Vegan X 2 days

Options
tujungaemt
tujungaemt Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My wife and I decided to become vegan this last week. We started on Saturday and its been 3 days with no meat. Right now I do not miss it at all. I did not realize that there are a lot of things that are being made with soy products now. It does not taste as good as regular meat, but that taste was what got me in this position in the first place.

Replies

  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
    Options
    Congrats!

    You will find getting adequate protein to be easy with just a little experimentation. I recommend Tofurky products - my omni husband will now choose Tofurky over real sausage now. Their sandwich slices are also very good. Watch out for sodium, though.

    If you have a Trader Joe's near you their Chicken-less Strips are VERY good and lower in sodium but still with very high protein.

    Good luck to you!

    If you would like some very easy vegan recipes, I keep a vegan blog veganlazy.wordpress.com.

    Enjoy!
  • brandenocs
    brandenocs Posts: 146 Member
    Options
    I've been veg for about 5 years and I disagree. I like the soy products MORE. The taste/textures are similar but you don't get the greasy grossness...
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
    Options
    i am thinking about vegan but i think it would be too hard to give up cheese and eggs, stuff like that. i have a hard time with having to make sure every single thing i buy doesn't have animal products in it. i just don't have time for it. what types of things are you guys doing that makes it easier? i'd be willing to reconsider it if it wasn't so hard. i was thinking about just being vegetarian or giving up red meat. i think if i accomplished those goals then it would be easier to take another step toward vegan.
  • capriciousmoon
    capriciousmoon Posts: 1,263 Member
    Options
    I dunno... I'm not veg*n at all but I swear some veggie burgers taste better than the real thing. If you ever notice, most of the taste and flavor when having beef burgers is from the toppings and unless you've got great quality meat it usually tastes pretty blah. Almond milk tastes a lot better than dairy milk too.

    Just be careful that you aren't lured into the trap of eating extra bread, rice, and pasta to fill yourself up from the lack of meat. Good luck! :)
  • bomomar
    bomomar Posts: 94 Member
    Options
    I'm all for the P.E.T.A. thing...you know People Eating Tasty Animals...Good luck with the celery sticks.
  • brendacs21
    brendacs21 Posts: 180 Member
    Options
    Baby steps... i started by giving up red meat. then chicken and then fish. I rarely eat eggs or milk, i can pretty much go without them but cheese is my weakness! congrats on going vegan i hope to be there one day!
  • MrsCon40
    MrsCon40 Posts: 2,351 Member
    Options
    I'm all for the P.E.T.A. thing...you know People Eating Tasty Animals...Good luck with the celery sticks.

    You're a real hoot. You thought this was so funny that you had to go and make a second thread with this stupid joke.

    It failed there too.
  • UrbanRunner81
    UrbanRunner81 Posts: 1,207 Member
    Options
    I don't use the fake stuff (sometimes but rarely), there are so many wonderful vegetarian/vegan recipes that don't rely on faux meats. :)
  • gersoco
    gersoco Posts: 155 Member
    Options
    Good for you! I was vegan for almost 8 years and I plan on switching back again to a plant-based diet once I am closer to my GW.

    For protein, you may want to use tempeh. It's kind of grainy in texture but it picks up the flavor of almost any season/spice that you add to it. It's basically fermented soy and it's available in most grocery stores.

    I used it a lot during my last 3 years as a vegan after reading articles saying that it was harder for the body to absorb soy protein if it is unfermented like in tofu.
    Plus, there were other articles stating that eating a lot of tofu had a feminizing effect on guys (not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just not what I wanted to get out of tofu).
  • PatasDeGallina
    PatasDeGallina Posts: 155 Member
    Options
    This March will be my 2nd Veganniversary. :laugh:

    I encourage everyone to have at least one vegan or vegetarian meal a day or day a week. It's good for the environment and also your health.

    Cheers to you! :drinker:
  • tomasart
    tomasart Posts: 306 Member
    Options
    It's all good to eat veggies, but i can't give up my Fish. Anyways good luck with Your choice.
  • pepperedmoth
    pepperedmoth Posts: 37 Member
    Options
    I've only been vegan since August, but . . .

    . . . I end up feeling sad and deprived if I try to replace the meat and cheese in my diet with un-meat and un-cheese. I was a vegetarian for eight years before I went vegan (and omni for eight years in between). I have never had a vegan pizza covered in un-cheese and un-meat that even remotely replaced the real thing in my heart. I have, however, had FANTASTIC vegan pizza that wasn't trying to pretend to be anything else. I am MUCH happier with my choices when I either eat meals that don't center around reproductions (beans and rice, etc) or when I make reproductions from scratch at home. It's not that I have anything against Tofurkey or whatever, It's just never satisfied me on that deep level which I require of my food.

    That said, my favorite at-home 'fakes' are tofu ricotta, tempeh sausage, and cashew alfredo. SO TASTY and all found in Vegan with a Vengeance, which is one of my favorite vegan cookbooks.

    As far as pre-made foods, my favorite lazy dinner (and lunch the next day) is Amy's vegan pizza, the kind with no fake anything, but with caramelized onions subbing for cheese (om nom nom) and lots of roasted vegetables.
  • raevynn
    raevynn Posts: 666 Member
    Options
    Once you get past the "doing without" mindset, and see how much is actually available to eat, and find a few new recipes, it's pretty nice being vegan!

    Just think... you don't have to scrub the counters and cutting boards when switching foods you are cutting

    You will go to the bathroom more regularly "beef, it's what's rotting in your colon!"

    Your dinner plate (lunch plate, whatever) will have more color and taste

    You won't feel like falling asleep after a meal

    Faint queasiness after eating out won't happen nearly so much (it's low level food poisoning... more common than you would think!)

    Food won't be "dangerous"... a sandwich will stay fresh longer. Soup lasts in the fridge a few extra days. You can eat the cookie dough!
  • Butterflywildgirl
    Butterflywildgirl Posts: 4 Member
    Options
    Hi there My husband and I went vegan after he had his whole colon removed because of 100 of polyps.

    I have found alot of great meatless products in some of the stores. I will tell you some of my favorites. Well I just found these yummy fake shrimp at Market of choice. Also I have found meatballs, meatless crumbles, fake chicken strips, and chicken veggie burgers. Also they have mixes for chocolate chip cookies, cake mixes all vegan. I have alot gotten alot of vegan recipes on vegweb.com. I have found this site very helpful. I have made vegan pizza bites. You can usually find alot of vegan stuff at Market of choice. Hopefully you find lots of recipes and enjoy being vegan. Sometimes its a little harder in the beginning to figure out what to fix but I found myself being more creative with my meals.
  • MJ7910
    MJ7910 Posts: 1,280 Member
    Options
    I am motivated by the idea of being vegan but i am not sure what to buy. maybe you can provide some guidance on what is actually easy to make and eat. I am really busy, have a child, go to work, don't have time to cook a lot. this is really the main hindrance for going vegan for me. i try to not eat meat but sometimes i am in a hurry and just have to stop somewhere quick and eat. meat seems to be in everything, or meat products. there just aren't vegan fast food places or vegan supermarkets. it makes it very tough. sure, there are vegan supermarkets in large metro areas but if you don't live in one it makes it very tough and expensive. so any tips would be awesome. also, having trouble having to examine every ingredient list to make sure... just very time consuming. wish i knew a way to make it easier. i have tried the morningstar burgers and i must say they are fantastic. would love to know about other tasty products.

    PS - I don't have "market of choice" in my area. Just Kroger and Giant Eagle. This is the problem a lot of us in small towns run into.

Categories