new to veganism

skeeter425

Hello! My name is Ruth Ann. So, I have been mostly pescatarian for a little bit now, simply because I'm not a huge fan of meat, although I would not turn down a good burger. But the other night I watched the documentary Vegucated, then the documentary Forks Over Knives....THEN I watched the video If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql8xkSYvwJs) and that was it for me. After watching the Glass Walls video I was completely horrified and cried and cried.

So now, there is a strong desire in me to go vegan. Luckily, I live in Seattle, which is probably one of the easiest places to do that. But I would love any support and suggestions you guys have!

One silly concern is that I don't want people to think I'm just doing this to go trendy and be a hipster.

One BIG concern is that I do this and I fail and don't stick with it.

Anyway, that's me.

kitsune1989

I became vegan while pregnant. I was a cheese addict, and had tried before without success. Figured that I would go for a week and then go back to my vegetarian ways. Turns out that cooking made things infinitely easier. My one year is this month

daveinreston

Hi Ruth Ann,

I've been vegan for almost 20 years. Are there any particular foods you think you will miss? If you list some, maybe people can offer tasty alternatives.

You can have a really good burger without meat - the veggie patties are pretty good and there are a number of different kinds now so you can find the ones you like the most.

skeeter425

Thanks guys. Daveinreston, Honestly I will miss dairy products the most. I use eggs for a lot of protein and I really like yogurt. I had fish every night, so that will be hard as well.

brevislux

I think you can try to take it easy. Find the appropriate substitutes, they would help you ease into it. Try nice vegan places in your city. If you have a good vegan friend, that could really help a lot. Don't beat yourself up if you have something nonvegan by accident/moment of weakness.
And really I think, if you want to stick to it, you have to remember why you're doing this.

I believe the best substitutes are for dairy products. You can get cheese, yogurt, a huge variety of plant-based "milk" types, ice cream, etc. Eggs are the biggest problem to me, but usually I have a tofu scramble when I used to have an omelette (there are LOADS of recipes on the web).
Maybe foods with seaweed would be close enough to fish, like sushi or miso soup.

daveinreston

Hi Ruth Ann,

For yogurt, http://www.wholesoyco.com/product_yogurt.html is my favorite
For milk, I love coconut or almond milk
For cheese, it's Dailya Shreds (http://us.daiyafoods.com/products/dairy-free-cheese-shreds/mozzarella-style-shreds) or if I really want to indulge, I get Punk Rawk cheese: http://store.veganessentials.com/punk-rawk-labs-vegan-nut-milk-cheeses-p3604.aspx
Eggs: Tougher but here are options: http://www.theppk.com/vegan-baking-the-post-punk-kitchen-shows-you-how/
Fish: Toughest to replace, but I like these crab cakes too much http://store.veganessentials.com/categories.aspx?Keyword=sophie's kitchen Tofu is probably the likeliest fish replacement - if you like to cook, try this: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MrB6fNWIm5K1oGytPFksJBF0jFEhb-tZj5AN1skGvB4/edit

If you are trying to increase protein, I think an egg has about 6 grams of protein, but a single glass of smoothie with protein powder has 25 grams!

skeeter425

Wow, this was so incredibly helpful!!! I am very very grateful to you guys!

esmaythemermaid

I think the mentality you have going into veganism is important in regards to sticking with it. It's a life style, and one that you have to fully embrace when embarking on the journey . Most people make the mistake and associating veganism with a restriction of what can and can't eat/consume/buy. I try and show people that it's about new discoveries. New foods to try and new experiences to have when cooking. Venturing into a new way of thinking and connecting with the energy of the world.

So, with that said, new foods vegan brands to look into and try .
Earth Balance - has kick *kitten* white cheddar popcorn, awesome butter (spreads and sticks)
Daiya - great cheeses and cream cheese spreads (my fiance loves their cheddar cheese for mac and cheese and grilled cheese)
Light Life - decent deli meat slices and bacon )))))
Tempeh - their fakin' bacon is YUMMMMMMMMMMTASTIC (doesn't look anything like bacon, but it's super yummy)
Morning Star - in my fiance's and my opinion, the best vegan burgers (Vegan Grillers)
Seitan - I get the West Soy brand, great for stir fries and if you get the cubed seitan you can stick them on skewers for kibabs
ALMOND MILK IS MY LIFE and you'd be surprised, a lot of general mills cereals are vegan friendly (lucky charms, cocoa puffs, trix..etc)
Rice Dream - non dairy ice cream, it's my favvv for chocolate ice cream
Soy Delicious - another great dairy free ice cream brand (they make mini ice cream sandwiches!!)
Dr McDougall's - vegan cup noodles (the chicken flavored ramen is my personal favorite)
Field Roast - the best vegan sausages
Tofurky - also makes great sausages, and I also love their sliced turkey meats (deli slices)
Tofu - get extra firm tofu and scramble it up in a frying pan (I heat it up without oil) and season with salt and pepper and whatever else you like, and it's a great substitute for scrambled eggs
HUMMUS IS YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND I hope you like hummus. Super easy to make on your own too.
Gardien - vegan ground beef, chicken (soy) strips and nuggets, breakfast sausage patties (and other great protein substitutes)
Go Veggie! vegan - makes cheese slices for sandwiches..doesn't melt as well as Daiya cheese does, but they make yummy cheese that I like to put in sandwiches..make sure that it says vegan on it though, Go veggie! is a lactose free brand, not necessarily a vegan brand, so a lot of their stuff as casein in it (milk protein).

Lastly, when reading ingredient lists on foods, unless it's specifically a vegan brand (like Earth Balance or Daiya) WATCH OUT FOR PALM OIL. It's oil from palm tree so the oil itself is vegan, but the tree forests are native in South America and a lot of the big suppliers for it for most food companies tear down these forests in which orangutang monkeys live and they get slaughtered and tortured in the process of cutting down these forests..evil ****ers "having fun"...karma's going to get them all. Google it for more specific and accurate info about it.

The hardest part about transitioning into a vegan life, in my opinion, is having to constantly read ingredient lists for everything and doing your homework on a lot of brands that we've all become accustomed to consuming growing up. I highly recommend joining vegan communities on facebook and other online community sites, as it's the best way to get updated vegan info on new foods and brands and recipes to try and things like that. )

Good luck on your new life style change! Congrats for making the step that most people wouldn't even dare consider. If you ever want help with anything or references for food and recipes or anything at all vegan related, shoot me a pm. You're welcome to friend me on mfp. It's definitely helpful to have more vegan friends on mfp )

aedreana

I didn't know about the General Mills cereals-- I avoid cereals because I assume the mineral/vitamin enrichments are not vegan-- do they have a list somewhere on their site, or will they e-mail me a list, of their vegan cereals???? Kellogg says none of theirs are vegan.

esmaythemermaid

I don't know if general kills have a list or anything about their vegan stuff. I check ingredient lists on everything, vegan brand or not. It's a habit I've grown since before evoking a vegan. I can tell you that cocoa puffs and lucky charms are vegan, as my fiancé and I both gets those:). I think trix are too.

aedreana

Please I need to know how you determine from reading the labels whether the minerals and vitamins used to enrich the cereal are from animal sources. I have only in rare instances been able to find out from product manufacturers whether the additives that enrich their.products are of animal origin. I have been vegan for 43 years. I am severely iron-deficient. I am told my anemia.is life-threatening. It would help me out tremendously if I could find cereals enriched with minerals/vitamins that are verified to be vegan.