Thinking about going vegan....any meal suggestions?

Healthy_Hannah483

I've wanted to go vegan for awhile, but I'm not sure where I would get the nutrients that I normally get from eating meat. Although the only meat I've ever really liked is chicken and turkey. What does a day look like for a vegan? And is fake meat gross/expensive?
Thanks!!

FaithHopeTrust

majority of "fake meat" contains egg or dairy to bind it together. bascially.. anything dairy, eggs, meat, fish, shellfish, seafood, in your diet. cut out. you're left with pulses, beans, frutis, vegetables and nuts...

jesienia

I was vegan for 2 yrs. My normally look like this...

Breakfast- Tofu Scramble (1/4 loaf tofu drained and crumbled, chopped onions, garlic, bell peppers, and any type of veggie I had on hand. Pinch of salt, pepper, tumeric. 1 tbs. nutritional yeast. and a spoonful of salsa.) Sometimes I would have a piece of toast with it and spread avocado on it.

Lunch- I would have a salad, veggie burger, or something light. Occasionally I would have leftovers.

Dinner- Grilled tofu, seitan, or a giant plate of steamed veggies with brown rice. I normally cooked from the Vegan with a Vengence cookbook or Veganomican. I also like some things out of the Skinny B*tch cookbook.

Fake meat can be both expensive and gross. I suggest Tofurky and Field Grain Meat Roast Co.
I would try to stay away from eating a lot of the fake stuff. It can be highly processed and it's better to make your own. Good luck!

Kalrez

Vegan = no dairy, no eggs, no meat, no animal products at all

Vegetarian = no meat/flesh

That being said, I do not find faux meats to be "gross." There are some that I really enjoy and rely on in order to coexist with my meat-eating boyfriend. Morningstar Farms makes a really good crumbled 'meat' that I use in tacos & sloppy joes. They also have 'bacon' strips for when I'm really craving a BLT.

Being a vegetarian or vegan requires diligence when buying pre-packaged food. There are often meat stocks and other hidden animal products used in things that may you wouldn't expect.

I already read labels for calories, so it's not that difficult to add a quick scan of the ingredient list.

As far as nutrients and meals are concerned, I love grilled portobello mushrooms as a burger. I also enjoy quinoa (a grain that serves as a complete protein). I cook mine with vegan "chicken" bullion and add some fresh steamed veggies. There are quite a few good recipes on http://foodgawker.com/post/category/vegan/

spritie

It's really easy to get all your nutrients if you eat a balanced diet.

Fake meats can be really tasty and there are many options out there that are vegan (contain no animal products).

Tofu, and many soy products can also play a key role in your diet (these are some of your fake meats and also dairy substitutes)

A typical day for me is...

Breakfast - porridge

Lunch - a serve of beans/legume and lots of veggies (can be hot or cold, aka cassarole or salad or anything in between, same for dinner, levels of cooking and flavours can vary but basic content remains the same.

Dinner - a soy based/meat substitue usually or maybe more legumes and more veggies, possibly some rice or something along those lines.

I also snack fairly frequently on things like peanut butter (nuts are high in protein),nuts, fruit (dried and fresh), I quite enjoy soy coffee sometimes. Obviously on special occasions there is tonnes of vegan junk food about as well but not particularly good for you.

with the whole label reading thing, you do need to know what to look for, but there are heaps of websites/resources out there to help, and also this can be easily avoided by eating whole fresh foods which are better for you anyways

Good luck with whatever you choose.

www_getfitrx_com

Hi Neon,

It can be a little overwhelming @ first ... but trust me ... it really isn't all it is made out to be ... just take any dish you like and remove the meat and dairy/eggs ... there are plenty of substitutes nowadays to just sub in recipes.

I am a vegan bodybuilder .. so I can't think of anything more challenging with this lifestyle ... but I can say that I feel the best ever. If you need anyone to bounce questions off ... feel free to friend me ... I am also a pharmacist - so usually can help out with supplements and all to make sure you stay healthy during the transition ...

LDunzweiler

I have been vegetarian for about 15 years now. My husband was raised that way and we raised our daughter that way, making all her baby food from scratch. We never wanted to go vegan because there are a MILLION different rules to follow on items that cannot be in the diet including no dairy, and certain types of veggies (think how they are grown). Too much to keep up with, so we just cut the meat out! We get all the nutrition we could possibly need simply by educating ourselves. If you remove something that provides a nutrient, you have to figure out what will give that nutrient back.

Veggie food, in my opinion is great! I like the brand Morningstar the most and you can get their products at Walmart, Kroger, Publix, just about any grocery store. You can find tons of veg recipes online...I have about 25 cookbooks that I have collected over the years. Just eating the prepackaged veg food can get pricey so you are going to want to cook alot! If you have a veggie or fresh market nearby, you will have no troubles finding all you need, but shopping exclusively at one of those stores will be hell on your pocket book.

My suggestion before making the leap is to educate and read up on all the ins and outs of being veggie. Its easy to cut out the meat, not so much on the dairy / cheese and the food is pretty good. Oh, hell...just noticed the post date on this! LOL! SORRY! Have you started being veg yet then??? Your experience?

keem88

watch out for meatless products, there may be some form of egg in it.
there are a lot of dairy free milks out there that are pretty good.
watch out for soy too, check to make sure it's not gmo.

http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes-galore
www.yummly.com

on yummly.com you can click different cuisines, and different calorie amounts. there is an option that you can click to only find vegan recipes.