Hey there, semi-new to MFP (2 weeks in!) I just had my vegan 1 year anniversary August 5th! I'm also Wheat free due to allergies and we don't eat too much soy. My fiancé, myself, and my toddler are all vegan. We started as vegetarians and then my son was born 2 years ago with a severe dairy allergy. I started cooking dairy free vegetarian meals.. and ended up transitioning to eating completely vegan. We still would eat out occasionally and not eat vegan, but then last August made the decision that was best for our health and morals. I love being vegan... but sometimes I struggle with protein, especially since my calories have been cut on here so much. I just bought Jarrow's hemp protein so I'm hoping to put a scoop of that into my smoothies every morning! I hope this can help me with my protein! Feel free to add me! I'm always looking for new friends on here

Hey, I'm Karyssia. I'm not a vegan or even a vegetarian but I am really interested in changing my eating habits and working toward one or the other; probably vegetarian then work my way further to vegan.

I'm obviously new to this and am open to any advice anyone might be willing to share. I have 2 children that I'd like to introduce to this as well; they're both still quite young so I'm hoping the transition won't be that drastic for them. We rarely eat meat and they love fruits and veggies. With them in mind, I want to do this the right way so they get the proper nutrition they need for their growing minds/bodies!!

Hello,

I began my vegetarian journey a bit late in life, a mere 6 years ago. I just reached my 3 year mark as a vegan tho this month, so I'm staying the course. I started looking into vegetarianism because I wanted to lose weight and be healthier. While researching (online) I became aware of the harsh, cruel realities that go on "behind the scenes" of the treatment of our "food animals" and I wanted no part of it. I also learned that meat and dairy products wreak havoc on our bodies. Further education opened my eyes to the same atrocities in the dairy industry.That's when I knew it was all (vegan) or nothing for me.

The reason I'm here (on MFP) is because I am in dire need of a lifestyle change (mentally, physically, emotionally, and even financially!!). I have become somewhat of a recluse; only going to my (desk) job each day but then retreating to my "cave" thereafter to hibernate. Even though I'm a vegan, which most people would equate with a healthy diet, my eating habits are atrocious! Yes, I do eat lots of fruits and veggies along with whole grains, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds etc., but I LOVE my vegan junk foods as well. I've been known to eat potato chips or a bowl of Cocoa Puffs cereal for dinner. I'm not disciplined in the diet and exercise realm AT ALL!

As horrid as my eating habits are, my exercise habits are even worse. They are non-existent. I don't exercise. AT ALL. I have an "exercise room" at my house with a recumbent bike, an eliptical stationary bike, some dumb bells 5-15 lbs (I think), several yoga DVD's (the room is equipped with a flat screen TV and stereo system), and I have a Total Gym, which at the moment is in a rented storage space with "tentative plans" to bring it back to my house. I haven't used ANY of this for years. I am full of excuses and I don't know how to get motivated. I keep telling myself not to wait until I'm in a major health crisis. I know I need to make changes NOW. I know I'm not giving my body the nutrition or the exercise that it needs. I know I would feel so much better if I tweaked my diet, lost some weight and began a "reasonable" exercise regime.

I didn't mean to be so whiny here. Hope I didn't scare anyone away from supporting and encouraging me or from "friending" me. I'm honestly very good at supporting and encouraging others!

Best Wishes to All............

Hi everyone,

My name is Janet and I'm glad I finally found this group! I have been a vegan only since August 2014, for several reasons:

A dear vegan friend of mine made the cruelty-free argument (he is Buddhist), and I was persuaded.

My 11-months-younger brother had triple-bypass heart surgery this past year.

All the women in my family have died of heart disease, and my diet didn't seem to be getting my cholesterol numbers down.

I'm dealing with a husband who's being treated for esophageal cancer, and though his progress has been noteworthy, I'm still super-stressed. I teach at the University here and run a small poetry-only press, which is also a source of stress (though nothing like my first one)! I'm here for community and, since I'm a newbie at veganism, to have a place to ask questions of people who know what they're talking about.

Best,
Janet

Hi there!
I became a vegetarian at a very young age (a month before my 4th birthday) after making the connection between the names of the foods I was eating and the animals they came from (chicken, turkey, etc). I had a lot of questions for the grown-ups in my life and just couldn't wrap my young mind around how everyone seemed to think it was okay to eat animals. I was lucky enough to have a mother who worked with me to make sure that I was eating healthy now that I refused to eat meat.
Around my mid twenties I realized that veganism was the next logical step for me, as an ethical vegetarian, and that was 14 years ago. I eat mainly healthy whole foods, but I have a sweet tooth and having a nearby vegan bakery and a husband who is an excellent baker presents some challenges.
My son just turned 8 months old and I realized that the last 15 pounds of baby weight (plus the 5-10 I was already wanting to loose before pregnancy) is not going to come off by itself, so I'm here counting calories and trying desperately to find time to exercise as often as I can manage. I'm hoping to find some good recipes here to add to the regular line-up and I'm sure I've got some worthy of sharing, too.
I was very happy to find this group
Good luck to everyone on reaching your goals!

Hi everyone! So happy to have found this group. I've been vegan for almost 2 years and vegetarian for many years before that. LOVE mfp and looking to share ideas with fellow vegans. I'm vegan for ethical reasons but was hoping I would also lose weight which wasn't the case since there are soooo many great vegan foods and recipes out there! I'm cooking a lot of healthy food and tracking here and it is working. Open diary would love to see yours for ideas, send me a friend request.

Hello!

Hello All,
I don't know what I am but I wanna be done with meat and maybe dairy. I am going to take it slow because I just recently stopped eating meat. I am striving to be a vegetarian now and once I am comfortable and ready to make that leap I will become a vegan.

Hi everyone, my name is Sandy and I am a 52 year old mom of two adult children. I'm getting a late start turning vegan at my age, but I have to be true to myself. I have honestly never liked the taste of meat, I've always been an animal lover, I've never looked at an animal and thought he/she looks yummy, and I have always had guilt over buying/cooking/eating/wearing animals. I've naturally leaned more toward vegetarian eating, however, cheese and dairy have a strong pull for me. Time to give it up for good and become the me I was meant to be. I look forward to getting to know you all.

Hello!
I very recently made the decision to go vegan (literally 5 days ago) from being vegetarian. So far it's been really good and I'm loving all the food I'm making. I feel a lot happier and healthier already. I'm just taking one day at a time and planing my meals for the next day the night before. Be kind to me I'm a newbie haha.

I started to notice when I was vegetarian that I was relying heavily on dairy and meat substitutes (quorn) for protein. I didn't even realise that there is more than enough protein in plant based foods haha! I've pretty much always said from the beginning of when I went vegetarian (about 9 months ago) that I would eventually be vegan so it was just a matter of knowing what to eat. I wanted to eat more wholefoods instead of processed meat substitutes. Quorn isn't vegan (it contains egg) so I knew once I switched I wouldn't be able to eat it anyway.

I started getting very into veganism a few weeks ago, I found this girl on youtube called Essena O'Neill. She's the same age as me (18) and she's vegan and I loved all her videos, especially the ones that show what she eats in a day. She's very passionate and she really inspired me. Without her I don't think I would've become vegan so quickly. So from videos like hers I started to build ideas in my head of what to eat on a vegan diet, which was exactly what I needed. She also linked me to documentaries. So I watched Cowspiracy and 101 Reasons to be Vegan. After that I was sold!

Random, but has anyone got any good recipes with quinoa? I just made a batch tonight and I need some ideas!