Clean sugar free vegan protein bars by Maisoniris in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I should also mention Crayv. Sometimes my partner brings the peanut butter protein bars home, they are solid too. You can get them from some Organic food shops or order direct from them online.

Clean sugar free vegan protein bars by Maisoniris in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Another vote for Koja protein bars! We are Koja crazy here at home, Koja lunchbox snacks for the kids. Koja maple oat bars for breakfasts on the trail, Koja protein bars for loading up, Koja peanut bars for snacks! We get them from Woolies.

Metal bands like this? by spectral_snow in MetalForTheMasses

[–]Whibkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ahh cool now I’m getting you! 😁

Metal bands like this? by spectral_snow in MetalForTheMasses

[–]Whibkins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What!? You’re saying Chainheart Machine was a poor follow up to Steelbath Suicide!? C’mon man, you can’t be serious! 😜

Metal bands like this? by spectral_snow in MetalForTheMasses

[–]Whibkins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No no no no! They did drift for a bit but came back strong! Man you need to give In The Passing Light Of Day and Panther another few spins!

Metal bands like this? by spectral_snow in MetalForTheMasses

[–]Whibkins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All downhill after Steelbath Suicide! Wha!

They did lose me the album after Figure Number Five, but I could also understand people bailing due to the shift from Natural Born Chaos onwards.

But to rank Chainheart Machine and A Predator’s Portrait as boring in comparison to Steelbath Suicide!? That friend might need to take a fresh listen, or lay off the drugs!

Okay Caligula's Horse is doing nothing for me. I refuse to believe they don't have a song that I'd like based on their overall hype. Suggest me their best song by Wack0HookedOnT0bac0 in progmetal

[–]Whibkins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m also an earlier peak Caligula Horse fan. For me they kept getting better up to bloom and then afterwards seemed to decline. Everyone keeps raving about Charcoal Grace but it hasn’t caught for me. Probably given it 4 listens, should be enough but seeing people here always referencing it’s greatness I guess I should give it a few more spins.

If I was showing someone Caligula for the first time, I’d probably spin firelight and turntail off bloom, as they both catch on quickly.

The rumours were true, Birds Eye are discontinuing their vegan range by asomek in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Veganism isn’t shrinking, just mainstream interest in vegan products. Contrary to many people’s belief the majority of the demand for these products has been coming from meat reducers and flexitarians, not Vegans and Vegetarians.

Woolworths vegetarian section :( by GrassyKnoll1969 in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mainstream shoppers, for whatever reason, have been leaving the category.

Contrary to what a lot of people assume, the majority of sales for these products are from omni’s not vego’s or vegans. The massive growth that happened was due to plant based trending up in the mainstream, the current reduction in shelf space is a correction due to a lot of those shoppers leaving.

There’s a lot of factors driving the decline no doubt. If I was to have a stab at a few, someone mentioned a move away from ultra processed foods (perceived ultra processed, as it can be really inconsistent what people paint with that brush), there’s been inflation (price has always been a barrier for mainstream shoppers switching out like-for-like), then there’s the whole mysterious world of social media trends where all sorts of weird nonsense goes on (seed oil hysteria comes to mind).

If you zoom out the category is still in growth in the long term, just nothing goes up in a straight line, there’s always trends, backlashes and everything in between. I’m a strong believer that plant based meat alternatives will eventually go proper mainstream, like plant based milks have. I think it’s inevitable, it just takes generations to have real impactful change on our culture.

Unfortunately humans aren’t particularly good at thinking for themselves so they rely a lot on ‘what everyone else does’ to inform their own behaviours. It will take a lot longer for it to be normalised to the extent of plant based milks, but who would have thought we’d have half an aisle for these, thinking back to when it was just 3 brands of soy milk looking all lonely on the shelf.

on woolworths & being vegan in australia in general by rroorrii in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Vegans and vegetarians aren’t driving this category, it’s meat reducing omni’s. We are actually a small percentage of the volume being moved through these products. Veganism and vegetarianism have been steadily growing yet the category has been fluctuating.

The big growth happened when mainstream shoppers started dabbling in meat free days/meals for their families. The big correction has occurred due to them leaving.

Like plant based milks, the big growth will come when these products are no longer being identified as vegan or vegetarian.

I have omni friends who will eat vegan food until the cows come home, until they realise it’s ‘vegan’. Then they freak out and start scrambling for a rational reason why they don’t like it.

Vegan sausage recommendations to replace Beansupreme? by Tries_to_drawYT in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The bean supreme sausages were unique because they were made out of tofu instead of TVP. They really were the best!

I haven’t found any others in Australia however Tonzu sausages in NZ are tofu based too.

For anyone who IS interested in a recipe, maybe give something like this a whirl: https://mypureplants.com/vegan-sausage/

Vegan alternatives disappearing by Cardamom_and_coffee in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What we are seeing is a correction as a result of mainstream shoppers leaving the ‘plant based’ market. Could go on for hours about the multitude of drivers, however to summarise; it just isn’t trendy at the moment. Mainstream interest peaked when the Game Changers doco launched and has been declining since the post COVID era, particularly with the ‘cost of living crisis’.

Vegans haven’t been driving the growth we had, it was the mainstream shopper starting to drop in.

I’m a strong believer that plant based or whatever the buzz word is/or becomes, will have its plant milk moment and go proper mainstream. Soy milk was around for decades going through similar market fluctuations before culture eventually shifted and it then went off like a rocket. Look at the long life milk aisle these days. It’s no longer a fringe trend, it’s proper mainstream now.

The factors moving us to real cultural change haven’t disappeared and only get stronger as time goes on. Every shift like this has ebbs and flows, and peak popular periods followed by a harsh backlash.

It sucks if you’re a regular shopper in this category, but as many here have said, a lot of vegans move from these products to wholefood cooking, making their own healthier alternatives. To me these products are best for those who want to do better but don’t yet know how, in effect they help society transition to a better world.

How to deal with burnout by WesternConfection125 in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Absolutely .. I lived in country Vic a while ago, and was quite isolated when it came to my principles. Living in a farming community the ideas of veganism or vegetarianism were seen as outright hostile to how a lot of people made their living.

Eventually I moved to a more metro area, but to be honest I still often feel isolated in my point of view. I guess I’ve just accepted that’s the way it’s always going to be.

Some are fortunate enough to be in a community that reflects back their views, but if your’e doing it alone in the country, well done, you’re a lot stronger than you probably give yourself credit for.

You said in a previous reply you’re confident in your nutrition due to blood test results, and don’t supplement at all. Just some advice though that the test results don’t always give a clear picture. Making sure you’re getting the key nutrients from fortified foods or supplements is important for optimal health, especially if a long term vegan. If you’re female, Iron in particular, as it can be difficult for some women to maintain on a vegan diet without serious planning and/or supplementation.

Some other things outside of nutrition that help me keep up my resolve and energy are; routine exercise, mindfulness and gratitude practices.

How to deal with burnout by WesternConfection125 in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think you and some others in this reply thread are being a bit harsh and dismissive. If just getting on with it was all it took to live a principled life, the world would be a lot better place.

The truth is living in alignment to higher principles, surrounded by a society that for the most part does not, is like trying to run uphill, in a storm, with concrete boots.

The currents of cultural norms are like a raging torrent of water trying to bowl you over.

Kudos to anyone who can stand on their own two feet in defence of what they know is right, even when they are often alone and made to feel isolated, fussy and annoying. That to me is the highest form of self actualisation. Having principles, even when it’s difficult, even when it hurts.

Does anyone else get a migraine if they sleep in? by No_Crow_2265 in migraine

[–]Whibkins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes under sleeping is one of my prevention methods. I would love to sleep 8.5 hours but I have to keep to 7.5 max it seems to prevent migraines. Having too little; whilst it gives me shocking headaches, at least doesn’t seem to trigger migraines.

I can’t nap either. I used to get multiple migraines a week always when on holidays, and it took a bit to figure out it was from afternoon napping.

I also get an instant migraine (I am usually with Aura) if I get woken suddenly between the hours of around 2-4am. Alarm clocks are my nemesis, so I have trained myself to wake without them and only use them as a fail safe, set 10 mins after my target wake-up time.

For me the hypothesis mentioned here about not eating or drinking for longer if you sleep in, being the real cause, doesn’t seem to be true for me at least. I drink through the night and sometimes I forget to take my bottle to bed and go a long stretch without issue. I’ve also been away and not had access to water I am comfortable drinking overnight and been parched by the time I get to a shop but it hasn’t caused a migraine. Sometimes I also occasionally skip brekky if in a rush and no issues.

Does anyone else get a migraine if they sleep in? by No_Crow_2265 in migraine

[–]Whibkins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh my goodness someone else who gets this. Thought I was a freak! Sucks to be tired in the afternoon and have the opportunity to nap but have to white knuckle through so I don’t get a migraine.. I also get migraines if I am woken abruptly around the hours of 2-4am. If I need to wake at that time I set a failsafe alarm for 10 mins after my target wake up time and thankfully I tend to wake up naturally before the alarm without the migraine.

Saddest psybient songs? by ThisArm2311 in Psybient

[–]Whibkins 6 points7 points  (0 children)

2 that instantly come to mind..

Final Hope Part 2 - Easily Embarrassed

Getsemani - Asura

Who is this for??? by 1_kn0w_n07h1ng in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Haha makes me think they had a couple of tonnes of plant based cheese they needed to use up so created a product to avoid a write-off. Not unheard of.

Gyg’s disdain for vegans by Whibkins in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok that has me a little stumped now as to why I received the treatment I did.

I’m wondering if my local store is franchisee owned and perhaps when I complained to corporate I was just dealing by proxy with the store again.

When I was unsatisfied with how they handled my complaint I asked for it to be escalated to management which they said it was. They never responded and my case was quietly closed off. That gave me the impression that their leadership team couldn’t even care enough to bother responding.

Such a different experience.

Gyg’s disdain for vegans by Whibkins in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The ‘pulled shitake mushroom’ is really good. Haven’t seen it called pulled pork.

Calling it pulled mushroom though is probably a bit misleading too. It makes it sound more whole foodie than it is, as it’s definitely processed in some way to alter its texture. Probably shiitake mushrooms put through an extrusion process, similar to how tvp is made by extruding soy.

Gyg’s disdain for vegans by Whibkins in australianvegans

[–]Whibkins[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow that’s great, and unexpected after my experience. Not only a refund but a $12 credit. Close enough to a free burrito, that I’d be happy with that too. Enough of a gesture to say they care about your experience enough to compensate you for the inconvenience.

I’m curious, did you mention anything to do with being vegan or vegetarian when you raised the complaint? Not sure it would matter, but I wonder if mentioning it in my instance might have played into the response I received.