new vegan
Posted by boommers_wife on Jun 09, 2009 · Member since Jun 2009 · 2 posts
Hello everyone. I am a new vegan. I have been a vegan for about 4 months now and for the first couple of month it was sooooooooo easy, but as time goes on I'm having a difficult time (mentally) passing up dairy (cheese). I have not given in and eaten any cheese and I am fighting it hard, but thought I would seek out some support. Any words of wisdom for me????
Greetings and welcome!
I think the best thing about giving up meat and dairy is that it forces you to experiment with other foods. Rather than cheese on tacos try avocado chunks. Or burgers with sauted onions and mushrooms instead of that nasty yellow oily puss filled slice of baby cow juice.
Venture into different cuisines, different recipes and a variety of fresh veggies, fruits and lovely whole grains. So much is out there but if you let it the addiction to dairy can snare you back. Fight!
welcome! in what types of settings are you tempted by cheese?
Hello! What always helps me is thinking about how unhealthy cheese is. It's basically solid milk fat. Un-veg-biased articles like this help:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28641673/
I know it's hard in our society of commercials, billboards, and menus with cheese on everything, but you can do it!!
I am not sure about your reasons for going vegan, but for me personally, I went vegan for ethical reasons. (Health & environmental factors are also important to me, but animals are by far the biggest reason for me going & staying vegan.) When I have been tempted by cheese, I remind myself of why I cut it out in the first place. Veal is a disgusting, cruel industry that is a direct byproduct of the dairy industry. All I have to do is think about baby cows being separated from their mothers & being chained in a tiny pen for a few months before being sent off to slaughter - and cheese disgusts me once again.
I can tell you that I have been vegan now for almost two years, and I never have cravings for cheese anymore. Like most vegans, it was definitely the hardest thing for me to "give up," but I don't miss it one bit anymore. There are so many amazing plant foods out there that are just as delicious as (and better for you than) dairy products. :)
Good luck!
thank all of you for your words of encouragement.
I have loved all living things my entire life. I have always been the kind of person that looks down when I walk to make sure I don't step on anything living. My heart cannot handle hurting anything. I just got tired of being a hypocrite and trying to convince myself that meat, dairy and eggs grow on trees.
I think that going out to eat is by far the hardest on me, but I also have a problem in that my husband is not the slightest bit interested in going the same direction as I am. He loves meat and he will never change. The problem here is that I am what people think of when they think of the typically southern in that I wait on him hand and foot. I really don't think he can tell you where the kitchen is. It was like this when I married him and will remain this way forever. This means that I still have to cook meat for him, I don't like it, but I don't really know right now what to do about it.
That's wonderful boomers_wife! Welcome! I don't have a lot to add right now, but you have come to the right place. For the most part, people here are friendly and helpful. I was vegetarian with no intentions of going vegan when I started getting addicted to visiting vegweb. But now here I am vegan thanks to all the great info and recipes here
:flower:
P.S. You will get addicted, btw. ;)
Whenever I think to myself "WTF am I doing?" I'll read a chapter or two from The Food Revolution and it reminds me why I'm vegan. Surround yourself with positivity and think of all the animals that aren't suffering because of your dietary choices and how much lighter your carbon footprint has become.
Also, if you totally crumble and eat a piece of cheese, call me crazy but I still think you're vegan! Just because cheese entered your body, it doesn't make you "unpure." You may get some stomach pain/poo issues and/or emotionally regret what you did, but you're still vegan nontheless because it's how you choose to live your life. If that emotionally weak cheese becomes more habitual... you may indeed loose your "vegan" card and get bumped back to lacto-land.
Most of all.... YOU SHOULD BE REALLY PROUD OF YOURSELF!! Being a new vegan can be a challenge but it's one of the coolest periods of your ethical life. HUGS and a crazy face for you: :D
I was the biggest cheesaholic ever, none of my friends can believe I went vegan!
Read alot of books about the envirnment, veganism, vegan cookbooks, to get you fired up, then start to experiment, you will try so many new foods and before you know it, you will forget what cheese taste like!
congratulations :) cheese temptation is a hard one for alot of us (it was for me as well). Someone else asked you in what context do you crave it - are there certain dishes you're craving? like maybe mac & cheese or something? If that's the case, maybe try doing a vegan version of whatever it is (using nutritional yeast sauce, or with non-dairy cheese). To be honest, these days the only thing I miss about cheese is how easy it is to just throw some on toast and eat that for a meal, but there are plenty of other options for quick meals, many good ones on this site (including ones that don't make me feel covered in grease afterwards! heh)
Also, re: your husband. I bet he would start making his own food if you refused to cook animal products for him. I'm sure he's capable. if you aren't comfortable making him non-vegan dishes, just offer him some of yours. It sounds like you're vegan for ethical reasons, and that is a perfect reason to not cook with animal products for someone else. His tastes vs your morals? Moral issues would always be more important than taste, & if you really don't want to make him non-veg stuff, tell him why. (plus, as much as it's nice to cook for someone you care about once in a while, it just sucks when they take you for granted and can't respect what you are & aren't comfortable doing. Especially if you're still cooking for him all the time!!)
Some people have mentioned things they use to motivate them when they feel kind of aimless. For me, the film Peaceable Kingdom is awesome - it's emotional, but also inspirational, instead of just being a movie that brings you down. There's also plenty of info online. I stay away from stuff like PETA, but I really like Farm Sanctuary, and there are things like farmkind.org, humanefood.ca, etc to keep things going. After a while it's easy :) welcome to the best veg website on the net!
Also, re: your husband. I bet he would start making his own food if you refused to cook animal products for him. I'm sure he's capable. if you aren't comfortable making him non-vegan dishes, just offer him some of yours. It sounds like you're vegan for ethical reasons, and that is a perfect reason to not cook with animal products for someone else. His tastes vs your morals? Moral issues would always be more important than taste, & if you really don't want to make him non-veg stuff, tell him why. (plus, as much as it's nice to cook for someone you care about once in a while, it just sucks when they take you for granted and can't respect what you are & aren't comfortable doing. Especially if you're still cooking for him all the time!!)
I wanted to add to this. I went vegan before my boyfriend ever even considered it (we're both vegan now). He was eating meat at the time, though he was very respectful & supportive of my decision. We started cooking together & trying new recipes, and even if he grabbed a burger with his friends when I wasn't around, he ate vegan with me when we cooked together. It really drew us closer together, and as corny as it sounds, experimenting with vegan food & learning about it together totally strengthened our bond. I never expected him to go vegan, but within a couple months, he told me he wanted to!
I wouldn't necessarily expect your husband to go vegan (you don't sound too hopeful about that possibility), but perhaps including him in the cooking process would be good for the two of you? That way you can avoid cooking animal products, and he can still get delicious homemade dinners. If he refuses to actually help you in the kitchen, how about asking him to pick out some recipes for you to try? Or you give him three (vegan) options, and he picks one for you to make? I understand that you might like "waiting" on him (I enjoy spoiling my loved ones with food, too), but at the very least, your husband can support you in your new vegan ventures... He might surprise himself & love the food you make!
I always say it, but reading Why Vegan as you are starting out now and again will remind you why you don't want to eat cheese. http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/
as for the cooking for two, make meals where you can take your portion out before you add the meat. My mom and I have both gotten pretty god at cooking two versions of the same thing. Good Luck!