Dabling Vegan

I was vegetarian for many years. And I've been vegan for a short period in my life. I would like to try veganism again because I was a very successful in good nutrition and decreasing my waistline. So far I eat mostly rice, beans, tofu, nuts in plenty of fruits and vegetables. I do not want to eat anything like soy cheese or soy sour cream. And have coconut milk and coconut ice cream as a treat. I eat Thai food and Hispanic food a lot because it is easy to cut animal products out of. I'm just curious if there are other vegans on MyFitnessPal who can help guide me with other healthy food choices at my home and when I go out to eat.

Replies

  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
    edited December 2015
    I"m not vegan, but got Thug Kitchen (a vegan cookbook) as a gift and quite enjoy the recipes I've gotten from it.
  • YeaYeaPueblo
    YeaYeaPueblo Posts: 68 Member
    I'm about 90% vegan, allowing for the occasional egg, or (sometimes generous) sprinkling of cheese. Otherwise just a vegetarian.

    I really enjoy cooking out of the Oh She Glows cookbook, and also from the Minimalist Baker blog. Both have realistic recipes with normal vegan pantry staples (no super weird ingredients - I'm able to find everything here in interior Alaska). I'm also a fan of Thug Kitchen.

    I just got Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker for Christmas and I'm so excited to cook my way through it! Last night I made North African chickpea soup, it was great!
  • morgensky
    morgensky Posts: 10 Member
    Thank you both! I'll look into these cook books. Exactly. I don't want to have to go buy outrageous new ingredients. Just staples and recipe substitutions. Sounds like wonderful soup!!
  • Rhumax67
    Rhumax67 Posts: 162 Member
  • deedeehu02
    deedeehu02 Posts: 1 Member
    I've been vegan for a few months now and I've really seen a difference. I have so much energy and my running has been improving a lot :) I absolutely love quinoa and chickpeas r a great source of protein. the ebook by bonnyrebecca is great and there r thousands of recipes online.
  • amesbaugh83
    amesbaugh83 Posts: 12 Member
    I've been a vegan athlete for 8 months now along with my fiancé. He was a previous bodybuilder and after eating lbs of meat finds veganism to be the best thing for his body. Amazing recovery time. I have plenty of advice and recipes to share. We don't eat hardly anything processed. I Cook from scratch and its hard to eat out. Beans and rice are a huge staple for us as well. Would love love love more vegan athlete friends! Plz add me!
  • leecha2014
    leecha2014 Posts: 385 Member
    I've been vegan for over 2 years, I have found vegan blogs, cookbooks and Pinterest very helpful. I've been able to "veganize" all of my old favourites and do not feel deprived. It takes time to figure things out but stick with it, best decision I made. If you ever feel weak, just watch the documentaries out there, earthlings, it will keep you on track :smile:
  • Angryvegan
    Angryvegan Posts: 6 Member
    I have been vegan for about 5 years.. with a couple of blips along the way. Overall it is a fantastic way to be. Vegan blogs are great... basically searching any recipe + vegan gets you lots of results. A fun website to check out is ohsheglows.com

    At home I cook a lot. My fave cook books are Veganomicon, Kind Diet, and Color Me Vegan.

    Hardest thing is going to restaurants though. It is getting better, but if I want a good meal I try to go to vegan, Indian, Thai restaurants. That said, most 'ethnic' food has some options and when I am unsure, I got to Happycow.net That site has saved me many times!!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    isn't veganism a moral stance that goes well beyond diet? if you're just doing the diet aspect of it, i'd think that would be more strict vegetarian. i only know one vegan personally and she doesn't use animal products of any kind...no leather clothing or handbags, no wool, etc...she doesn't use anything that is derived from animals.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    I'm not a vegan or even a vegetarian but I do love the Thug Kitchen cook book. The recipes are easy and no weird ingredients with the exception of nooch. They have several recipes in the book they suggest using it. That's nutritional yeast. I just don't make those. I don't think I could go vegetarian or vegan because I have problems with most protein and milk sources that aren't meat or traditional. I'm allergic to most nuts, soy, rye, and wheat. Thank god for rice though.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    I'm a vegan bodybuilder and have been actively bodybuilding for two years, and vegan for over a decade now. Before body building, I was a runner.

    I've had a varied experience. I don't have much in the way of cookbooks to recommend as my diet tends to be very simple. I don't mind eating replacement products, but I don't generally consider them replacement products. No vegan cheese will ever be cheese... it will merely be a spread, or a sauce or something like that... it's just not the same thing and I don't feel the need to make the comparison.

    As for recipes, I tend to go to this site: http://vegweb.com/

    I find it has recipes for just about everything i want to make that I can't figure out on my own.

    Anyway... howdy.
  • rigjema
    rigjema Posts: 1 Member
    I've been a vegan for over 5 1/2 years and vegetarian for 20 years before that. My favorite websites are Post Punk Kitchen, Oh She Glows,Fat Free Vegan and VegWeb.com. Some really good cookbooks are McDougall's, and anything from Isa Chandra Moskowitz, like the Veganomicon, Appetite for Reduction, or Isa Does It.
  • gems74
    gems74 Posts: 107 Member
    Check out
    www.ohsheglows.com

    Amazing recipes. I'm not vegan, but these recipes I could get used to! Made several and they are amazing.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    @becomingbane have you tried the jalapeno veggie slices? They melt beautifully and the jalapeno masks the fake cheese flavor. I really like them. We use them because my husband is lactose intolerant.

    http://goveggiefoods.com/products
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    edited December 2015
    @becomingbane have you tried the jalapeno veggie slices? They melt beautifully and the jalapeno masks the fake cheese flavor. I really like them. We use them because my husband is lactose intolerant.

    http://goveggiefoods.com/products

    Those aren't available in my local area, so no, I haven't. Most of the non-dairy cheeses around here still have diary derivatives in them, so I don't really go there. I'm ok with Daiya, but more often than not, I just make my own nut spreads for things... similar to most soft vegan cheeses and super simple to make. I also use "cheesy" sauces more often than anything, usually something nutritional yeast based.

    *ETA the Field Roast Chao slices aren't bad... they come in lots of flavors and I can just eat those and not worry about weirdness with flavor or texture, but they are made of Chao Tofu and not many people can handle that smell hence why it's named "stinky tofu".
  • rebeccaj822
    rebeccaj822 Posts: 92 Member
    I have been a vegetarian for 10 years and on/off vegan for periods in there. At the moment Id say I am a near-vegan. I am probably ~ 95-99% plant based. I occasionally have cheese. And I don't get too worked up about eggs and butter in bread and baked goods, which I still have occasionally. If you like indian, Thai, Chinese and Japanese food, they are very easy to adapt to vegan, if they are not already vegan.

    I also love ohsheglows!
  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
    I'm not a vegan or even a vegetarian but I do love the Thug Kitchen cook book. The recipes are easy and no weird ingredients with the exception of nooch. They have several recipes in the book they suggest using it. That's nutritional yeast. I just don't make those. I don't think I could go vegetarian or vegan because I have problems with most protein and milk sources that aren't meat or traditional. I'm allergic to most nuts, soy, rye, and wheat. Thank god for rice though.

    If you can get nutritional yeast, get it. It's awesome.
  • darlenekarst
    darlenekarst Posts: 5 Member
    I'm a vegan bodybuilder and there are so many great options of plant based, wholefoods to build a beautiful strong body. Some of favourites are garbanzo beans, chia seeds, quinoa, lentils, hemp tofu and green leafy veges. Another good recipe book that is the Forks over Knives recipe book.
  • bpjacques
    bpjacques Posts: 5 Member
    Hey there. Been vegan for almost 8 months and looking to connect with other vegans trying to lose weight. Just got back on MFP so figured I would reach out. Thanks!
  • AJDALRYMPLE
    AJDALRYMPLE Posts: 2 Member
    Hi there! I'm a veteran vegan (over ten years!) and I am trying to get healthy as there's so much delicious vegan junk food I got out of shape! Hi!
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
    I'd like to go in this direction as well. But my issues run into soy and wheat limitations make it even harder. What's hemp tofu? @darlenekarst is it still made from soy?
  • clairebeth8
    clairebeth8 Posts: 30 Member
    An excellent resource for vegan athletes is No Meat Athlete (http://www.nomeatathlete.com/). I enjoy listening to the podcasts, and there are groups of people in different areas that meet up and share experiences, via Facebook. I'm also a big fan of "Oh She Glows."
  • alihoule93
    alihoule93 Posts: 16 Member
    Hi! I have been vegetarian for about 2 months now, and I am trying to reduce my consumption of animal products gradually (however, still getting used to not cooking with meat). I'd really like to connect with others who are vegetarian/vegan, as I'm committing to making healthier choices this year! :)