Another vegan question.

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secretladyspider
secretladyspider Posts: 21
in Food and Nutrition
So, I'm just starting out. What are some things with going vegan that I should be aware of that beginners tend to miss? Like, are there foods that you wouldn't guess aren't vegan, products tested on animals, things like that, that are just good to know?

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  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    There is some great comprehensive advice on vegan charity/ society websites if you Google.
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
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    There are animal products in a lot of things you wouldn't guess.

    For example, margarine is often considered vegan but it has whey in it. You can buy vegan margarine though.

    You just need to read labels when you go grocery shopping. Restaurants can be more difficult but it's a learning process.

    If you're an ethical vegan read clothing labels for animal skins and furs and research for self-care and home-care products that are not tested on animals.
  • veggiesaurus15
    veggiesaurus15 Posts: 152 Member
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    Take a B12 supplement.
  • vegankatzy
    vegankatzy Posts: 2
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    read the book 80 10 10 it will set you straioght best book I have ever read.
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    Take a B12 supplement.
    THIS!
    I'd also recommend reading Vegan For Life, it's a great book written by a vegan registered dietician, with lots of practical information on eating a healthy vegan diet throughout your life (kids, adults, etc.). There are also a couple of aps for your phone (Animal-Free and VegScan are two) that let you enter a product, or even scan a bar code and will tell you if the product is vegan. Animal-Free also has a list of ingredients that are vegan, and a list of animal ingredients.
  • dark_light
    dark_light Posts: 162
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    Oreo perhaps?
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
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    fabrics: http://bikesexual.blogsport.eu/2012/03/24/list-of-fabrics-vegan-or-not/

    cruelty-free products: http://www.peta.org/living/beauty-and-personal-care/companies/default.aspx (products that say "not tested on animals" can often mean that they don't test the final product on animals but the ingredients might be tested on animals so you need to research. Peta's website offers a good list)
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Gelatin is a sneaky one, especially in candy and marshmallows.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    There are several thriving veg*n groups on MFP. You might find more relevant answers if you pose your question there (although surprisingly, you've gotten mostly good responses so far).
  • phoenixgirl81
    phoenixgirl81 Posts: 309 Member
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    Seriously. ..check the ingredients in bread. It should only be flour, yeast oil and water but more and more are adding milk and (would you believe it) one loaf I saw had chicken stock in it.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    There are several thriving veg*n groups on MFP. You might find more relevant answers if you pose your question there (although surprisingly, you've gotten mostly good responses so far).

    I totally agree the closed veg*n boards are probably a better place to go. There's only one slightly antagonistic response here so far, so maybe we are getting better about these topics as a community. I can hope, can't I!
  • RaeLB
    RaeLB Posts: 1,216 Member
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    There are several thriving veg*n groups on MFP. You might find more relevant answers if you pose your question there (although surprisingly, you've gotten mostly good responses so far).

    this.

    join us - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/45-happy-herbivores
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Oh, also many meat analogues have egg whites. Morningstar Farms is a good example of a product line that is all vegetarian, but maybe half vegan. Gardein is all vegan though, and wonderful, if you are into faux 'meat' at all.
  • NeverGivesUp
    NeverGivesUp Posts: 960 Member
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    quinoa is sooo yummy filled with protein and iron. Love it!! and it is gluten free too.
  • 777Gemma888
    777Gemma888 Posts: 9,578 Member
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    So, I'm just starting out. What are some things with going vegan that I should be aware of that beginners tend to miss? Like, are there foods that you wouldn't guess aren't vegan, products tested on animals, things like that, that are just good to know?

    Alcohol may have been filtered using animal products.

    If you like gum - choose Wrigley's (veggie glycerine vs meat glycerine)
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    There are several thriving veg*n groups on MFP. You might find more relevant answers if you pose your question there (although surprisingly, you've gotten mostly good responses so far).

    I totally agree the closed veg*n boards are probably a better place to go. There's only one slightly antagonistic response here so far, so maybe we are getting better about these topics as a community. I can hope, can't I!

    Maybe my fellow meat-eaters made a NYR to be nice on (or probably better yet, completely ignore) the veg*n threads.

    :flowerforyou:
  • Zylahe
    Zylahe Posts: 772 Member
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    Apple juice and lots af alcoholic drink are filtered using fisg by products.
  • secretladyspider
    secretladyspider Posts: 21
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    I didn't know there were veg boards, so I thought Food and Nutrition made sense as a place to ask. I'll go ask there. Thanks you guys though :)
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    I didn't know there were veg boards, so I thought Food and Nutrition made sense as a place to ask. I'll go ask there. Thanks you guys though :)

    In a perfectly reasonable world, it totally makes sense as a starting point. (Actually, I'd love to see MFP create a few more forum categories, one of them being veg*n.) It's just that it isn't always productive. Sometimes, the chaos is inadvertent and just happens when people try to have a meaningful discussion with differing viewpoints on veg*nism...and other times, well, it isn't quite as inadvertent. The groups are just more likely to provide answers to questions like these (even if they may be more likely to lack a potentially helpful debate from both/all sides).
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    I didn't know there were veg boards, so I thought Food and Nutrition made sense as a place to ask. I'll go ask there. Thanks you guys though :)

    In a perfectly reasonable world, it totally makes sense as a starting point. (Actually, I'd love to see MFP create a few more forum categories, one of them being veg*n.) It's just that it isn't always productive. Sometimes, the chaos is inadvertent and just happens when people try to have a meaningful discussion with differing viewpoints on veg*nism...and other times, well, it isn't quite as inadvertent. The groups are just more likely to provide answers to questions like these (even if they may be more likely to lack a potentially helpful debate from both/all sides).

    Often, I come to threads that have made it to the top five at the moment. It's a spur-of-the-moment post, based on chance. I'm not nearly as good about checking the closed threads I joined. And, I agree that a well-rounded discussion tends to be better, but people need to be respectful dissenters, and that doesn't always happen. 'More steak for me' doesn't do anything for a thread like this. And, it may surprise you, but paleo interests me from the whole foods eating perspective. At some point, I'd love to discuss the role of whole grains and beans in the diet in a totally dispassionate way, if that could ever happen.

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