Want to go totally animal free:)

Alisha28

So I already eat no red meat but I do eat cheeses and yogurt and chicken turkey, so I want to try goin vegan. Anyone have any books they read or good ideas about adapting to this lifestyle change Good recipes would help. Thanks.
Anyone who watched Oprah this morning might be interested in this too, I have been wanting to do this and thanks to Oprah for the push:)

Alisha

GabrielMaestas

Don't forget to give up honey )

cheshirequeen

Vegan for 6 1/2 years, and yes, dont forget the honey as well. Need any tips just ask. Go ahead and feel free to friend me.

Kminor67

Also, don't forget to give up anything that has Gelatin in it. Jello and dairy-free puddings will contain gelatin, among other things.

swashbucklingsally

Thrive by Brendan Brazier is a really great and informative book! I use some of the recipes but I'm not a triathlon athlete or anything so I don't follow it much. As far as knowledge and nutrition goes; anything by Michael Pollan or John Robbins, The China Study, Dr. McDougall has a lot of really great recipes for weight loss and/or upkeep and disease prevention, I love Real Food Daily's cookbook and the woman who owns is it amazing and has kind of a macrobiotic outlook on her style of eating. A lot of people enjoy the Skinny ***** books and although I own them they have way too much packaged foods for my liking although as an intro to that lifestyle it's easy to follow and understand. A couple blogs I adore are: www.theppk.com and www.fatfreevegan.com as well as for holiday recipes, gluten free and fancy recipes: www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com. I have a huge blogroll of vegan blogs! :P

Also, some vegans do in fact eat honey; it's debatable.

Awineburg

I dont get the honey thing... Your not killing the bees by eating the honey. Your taking what they make. Much like a veggie or a flower...

byHISstrength

I am not a vegan, vegeterian, nor plan to be (I'm certainly not knocking it, I just don't share the same conviction to maintain that diet), but I have heard that "The Kind Diet" by Alicia Silverstone is a good book.

ramonaquimby

I think since you currently eat poultry and presumably seafood, you might want to try nixing those first. Gelatin is generally not consumed by most vegetarians anyway, so that would be another to watch out for. I would recommend checking out various fake chicken products since those ease the transition, especially while you hone your vegetarian cooking skills.

I was vegan for years in my younger days, but was REALLY unhealthy. My family didn't support my decisions, so I subsisted on pasta and red sauce, as I was in high school and sorely lacking nutrition knowledge or my way around the kitchen! Years later, I started eating meat and slowly packed on thirty to forty pounds (granted, some of them were necessary, as I was too thin). This was also due to an outrageous soda consumption! I became vegetarian again about five years ago, and almost immediately lost twenty pounds.

In the last year, I have re-added fish back into my diet in limited amounts. I only buy sustainable harvested or take whatever family members have caught on recent fishing trips. Even when I am not eating seafood, I never have a problem getting enough protein into my diet. If you need any ideas, I will gladly help out!

As for books, I would check out Veganomicon, as a great beginner's resource. If you have a local coop in your area, that would be another resource to use. Even in my relatively isolated town in South Dakota, we have plenty of vegan options, and there are vegetarian cooking courses offered through community education.

heathersmilez

I'm not an Oprah fan (most episodes are overhyped and then a letdown just like Entertainment Tonight. They let you believe something exciting is coming up after the commercial but it never happens) but I want to see her next episode after seeing a commercial. She and a group of people go vegan for like a couple weeks and lose lots of weight. Also a tour through a slaughter house. It's basically a debate to eat meat or not, she has both sides on to discuss.

Loosing weight on being vegan is usually b/c you have to avoid all things processed b/c of milk, egg and gelatin content. Avoiding processed foods and stepping up on veggies to keep yourself full is bound to have that result but I still want to watch.

EDIT: Oh, is that episode on this morning? I thought Oprah was on in the afternoon. Planned on finding it online later.

heathersmilez

I dont get the honey thing... Your not killing the bees by eating the honey. Your taking what they make. Much like a veggie or a flower...

You don't hurt the cows by milking them either but milk isn't vegan. People will argue that the milking process is in fact painful and torturous but I'm not starting that. I eat everything.

RUNMLT

I'm sorta a vegan....i only eat animals that are vegans....does that count ?

heathersmilez

I'm sorta a vegan....i only eat animals that are vegans....does that count ?

Ha ha!

Actually that still means you aren't eating meat. Since all mammals nurse, they aren't vegan

aesoprok

So I already eat no red meat but I do eat cheeses and yogurt and chicken turkey, so I want to try goin vegan. Anyone have any books they read or good ideas about adapting to this lifestyle change Good recipes would help. Thanks.
Anyone who watched Oprah this morning might be interested in this too, I have been wanting to do this and thanks to Oprah for the push:)

Alisha

Good luck! I'm working on doing the same thing, learning as much as i can and slowly phasing out all animal products. I don't eat any meat except fish, and last week i switched from cow milk to soy. My next big challenge will be cheese... it's my favorite food and iv'e heard the fake varieties aren't very good. I'd love to exchange tips with you as we go.

ramonaquimby

I dont get the honey thing... Your not killing the bees by eating the honey. Your taking what they make. Much like a veggie or a flower...

Not all vegans are necessarily concerned about animal cruelty, there are many reasons people choose to be veg. Most recognize that their diet is cruelty-free, but it might not be a top priority in their decision. Some other reasons include minimizing their environmental impact, health. For some, they might have allergies, and its best to avoid dairy anyway.

Kminor67

I dont get the honey thing... Your not killing the bees by eating the honey. Your taking what they make. Much like a veggie or a flower...

You're not killing a cow to get milk, but a vegan doesn't do dairy. My daughter was a vegan at one time, and she believed that using honey or milk exploited the animals. It's a personal choice.

chilipeppers

Hey! a great book to read is Skinny b*itch, you can find it in chapters or any bookstore really. It talks very bluntly on the benefits of a vegan diet! I highly recommend it, but it's not for the faint of heart!

antipholous

I dont get the honey thing... Your not killing the bees by eating the honey. Your taking what they make. Much like a veggie or a flower...

I think you're getting vegetarian confused with vegan. Vegetarians don't eat any meat, but are still allowed to use animal byproducts, assuming it doesn't harm the animal.

Vegans are a different breed. For various moral and ethical reasons, they've decided that they don't want to use any animal byproducts or eat any meat. It's a highly restricted diet, a very noble cause, but not for the faint of heart. I tried it for a while and just couldn't do it.

anovasjo

You should read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer.

http://www.eatinganimals.com/site/book/

Acquaint yourself with as many different vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds as possible and you should do just fine.
Feel free to send me a message with any questions you might have and I'll try my best to help out.

Alisha28

Thanks for all the replys, I do not eat seafod ( I am allergic to shell fish) so stay away from it all. I am not doing it to lose weight, I am happy with my weight. I love animals and on occasion have even almost went off the road to save a running squirrel. Oprah did make me cry and forever changed how I look at meat. I have 4 kids and a hubby who loves red meat so this will be rough for me. I love yogurt so whats something I can swap for that. I barely ever eat eggs so that one is goin to be easy:)

Thanks again:)

Alisha

ramonaquimby

Try Gardein tenders, your kids probably won't even notice the difference! They are 100 calories a serving too. There are vegan soy yogurts, some of the cheeses are better than others. Daiya melts really well and is the "holy grail" when it comes to vegan cheeses.
I have been recommended the uncheese cookbook, it uses a lot of raw cashews to make cheese and cream sauces. I've never used it, but have had cashew based cheeses and sauces, and they are DELICIOUS!

anovasjo

I love yogurt so whats something I can swap for that. I barely ever eat eggs so that one is goin to be easy:)

Blending silk tofu with fruit and a bit of lemon juice + agave makes a good homemade "yogurt".
Here's a recipe to make cashew "yogurt"; http://vegetarian.lovetoknow.com/Vegan_Yogurt
There are also commercial vegan yogurt replacements in the refrigerated section of your health food store, probably.
Check this out, too: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/09/greek-style-soy-yogurt-or-soy-yogurt.html

Alleghany

Good for you! Do your homework and go at your own pace...otherwise, you'll get too frustrated. Check out recipes w/nutritional yeast to get B12 in your diet or take a B12 supplement. The longer you do it, the easier it gets and the more you realize life without cheese isn't so bad and in fact your body will thank you. Good luck!

RUNMLT

shoot....technicalties !!!!

RUNMLT

I'm sorta a vegan....i only eat animals that are vegans....does that count ?

Ha ha!

Actually that still means you aren't eating meat. Since all mammals nurse, they aren't vegan

irishblonde2011

I second skinny B*itch it is a good read. I am a vegetarian 8 years and could not go back.

Best of luck.

Oh count fanta orange and lilt off the list they contain fish oil..yuk

pgp_protector

I'm sorta a vegan....i only eat animals that are vegans....does that count ?

So no fish then?

pgp_protector

Also, personally I'm designed as an omnivore, so I'm still eating meat of one kind or another.

aesoprok

You should read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer.

http://www.eatinganimals.com/site/book/

Acquaint yourself with as many different vegetables, fruits, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds as possible and you should do just fine.
Feel free to send me a message with any questions you might have and I'll try my best to help out.

I loved that book, it is full of great reasons why we should adopt a meat - free diet. I was bothered by the fact that the author makes hardly any reference to veganism. I assume he is not one, but for reasons he wrote about, veganism seems the natural and right path to choose, though starting out vegetarian makes sense.