Baby Steps Toward "just" Vegetarian- Advice?
Hey my dear fellow vegwebbers!
I am looking for some advice here. I am hoping I won't get any negativity about taking too long instead of going cold-tofurkey, but I'm just gonna put this out there 'cause I could use the help.
I've mentioned a few times recently that I wanna kick the ovo-lacto off my vegetarian. Uhh... meaning I don't wanna eat dairy and eggs, you know? Now, I don't want to do it overnight for lots of reasons but I'm not saying it's too hard or anything. I went vegetarian overnight and that was great, but this seems to be pushing a little harder than I normally do.
My boyfriend is really sweet and understanding, he's never made being vegetarian difficult for me and it was even his idea that I should do it in the first place. But, I kinda don't want to freak him out. He did seem concerned when I was first doing the veg*n thing that vegan would be too much (he's just not big on change, really), but I don't think he'll say I shouldn't do what makes me happy. I've tested him by requesting no cheese at a couple of restaurants and he just laughed and said "You?? No cheese??" I mentioned I was testing out the idea as a possible permanent thing. He didn't seem to mind. So I dunno, maybe my veg*nness has made it seem not so weird.
Lately I've just been keeping my eye out for cheese and have been working on reducing how much I eat. I'm not buying any at the grocery store or anymore. I haven't had cow's milk in... gosh, a long time now. Milk just makes my stomach ache, and go figure my grandma told me a couple months ago that I had a milk allergy as a baby! Makes me kinda sad that just because something is standard my mom wouldn't have excluded it from my diet permanently. How much easier would that have been?
And I just find myself not all that fond of eggs nowadays.
I think cheese will be the hardest thing. I don't know what sort of advice I'm looking for, I guess just support would be good. I'd especially like to hear from other folks who did things gradually and what obstacles you ran into... and how you managed them with grace and finesse. I just want to make this transition as normal as possible, I guess...
;D
I think cheese will be the hardest thing. I don't know what sort of advice I'm looking for, I guess just support would be good. I'd especially like to hear from other folks who did things gradually and what obstacles you ran into... and how you managed them with grace and finesse. I just want to make this transition as normal as possible, I guess...
;D
Yay!
For the cheese, maybe think about what cheese dishes you enjoy most. Like, when are you most likely to eat cheese? Then find an equally rich replacement meal to go in its place. Like, if you like lasagna a lot, or pizza, experiment with vegan versions of those dishes. You can try making tofu ricotta for lasagna one time and see how it goes. Focus on replacing instead of subtracting. That's my advice. Because if you try to just take the cheese out of everything you eat without putting something back in, you'll feel cheated.
Soon you won't miss cheese. Promise. I was the biggest cheese fan ever, and now I don't think I could eat it if I tried. Not just because I know what went into making it, but because it's just not appealing to me in terms of taste and texture.
I don't really know much about non-dairy cheeses, but I bet other people will know more. We also have that dairy-alternative review thread in the Food forum!
:) :) :)
Cheese is easy, I guess.
For instance, if we go order burritos at Izzo's (make-your-own-burrito place) I don't order cheese on it anymore. It's easy not to.
If I'm tired and hungry and at home, frozen pizza or mac & cheese is easy and requires very little effort.
I can stop putting cheese in my pasta and opt for tofu instead because pasta already has to cook, and I have to stand there and watch it, so why not just toss in some tofu while I'm at it? It's the convenience that gets me, and my boyfriend too. He's all about cheese-covered convenience and I'm not going to ask him to give it up since he already gave up meat at home. I mean, he has his little container of regular milk, and he'll occasionally make his egg salad (which tastes like rubber crap but he claims it's the food of the gods). I'm okay with him not giving up those things 'cause he already does the big thing without a single complaint.
He's pretty dang awesome.
So, what do I do when cheese pizza is his dinner option and I'm hungry? I need like, the easiest non-cheese meals in the history of non-cheese meals.
???
I am lazy, and was a cheese lover. (i went to a dairy farm, thats a good way to kick the habit). Amys frozen stuff has helped (though it can be expensive), there are lots of things you wouldnt think of that you can eat. Healthy choice makes a microwave pasta thing (by soups and ramen things in any store). You can always order pizza with no cheese, and hey if it comes with cheese, you might get it free! hah. Like KMK said, after a while, its nothing to miss, its completely disgusting to me now!
If you're used to eating cheese, you may find cheese replacements not so good, for now. I'd wait on the fake cheese. Instead of mac and cheese, why not mac and jarred spaghetti sauce? Throw in some frozen veggie meatballs if you want. I make extra when I make soup, and freeze it for days I feel like I can't cook. Burritos are always easy to throw together, as well. Or pigs in a blanket. Canned veggie chili over fritos or tater tots. Um, I'm sure other peole will have healthier ideas, but those are some throw-together fast meals, and you won't miss the cheese.
I'm all about convenience food. I make large vats of food once every couple of weeks and freeze them in individual-sized portions. If I make a grain, like spelt or oat groats, I'll let them dry a bit before I bag them so that they don't freeze as a block. I make things like the Pakastani Dahl here and freeze that, too. I put them in 1/2 cup increments in the snack size zip lock bags, smash them flat, and stack them up in the freezer. It doesn't take much space and anytime I want food it's easy to reheat.
The freezer idea works great
I can say that is what helped me cut down on convince foods.
I am not a big fan of replacement items for cheese especially.
Granted it took me about 2 years to kick the dairy habit.
Just kept cutting back till one day it was no more in my life.
Eggs just went away.
Start watching some of these factory farming videos and that will help you.
I am sure some of the advocates here know of a few good ones.
Yeah, I'm not gonna watch any videos on factory farming, I already know what happens, I've seen it all first-hand since I was a kid. So, not really into seeing reruns.
:P
My boyfriend is huge on pizza. He orders it constantly. Sometimes when he is getting himself a cheese pizza, I order myself a small cheeseless, veggie-loaded pizza. That way we can still eat together. And cheeseless veggie pizzas are yummy. Also, if you aren't into ordering, you can make them yourself. Just throw some sauce and veggies onto a whole wheat pita and put it in the toaster oven. Bam! Easy vegan pizza, right?
Well, he does like to order veggie lover's pizza..... we could get 1/2 cheese and 1/2 not.
I'll have to look at the cheeseless pizzas at the grocery store and see if the price difference is big.
8-)
Your boyfriend sounds exactly like mine--and his name is Josh, too...weird! And he also has his jug of dairy milk in the fridge (and occasional cottage cheese...) but that's it. Are you sure you didn't use Pouncival to lure my Josh to be your boyfriend too? ;D
When I wasn't going to eat meat anymore, I remember him specifically telling me, "That's cool, but just don't ever go vegan." Then when I wanted to be vegan, he was pretty hesitant but now is one of the most understanding people ever. He always defends me when people question my diet and he's become informed about it enough to answer people's questions. Your Josh will come around if he isn't cool with it right off the bat.
As far as quick cheeseless meals, have you tried the veganyumyum mac n yeast recipe? I seriously think it's to die for (but I only use about 1/3 of the tamari it calls for) and Josh loves it even though he's omni and a cheeselover. It doesn't take that long, either. I just make the sauce while the noodles are cooking and then toss it all together. Sometimes I'll add some frozen peas or steamed broccoli for something "green" in there.
When I wasn't going to eat meat anymore, I remember him specifically telling me, "That's cool, but just don't ever go vegan." Then when I wanted to be vegan, he was pretty hesitant but now is one of the most understanding people ever.
Dude, that sounds JUST like mine! He probably said those same words, too. But now when I say "Yeah, I'm just not feeling the cheese so much anymore" he just says "Okay, honey. What would you like to eat?"
I love my boyfriend. It's so great to have someone so awesome.
:)>>>
Oh, and theres always garden burger riblets :D
Oh and for mac and cheese, I have been making this super easy mac and cheese lately with nooch. I think I kind of made it up after reading through lots of noochy recipes. I just boil up some pasta and while that's going, I throw about 2 tbsps of earth balance into a frying pan. Once it is melted, I add about 2 tbsps of flour and mix it up to make a rue. Then I add about a half a cup of soymilk and mix all of that up really well. It starts to thicken and I add a good sprinkle of nooch, onion powder, chili flakes, oregano, salt, and pepper. When the pasta is done, toss it around in the sauce. Sometimes I add frozen peas or broccoli too. It is super fast and just as easy as mac and cheese from a box. I have dinner together in about 15 minutes. The omni boyfriend is into it too.
Now that might just work, stillflat! I wonder if Josh would like it... he's decided to stop being afraid of my kitchen experiments because as he says...
"If it's really bad we'll just order a pizza."
I might be able to pull that one off... but I've never used nutritional yeast before. Guess I gotta learn.
Hey, JC, if you have a Trader Joe's near you, try out the Roasted Veggie Pizza. It's amazing and about 1/2 the price of the Amy's version. Dairy-free!
I always keep one or two in the freezer in case of emergency laziness.
__________________________
Oh, and theres always garden burger riblets :D
Srsly, Sarah ;)
Are you trying to take over the world via riblet domination?
I'm actually trying to quit the milk and eggs and dairy too. Cheese has been my pitfall. Here's my plan...I only moved on to the next phase when I fealt I had the previous one under control.
1.I stopped buying eggs, since they were the easiest for me personally to give up.
2. I bought vegan margarine instead of a dairy based butter, and started using it. I didn't really notice much of a taste difference.
3. I started getting used to the taste of nutritional yeast, sprinkling it here and there, although I still ate cheese.
3. I found a good milk alternative I liked. I prefer rice milk, and my hubby prefers soy.
4. I started comparing labels. If I was looking at crackers in the store, for instance, I'd pick the vegan one over the non-vegan one.
5. This is the phase I'm on now; finding good cheese substitutes. I like nutritional yeast dips and spreads, but I'm still tryin other stuff.
6. finish up the last of my lacto-ovo-honey goods in the house and buy no more!
Hope this helps give you ideas in creating your own personal plan. Happy Journeys!!
Srsly, Sarah ;)
Are you trying to take over the world via riblet domination?
Just saying, they're lazy and yummy ;D and I need to go buy some....
i cut out cheese over time too, ordering things at restaurants w/o it and testing the waters to see how difficult it would be. i found out that it was really easy! i made and loved the lasagna with tofu ricotta before i completely cut out cheese and realized it was just as good and i didn't feel like i was eating junk afterwards. my ex bf and i used to buy bags of shredded cheese by the box! i decided i would only buy vegan at the grocery store & finish up the non-vegan stuff i owned by nye of last year or give it away to my roommates. around this time last year i decided to go out and have my last cheese hurrah at my favorite pizza place. while it still tasted good to me, my stomach was killing me for the next two days since it had been months since i had eaten that much cheese. it was my punishment! now even the idea of eating cheese again makes my stomach hurt... and now i'm almost at my 1 year veganaversary! lunch with meggs and ponycakes on friday to celebrate! mmmmm eggnog milkshake... or peppermint.. or gingerbread.. see? you will definitely not feel like you are missing out by being vegan! if anything i feel like a whole world of foods has opened up to me.. especially when you realize that you can make a batch of brownies without having to run out to the store to buy a dozen eggs.. yay flax!
you can do it!!
Frozen pizza takes forever to cook compared to a lot of stuff. Chickpea salad or tofu salad sandwiches takes like 5 minutes tops. Also, I like to keep a vat of vegan potato salad and precooked brown rice in the fridge for quick meals. You can roast up brussels sprouts or asparagus with garlic in about the same time it takes to cook a pizza. You can also go for the Amy's amazingly good vegan artichoke pizzas or their vegan burritos. But srsly leftovers are made for when you aren't rich and are in a hurry. I could go on and on about quick meals but the one thing that seems to be in lots of them are canned beans. So...ya. Get some.
Don't feel bad about the cheese! Most veg*ns I know find it to be a nearly impossible obstacle. I crave cheese a lot because there is no substitute of the texture and taste of sharp cheddar grrr. Just don't stress about it, and keep doing what you can for the aminals!
Move in with MDV! I will make him spicy food and kale every day. :)>>>
Uhh, no... you come move in with us! I think my apartment is bigger than yours now!
8-)
Anyway- there are no Trader Joe's for like.... states away. That's something that makes me sad. Poor Louisiana. But thank you so much for all the advice! I'm definitely soaking it up. The next time we're due for some groceries I'll make sure to get some nutritional yeast and check out non-dairy "buttery spreads".
I also found eggs to be pretty easy to give up, PPC. I did some baking in October and used applesauce in place of eggs... and I was so proud!
I think I will just take the cheese thing a day at a time. Kinda like quitting smoking... although I never smoked. Just concentrate on the meal before me and making it dairy-free. I think I can do it. The difficult part will be explaining it to people when I'm a guest and they already knew I was vegetarian and ate cheese.
:P
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