Vegetarian to Vegan Transition?

trevorphilipsinc

Hi all!
I've been vegetarian for about 3 years now, and I'm looking to take it to the next step: Going vegan!
I was wondering if anyone had any tips or yummy recipes that can help me and reduce cravings? Living in the dairy state just makes it worse, haha. Especially since cheese is my life.
Thanks!

awesome_socks

I have been vegetarian for just under 3 years and am in the same boat as you! I have wanted to go vegan for the past year but due to excuse after excuse it never happened. What I ended up doing was telling myself to just go vegan for 30 days and see how it goes and I finally did it!! I lasted 36 days (finally caved and had pizza and ice cream) and after going on a break I feel like crap again so I am getting back into the swing of being vegan.

Anyway... what helped a LOT for me since I really did miss cheese was to focus on new food. I ended up finding a wonderful tahini lemon dressing for salads, ate a lot of granola bars (there are soooo many flavors to chose from!!), carrot sticks, nuts, dark chocolate (esp dark choc chucks really good in plain oatmeal with chopped nuts), and lots of different types of hummus. I made a cold fiesta salad type thing where I would throw in black beans, corn, bell peppers, onions, garlic, avocado, olive oil, cumin, cilantro, and chipotle seasonings in big batches so I always had something healthy on hand for when I was in a rush. I missed pizza and ice cream the most. Although I have yet to find a really awesome vegan ice cream and I did not want to use vegan cheese so when I wanted pizza I just grabbed a french baguette and basil spaghetti sauce and dipped slices of bread in the sauce which was close enough to make me happy

If you have any more specific questions please feel free to message me. I really like to experiment with food so if you need anything else let me know!

chocolatexxmintt

I'm going to start by having 1-3 vegan days a week and see what happens. First though I'd like to have a solid base of meals/deserts that are vegan to try!

kortthedork91

I was raised as a vegan, but now I'm a vegetarian. My number one tip would to be getting good recipes to follow. There are some really nasty ones out there. I'm also a bit lactose intolerant, so I find that subbing pureed avocado for cream sauces in pasta is a great substitution! Of course, that depends on if you like them or not, lol. Good luck on your transition!

kwiatrtdy

I don't think I would ever go completely vegan but I would like to get very close. I don't drink milk or eat eggs or honey. However, I do still eat foods that contain these ingredients. I would love to be able to cut out these things, I just find it quite hard to find the foods. i need a UK vegan buddy really to show me where to shop. I have to say that I would still eat some foods with egg in. This is purely because I grew up on an incredibly ethical egg farm. It was only when I was about 16 that I realised that very few egg farms worked like my parents did and that's why I stopped eating any eggs except for theirs (I know some people may disagree with me on this but if you message me I will be happy to tell you the full details of my parents set-up). My main struggle is cheese alternatives at the moment because I live out in the sticks but I am investigating further as I think I have found some in the next city along.

viktorijandz

If cheese is the only thing of why you cannot go vegan, try vegan cheeses. There are quite a few brands and not all of them have that cheese flavor and texture you are probably looking for so you have to find the one that meets your needs. I've tried 'Daiya' couple of times and it really hit the spot.

kmor73

Hello! I have been a vegetarian for 10 years, and made a transition to veganism 3 years ago. I haven't looked back. My biggest tip that I could offer is to ease into it. I started cutting out one dairy product that I regularly ate per week, and just progressively cut everything out.

Don't give yourself a hard time if you mess up, its bound to happen, especially when there is non vegan food tempting you all the time!

The best thing is that these days it is so much easier to be a vegan than it used to be. With dairy free alternatives for milk, cheese, etc. Available at most grocery stores, you don't have to say goodbye to all of your favorite dairy recipes. I have even found dairy free (and gluten free) Mac and cheese - yummmm

Best of luck on your transition to veganism I think you will find you feel much more energized and light.

jenandroxie

Trader joes has awesome coconut ice cream. Tastes like the real thing!

HMD7703

Ohh Glad to see this thread brought back to life !!

Just an FYI - you can Veganize almost any recipe. My favorites: vegan mac, vegan nuggets (Trader Joe's) and vegan loaded tacos.

raulsgirl75

I tend to go vegan when vegan food is available but I don't stress when I'm out or when other people are over .

saturness

I've been a vegetarian for 12 years and have been slowly transitioning to veganism since summer. I'd tried to go full on vegan all at once and it never stuck, so I first started avoiding eggs (easy because they started to hurt my stomach), then with milk (also easy, I used plant-based milks already). But cheese was hard for me too! I've always loved it and always hated Daiya. But I actually found some vegan alternatives I actually like, like Chao, follow your heart, and the nut cheeses. I'll have it occasionally now, on pizza if someone else orders for me, but I always feel kind of gross after eating it and prefer to avoid it.

Then I focused on making the meals I cook myself vegan, so finding great recipes - I highly recommend Hot For Food - and learning how to substitute. I try to eat vegan when I go out for meals, but that doesn't always happen (even in Los Angeles, I was shocked at how few options there are at non-vegan restaurants...it's like...one salad and you have to ask for no cheese -_-).

I think the key is to reject the idea that it has to be all-or-nothing right off the bat. Working towards it in any capacity is better than doing nothing. Plus, finding alternatives you enjoy takes time! Good luck

fatvegan88

I have eaten some dairy either by accident or while intoxicated lol and I feel very bloated, sick and gassy the next day. After you totally stop eating dairy, just have some and it will help you to realize why you stopped eating dairy in the first place. I still crave runny eggs but science will somehow make a vegan egg one day. One day.