Vegan

aesoprok

I'm ready to try a diet that is completely free of animal products. I've been vegetarian for a while now but life without cheese is a scary concept. Anyone out there a vegan? I'm not sure where to start.

TheMaidOfAstolat

There are quite a few on here. You'd probably get along well with WannabeaCullen (she's a recent convert to veganism from vegetarianism). I myself was a vegan for 3 years but went back to being a vegetarian because of dietary concerns (which go against my personal animal welfare concerns, unfortunatly).

ChavezCurse

I'm not a vegan now, but I use to be for many years. Cheese was the hardest to stop eating, but I stopped cold turkey. Like any diet, the first few days were hard and then you get used to it. There are plenty of cheese substitutes out there, but personally I would rather eat something wholesome and natural as opposed to man made meal substitutions.

Since you're already a vegetarian, it's not much more difficult, just have to read the labels carefully. A lot of items will say "non-dairy" but still contain by-products such as whey, casein, caseinate, lactic acid, etc. It's hard to take "baby steps" as a vegan because the whole point is to not eat any animal products or by-products as well as not wearing or using any animal products.

leavinglasvegas

Hey there! Life without cheese was scary to me as well. I've been clean since February and I don't even miss it. I don't get headaches anymore and no more phlegmy, yuckiness or stuffy noses. Follow your heart makes some good block cheese alternatives that melt and Galaxy makes a good parmsan.

If you want a good book that will educate you and ease you into it in a polite, non-threatning way, check out The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone. She offers 3 phases; Flirt, Vegan, and Superhero. The flirt is all about just trying some vegan recipes and foods but without a total commitment. Then the Vegan portion is just that, Vegan. Lastly, Superhero is much more strict, clean and macrobiotc. At the moment I'm moving up to Superhero. She also offers a chart of replacement foods to ease you in without giving up all your faves. I found that really helpful at first. The recipes are fantastic BTW, even if your not a veggie at all. You will see that you really won't be missing much. For everything you may have to give up, there are tons of new foods that you may have never thought about trying.

Even my 10 year old has adapted and she says food tastes better now. It really does. I can smell things and taste things so clearly. Everything has become much more enjoyable.

Once you get the basics down, the possibilities are endless. I'm having tons of fun exploring health food stores, talking to new people, experimenting with my own recipes, and so forth. Our local Farmers Market opens this weekend and I am ecstatic!

Feel free to PM me and add me as your friend. This transition has been the greatest thing I have ever done for myself. I really can't see myself ever going back. I'm happy to offer you any support and advise you may want.

Good luck to you!:flowerforyou:

aesoprok

Thank you so much! I'm ready to start, and i'll let everyone know how it goes:bigsmile: