Vegan Pals

I'm vegetarian and am in transition to veganism. Would love some vegan buddies to share meals and whatnot with! I just restarted MFP today so it's really cool to find this post!

I'm vegan (since sept 2017). so im still new and adjusting was interesting. I was an omnivore and then I was like, I'm gona try veganism, and here I am some changes to regular things I used to eat so it makes transitioning easier. soy creamer instead of cream (works well in cream of corn, mash potatoes, coffee), and if you like/ use almond milk, but dont like the aml;mondy hint it leaves in the coffee add some soy creamer and it omits the almond taste tofu fingers or tofingers lol are excellent, use the soy creamer/ almond milk and spices as to help hold the bread crumbs to the tofu. tastes great with Ketchup. and check labels when buysing/ eating food to ensure there isnt any milk or eggs etc.

Question... How did you guys eliminate cheese? Cheese is like the main thing I'm struggling with. I also love sweets but that's another conversation. Haha.

blackthumbnails wrote: »

Question... How did you guys eliminate cheese? Cheese is like the main thing I'm struggling with. I also love sweets but that's another conversation. Haha.

I’ve only been vegan since September and the thing that helped me was finding alternatives to cheese. You can soak cashews to make vegan cheese (which is delicious). Homemade Cashew cheese is my favorite alternative but there are plenty of cheese replacements to choose from. Wegmans has a large selection.

alondrakayy wrote: »

I am transition to a vegetarian diet (not for weight loss) but this is my first week so I'm not ready to label myself just yet. Tried tofu for the first time today. Eh.. I probably won't have it again unless I find new ways to eat it. It was in soup so it was just mushy and no flavor to it even though the soup was full of flavor! I don't think I want rely on substitutes just yet.

Tofu is capable of many different flavors and textures. If someone doesn't like it the first time they try it, I always encourage them to try it someday again -- usually in a different type of dish.

I've been vegan now for a good 3/4 months and have really enjoyed the health benefits. The biggest problem I find is eating out with non vegans, as not all restaurants accommodate to us! But that said, planning always helps. Here in the UK there is more and more alternatives to pretty much everything, which is great when organising a diet that can be (at times) quite strict!

Here is a pal for you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFp1tQttgAo

blackthumbnails wrote: »

Question... How did you guys eliminate cheese? Cheese is like the main thing I'm struggling with. I also love sweets but that's another conversation. Haha.

My brother has been vegan for well over 5 years now and he and I recently talked about the cheese thing, because I know that was a hang up for him. He said you just have to commit to doing it and do it. Keep in mind that cheese triggers similar things in your brain that hard drugs do. It is literally addictive. Keeping in mind WHY you want to kick dairy helps. And there are more and more great plant based cheese options on the market.

As for sweets.....ummmm, you can still have PLENTY of sweets and be vegan! You just do it without eggs and dairy! Unless you're doing a whole good, plant based thing, you don't have to eat nothing but veggies as a vegan. You just don't use things that exploit animals.

AmandaDanceMore wrote: »

blackthumbnails wrote: »

Question... How did you guys eliminate cheese? Cheese is like the main thing I'm struggling with. I also love sweets but that's another conversation. Haha.

My brother has been vegan for well over 5 years now and he and I recently talked about the cheese thing, because I know that was a hang up for him. He said you just have to commit to doing it and do it. Keep in mind that cheese triggers similar things in your brain that hard drugs do. It is literally addictive. Keeping in mind WHY you want to kick dairy helps. And there are more and more great plant based cheese options on the market.

Citation needed for that bold part.

mermaidbeasty wrote: »

I’ve been transitioning since June and the only thing I need to let go of is cheese and honey:( My main question for anyone that can help me pleaseeeeee what are your macros like ?!!

I usually get about 50-60% of my calories from carbohydrates, 15-20% from protein, and 20-30% from fat.

https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/scicurious/no-cheese-not-just-crack

"Cheese is a delicious invention. But if you saw the news last week, you might think it’s on its way to being classified as a Schedule II drug. Headlines proclaimed 'Say cheese? All the time? Maybe you have an addiction,' 'Cheese really is crack' and 'Your cheese addiction is real.' Under the headlines, the stories referred to a study examining the addictive properties of various foods. Pizza was at the top. The reason? The addictive properties of cheese, which the articles claim contains “dangerous” opiate-like chemicals called casomorphins.

But you can’t explain away your affinity for cheese by saying you’re addicted. The study in those stories, published earlier this year in PLOS ONE, did investigate which foods are most associated with addictive-like eating behaviors. Pizza did come out on top in one experiment. But the scientists who did the research say this has little to do with the delicious dairy products involved. Instead, they argue, the foods we crave the most are those processed to have high levels of sugars and fat, and it’s these ingredients that leave us coming back for another slice. The cheese? Probably superfluous.

'I was horrified by the misstatements and the oversimplifications … and the statements about how it’s an excuse to overeat,' says Ashley Gearhardt of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who led the study. 'Liking is not the same as addiction. We like lots of things. I like hip-hop music and sunshine and my wiener dog, but I’m not addicted to her. I eat cheese every day. That’s doesn’t mean you’re addicted or it has addictive potential.'..."

And on the actual study:

"When the researchers measured ranked how frequently a food was 'problematic' for the participants, cheese wasn’t even in the top 10. It limped in at 16 out of 35, blown away by chocolate (number 1), french fries and pizza (numbers 3 and 4), buttered popcorn (number 8), and even gummy candy (number 12 — there’s no accounting for taste). When the second group was asked to rank foods on a scale of 1 to 7, cheese did a little better, at number 10. But again, it was outclassed by pizza, chocolate, chips, french fries and more."...

A really important distinction between how food and drugs use the reward systems in the brain, and why this comparison is so misleading:

"But cheese and cocaine do have something in common other than both starting with the letter “c.” Cheese, like other foods, stimulates the reward system in the brain. 'We know there are these areas of the brain, reward circuits involved in keeping us alive,' says Joseph Frascella, a neuroscientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Bethesda, Md. 'They are systems that signal to us when something we do is good, like eating, procreating or drinking water when you’re thirsty.' These systems are necessary to let us know what our bodies need and teach us to seek it out.

And these are the same systems in the brain that addictive drugs exploit. “Drugs of abuse hit these same pathways and they tend to do it much more effectively,” Frascella explains. “So you get that rush, that high, and the brain says, ‘wow that’s good for us, do it again.’”

But while cheese might be able to give you good feelings, when it comes to addictive properties, the cheddar cannot compare. “Addictive drugs do things that food doesn’t do that make them more addictive,” says Peter Kalivas, a neuroscientist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. “To put [those foods] on par with something like cocaine is pretty inflammatory.”"

* * *

“Understanding how food is rewarding and how it might overlap with addictive drugs is an interesting question,” Kalivas says. 'Studies like this, to me, kind of state the obvious. Food that’s palatable, people will find more problematic'....”

Goodness! I was asked to cite the study, I did. I think it is an eye opener and something to bare in mind, as vegetarians who want to go vegan but say "BUT CHEESE!" It can help you realign your perspective. I never said it was as addictive as cocaine (I said it triggered the same things). Take it or leave it.

And petting puppies and holding babies and looking at rainbows isn't causing cows to be separated from the calves and the male calves to be raised and slaughtered for veal....so, ya know. Consequences.

Me! I've been vegan for almost 8 months, coming up on 8 months this Friday! I would love more vegan friends. = )