Vegan Support

Options
Okay I am currently a vegetarian. But I am planning on going Vegan, now I did plenty of research and read not to stock up on processed Vegan foods because that is the wrong way to go. Instead to eat throughout the day and make sure its whole foods like fruits and vegetables.

Any other Vegans have tips for me?

Oh and I'm transitioning slowly. Already I do not enjoy milk from cows so if I were to have milk it would be soy milk. And I take a multivitamin to get the required amounts of iron and calcium and all that good stuff. I do have nut butter, but I also workout six times, sometimes seven times a week.

And with Vegan meats, I would have that maybe once a day if any at all.

Replies

  • centexjen
    Options
    I transitioned from vegetarian to mostly vegan about 6 months ago. When I decided to cut out dairy and eggs, I realized I'd been relying on them pretty heavily for bulk and flavor, so the hardest part of going vegan for me was learning how to make meals for my family that weren't what they were used to. I did a lot of googling and I used Amazon's customer reviews to start picking some good cookbooks to help me and I sort of made it my hobby to figure out how to feed my family really good, comforting food that also happened to be vegan. So, yes, it can be done! :) I highly recommend "Isa Does It". I make probably 3 meals from this cookbook every week. The recipes are normal food, easy to make, consistently delicious.

    In terms of eating well in general, I don't obsess over protein, but I do try to mentally note at every meal that I have grains and/or legumes. Plan to start adding beans to everything you eat. Add a spoonful of peanut butter to your snacks. Stock up your spice rack and learn to season your veggies and enjoy them. Know where your powerhouse flavors are found (mushrooms, tomato paste, white wine, soy sauce...) and add these to your food to kick it up.

    Hope some of this helps!
  • centexjen
    Options
    Oh, one more thing... you mentioned you take a multivitamin, but you really do need to plan to take 1) vitamin B12 and 2) omega 3. Too many vegans make the mistake of thinking a healthy balanced diet will give them everything they need--and it will if you can fit ungodly amounts of kelp and spinach into your daily routine. It's better to be safe than sorry, and you don't want to mess around with a B12 deficiency. Just buy a bottle of pills and take them a couple times a week and you'll be fine.
  • AusteenaHayes
    Options
    Thank you so much.

    And I agree with the diary, yogurt is hard to give up but I'm trying. And I will have to get a B12 supplement then. This is what I'm doing for health reasons by the way. But I am caring for animals and want what's best for them. I mean so many people forget animals can have feels JUST LIKE humans.