Making the leap!

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I was a vegetarian from age 12ish to my early 20's. I began eating poultry and fish. I always was picky about it and sometimes had a hard time eating it but It was so much easier to go out to eat. I recently turned 31 and in my quest to not only lose weight but gain overall health I decided to go back to eating vegetarian. I decided to read some books, watch some docs and do some googling about where our food comes from. It devastated me and I just couldn't imagine eating anything from an animal let alone the animal. I never liked meat anyway and thought I could never give up cheese, but the sight of a baby calf torn from its mommy will haunt me for a long time...a lot longer than I will miss cheese.

I just wanted to say "hello" and be in an online community that I could learn from, get tips and support. I live in Mississippi and people around here get defensive about their meat!

~Steph~

Replies

  • quagga2007
    quagga2007 Posts: 18 Member
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    Hello and congratulations! I love reading these kind of update.

    One of my favorite vegan bloggers lives in Mississippi, Susan Voisin, of fatfree vegan. Here's her About Me info:
    http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2005/12/just-faqs.html

    I highly recommend her blog and her recipes:
    http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/

    Feel free to friend me!

    I have experience with making vegan cheeses that my vegan and non-vegan friends enjoy - but they are full of oil and I have to stay away from them because they are such calorie bombs. But if you have a craving you can't get rid of, these homemade vegan cheeses can help a lot. There's also a new company, Miyoko's Kitchen, that is making artisanal aged vegan cheeses that you can order by mail. They're not cheap, but I've been able to go to a few tastings and I have to say that they are pretty darn good! Miyoko has a cookbook with nothing but vegan aged cheese recipes, so you can always play around with making your own for cheap.
    http://miyokoskitchen.com/

    Anyway, good luck!
    If you have more questions, please post them! I think there's already a thread on vegan cheese somewhere around here.
  • rockabillyboo
    rockabillyboo Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you so much! I will definitely check out Susan's blog! Also thank you on the cheese tips! I have found it easier to follow vegan eating than I have any "diet" from my past.
  • herbertwest7734
    herbertwest7734 Posts: 52 Member
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    Congrats! I agree, it is a lot easier to follow than what I expected, but I assume that you would have to be really ready to make the transition in order to get that feeling.
  • rockabillyboo
    rockabillyboo Posts: 9 Member
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    You are absolutely right. A year ago I would not have found this easy and probably wouldn't be as successful. Changing your diet is like breaking any addiction in my opinion. You do have to be ready.