Topic for VEGANS only... need books/resources

live2dream
live2dream Posts: 614 Member
edited October 3 in Food and Nutrition
Any recommendations for Vegan books? I already have The Kind Diet and Skinny *****, and well as a few vegan cookbooks. I'm looking for one that helps more with making the transition and what to look for on labels,etc, and what to use as substitutes...not just a book convincing me to be vegan- I'm already convinced, I'm just having a hard time knowing what to look for on labels, dealing with situations like traveling, explaining myself to others, etc, and getting over my addiction to casein.

I've been having way too much cheese lately and I can't seem to convince myself to stop eating it even though I feel bad about it and want to quit. I can't believe how much harder it is to stop eating cheese then it iwas to stop eating meat. I'm fine when I'm at home and use Daiya most of the time. I've already replaced cow's milk with rice, almond and love it. Eggs don't appeal much to me anymore. But, pizza is a favorite and vegan mozzarella just doesn't do the trick for me. I like Daiya cheddar and pepperjack, but the mozzarella sucks. And feta and parmesan...how i love thee and don't know of any good substitutes for :( And my husband has been supportive of my being a vegetarian- he is now a pescatarian, but he loves pizza with real cheese more than anything and isn't very supportive of my wanting to be vegan for that reason. We also love Quorn products, which aren't vegan,,, :( We are vegan the majority of the time, but I want it for me to be all the time so my heart isn't feeling so heavy... any helpful suggestions welcomed! :)

Peace and love! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • backwardslant
    backwardslant Posts: 101 Member
    I don't really have any book suggestions other than The Kind Diet, which I think is great....

    But if you really like the Quorn products, you ought to check out the Gardein ones. They are all vegan and really, really tasty! And the ingredients are much better than a lot of the fake meat type products. They are sold in most natural foods stores (Whole Foods, etc.) and I've seen them at quite a few chain grocery stores as well now too.

    Best of luck to you on your journey!

    Edited to add: and you should definitely check out vegweb.com for recipes. It's a great resource for all sorts of vegan recipes. And also the magazine Veg News which is entirely vegan (as opposed to Vegetarian Times, which I also like but is lacto-ovo for many of the recipes). They've got some great ideas and resources in there.
  • a_claire
    a_claire Posts: 61
    You should read Peas and Thank You! It's written by a great vegan blogger.
  • Pangui
    Pangui Posts: 373 Member
    Getting over cheese was my biggest challenge of all. It took me about 4 days to lose all the cravings. Once I was over the cheese, all my urges to overeat or binge went away. It felt like magic. I found that for me, eliminating the cheese, solved many of my other eating problems.

    You've probably already seen me suggest this before, but the movie that really convinced me to run, not walk, away from the cheese was "Forks Over Knives". I know you said you were already convinced, but this movie had the effect of "scaring me straight". I couldn't even be tempted by cheese after watching this film. It's like someone turned on a switch in my brain and it became easy after that.

    After watching the movie, I read several books. I think one that helped with the change was "21 Day Weight Loss Kickstart". It goes into details about labels and eating out and how to make healthier choices. There are a lot of reading suggestions on the website, www.forksoverknives.com.
  • Jade_Butterfly
    Jade_Butterfly Posts: 2,963 Member
    Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and The Garden of Vegan by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer are two of my favorites. . . I have 2 by the second author. .

    I got all of them at Barnes and Noble. . Hope this is helpful.

    Edit: How is all Vegan is the other book that I have by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer.

    Do you have the "Skinny B1tch" books?
  • backwardslant
    backwardslant Posts: 101 Member
    Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and The Garden of Vegan by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer are two of my favorites. . . I have 2 by the second author. .

    I got all of them at Barnes and Noble. . Hope this is helpful.

    Oh yes, I love Isa Chandra Moskowitz - she has a blog called Post Punk Kitchen at theppk.com that is really great! I also really enjoy the Vegan Dad blog.

    Thanks for all the great ideas, everyone - I'm learning about some good resources here too!
  • Vegan_Chick
    Vegan_Chick Posts: 474 Member
    Vegan With a Vengance has a lot of info on substitutes
  • pa_jorg
    pa_jorg Posts: 4,404 Member
    good recipe blog:
    http://ohsheglows.com/
  • Jade_Butterfly
    Jade_Butterfly Posts: 2,963 Member
    Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and The Garden of Vegan by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer are two of my favorites. . . I have 2 by the second author. .

    I got all of them at Barnes and Noble. . Hope this is helpful.

    Oh yes, I love Isa Chandra Moskowitz - she has a blog called Post Punk Kitchen at theppk.com that is really great! I also really enjoy the Vegan Dad blog.

    Thanks for all the great ideas, everyone - I'm learning about some good resources here too!

    Thank you for the additional resources. .
  • raevynn
    raevynn Posts: 666 Member
    Joy of Vegan Baking has a lot of information... don't look for low-calorie items, though! these are treats :)

    Going Vegan may be the book you are looking for

    Diet for a New America, by John Robbins, has a ton of information on the why of vegan

    notmilk.com has an incredible amount of information on why to get away from dairy

    The movie Forks over Knives, now available on Netflix "watch it now", or through forksoverknives.com is also very good.
  • ohiogirl30
    ohiogirl30 Posts: 141 Member
    My favorite is by far anything by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. You really need to get Vegan with a Vengeance its a good intro book. She breaks things down really well. Also the book Living Amoung Meat Eaters helped me a lot. If you need anything ASK!! :)
  • Uk_Yogini
    Uk_Yogini Posts: 167
    You have been given some great resources here ! I know you mentioned that you didn't need to be convinced, but maybe there is a part of you that does and I say that because I too had all the resources, but still needed to make that final leap to be full on vegan. What did it for me was watching "Earthlings" I made myself sit through the entire thing which was not easy, but what little dairy I did eat, I never touched again..
    That final leap is different for everyone and you will get there when you are ready :)
  • live2dream
    live2dream Posts: 614 Member
    Thanks ALL! I've had Forks Over Knives in my Netflix queue for awhile now, just haven't had a chance to watch it. And I've heard of Earthlings and have been meaning to watch that too. I just want to make sure my husband watches it with me! If he's convinced too, that will be a lot easier! He's a huge animal lover like me, so I don't think it will take TOO much...

    AND Vegan with a Vengeance has been in my Amazon wish list for awhile now too...need to get it!!
  • live2dream
    live2dream Posts: 614 Member
    Also, I want to be vegan so I can wear this shirt... hehe... http://www.herbivoreclothing.com/products/I'm-Vegan-and-I-Love-You-%2d-Women's-Summer-Tee.html
  • niebla
    niebla Posts: 71
    You might find useful (and amusing) Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Bob and Jenna Torres.
  • ekicinsk
    ekicinsk Posts: 92 Member
    I'm not vegan, but my friend is and he has a blog!

    http://micahludeke.blogspot.com/
  • RuthAne
    RuthAne Posts: 130
    www.happyherbivore.com is a great resource for vegan recipes.
  • live2dream
    live2dream Posts: 614 Member
    You might find useful (and amusing) Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World by Bob and Jenna Torres.

    Thanks! I looked that up and found this article:

    http://veganfreak.com/food/stop-eating-cheese-an-excerpt-from-version-20/


    I want this book too!! :love:
  • live2dream
    live2dream Posts: 614 Member
    I'm not vegan, but my friend is and he has a blog!

    http://micahludeke.blogspot.com/

    Thanks! I'll check it out when I get home!
  • live2dream
    live2dream Posts: 614 Member
    www.happyherbivore.com is a great resource for vegan recipes.


    I do love this site! I don't go there nearly as often as I should!!
  • vegantriathlete
    vegantriathlete Posts: 32 Member
    I see that everyone else has put together a comprehensive list of books, resources, and ideas. I eat a lot of peanut butter, which kind of has the same type of texture (from what I can remember of how cheese feels). I actually love the Daiya cheeses on pizza - I often mix the cheddar and mozzarella together, which might work for you. Maybe if you and your hubby eat pizza, you can get half with cow cheese and half with Daiya (much easier if you make it yourself). Maybe in the fridge, there is a designated drawer or something out of your eye-sight that has his cheesy stuff in it so that it doesn't tempt you. Good luck!
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