New Vegetarian/ Vegan

jennipooh82

Hi all,

I have been on MFP for a while, well I guess I have taken a leave for a bit, but back at it....AGAIN. So in the past , lets say, month, I have been doing quite a bit of inner life seeking and a lot of this is me dealing with the things I eat. I have watched a few documentaries such as, GMO OMG, Food Inc. and Forks over Knives- All which were eye openers for me.... I have now gone and transitioned to vegetarian and slowly going to make the transition to being Vegan. I'm looking for a life with clean eating, bettering the earth and knowing that I'm not taking part in harming animals. By clean eating, I don't mean, sub out regular Coke for Diet Coke. I'm looking for ideas that use real food. I want to limit processed foods, so as being a vegetarian and not eating hotdogs, I don't want to eat some highly processed hotdog that is "vegetarian/vegan" with a list 10-20 UN-pronounceable ingredients. I would rather do with out the stinking hotdog!

With that all being said, I was wondering if any of you had any great vegetarian/ vegan recipes, or ways of life that you are willing to share with me. I want to have the healthiest, tastiest, filling change of live that I can.

Thanks for reading my piece and taking the time to leave a comment.

Amberj41

Forks over Knives has a book that has an actual 4 week plan to transition to vegan eating. along with fabulous recipes that use nothing "mysterious" in the ingredients! my meat eating family has even enjoyed a lot of the recipes I have made from that book.

janejellyroll

Welcome to vegetarianism. I am not a clean eater, but I have been vegan for nine years. There are tons of great cookbooks out there. I encourage you to look around and find one that meets your needs.

My favorite cookbook authors are Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Donna Klein, Bryant Terry, and Terry Hope Romero. I don't know if they will meet your particular restrictions, but they all help me create delicious food.

Good luck!

musicandarts

I limit the amount of processed foods I eat. But, if your goal is to eliminate processed foods completely, it will require a radical restructuring of your life. The bread, milk, yogurt etc you eat are all processed to some extent. My strategy is to (1) never eat out (2) eat as many things raw as possible (3) if needed, use foods that are minimally processed.

I am a vegetarian, but I cannot give up milk and yogurt. My diary is open if you want to compare. As I have a 9-5 job, I cannot grow my own food, bake and cook full time.

Lostcoastline

Good for you! I am vegetarian and I eat a protein supplement to keep my macros right. I am not sure if you are going to want/need to do that, but if you do, you might want to check out hemp protein powder in a smoothie. There are different kinds for more concentrated protein.

jchite84

I was a vegan for about 10 years, and transitioned back to ovo/lacto. Good luck on your journey. My top picks for cookbooks would be Vegan Planet, Garden of Vegan: How it all Vegan, and La Dolce Vegan. I am very habit oriented, and always have been. So, it was easiest for me to think of shopping for staple ingredients, things that I buy literally every week (spinach - fresh and frozen, frozen California Blend, frozen soup veggies, peppers, onions, frozen strawberries, bananas, I could go on and on and give you my whole shopping list, but that would be boring). I have meals that I eat every day for months on end and don't get tired of them, then I would hit the cookbooks and pick a few dinners that would be novel meals and supplement those on my shopping list. La Dolce Vegan is an especially good cookbook for simple meals and smaller portions. The whole idea is that you might be the only vegan in your house, and you don't need to cook meals for 6 or 8, so it has a lot of 2-4 portion recipes. Which, is also good for CICO.

LoupGarouTFTs

Forks Over Knives and Food, Inc. are loaded with scare tactics and junk science. In addition, they are great propaganda for the animal rights movement. As long as you are aware that a lot of what they present is slanted in terms of that propaganda and you still want to make the decision to upend your life like that, more power to you--there are plenty of sites to further that agenda.

isulo_kura

jennipooh82 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have been on MFP for a while, well I guess I have taken a leave for a bit, but back at it....AGAIN. So in the past , lets say, month, I have been doing quite a bit of inner life seeking and a lot of this is me dealing with the things I eat. I have watched a few documentaries such as, GMO OMG, Food Inc. and Forks over Knives- All which were eye openers for me.... I have now gone and transitioned to vegetarian and slowly going to make the transition to being Vegan. I'm looking for a life with clean eating, bettering the earth and knowing that I'm not taking part in harming animals. By clean eating, I don't mean, sub out regular Coke for Diet Coke. I'm looking for ideas that use real food. I want to limit processed foods, so as being a vegetarian and not eating hotdogs, I don't want to eat some highly processed hotdog that is "vegetarian/vegan" with a list 10-20 UN-pronounceable ingredients. I would rather do with out the stinking hotdog!

With that all being said, I was wondering if any of you had any great vegetarian/ vegan recipes, or ways of life that you are willing to share with me. I want to have the healthiest, tastiest, filling change of live that I can.

Thanks for reading my piece and taking the time to leave a comment.

Ok I've been a Vegan for over 20 years and a Vegetarian before that. I don't eat what people would see as 'Clean'. To me that is a nonsense term. I eat a lot of wholefoods but I will happily eat what people may see as non clean. To put a dampener on your enthusiasm a change in diet from meat eating to vegan plus trying to eat clean sounds to me like a recipe for failure. Suddenly putting all those restrictions on yourself will be very difficult.

Personally when I went Vegan from vegetarian I never transitioned I just stopped all animal products. I can't see the point of a transition you just stop eating those foods you disagree with. Also to add documentaries such as forks over knives as much as they are interesting are coming from an angle of bias. To set myself to get lynched by other Vegans I don't believe the Vegan diet is any healthier than any other. You can have a healthy non vegan diet the same way you can have an un healthy vegan one, To me the only argument for going Vegan is an ethical one which is why even if I thought it unhealthy (which I don't) i would still eat and live this way

As for resources the UK Vegan Society is a good one. Good luck and I would though suggest chucking the idea of 'Clean' foods out and aim for a balanced diet of mainly fresh and wholefoods but don't deprive yourself of other things you like. Moderation and Balance is the way to go.

Good Luck

dietstokes

Being vegetarian, even being a "clean" vegetarian, is pretty easy. I do eat cheese, though I don't do milk or yogurt as I don't like them. I eat a lot of raw, or mostly raw foods throughout the day, and then have a cooked meal in the evening. That's what I find easiest for me, as I don't always have a time where I can just sit down throughout the day to have a lunch or other meal. Today for example, I am going to have/already have had: cup of coffee with 1 tbsp creamer, banana, apple, tangelo, 2 mangos, 4 dates, salad made with lettuce tomato croutons and 1tbsp of dressing, and then for dinner I am making skinny egg plant rollotini, and for dessert I am making a fruit smoothie of blended frozen fruit, ice, and water. That works out to around 1200 calories. Some days I have much more, though typically on those days I am eating more crap, lol (or drinking wine ). I also drink about 3 L of water most days.

LoupGarouTFTs

If you drink clarified or fined wine, it's likely to contain animal products, although they are mostly from fish or eggs.

leggup

Sigh. GMO and 'processed' food alarmism got you too, huh? Ingredient lists are only unpronounceable if you slept through high school chemistry.

GMOs and food preservatives allow for increased production in geographic areas better suited for food production. GMOs reduce waste, improve produce quality, and help counteract rapidly changing environmental conditions. GMOs increase production with less input (like water or pesticides). Man has been making plants more efficient since he first decided which grain was best suited for his land. The added genetic investigation and manipulation means that more repercussions are analyzed (such as accidentally planting something that becomes an invasive species, or is toxic to local fauna). GMOs are often designed to use less land, meaning that we can reduce human encroachment on natural land.

Processing foods happens the second you take the tomato off the vine. Commercial production means sorting, cleaning, and sterilizing food (as required). Stabilizers and preservatives keep food fresh and disease-free. Unless you're a medicine-free raw vegan with a victory garden, you're consuming processed products. And that's okay. Processed means not in its natural form, whether canned, sliced, or washed. Processing food can actually result in higher nutritional value. Flash frozen vegetables can have higher vitamin content then broccoli that's been sitting on the grocery store shelf for a week. Processing juice means that you can drink it in the winter, outside of the season of the fruit, without fear of botulism or listeria.

jennipooh82

isulo_kura wrote: »

jennipooh82 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have been on MFP for a while, well I guess I have taken a leave for a bit, but back at it....AGAIN. So in the past , lets say, month, I have been doing quite a bit of inner life seeking and a lot of this is me dealing with the things I eat. I have watched a few documentaries such as, GMO OMG, Food Inc. and Forks over Knives- All which were eye openers for me.... I have now gone and transitioned to vegetarian and slowly going to make the transition to being Vegan. I'm looking for a life with clean eating, bettering the earth and knowing that I'm not taking part in harming animals. By clean eating, I don't mean, sub out regular Coke for Diet Coke. I'm looking for ideas that use real food. I want to limit processed foods, so as being a vegetarian and not eating hotdogs, I don't want to eat some highly processed hotdog that is "vegetarian/vegan" with a list 10-20 UN-pronounceable ingredients. I would rather do with out the stinking hotdog!

With that all being said, I was wondering if any of you had any great vegetarian/ vegan recipes, or ways of life that you are willing to share with me. I want to have the healthiest, tastiest, filling change of live that I can.

Thanks for reading my piece and taking the time to leave a comment.

Ok I've been a Vegan for over 20 years and a Vegetarian before that. I don't eat what people would see as 'Clean'. To me that is a nonsense term. I eat a lot of wholefoods but I will happily eat what people may see as non clean. To put a dampener on your enthusiasm a change in diet from meat eating to vegan plus trying to eat clean sounds to me like a recipe for failure. Suddenly putting all those restrictions on yourself will be very difficult.

Personally when I went Vegan from vegetarian I never transitioned I just stopped all animal products. I can't see the point of a transition you just stop eating those foods you disagree with. Also to add documentaries such as forks over knives as much as they are interesting are coming from an angle of bias. To set myself to get lynched by other Vegans I don't believe the Vegan diet is any healthier than any other. You can have a healthy non vegan diet the same way you can have an un healthy vegan one, To me the only argument for going Vegan is an ethical one which is why even if I thought it unhealthy (which I don't) i would still eat and live this way

As for resources the UK Vegan Society is a good one. Good luck and I would though suggest chucking the idea of 'Clean' foods out and aim for a balanced diet of mainly fresh and wholefoods but don't deprive yourself of other things you like. Moderation and Balance is the way to go.

Good Luck

I thank you for your clarification. Yes, i shouldn't of used the word "Clean" i should have used words like Whole Foods, Less Processed, and more body friendly. Thank you very much for all you input. This was very helpful.

jennipooh82

jchite84 wrote: »

I was a vegan for about 10 years, and transitioned back to ovo/lacto. Good luck on your journey. My top picks for cookbooks would be Vegan Planet, Garden of Vegan: How it all Vegan, and La Dolce Vegan. I am very habit oriented, and always have been. So, it was easiest for me to think of shopping for staple ingredients, things that I buy literally every week (spinach - fresh and frozen, frozen California Blend, frozen soup veggies, peppers, onions, frozen strawberries, bananas, I could go on and on and give you my whole shopping list, but that would be boring). I have meals that I eat every day for months on end and don't get tired of them, then I would hit the cookbooks and pick a few dinners that would be novel meals and supplement those on my shopping list. La Dolce Vegan is an especially good cookbook for simple meals and smaller portions. The whole idea is that you might be the only vegan in your house, and you don't need to cook meals for 6 or 8, so it has a lot of 2-4 portion recipes. Which, is also good for CICO.

What is "oco/lacto" and CICO?- I'm guessing that Lacto is short for Lactose intolerance?

LoupGarouTFTs

Ovo/lacto means that the person is no longer vegan but has gone back to eating a diet that includes eggs and milk. CICO is an acronym for "calories in, calories out."

jchite84

Ovo/Lacto means that I eat eggs and diary (mostly cheese, still don't like cow's milk), but no meat. CICO is Calories In/Calories Out - basically the MFP weightloss model.

gramarye

britishbroccoli wrote: »

Sigh. GMO and 'processed' food alarmism got you too, huh? Ingredient lists are only unpronounceable if you slept through high school chemistry.

GMOs and food preservatives allow for increased production in geographic areas better suited for food production. GMOs reduce waste, improve produce quality, and help counteract rapidly changing environmental conditions. GMOs increase production with less input (like water or pesticides). Man has been making plants more efficient since he first decided which grain was best suited for his land. The added genetic investigation and manipulation means that more repercussions are analyzed (such as accidentally planting something that becomes an invasive species, or is toxic to local fauna). GMOs are often designed to use less land, meaning that we can reduce human encroachment on natural land.

Processing foods happens the second you take the tomato off the vine. Commercial production means sorting, cleaning, and sterilizing food (as required). Stabilizers and preservatives keep food fresh and disease-free. Unless you're a medicine-free raw vegan with a victory garden, you're consuming processed products. And that's okay. Processed means not in its natural form, whether canned, sliced, or washed. Processing food can actually result in higher nutritional value. Flash frozen vegetables can have higher vitamin content then broccoli that's been sitting on the grocery store shelf for a week. Processing juice means that you can drink it in the winter, outside of the season of the fruit, without fear of botulism or listeria.

This is my favorite post on all of MFP. I want to laminate it and take it with me everywhere I go.

OP, tackling a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle for ethical reasons is all good -- I don't mean to imply you shouldn't. But be realistic about what a big change you're undertaking. And understand that a lot of "unpronounceable" ingredients are just the scientific names of perfectly normal things. Our entire world is chemical.

janejellyroll

isulo_kura wrote: »

jennipooh82 wrote: »

Hi all,

I have been on MFP for a while, well I guess I have taken a leave for a bit, but back at it....AGAIN. So in the past , lets say, month, I have been doing quite a bit of inner life seeking and a lot of this is me dealing with the things I eat. I have watched a few documentaries such as, GMO OMG, Food Inc. and Forks over Knives- All which were eye openers for me.... I have now gone and transitioned to vegetarian and slowly going to make the transition to being Vegan. I'm looking for a life with clean eating, bettering the earth and knowing that I'm not taking part in harming animals. By clean eating, I don't mean, sub out regular Coke for Diet Coke. I'm looking for ideas that use real food. I want to limit processed foods, so as being a vegetarian and not eating hotdogs, I don't want to eat some highly processed hotdog that is "vegetarian/vegan" with a list 10-20 UN-pronounceable ingredients. I would rather do with out the stinking hotdog!

With that all being said, I was wondering if any of you had any great vegetarian/ vegan recipes, or ways of life that you are willing to share with me. I want to have the healthiest, tastiest, filling change of live that I can.

Thanks for reading my piece and taking the time to leave a comment.

Ok I've been a Vegan for over 20 years and a Vegetarian before that. I don't eat what people would see as 'Clean'. To me that is a nonsense term. I eat a lot of wholefoods but I will happily eat what people may see as non clean. To put a dampener on your enthusiasm a change in diet from meat eating to vegan plus trying to eat clean sounds to me like a recipe for failure. Suddenly putting all those restrictions on yourself will be very difficult.

Personally when I went Vegan from vegetarian I never transitioned I just stopped all animal products. I can't see the point of a transition you just stop eating those foods you disagree with. Also to add documentaries such as forks over knives as much as they are interesting are coming from an angle of bias. To set myself to get lynched by other Vegans I don't believe the Vegan diet is any healthier than any other. You can have a healthy non vegan diet the same way you can have an un healthy vegan one, To me the only argument for going Vegan is an ethical one which is why even if I thought it unhealthy (which I don't) i would still eat and live this way

As for resources the UK Vegan Society is a good one. Good luck and I would though suggest chucking the idea of 'Clean' foods out and aim for a balanced diet of mainly fresh and wholefoods but don't deprive yourself of other things you like. Moderation and Balance is the way to go.

Good Luck

I've been vegan for nine years and I couldn't agree more with your message here.

janejellyroll

LoupGarouTFTs wrote: »

If you drink clarified or fined wine, it's likely to contain animal products, although they are mostly from fish or eggs.

There are resources online to help vegans find suitable alcohol.

janejellyroll

britishbroccoli wrote: »

Sigh. GMO and 'processed' food alarmism got you too, huh? Ingredient lists are only unpronounceable if you slept through high school chemistry.

GMOs and food preservatives allow for increased production in geographic areas better suited for food production. GMOs reduce waste, improve produce quality, and help counteract rapidly changing environmental conditions. GMOs increase production with less input (like water or pesticides). Man has been making plants more efficient since he first decided which grain was best suited for his land. The added genetic investigation and manipulation means that more repercussions are analyzed (such as accidentally planting something that becomes an invasive species, or is toxic to local fauna). GMOs are often designed to use less land, meaning that we can reduce human encroachment on natural land.

Processing foods happens the second you take the tomato off the vine. Commercial production means sorting, cleaning, and sterilizing food (as required). Stabilizers and preservatives keep food fresh and disease-free. Unless you're a medicine-free raw vegan with a victory garden, you're consuming processed products. And that's okay. Processed means not in its natural form, whether canned, sliced, or washed. Processing food can actually result in higher nutritional value. Flash frozen vegetables can have higher vitamin content then broccoli that's been sitting on the grocery store shelf for a week. Processing juice means that you can drink it in the winter, outside of the season of the fruit, without fear of botulism or listeria.

I'd love to have this stickied. Excellent, excellent summary.

segacs

britishbroccoli wrote: »

Sigh. GMO and 'processed' food alarmism got you too, huh? Ingredient lists are only unpronounceable if you slept through high school chemistry.

GMOs and food preservatives allow for increased production in geographic areas better suited for food production. GMOs reduce waste, improve produce quality, and help counteract rapidly changing environmental conditions. GMOs increase production with less input (like water or pesticides). Man has been making plants more efficient since he first decided which grain was best suited for his land. The added genetic investigation and manipulation means that more repercussions are analyzed (such as accidentally planting something that becomes an invasive species, or is toxic to local fauna). GMOs are often designed to use less land, meaning that we can reduce human encroachment on natural land.

Processing foods happens the second you take the tomato off the vine. Commercial production means sorting, cleaning, and sterilizing food (as required). Stabilizers and preservatives keep food fresh and disease-free. Unless you're a medicine-free raw vegan with a victory garden, you're consuming processed products. And that's okay. Processed means not in its natural form, whether canned, sliced, or washed. Processing food can actually result in higher nutritional value. Flash frozen vegetables can have higher vitamin content then broccoli that's been sitting on the grocery store shelf for a week. Processing juice means that you can drink it in the winter, outside of the season of the fruit, without fear of botulism or listeria.

SO MUCH THIS! *Bows down to some much-needed common sense*.

OP, it's your choice of course. And you can make the decisions you're comfortable with. Just, I'd urge you not to make them out of a place of fear. Read up on the facts from non-biased sources and make your own decisions.

opalwisteria

Welcome back! I'm vegan as well, I wish you the best of luck with your transition ^^
I'd share some recipes but i'm here to lose weight as I eat too much greasy things, so I wont give you my greasy fattening recipes