merely interested Is it just a small independent sushi place ? - I wonder if they have a branch here in Chch ??

Kitteh - Welcome to the thread from across the ditch :P Well maybe you and your bf should just move here anyway .. its a nice place Yes we do have a few places that cater for us but i'm mighty jealous of the amount you have over there. Seems like a wee vegan haven at times !! As for burgerfuel we dont have one here in chch so i cant give my opinion of them but i know a few people that live in aucks that have had them and say they are the best place in town .. so if you can i'd venture to that part of sydney just for that Hope youre having a wonderful day !

[Aims]

Lyns, the tofurkey recipe was this one http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=7446.0
I have no idea what vegan poultry seasoning is though??? if you have any idea please let me know!

Omg I'm so gutted with Burger Fuel.. they took a few burgers off the menu (something about cutting back the menu due to the bad economic times I think) and of course that included the combustion tofu!! aaagghh that was my favourite one! So last week I went there and got the combustion veg, which is all the same thing except with a pattie made out of chickpeas and such. It tasted too much like falafel for my liking (which I hate) so yeah. I remember the V8 vegan burgers were ok, but nowhere near as great as combustion tofu

Their soy shakes are awesome though.

[~Lyns~]

Awesome thanks hun x
.. I'll give it a go on my next day off as soon as i get a chance and let you know how i get on Vegan poultry seasoning is just like fake chicken powder/flavouring .. so its just for flavour. So if you have vegan 'chicken' gravy powder or vegan 'chicken' soup powder use that As far as i'm aware we dont have that exact product in NZ so unless you wish to order it in from veganessentials.com which is a bit excessive for just experimenting with one dish (:P) just use one of the above or similar and all will be well. If you try it in the next few days before i get a chance let me know.

Hope all is well ! ... P.S i just made vegan chocolate and vanilla muffins .. Sooooo Yummy My omni partner even loved them and ate three and he is usually against even touching anything vegan .. maybe im slowly rubbing off on him *crosses her fingers* LOL

[Kitteh]

Good work on making omni-approved food, Lyns

Omg I'm so gutted with Burger Fuel.. they took a few burgers off the menu (something about cutting back the menu due to the bad economic times I think) and of course that included the combustion tofu!! aaagghh that was my favourite one! So last week I went there and got the combustion veg, which is all the same thing except with a pattie made out of chickpeas and such. It tasted too much like falafel for my liking (which I hate) so yeah. I remember the V8 vegan burgers were ok, but nowhere near as great as combustion tofu

Their soy shakes are awesome though.

Oh no! I hate when vegan options get removed from places. I hope the menu here is the same as in N.Z. I'm avoiding soy at the mo so I was going to have the Combustion Veg anyways but I emailed them to check that we have vegan options here and to ask if the gluten-free buns are vegan too. We might go this weekend, yay!

[jodyk]

Wow the NZ section of the message board is going for it - so many new posts! Kitteh, my parents live in Melbourne (inner city) and it is a great place for vegans - have you visited? But you're right, NZ can be a good back up plan

I've been sticking to V8 vegan when I go to burger fuel, as one time when I asked about getting no cheese and aioli they were so unsure about whether they could actually pull off such a remarkable feat I decided I was safer not to try. I'm sure it just depends who you get serving on the day. But I'm sorry you lost your tofu burger Aims

M4L: keep up the good work eh? I am really impressed to think you're vegan at 15!

[Kitteh]

Wow the NZ section of the message board is going for it - so many new posts! Kitteh, my parents live in Melbourne (inner city) and it is a great place for vegans - have you visited? But you're right, NZ can be a good back up plan

I've been sticking to V8 vegan when I go to burger fuel, as one time when I asked about getting no cheese and aioli they were so unsure about whether they could actually pull off such a remarkable feat I decided I was safer not to try. I'm sure it just depends who you get serving on the day. But I'm sorry you lost your tofu burger Aims

Hi Jody! I like seeing our Aussie/NZ section alive too! I haven't been to Melb. but I cannot wait to go. They're our Aussie vegan capital, we keep saying we will go for a week but as yet we've made no plans!

And I don't see why it's so hard for ppl to not add things like cheese/aiolo! It's saving them a minute or two but they must think it's strange. My bf asked for no cheese & chilli on a burger recently and got cheese and chilli, d'oh!

[lily80]

I love burger fuel, though I have only ever had the V8 vegan cause I didn't know they could make any of the others vegan, but yeah it seems to be really hard for them to make any changes, I hate raw tomatoes and whenever I asked them to leave them off it would take them like twice as long as usual to make the burger.

And Melbourne is awesome, I lived there last year - so many good foods. I especially liked the burgers at Lord of the Fries, mmmmmm.

[jodyk]

Yay Lord of the Fries!! But the first time I had a burger from there I spent ages inspecting it because it looked so much like meat I was concerned I had made a mistake!! In the end mum (who's vegetarian) took a nibble and declared it be ok

Kitteh, you must get to Melbourne A-SIP (that's mean to be read with the voice of the whale from beached as)

[Aims]

It cracks me up how much of a spin some people get into at restaurants when you ask them to leave something really easy out of something. Like no cheese on pizza.. one time this waiter was like "um we've just taken your pizza out of the oven and it looks kinda sad.... are you sure you don't want another one with cheese???". Could just imagine them flapping their hands in the air going "oh the horror! no cheese on pizza?? that's crazy!"

Aww Melbourne. I've heard rumours of vegan donuts there? next time I'll be planning the trip around food because totally missed out on all the cool stuff last time.

[Kitteh]

Aww Melbourne. I've heard rumours of vegan donuts there? next time I'll be planning the trip around food because totally missed out on all the cool stuff last time.

La Panella! Apparently they went non-vegan for a while but are now vegan again (I think they had to change where they got their donut mix or something).

And the gluten-free buns @ Burger Fuel are NOT vegan They contain egg whites, damn!

[Aims]

Aren't they?! rude!

[HanNZ]

Check out www.happycow.net if you haven't already. Lists veg/vegan cafes and restaurants around the world, including New Zealand, I often update it if I find somewhere new that does good vegan options.

I live in Wellington and there are some great cafes for vegan food, and some yum vegan breakfasts too - at Midnight expresso and Pranah (both on happy cow).

Many new products and marinaded tofu is available in the supermarkets now and I am almost convinced its better supplied than the supermarkets in the UK. Maybe its because of the asian population here. There are a lot of indian/thai etc restaurants that would be OK for vegans too. Pub/Bar food is not great and I never eat in them.

Hells pizza in New zealand (takeaway but some areas have a Bar/Restaurant) has a vegan pizza on the menu, also does gluten free bases. Can also ask for a veg pizza and remove the cheese no problem.

[Kiwiveegie]

I went for six months. Now Im back. I just ate 3 cupcakes with coconut frosting. I'm feeling baaad. Any Waikato vegans?

[puressence]

Hi everyone, just shouting for joy here and wanted to share with you, I have found a grated mature hard cheese replacer!

Its a replacer for Parmesan cheese, and its called Dairy Free Parmazano. Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegetarian and Vegan!

Aint that the coolest of coolest, I love my cheeses!

The ingredients are Soya Flour (72%), Non-Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (17%), Rock Salt, Flavouring, Antioxidant Vitamin E.

The place I got it from is called East West Organics in Glen Eden, Henderson, Auckland. Its costs $8.50 for a 60g container.

I am so looking forward to having it sprinkled on my spagetti bolognise tonight.

[Kiwiveegie]

Tell me, tell me, is it great? Is it fab? How exciting! I have just emailed them to see if they post items.

[jessica*]

that Parmazano is online as well for $10 at SAFE's shop:
http://www.choosecrueltyfree.org.nz/foodStuffs.php

[puressence]

Lol Kiwiveegie, it sure is great lol and to Jessica, thankyou for letting us know of another place, cool

[Kiwiveegie]

Ooooh, ooooh, I haven't been to the safe shop for aaages. Look at all the things they've got! The excitement! Thanks Jessica.

[Kiwiveegie]

Has anyone tried Scheese? I tired that Cheezly and it was...ok.

[jessica*]

I should probably try it out - sounds great! I usually just make something in the food processor with nuts, flour, garlic powder and salt. Such a cheapskate.

[Aims]

I'd seen that Parmazano stuff and wondered what it was like. I haven't done the DIY thing with food processor yet either but have been meaning to for ages. There's a parmesan sub in Veganomicon I think.

[jodyk]

I tried cheezly about a year ago when I had only been vegan a month or so and swore off vegan cheese - tasted weird to me. Perhaps if I tried it again I'd be more into it. I got some of those parmesan sprinkles and amazingly haven't tried them yet! I guess my style of cooking and eating has changed. Perhaps I'll make pasta tonight though, now you all mention it

[Enchantress]

It might be worth giving vegan cheese another shot. I tried Cheezly and Tofutti slices when I first became vegan and thought they were disgusting, probably because I was looking for an exact replica of dairy cheese. After that I went two years without "cheese" before I decided to give vegan cheese another shot, now I really like the stuff. I think it was good for me to go a while without it though, as it got me out of the habit of putting cheese on everything, which is a rather expensive and unhealthy habit to have. Now I'm happy to have vegan cheese only occasionally.

[vava]

It might be worth giving vegan cheese another shot. I tried Cheezly and Tofutti slices when I first became vegan and thought they were disgusting, probably because I was looking for an exact replica of dairy cheese. After that I went two years without "cheese" before I decided to give vegan cheese another shot, now I really like the stuff. I think it was good for me to go a while without it though, as it got me out of the habit of putting cheese on everything, which is a rather expensive and unhealthy habit to have. Now I'm happy to have vegan cheese only occasionally.

same here - I wondered if they had changed the recipe - perhaps like you say it is me that has changed.

[jessica*]

This is not totally NZ related, but Farmers is having a sale on the Breville juice fountain, and I got it for my birthday. I had been given a cookbook that included some juice recipes and decided to give it a try. Yesterday I threw in an orange, an apple, some ginger, 1/2 a big carrot and a handful of blueberries. Only made about 8 oz, but OMG it was incredibly good!!

I begrudgingly switched from soda to store bought juice a while back, but this juice mix was out of this world!

[Kitteh]

Hi Kiwi-Vegans! On the weekend we went to a Burger Fuel here in Sydney, I had the Combustion Veg and we got some kumera and potato chips. The burger was yummo as were the kumera chips, I forgot to try the potato chips I want to go back really soon!

[HanNZ]

Scheese was horrible. Cheezley the best! I had some this evening and they seem to have changed it as it melted just by grating on hot pasta!

Seems like a few vegans in NZ, anyone in wellington?

[jodyk]

We've all been very quiet lately haven't we? I keep meaning to post something but never quite know what. I had a nice breakfast at Shaky Isles in Kingsland, Auckland the other day. They have something on their menu labeled vegan, and it was nice. I tried out the whipping cream at safe and it didn't do much for me - same issue as the cheese stuff I'm sure - in a couple of years I'll be really loving it no doubt. I'm going to Melbourne for a couple of weeks soon = yay!

[Aims]

^ aaahh jealous!! haha.. have a great time
someone at my work has just gone off to Melbourne too (although I doubt she'll be taking advantage of all the glorious vegan food).

I haven't tried that cream but was never into whipped cream anyway. Really want to try that parmesan though!! keep forgetting to order some and haven't been out in town for ages (in the daytime). Must pop out there sometime soon.

Yeah I can't think of anything interesting to post about either. Not a lot of exciting vegan-related things happen here eh? Or maybe they do... dunno.. I get invites to movie nights and such from SAFE on facebook but am too tired to go all the way out there on a weeknight, what a nana

[jodyk]

New Zealand! We are getting slack! No posts since Aims in March...!
Ok, I'll get the ball rolling. I have just been up to the bookshop and ordered Vegan Cupcakes takeover the World with a voucher I was given for my birthday in January. I have Veganomicon by the same authors and it's been great. I love the cashew and tofu ricotta recipe - it has inspired me to make lasagna again, having given it up along with cheese 18 months ago. I was in Melbourne recently and enjoyed various vegan food, but even more so visiting Vegan Wares and buying some boots. My 09 new years resolution was to not buy any new clothes for the year - only to sew or get secondhand, as a way of trying to think twice before exploiting workers in places like China. The boots were made on site in Melbourne so (hopefully!) no little slave kids involved. I heard the tail end of an interview on national radio this morning with the owner of the pig farm that SAFE did some undercover investigation on, so I think will go and read up on that now. Wishing you all a happy vegan Wednesday

[jessica*]

Hi JodyK - yes the thing with Mike King and the pig farms has turned out to be big. Hope it at least helps to create some better legislation or causes some people to rethink their eating habits.

How do you like Vegan Cupcakes Take...? I love the peanut butter cupcakes. And have also made some of the cupcake recipes as cakes instead. I just got The Vegan Table by the author of The Joy of Vegan Baking. A little different the way it's set up for entertaining by season and by size of the party you're cooking for, but terrific recipes.

My OH and I are going to be in Melbourne for the Vegan Festival (which sadly is also the Melbourne Cup weekend, so hotels have been filling quickly) Can't wait to visit! The Veg Society mag had some good reviews of different veg restaurants in Melbourne in the last issue, but if you have any tips, I'd love to hear.

[jessica*]

Oh also - was down in Nelson a while back and had a nice lunch at Zippy's Vegetarian Cafe. All the vegan items are clearly marked. We had lattes, little veg pot pies and a ginger slice.

[pat sommer]

How about getting on with omnis and vegetarians?

I haven't been back in over 20 yrs. Not eating meat was strange then but I had lapsed back into dairy consumption which was ubiquitous.

So, how is it as a guest in someone's home trying to get a black tea? A cake without a slab of butter?

Pot luck dinners, do they all resemble fondue parties or has little NZ found ethnic food?

Will other kids poke fun at my child or just reply 'Johnny is gluten-free'?

What level of 'alternative' does vegan rate these days on a scale from bizarre to atypical?

[jodyk]

I think eating at people's houses is the hardest thing about being vegan. Some people want to be helpful but still find it hard to think of something to feed you! Others react with negativity and defensiveness to veganism. Would certainly depend on the circles you socialise in. Particular eating is definitely becoming more common (eg gluten free, fair trade, organic) so probably less hassles for your kid than there would have been 20 years ago...?

[Aims]

The thingy at the top of the page is telling me I haven't visited since the 23rd of August. Sad!!

I hope things have been going well for all of you. It was my 4th "veganiversary" on Thursday. I had to work that night so didn't make myself a nice dinner, got burger fuel though hehe..

When does the Vegan Cookies book come out? I love those guys. I got the brunch book from amazon recently, there's a YUUUUUUM coffee cake in there.. have only made the jam swirl variation so far, it's brilliant.

[DiaShel]

There's a decent chance I'll be moving to New Zealand next year. There's a huge demand for my field there so I probably have a better chance at a job there then here. Since I would prefer it to, it works out great! Always up for an adventure.

[jodyk]

Well, NZ is a great place Do you have a region in mind?

[DiaShel]

Nope! They have offices all over the country so I have no idea where I'd end up.

[jodyk]

Well, DiaShel I was trying to think of places in NZ to warn you against but every place has its charm... (plus I don't want to upset anyone from the Waikato!!! I was born in Hamilton so I say that with some affection!).

Aims my mum has one of their books (sorry, that is SO vague) and there is a great corn fritter recipe in there. So yes, roll out the cookie book, I agree! Congratulations on 4 years! Will you do anything special for world vegan day??

I went to Revel (krd) on Tuesday and had a very nice cupcake with peppermint icing. Nice coffee too.

As you can tell I don't really have anything to say - just keeping the NZ forum ball rolling

[DiaShel]

I'm sure I'll have a million questions when I figure out where they'd put me. I want to be near mountains though. I'm so ready to be out of NY!

[sharkbait]

How about getting on with omnis and vegetarians?

I haven't been back in over 20 yrs. Not eating meat was strange then but I had lapsed back into dairy consumption which was ubiquitous.

So, how is it as a guest in someone's home trying to get a black tea? A cake without a slab of butter?

Pot luck dinners, do they all resemble fondue parties or has little NZ found ethnic food?

Will other kids poke fun at my child or just reply 'Johnny is gluten-free'?

What level of 'alternative' does vegan rate these days on a scale from bizarre to atypical?

I think you will find that 'little NZ' has 'found ethnic food', and a very broad range at that. I'm surprised that this wasn't your experience 20 years ago.

'Vegan' and 'Gluten free' are not unusual at all in NZ; for example , you will find that at the New Zealand founded fast-food Pizza and Burger chains, clearly labelled vegan options and Gluten Free options are ubiquitous . I love being able to order a delivery Vegan pizza for me and gluten free pizza for my brother at midnight when we want a snack.

Supermarkets are a trove of delicious vegetarian items, and I am yet to go to a BBQ where there are no veggie-sausages or someones amazing home made vegetable kebabs or marinated tofu/tempeh on offer.

I have travelled, i have lived in a few countries (australia at present), and I have found that for freshness and variety, New Zealand has most of the best cuisine on offer.

Your attitude about 'little New Zealand' saddens me, and I hope you can visit soon and get an updated impression!

[andrewNZ]

'Vegan' and 'Gluten free' are not unusual at all in NZ; for example , you will find that at the New Zealand founded fast-food Pizza and Burger chains, clearly labelled vegan options and Gluten Free options are ubiquitous . I love being able to order a delivery Vegan pizza for me and gluten free pizza for my brother at midnight when we want a snack.

Hi Sharkbait

Too bad the staff at Hell Pizza don't change their gloves when making the pizzas. They also use just one pizza cutter for everything. Burger Fuel is pretty good, but keep an eye on them. My girlfriend manages the one here in Rotorua and tells me of some pretty hairy stories with the vege/vegan stuff. She's a vege so is strict with her staff, but the previous manager wasn't so careful.

I was at a party recently and a friend was making some vegan cream of mushroom buns. They were vegan until I read the ingredients of the breadcrumbs he used!

I guess it's different in the bigger (less backward) cities, but it's rare that I meet someone who doesn't question or ridicule me being vegan. I wouldn't eat bread at a cafe recently. It's just easier that way. Eating at other peoples houses is really hard, I try to avoid it, which I know isn't helping our cause

[Kitteh]

We just watched the first episode of MasterChef New Zealand and a vegan contestant got through! They asked her if she'd cook meat and she said yes and they seemed to love her dish, which you can see here! I wonder how she'll go, the vego in Aussie MasterChef got kicked out pretty quickly.

[charmed_phi]

Hi i was just wandering if someone could tell me if the white or wheat bread at subway was vegan?
thanx

[DiaShel]

The white bread is, the wheat has honey. Where do you live in NZ?

[Bearshark]

Hi! I'm new and I'm from Wellington, New Zealand!! Sorry for the crazy enthusiasm and butting into your thread, I know no-one in NZ who is vegan so I have nobody to discuss products and general vegan things with, so this is pretty exciting for me
So, hi everyone!!

[DiaShel]

Hi Bearshark! I just moved to Nelson from the states. I'm trying really hard to meet vegans here. I'm in Auckland right now for a training and just went to a meetup there and I'm trying to start a group in Nelson but I only have 3 members so for! I was in Wellington a few weeks ago, nice place! Just to let you know there aren't that many "active" New Zealand members on the board at the moment. I've heard there is the occasional potluck type thing in Wellington. I'm on the vegan chat line for NZ which is kind of like an email based forum. Here it is:http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/Ve...sec=dir&slk=48

[Bearshark]

Thanks heaps!! I've joined it Nelson is lovely, my boyfriend used to stay there over summer so I'd go and stay with him and it's absolutely gorgeous!! Hopefully we'll both be able to find more vegans near us on here lol all of my friends are really into their meat so it can get a bit tough to be around them sometimes, especially with the constant criticisms. Hope you find more people for your group!!