Any Vegetarian/Vegans or ppl with Sweet tooths?

BodyRockMe

Hey guys! Just joined this site, looking to connect with any vegetarian or vegans also looking to shed pounds. I've been a vegetarian for about five years, since I was 17, mostly because it's healthier. And I'll never look back! I love how much energy it gave me, and how I felt so "light". But as the years wore on, I found it easier to fall into caveats of eating a LOT of cheese or carbs or fried foods, (french fries are "vegetarian" lol) What I found was any way you slice it, eating healthy is hard regardless of herbivore or omnivore.

Also, I find I have a WICKED sweet tooth and literally fight eating chocolate, baked goods or my arch nemesis: ice cream. My biggest front with ice cream is it has milk in it, and I've always been more of an "aspiring vegan" to cut out as much animal product as possible.

I have reformed my dieting to exclude the sweets, the simple carbs, and soda and lost 6 pounds so far!
Just looking for others who've been/are in my shoes, to share their stories and relate, any tips or tricks, and healthy substitutes for those sweets.

Not looking for a debate about the dietary lifestyle, though I'll surely partake if one erupts. I am a firecracker for what I believe.

davidr730

I used to have a MAJOR sweet tooth, but after taking a nutrition course and changing my eating habits I found how to defeat it. By eating smaller meals and snacks through the day, I avoid spiking my insulin levels and eliminated my sugar cravings. I'm pretty amazed.

vegansara

Hey, welcome to the site! There are some good veggie/vegan/raw groups on here if you want to connect. I've been vegan for about a decade and also found that vegan doesn't equal healthy . Right now I'm on a raw food kick and am feeling the same awesome energy that I felt when I first went vegan.

I have a sweet tooth but I try to indulge it healthily - a bit of vegan or raw chocolate, lots of fruit, stuff like that. Feel free to add me as a friend if you want!

mstifb

I'm not vegan or vegetarian but do have a sweet tooth! I eat a lot of mangos and bananas which help mine. Fruit is still sweet and good for you - and still fits in your diet! :flowerforyou:

SanFranFrisky

I'm a junk food vegan, have been for about six years. I eat healthy most of the time, and still love the sweets and the fried stuff. What works for me is frequently having little bits of sweets. If you can stand to have stuff around (and have the willpower to not eat it all at once) keep the ice cream in the freezer and have a tablespoon with breakfast. It's easier for me to do this than to have 'cheat' days and not go overboard.

For me, right now, it's chocolate bars that I want. I bought one today, and I'll have a square or two once or twice a day. It's enough to keep me from dreaming of sweets all day long and eating gargantuan amounts of them when I get to feeling deprived.

If it's too much temptation to keep it in the house, try buying what you want, eating a little in the parking lot at the store and throwing the rest away on site. I've done this. I hate wasting anything, but sometimes it's the only way for me to moderate what I eat.

Good luck and don't give up on your goals or your sweets! I'm convinced you can have both.

ZoeyRobinson

When I went vegan (I am no longer one due to health reasons) I tried to make my sweets nutritious so I was cheating but still eating healthy. Tonight I made a teff chocolate pudding. My protein shakes are vegan and healthy but taste like a chocolate smoothie. I make my own vegan chocolate covered raisins and bananas. I make chocolate fondue and dip strawberries and bananas into them. I also make teff peanut butt cookies. Or make a sweet dish with quinoa. I also make a swiss meal with oats and berries with yogurt.

www.ohsheglows.com is a great vegan website with healthy snacks that can satisfy your sweet tooth.

If you are craving something in particular you can email me and I will try to find a healthier version for you.

PS the vegan chocolate chips I use are from "Enjoy life" from Whole Foods.

BodyRockMe

@vegansara Awesomeee, I'd love to plug into a group(s) like that!

And yeah to fight those sweet cravings I've been going to the fruits I can eat; mostly citrus fruits, bananas and melons. I unfortunately am allergic to most other fruits besides those.

nataliebendall

Hi there :-) I am new to the site and am a vegetarian too with the same problem, however my addiction is chocolate. I have researched a bit and found that it has animal fats in it which totally put me off eating it, however I still have the cravings! Not sure how to combat those. With icecream, I chose to substitute with icy poles instead to avoid the milk products. But that doesnt help the sugar content!
Will look further into this site to find the vegetarian sites that are recommended. Feel free to ad me as a friend, too :-)

milaxx

I'm a vegetarian and can have a bit of a sweet tooth myself. I so occasionally indulge in chocolate, but i mostly try to stick to fruit. One thing I do over the summer is make my own popsicles Pureed fruit put into molds and froze, or add a bit of yogurt for a creamy consistency. I also have a recipe for a 1 min microwave cake in a mug. I make a single serving using half flax, half wheat flour and half /half sugar/stevia. I also use almond milk instead of cow's milk, which I don;t drink. If I buy ice cream I get a rice dreams frozen pie. I only buy one when I am really craving it, but the better I eat, the less my sweet cravings are. I don't drink soda and haven't for nearly 2 years.

I don't think you should exclude sweets from your diet, just plan for them and make better choices.

milaxx

Milk Chocolate has animal fats, dark chocolate does not.

Hi there :-) I am new to the site and am a vegetarian too with the same problem, however my addiction is chocolate. I have researched a bit and found that it has animal fats in it which totally put me off eating it, however I still have the cravings! Not sure how to combat those. With icecream, I chose to substitute with icy poles instead to avoid the milk products. But that doesnt help the sugar content!
Will look further into this site to find the vegetarian sites that are recommended. Feel free to ad me as a friend, too :-)

Fabric_nut

If you are looking for more information on becoming a vegan watch "Forks over Knives" and "A Delicate Balance" Both are amazing movies. Watching the movies FOK got me started on my vegan journey this January 1st 2012 and ADB reconfirmed my decision. I find that once you go cold turkey on the dairy your cravings will disappear. It may take only a week to 10 days or as much as a month...but they will go away. There is a substance in milk that acts like a drug and makes you crave more, much like cigarettes. There are lots of websites to explore on veganism. Have fun with it, I do!

hsgz72

Hi!
I am eating cow/soy free due to my baby being allergic to cow products (dairy, curds, whey, beef, etc) and soy. I am breastfeeding her. You would THINK I would lose a lot of weight? No...I have too found Enjoy Life products, Udi's, So Delicious, etc :P
I have always had a sweet tooth. I'm trying to limit myself to one of those treats per day. I am also trying to eat fruit as a treat too.

Chocolate has milk in it unless it specifically says vegan I have found. Also, there is a LOT of fried foods with dairy as the batter base. Again, you would think the lbs would just drop right off of me...LOL

It actually has really made me realize how much we rely on cows for ourselves. Basically it's baby calf breastmilk we are drinking. Makes you think.

I still do eat chicken, fish, turkey so I am not a vegan, just dabbling in your world.

BrienJD

Omnivore with an Unrepentant Sweet Tooth here. Cake, cookies, creamy pastrys, candy, cupcakes with cream cheese, ice cream, chocolates. Have a thing for Red Velvet anything as well.

polishmehappy

I haven't been able to completely wipe out sweets from my diet. Chocolate is the love of my life and I wont give it up until I'm dead! haha but I do limit it and I pound pavement if I stray from sweets more than I am allowed to I ate a mini Almond Joy last night (close to my TOM, what can I say) but I made sure I ate a low calorie, satisfying meal first so I wouldn't go over my limit. Then today I exercised a little more:)

vegansara

Two recommendations:

If you can find Theo chocolate bars in your area (they are local, but they also sell them at Whole Foods - maybe nationally?) get yourself some now! My favorite is the salted almond dark chocolate - vegan, and only 70 calories for a sixth of the bar - totally workable into a daily limit.

The second is a website, therawtarian.com. It's my new favorite - everything is easy to make and what I've tried so far has been delicious.

Enjoy!

MrsODriscoll

Lot's of good advice here. I have a new tip that I got from Happy Herbivore - buy dark chocolate chips and have a tbsp of them and eat them one (or two!) at a time - they really last if you suck them and you get that chocolate hit. Alpro soya puddings are great too, if you can get them there.
I'm the opposite - I go mad for savoury snacks!

TheFunBun

I'm a pescetarian who rarely eats the fish, and I have a mad sweet tooth.

Best thing is to just cut them out for a week so you're not so reliant on the sweety sweets. I always do it, and then end up slowly creeping back to my sweet origins. I just gobbled up nearly half a loaf of fresh made cinnamon raisin bread, and I'm just thankful most of the sugar was from the raisins and the very light cinnamon sugar swirl. SO GOOD THOUGH. Gobblegobble!

hirensthenameliftinsthegame

vegetarian here, but i have a major sweet took like no other. used to eat cheesecake for breakfast, or a quarter of tiramisu cake too along with oatmeal and other normal breakfast stuffs

still got it lol kinda proud of it

TheFunBun

Oh also. Spencer's Market is a daily deal vegan food sweety thing finder. It's like groupon for vegan foodies.

Awful. HOPE YOU NEVER fall into the trap of buying spencersmarket.com foods. You'll never come out of the trap. Just FYI.

captawesome

I'm a veggie here too. AND chocolate is my kryptonite!! I can't have a block in my house otherwise I will eat the whole damn thing! I have found some awesome chocolate drinks that can sometimes curb the sweet craving. Ovaltine (here in Australia) is only 80 cals per mug although I make mine 2/3 strength. It's a nice chocolatey hit and it contains 25% of your daily iron too.

Feel free to add me, I'm always keen to peek at others diaries and share vego recipes too

iluvmyhoneys

I am not a vegetarian, but I do have a HUGE sweet tooth! I hate that I love sweets and pastries so much!! Sometimes I'm not even hungry but want to eat something sweet... it's really annoying. I haven't figured out how to curb it yet.

TheNewDodge

I eat lots of meat and do not have a sweet tooth.

Coincidence?


Probably

halarson24

Have you seen the trick to use frozen fruit to make "ice-cream"? Here is my posting about plain banana, but it is also good with strawberries, peaches and mangos (or some combo of those). Bananas don't need other milk (or plant based milk), other fruits tend to need a splash of milk.

http://hollylarsonrd.blogspot.com/2012/07/banana-ice-creama-low-calorie-dessert.html

Hope this helps!

In good health,

Holly

carpetbagger12000

Fruit. Period.

susiebear29

helloooo!!! im pescetarian and I have a MASSIVE sweet tooth!!! feeling you on the ice-cream issue I LOVE IT!!! feel free to add me if you like and good luck!!

chocolateandpb

I'm a pescetarian who rarely eats the fish, and I have a mad sweet tooth.

Best thing is to just cut them out for a week so you're not so reliant on the sweety sweets.

^^This is me too!!! I've actually been "off" sugar for one week now. I had several weeks in a row where I was baking like crazy, and eating most of what I baked, plus there were several Oreo binges and happy hours mixed in. I felt AWFUL and gained 3 pounds in two weeks even though I was working out like crazy. I got so disgusted with myself that I decided last Monday to cut out processed sugar. I've lost 4.2 lbs since, and I feel amazing.

I had been at a plateau for so long and I think that cutting the sugar and also cutting carbs is the only way I'm going to bust through it. The first 3-4 days were rough, but it's worth it. For me, it's not as simple as calories in/calories out (I know a lot of people on here say otherwise, but this is what works for me).

I'm coming up with new ways to satisfy my sweet tooth. This weekend I made crustless yogurt "cheesecake" with fresh berries and pineapple syrup. It tasted sweet and delicious but the only sugars in it occurred naturally in the fruit, unsweetened juice, and plain nonfat Greek yogurt. Since you love ice cream, this treat might satisfy your cravings too!

CarolElaine25

I'm mostly vegan (every once in a while I fall of the wagon because of baked goods/the occasional milk chocolate), but I've found that my morning protein breakfast smoothies help to curb my raging sweet tooth. I switch it up a lot between fruit smoothies and chocolate smoothies (adding 2 tbsp of Ghiradelli Hot Cocoa powder is yummy and adds about 65 calories to the smoothie). Even just mixing up soy milk, OJ and vanilla protein powder tastes like a Dreamsicle, but still provides good nutrients.

chocolateandpb

Have you seen the trick to use frozen fruit to make "ice-cream"? Here is my posting about plain banana, but it is also good with strawberries, peaches and mangos (or some combo of those). Bananas don't need other milk (or plant based milk), other fruits tend to need a splash of milk.

^^ I've done this too! I made a yummy mango sorbet in my food processor just by blending up some frozen mango chunks, a squeeze of lime juice, a spoonful of Grand Marnier, and a dash of cayenne pepper (I love the flavor combo of mango, lime, and pepper together, and the liqueur just gives it a little kick). I've also done this with bananas, and topped with some chopped nuts and dark chocolate syrup.

shmiracles

not exciting, but i'm lazy and so i end most days with a slice of toasted ezekiel bread and 2 tbsps of sugar free jam from the health food store. it's called Grandma's jam and it tastes really good.
also, kombucha!

Dedicatediva

Whenever I crave sweets I usually make me a fruit salad and if I crave chocolate which is very rarely I eat natural dark chocolate bars called endangered species chocolate.

MauMauTheVege

Hi everyone!! I'm a vegetarian also! Next January I will be celebrating 10 years. I love chocolate...soo much. and ice cream. I get burst of sugar cravings occasionally and I find myself eating sweets all day. Luckily, this doesnt happen too often. My main problems are potato chips...french fries....pizza. I am trying hard to eat more fruits and veggies to gain a healthier lifestyle. *sigh* oh pizza...I miss you already.