Newly Vegan

FrecklesAndLocs

As of last week I finished the Fast Metabolism Diet. During the 4 weeks I was on it I came across the video, Fat, Sick and nearly Dead on Netflix and, if anyone has Netflix you know that it gives you suggestions after you watch a video. Well, I came across many educating videos that opened my eyes to the destruction I was doing to my body and how I was contributing to the torture and waste of animals. My heart broke. I starting doing more research and I decided a week ago to go Vegan. Maybe one day raw. I would love to have some great support and help along my journey. I am open to education and hope to get informed by joining this group. I hope to get great recipes, make some awesome true friends and become healthier than I have ever been.

(I posted this in a vegan forum as well.)

Kymmu

You can add me if you like to look at vegan diary entries!

kikilita

Hi! I understand the feeling. I went vegetarian last fall when a neighbor did for health reasons, then while looking up vegetarian recipes I stumbled onto Compassion Over Killing and went vegan pretty much that day. I also watched Earthlings and that was pretty much it for me. I had some idea of the cruelty I was contributing to, but nothing on that level.

Some blogs that have helped me a lot: thisrawsomeveganlife, stayingvegan, vegandad, spicedblueberryshake, cok (compassion over killing website), mercy for animals website, the garden diet blog. From Barnes and Noble, I also purchased The Vegan Bible (under $10). The biggest thing is most of these all call for a good blender and/or food processor so if you haven't invested in one of those or both, you might want to. I'm finally getting to the point where I can purchase those. But there are plenty of recipe ideas that you can tweak from there without having to use those items. I'd say spicedblueberryshake doesn't use the equipment as much as the others. Rawsomevegan life has a ton of recipes as well. Vegandad and stayingvegan aren't really raw, like the other three, but they have some and quite a bit of good advice. Garden diet and Rawsomeveganlife teaches you how to "uncook" things-- such as pizzas, meatloaf, and hamburgers and how to make raw vegan versions of them.

Oh, another good blog is Rawon10 - Raw for $10 a day or less. Also a very good blog especially if you are worried about prices. Only thing with raw is you will save money but you will also be going to the grocery store more (unless you are one of those people who are really good in buying in bulk and storing properly-- I'm not, my stuff goes bad, so I just buy things to help me through the week or half the week and then go again when I need to- I have a store five minutes from me).

And I know PETA gets a bad rap, but honestly, their recipe section really did help me a lot as did their two week menu planner for beginners. When I first went vegan, I'd barely been a vegetarian for two months and was already trying to change my ways then I found that Compassion Over Killing (and the movie Fowl Play on youtube) and that was it for me. But the two week vegan planner they start you out with did help me, they do word it and let you know what to look for. They really treat you like you are new to it and make it on level with someone transitioning to vegan (not raw, though). After I perused their website, I had a better understanding of what the staples were and what to keep an eye out for. But the planner was really good as it helped me learn the staples and have an idea of what I can do for meals.

Oh! There's also the glutenfreevegan blog and ohsheglows blogs.

I listed all the blogs because they have a TON of recipes. Navigating through the Garden Diet blog is probably the hardest. You do NOT have to sign up to get the recipes. They have plenty of free recipes on there, you just gotta scroll down and click around a little. All the others blogs are pretty much just recipes. Stayingvegan has recipes but also just general advice on how to stay vegan and, from his person experience, what made some people stop being vegan. Almost all the blogs have said as a vegan you will probably be hungry more often than your non-vegan friends and might eat more but that is normal (just be sure to make sure your eating things like fruits and veggies) and also make sure you supplement Vitamin B-12.

Oh, yeah, on youtube, you can watch Melanie Joy's lecture The Psychology of Eating Meat, it's a good watch and "40 Year old vegan dies of heart attack! Why? The Omega-3 and B-12 Myth" by Dr. Michael Greger. (the first twenty minutes are kind of boring, but the rest of it is REALLY, REALLY informative and, yes, he does recommend just taking the B-12 supplement and explains why in the video.

Also!! Another great place is eatthismuch.com, just sign up for the free one and customize it to say vegan and it'll plan your meals for you daily!


Anyway, I hope this helps a little. Feel free to add me, I'm trying to log more consistently. I wish you well on your journey and welcome to the club!

kikilita

Also, if you're gonna be eating tofu, make sure you press it--- paper towel method or you can get a tofu press.

danikanoodles

Yay! So happy another person has found this path. You will be doing so much good for your own body, planet and the animals. Feel free to add me for support or any questions.

mautraining

Hello my name is Mauricio I just turned Vegan. Got tired of working out so hard with no results or going back to the same pattern. Also looking for my food to be my medicine. So far I see results and looking to do more than just lose the weight with my new nutrition lifestyle and exercise.

Please add me and let's keep each other motivated

littlekitty3

I'm mostly raw, you can add me X)

normajo123

I'm new too! 3 days in...still detoxing I guess since I'm all gurgley with minor discomfort...excited to experience the health benefits!

normajo123

Oh and please add me as well! I love being able to talk and listen to people going through the same endeavors and challenges as myself, and also my boyfriend is completely the opposite of vegan (though if I cook it he will try it and sometimes eats it) so he can't really offer any advice lol