Vegans - what do you eat?!

dananicole13

There are a lot of delicious vegan foods! For breakfast, look for cereal that doesn't contain milk (casein or whey included), try a coconut based yogurt and add apples and berries, there are vegan pancake & waffle mixes as well as frozen options. And if you like smoothies, there are tons to choose from.

Many of my favorite recipes come from The Kind Diet book by Alicia Silverstone, she also has a great website where other vegans post recipes they like: http://www.thekindlife.com/

Other great healthy vegan sites are:
http://happyherbivore.com/ (great, low cal and easy recipes)
http://karmachow.com/ (she Tony Horton's nutritionist - from P90x)

Substitutions I use are almond milk or coconut milk, earth balance butter, lara bars or clif bars, daiya cheese (works well when melted like on a pizza, i wouldn't eat it if it weren't melted), chickpeas mashed with vegenaise, relish, celery, etc for tuna/chicken salad, Costco has great veggie patties, there are tons of great "meat" but once you're eating this way for a wle, you'll get rid of craving fast food and really enjoy fresh, whole foods. And if it comes down to it... Oreos are vegan. haha

I have never felt better after becoming vegan. I think I was lactose intolerant before so not having all of the pain and discomfort is reason enough for me. Plus, you'll naturally lose weight without even trying. It's good for animals, the environment, and you! I recommend watching the documentary "Forks Over Knives" to see how reducing animal products can actually reverse heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. It's amazing! And it really has made me a lot more mellow and calm. More people should try it. The only cons are having people in your life that think its weird, or if you live in an area that doesn't offer too many vegan/vegetarian options. Whole Foods is a wonderful resource if you live near one.

I definitely recommend trying it at least for 30 days to see how you feel and make modifications if you need to. Good luck!

caramelbaloney

A great healthy vegan cookbook is "Appetite for Reduction" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. All of her cookbooks are fantastic, really, but most are not as healthy. She doesn't use any strange ingredients or fake meats and cheeses. You can get an idea on the Post Punk Kitchen site.

jenbunboo

I'm a lazy vegan, as in if I'm out, and my choices are a dish with dairy in it or french fries and a side salad, I'll eat the dairy, and I don't beat myself up for little things like foods my mom cooks like her stuffed shells with cheese. I haven't eaten meat in about 2 years though. It really isn't hard, and I feel wonderful and happy about this choice for me.

For breakfast one of my favorite options is a smoothie. I'll toss some frozen fruit (mangos, pineapple, any kind of berries) in a blender with a banana and some coconut milk (so delicious makes a coconut milk that doesn't taste like coconut, it is VERY creamy) and a tablespoon of flax seeds, or a tablespoon of peanut butter, or a handful of nuts. There is a LOT of variety out there with smoothies. As long as you have something with decent fiber and protein in there, and make it a little thick, you don't feel like you've just had a non-breakfast.

For lunch I usually eat leftovers, or make up a salad that doesn't look like a salad. It is easy to get trapped in a "all salads all the time" attitude with watching your weight as a vegan. I make salads with half a can of beans (garbanzo, cannellini, black beans, all low sodium), a few sun-dried tomatoes (non-oil packed), some veggies that sound good (celery, carrots, fresh tomatoes, shredded spinach), some fresh herbs (cilantro, whatever I have leftover from previous dinners), and a teaspoon of lemon juice, maybe a tsp of a flavorful oil if I think I'm going to be low on calories for the day (walnut and hazelnut oils are favorites of mine).

For dinner, I have a subscription to vegetarian times, and love making a lot of different recipes from there. I also have a shelf full of vegetarian, vegan, and healthy cookbooks I read on a regular basis looking for ideas.

When it comes to substitutions, it is again easy to get trapped in a rut. Veggie burgers are easy, most give you some protein. I'd say try and find a recipe for making them at home if you have time. BUT... no veggie burger will be a real burger. You have to approach each new food substitute as a food experience on it's own. There are so many foods out there that AREN'T meat, you just don't realize it until you get away from a dinner diet based on meat, starch side, veggie side. I make a lot of protein/starch/veggie dishes with a soup on the side to avoid a one-pot meal mentality, as I cook for my family and don't want them to get bored with my food choices. The more I can keep them happy eating a vegan lifestyle, the happier I am.

Substitutions I TOTALLY am in favor of:
Milk - There are SO many different kinds of not milk. Again, approach each one as a new food, not as milk. You really have to try a variety to find the one you like most. I prefer So Delicious coconut milk, the unsweetened original is 50 calories in a cup and very creamy. I'm looking forward to trying their almond milk with 5g of protein.

Cheese - Ok, It's not a healthy choice. However, for most people cheese is the BIGGEST thing they can't give up. I make vegan eggplant not parmesan that I bake and top with Daiya's shredded mozzarella, and we all love it. I use it on some toasted sandwiches as well (nothing beats a pot of tomato soup and grilled cheese on a rainy day, using their cheddar). There isn't a lot of "good for you" in fake cheeses, but there isn't in real cheese either. Daiya just came out with some slicable cheeses as well. Now, there are other brands of not cheese out there. Try them, please, but I have been happiest with Daiya.

Yogurt - You can find coconut milk yogurt, soy yogurt, and my favorite has been almond milk yogurt, I can't remember the brand off hand.

Butter - Earth Balance's soy free spreadable tubs are delicious! Again, just because it doesn't have dairy in it doesn't mean it's a health food, but sometimes you just need butter (toast for breakfast?).

Remember there are a lot of foods out there that you can still eat, don't focus on what you can't! And if you decide you want meat? There is nobody to stop you. I choose not to eat it because I do not enjoy it so much, or feel it is so necessary in my diet that it justifies ending another life, the suffering involved in factory farming disgusts me, and I can't afford humanely farmed cheese and dairies on a regular basis. I'm also allergic to either dairy or eggs, have a couple other health problems that clear up when I don't eat animal products, and kinda enjoy the challenge. As a benefit, it is SO easy to stay within my calorie goals, it's pretty awesome. I'm never hungry and fill up on veggies, fruits, and delicious!

There are some good groups on here you should look into, like happy herbivores.

tabulator32

I've been shootin' for vegan for several weeks now and my diary is open.

There is also a vegan group on these forums and several of them have great diaries and a lot of good recipes in the group forum.

Stephanie198907

there's an entire thread dedicated to meat free meals and most of them are vegan: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/523632-what-do-your-meatless-meals-look-like-photo-thread

The main poster gets a lot of her recipes from this blog: http://thevegankitchen.net/ and the recipes look really good!

If you cook at home a lot then the cookbook "Veganomicon" is really popular.

batalina

A great healthy vegan cookbook is "Appetite for Reduction" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. All of her cookbooks are fantastic, really, but most are not as healthy. She doesn't use any strange ingredients or fake meats and cheeses. You can get an idea on the Post Punk Kitchen site.

YES! Appetite for Reduction is WONDERFUL! my husband is always making stuff out of there (we're both vegans), and it's ALL GREAT! and, like the above poster said, it doesn't really have weird stuff in it. you just might need to buy some spices and stuff from the bulk section of a grocery store.

raevynn

I am a vegan, have been for several years, and I don't eat that much tofu (sigh).

Breakfast... usually, I have a green smoothie, then maybe a lovely bagel with Trader Joe's "This is not a tub of cream cheese" spread, or peanut butter, or almond butter on it...

I do happen to love steel cut oats, with raisins.

I also make the world's absolute best vegan waffles - gluten free, too! - which are a lovely weekend treat for us.

Scrambled tofu is a nice breakfast, as well.. with tortilla wraps, with toast, or just by itself.

I used to like some granola with non-dairy milk, but granola seems to mess with my blood sugar levels.

I'm also very into fruit early in the day... apples with raw nuts, citrus, bananas...

We use some "substitutes", but beware the sodium!!

A great website / cookbook is the Happy Herbivore. She makes basic food, gives nutritional information, and most of it is easy to find ingredients, with minimal prep involved.

Go ahead, friend me and see my diary.

misskerouac

I'm not vegan or vegetarian (I eat chicken a few times a week, seafood once a week and pork about once a month)
HOWEVER
I am dairy,egg, and soy intolerant (among other things like wheat, oats, casein, almonds, some beans) so i end up using a lot of vegan products and recipes that are soy free.

Being soy free was harder for me than cutting out dairy and eggs. Soy is in EVERYTHING lol.


Jenbunboo I LOOOOOOVE Daiya cheese. Especially the pepperjack. It's the only non dairy cheese i've found that doesn't contain soy or casein. It's been my saviour! lol

batalina

my diary is open, if you want to look at it. i can be a bit of a junkfood vegan at times -- i love my cap'n crunch and my french fries and the occasional skittles and oreos (yes, they're vegan!), but i make it work.

i use Smart Balance Light for my butter, and when it comes to faux-dairy, i like to use stuff made by Tofutti (their mozzarella slices and cream cheese are awesome). if you don't like fake cheese, i recommend not eating any cheese or fake cheese for several months, and then try the fake stuff again. none of it REALLY tastes like the real stuff, but if you give yourself time without either, you'll actually kind of forget what the real stuff tastes like (yes, it's possible), and the fake stuff will taste better. i read this advice on another board when i went vegan, and it worked really well for me, so i like to pass it on!

i snack on fresh fruits and vegetables, and sometimes granola bars and crackers. for dinners, i eat a lot of pasta (whole grain), rice dishes, and you can make some bangin' vegetable soups too. i like mine with lots of tomatoes in them!

breakfasts... i myself LOVE oatmeal, so i do eat that most days, and sometimes i'll have a granola bar if i'm on the go, and i do have the aforementined cap'n cruch weakness...

i also agree with whoever said not to try to do it all at once. when i went vegan, i gave myself about a month to transition (i'd been vegetarian already, so i'd eliminated the meat and stuff already). it wasn't like "ok, today i'm going to be vegan forever". i know a lot of people who tried to switch too fast, and got overwhelmed and did not sustain the diet/lifestyle as a result. slow and steady is perfectly fine!

batalina

one thing to remember is don't think of things as "substitutions" for meat or dairy. try to enjoy food for its own characteristics.

this! i think of it as "substitutions" if i'm taking my grandmother's recipe and trying to make it suit my needs, because then i really am substituting something, but otherwise, it's just food. i eat my sweet and sour seitan without thinking "this is kind of like chicken", instead thinking "damn, this is good seitan. holy crap." even though people use a lot of things in place of animal-foods, they're still perfectly awesome foods in their own right! it can take a while, but i crave tofu now, and i crave tofurky slices, and all that kind of stuff. it's normal for me now.

InnerFatGirl

I'm a vegetarian.

I'd love to be vegan, in fact, it's one of my life goals.

And, YES, I am a vegetarian for moral reasons. I don't know why people are so funny about it. Maybe it's guilt.

angrykitty13

Quick-Fix Vegan by Robin Robertson has some great recipes. I especially love the homemade seitan recipe. How It All Vegan and Garden of Vegan have good information as well.

I'm not vegan, but milk hates me and so I use/adapt a lot vegan recipes. I'll go days without eating meat/animal products at home--some of my default recipes are an adaptation of mushroom risotto, homemade black bean burgers, chili, potato-leek soup, orange-tomato soup, hummus, and lots of veggie stir-fries. I don't normally use packaged foods and cook from scratch and so I can't really speak to the faux-meat products, although I have friends that swear by them.

Oh, and if you have the chance, try either Oat Milk or Flax Milk. I prefer both to soy. Although not all soymilk are equal--some taste much better than others.

OceansForever

Suggestions: 21-day Vegan kick-start (have a FB page)

Dr. Neil Barnard's cookbook "Go Healthy Go Vegan" --- The book focuses on eating a healthy, balanced diet without any added oils.


I hardly ever eat any tofu.


Sorry about breakfast but I eat oatmeal, so I have no better suggestions.

Lunch and dinner:

salads, rice, beans, veggies, pasta

snacks:

for me mostly mixed nuts and peanut butter sandwiches.

Athena413

Thanks for all the tips/suggestions!!

pdworkman

Caveat: I am vegetarian, not vegan. Still eat eggs, but no other animal products.

Breakfast - hot cereal (buckwheat, quinoa), fruit and nuts, baked potato, leftovers, homemade muffins or pancakes

Other favourite foods - curries, soups, stir fries, tacos, falafels, pizza, veggie burgers.

Favourite recipe sources - internet discussion groups and recipe sites

Substitutions - I've been veggie for a couple of decades and don't really think in terms of substitutes. Take a look at my diary and see what you like.

So my husband and I recently decided that we want to try and get away from animal protein and have a primarily plant-based diet...not because we're hippies or care about the feelings of a cow...but for the health implications. So here's my question for the vegans or anyone else who has embraced this type of lifestyle. What do you eat?

Favorite foods? Especially breakfast...that isn't oatmeal...

Favorite recipes?

Favorite books/cookbooks?

Substitutions you commonly use?

Pros/cons of eating like this?

Any (well...most...if you're just wanting to be a jerk, move along) feedback is appreciated. :happy:

buckeye86

You fishy people are pescetarians

slkehl

I'm a nutrition major and there are always exceptions to what's required for most Americans when it comes to vegans and vegetarians. There is a lot of potential for deficiencies, such as iron, B12, and calcium, and you have to especially be careful if you're planning on becoming pregnant at any point. Therefore you really need to see a dietitian about how you can get in what you need. Make sure to get regular checkups, especially at the beginning, to make sure you are getting what you need.

Anyway, just made these awesome vegan cupcakes-chocolate with chai frosting! They were incredibly moist!
http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/healthy-recipes/best-healthy-cupcakes-weve-ever-seen

AMorganNJ

I'm a nutrition major and there are always exceptions to what's required for most Americans when it comes to vegans and vegetarians. There is a lot of potential for deficiencies, such as iron, B12, and calcium, and you have to especially be careful if you're planning on becoming pregnant at any point. Therefore you really need to see a dietitian about how you can get in what you need. Make sure to get regular checkups, especially at the beginning, to make sure you are getting what you need.


Great advice. My multi-vitamin takes care of the iron and b12 (Deva brand). The calcium I get from a lot of leafy greens and especially kale. Still, this should be everyone's first concern when transitioning to a vegan lifestyle. I didn't pay close attention to the iron or b12 in the beginning, and became very anemic and weak. All better now

pdworkman

Whoops - vegans don't eat honey, as a rule.

I've never done vegan, but Honey Nut Cheerios and Silk milk (i think its almond "milk") are absoluetly wonderful!

kate_n_pjs

I definately reccommend joining the vegetarian and vegan groups on this site, then you can make friends and see what else people are eating that are similar to your own dietary choice. I eat vegetarian with only some cheese and eggs (I had a very hard time giving up eggs while completely vegan b/c my family raises chickens for eggs)

My favorite food to cook is a taco or burrito filling using all vegetables. I still use a seasoning packet or spices but add veggies so far I have tried and enjoy: onion, bell peppers, corn, zuccini, yellow squash, butternut squash, sweet potato, potato, mushrooms, spinach, kale, carrots, broccoli...you can use anything that you like or is on sale. Saute the vegetables with veggie stock or olive oil and add the seasoning. I make a big batch and use it on top of rice, in a tortilla, make enchiladas, on top of beans,

Breakfast that is not oatmeal: tofu scramble (i used recipes from the internet), Hearty, seedy, whole grain bread with earth balance and if you can find it Vegemite (australian b-12 enriched yeast with a very strong savory flavor), Kashi cerals with rice milk or almond milk are delicious, and I love Luna bars and Clif Bars as well.

My food diary is open, but feel free to friend me.
Good luck!