Veganish lol

gbro44 · June 2014

Hello everyone,

I am attempting to "eat" vegan (I am doing this for my health not necessarily for the critters, I dont plan on giving up on leather shoes, belts, wallets, or leather car seats.) It is HARD HARD HARD (being addicted to processed foods, meat, dairy, etc.) Some days are alot easier than others. Somedays I can eat fruit for breakfast, fruit for lunch, and a mexi style rice and beans with corn and tomatoes for dinner and all goes well. Other days I find myself fiending for Wendys or a candy bar. I feel great when I stay commited with the diet. I havent been able to give up processed foods 100%. I need my diet Mt Dew or life will crumble lol. So basically I am asking for advice, quick easy recipes (I'm in my 20's and life is busy.) I like "stir fry" type meals rice,black beans, corn, tomatoes, and hot sauce = mexican; rice, peas, carrots, teriyaki sauce = chinese, ect. I havent tried tofo yet but I will eventually (just have not had time to "hunt" it down at the grocery store.) Also wondering about what anyone does when they get a chocolate craving, instead of buying a candy bar like I just did 5 min ago lol. So advice, recipes all welcome.
Thanks

nomeejerome · June 2014

this might not end well

BigT555 · June 2014

im not really against veganism at all but doing it for anything other than moral reasons is a little silly considering its not necessarily healthier than any diet trend and its an expensive lifestyle that takes alot of effort (to start out at least)

ShibaEars · June 2014

I don't know much about veganism, but I follow a girl on Tumblr who eats vegan - look up Funeral For My Fat. Her name is Sharee and she has lost 100+ pounds over the last couple years. She has a questions page that gives more info on her eating style.

ETA: She's not a nutrionist or anything, she just posts what has worked for her. You may be able to get meal ideas off of her page.

NoXCuses4me · June 2014

I know a woman who went vegan after reading Eat for Life - I think it's the bible of that way of eating. Don't know much about it other than that, and that it's not for me! BUT... my friend had GREAT results! There's also an interesting movement called VB6 - Vegan before 6pm... the "creator" decided he could certainly incorporate a vegan lifestyle into his day, a least before dinner! Just google it - it's a good read!

Good luck!

PS - I think less meat and dairy and more whole foods, fruit and veggies is a great idea, whether a person goes totally vegan or not!

sympha01 · June 2014

If you are not doing it for moral reasons but because you seem to be convinced that it is healthy maybe consider just CUTTING BACK on the offending animal products rather than eliminating them? I mean, I think personally that eggs and milk and lean meat are super healthy and they are all an important part of my nutrition plan, but if someone has convinced you differently maybe just cutting back would be easier for you.

aarnwine2013 · June 2014

Sorry I can't help you but I belive there is a Vegan group on here that would have more info.

tigersword · June 2014

This. Veganism is a lifestyle. There's nothing magically healthy about a specifically vegan diet, being vegan really is more about giving up all animal products in life.

LifeWithPie · June 2014

You're either vegan or you're not. There's no 'vegan-ish'.

tigersword · June 2014

Meat is the reason humans were able to evolve into intelligent, conscious beings. I really don't understand where "less meat" is necessarily healthy when it's what caused us to be what we are. Our brains wouldn't have developed without meat.

murphy612 · June 2014

Good luck! It's not easy but I felt better when I went to a plant based diet.

Because I hate when people get the two mixed up here is a quick definition. You are not "veganish"

Veganism is a philosophy and compassionate lifestyle whose adherents seek to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind. Vegans do not consume meat, eggs, milk, honey or any food that is derived from animals.

Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes meat (including game and slaughter by-products; fish, shellfish and other sea animals; and poultry). There are several variants of the diet, some of which also exclude eggs. Do not eat meat or fish. Some do consume dairy and some vegetarians consume eggs. Lacto-vegetarian: eating dairy products. Ovo-vegetarian: eating eggs. Do not eat gelatin or other animal by products. While vegetarians do not eat meat, most vegetarians do not mind using other animal-derived products, e.g. fur, leather, or wool.

And if ridding your diet of "processed foods" is your goal going Vegan may not be the answer, there is a TON of processed food that is considered Vegan, Oreo cookies for example :-)

gbro44 · June 2014

I totally understand that veganism is a SERIOUS "lifestyle." thats why I speicifically said veganISH and vegeterianism is so confusing these days. I said vegan as opposed to have to typing out "NON-LACTO VEGETERIAN" but I apparently was forced out of my laziness anyways.

kklemarow · June 2014

Check out http://ohsheglows.com/

Lots of great, healthy recipes.

SingRunTing · June 2014

Veganish???

LifeWithPie · June 2014

No.....I don't think you DO understand.

peleroja · June 2014

Some dark chocolate is vegan, if made without milk or milk solids. Read the label, obviously, but yeah, many brands are.

A vegan diet means you have to be extremely careful about getting vitamin B12 and all the essential amino acids (as well as enough calcium, iron, and other micronutrients that are easiest to get from animal sources). It is vital that you either learn how to get everything you need from your diet or you get the best supplements you can afford. A vegan diet can make it a lot harder to get everything your body needs from food sources. It's not impossible but you really, really need to educate yourself if you're going to attempt it.

I'm not a vegan but I've done my research because I DO have ethical issues with eating meat, and I have to say that I don't think I would ever go vegan for purely health reasons. I certainly don't think that we need to eat a ton of meat to be healthy, but I think when you start cutting out a bunch of stuff from your diet it can be a lot harder to achieve optimal nutrition. Eating the largest variety of foods possible makes more sense to me, personally.

murphy612 · June 2014

I'm not a Vegan, but instead of saying vegan or veterinarian I go with Plant Based, whole foods :-) And Chocolate is plant based, just not everything else they put in the candy bars. There are some good plant based recipes for chocolate desserts using unsweetened cocoa powder, dates are a key ingredient to make things sweet.

BigT555 · June 2014

found the vegan

bkthandler · June 2014

I found this salad on HuffPo and it's delish and healthy: http://ohsheglows.com/2013/07/01/rad-rainbow-raw-pad-thai/

Her website has some other tasty things but I can only vouch for this one and I have made it twice.

Warning: it's a lot of food to eat. I don't know how vegans do it.

gbro44 · June 2014

I def do know Vegan is. No meat, no dairy, no animal by-products, no clothing etc made out of animals. From my original post I stated that I was doing it for my health not a "lifestyle" choice. I tried to apologize for being lazy and typing veganish instead of having to research what type of crazy sub category vegetarian I am trying to be. This is a fitness, health, and wellness web site. Not an animal rights website. I said "eat" vegan not "live" vegan. I use the word vegan to describe eating only whole plant based foods (grains, beans, fruits and veggies) because there are a lot of different "vegeterians." Some eat dairy, some eat eggs, soem eat fish. If you want to get all bent out of shape because I said vegan instead of vegeterian I think you are misinterpreting what myfitnesspal is. This is not PETA.

gbro44 · June 2014

YES we certainly have lol. Its so crazy, just trying to get some honest advice, recipes and ppl want to post BS and twist everything you say and try to be self rightoues.

LifeWithPie · June 2014

LOL. Nope. I luvs me hamburgers. I do have admiration for true Vegans. It's not an easy lifestyle. Just get tired of fad dieters labeling their eating styles incorrectly. Because it's you know...trendy. Pet peeve.

BigT555 · June 2014

lol fair enough. and i do as well, just not when people get all self righteous about their lifestyle compared to others, which i see now obviously you werent. my apologies

_HeartsOnFire_ · June 2014

We aren't all like that. Though I'm not Vegan. I am a vegetarian - 24 years. I was taught that I can only make decisions for myself. I don't like people preaching to me about anything, so I don't do that to anyone. Who am I to decide what's right for someone else?

With that said, I'm thinking the OP has learned that they shouldn't call it Veganish. As others have stated if you're still going to use animal products of any kind, it's not Vegan. I'm confused why you think vegetarianism is so confusing...you are either vegetarian or not. I personally don't believe in this pescatarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian. You either eat meat or you don't. To me, it's that simple. If you still eat fish, you're an omnivore. Whoever in the world decided we needed 500 new names for every single little thing should get a kick in the pants. And don't get me started on the term flexitarian. UGH.

OP - If you want to cut meat out great. You don't have to label it. I definitely wouldn't label it Vegan because if you run into a vegan wearing a leather belt and you say that, just be prepared for some words/looks, etc. It'd be easier/better for you just to not label it at all. Just that you are eating better for you.

rivka_m · June 2014

OP - you probably need to eat heartier breakfasts and lunches. Oatmeal, sandwiches, veggie burgers. I like seitan but it does take some cooking time - not much prep time but it is at least an hour to steam. Or you could buy it ready-made. I also have been eating sloppy joes made with lentils but not even bothering with buns, it's so good by itself. Lentils are quicker than regular beans - or you can buy canned.

Have you read through any cookbooks? I'm sure there are 'quick and easy' vegan cookbooks at the library/bookstore.

Try a tofu scramble when you find tofu. You need to add lots of flavor to tofu, it doesn't have much by itself. There's a good recipe on the PPK (post punk kitchen) website - sloppy joe recipe is there too (Snobby Joes).

srslybritt · June 2014

This is giving me "flexitarian" flashbacks. Being a vegan is like being dead; you are or you are not. There is no "vegan-ish," just like there is no "dead-ish."

LifeWithPie · June 2014

We cool. :flowerforyou:

LifeWithPie · June 2014

WTF is flexitarian? Serious question.

_HeartsOnFire_ · June 2014

Staaaaaahp...I said don't get me started. Someone might get hurt.

But...here's it's definition...
Question: What is a "flexitarian"?

Answer: What is a flexitarian? You don’t have to be vegetarian to love vegetarian food! “Flexitarian” is a term recently coined to describe those who eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but occasionally eat meat. Many people who call themselves "flexitarian" or "semi-vegetarian" have given up red meat for health reasons while others, for environmental reasons, only eat free-range or organic animals and animal products.

"semi-vegetarian" - NO SUCH THING.

A flexitarian is essentially an omnivore.

mark_finewood · June 2014

Initially, when I went vegetarian, I was confused about the different types of vegetarians. Here's a page that describes the various vegetarian classifications:
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/tp/TypesofVeg.htm

In short;
Pescatarian = abstain from eating all meat and animal flesh with the exception of fish.

Vegetarian = People who do not eat beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish or animal flesh of any kind, but do eat eggs and dairy products.

Lacto-vegetarian = a vegetarian who does not eat eggs, but does eat dairy products.

Ovo-vegetarian = people who do not eat meat or dairy products but do eat eggs.

odusgolp · June 2014

I was about to say, "WTF is a flexitarian?"

Then I realized there's a damn echo in here and someone is about to get smacked...

Veganish lol

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