Vegan Tips and Advice
Hi, I've got a decision to make, and I need an idea from people who've been there about what I'll be getting myself into.
I've been an ovo-lacto vegetarian for 6 years, and I'm now seriously considering going vegan. I'm happy that I've been able to abstain from eating whole animals, but...Well many of you know the feeling of wanting to do more, go further. After 6 years, I still feel like I'm in the beginning stages, and I'm ready to move on.
So, my questions, to whoever is interested, are:
1. What should I expect?
2. Do any of you have any tips for someone who is trying to become vegan?
3. Are there common "mistakes" that newbies make that I should avoid like the plague?
4. What is the best way to start the proccess?
But not necessarily in that order, sorry, this was sort of a "stream of conciousness" type of thing. lol..
Thanks to all who take the time to respond. Your input is invaluable to me! :)
Hey! I have now been strictly vegan for 6 weeks and I know others here who have been vegans longer will have much more to say on the subject, but here is what I can tell you from my experience.
1) You should expect:
Stronger nails. Lighter periods and less cramping (if you're a woman of menstruating age that is). Better sleeps (deep, fall asleep faster).
People who disagree with your decisions and may ask for explanations but won't really listen when you try to explain. People who simply don't understand. To discover tons of new foods and realize you are eating a more varied diet than you were before. To feel and look better and healthier. To become an amazing label reader. To improve your understanding of health, food, nutrition, and the human body. To become a better cook. To discover fabulous restaurants and have a desire to find a vegan place in any new city that you visit.
2) Health food stores are amazing places to shop and are msot vegans' best friends. They often have tons of items labelled "vegan" which makes things very easy, and knowledgable staff. You can buy SO much at a HFS like cereals, soy cheeses, alternative milks, interesting grains like quinoa, energy bars, produce, pasta, vegan snacks and junk food, vegan icecream, dried fruit, fun things like coconut flakes... I just LOVE going to health food stores and hopefully you already do or at least will begin to in the near future.
Do your research! The first time I went vegan a few years ago I became fatigued, iron-deficient, and also ate lots of non-vegan things becaue I didn't know any better. Read the boards on this site and others, maybe even buy a book. If you have the knowledge to eat well then you will be healthy and can also defend your beliefs when people challenge them (as they most likely will).
3. Whey, D3, casein, lanolin...there are so many things that don't sound like they are animal-derived so I recommend checking out some of the extensive lists that can be found all over the internet to become familiar with these terms. The lists can be overwhelming so look at what they are found in, and you will realize that you can exclude some because those are not things you eat or use anyway. To avoid something like the plague sounds extreme though! If you screw up by mistake, no worries, accidents happen, especially in the beginning when you are just learning. The best way to avoid mistakes is to eat whole foods that are easily identifiable, to do a lot of your own cooking, and to eat in places that are familiar to you and with staff who can understand your questions. As a general rule, almost every dessert you come across will be non-vegan, and many of them are actually non-vegetarian as well. I am not sure how strict you were as a vegetarian but here are some things that you may want to ask about
(keeping in mind that vegans have different levels of strictness so not all would ask about these things):
-soup broth (often chicken or beef)
-what the vegetables were cooked in
-if there is lard in the beans (like in a burrito)
-what kind of oil was used
-what kind of noodle it is (it might be egg)
-if there is egg in the dough (spelt pizza crust is a culprit)
I don't mean to scare you off with these things, because honestly many vegans don't worry about them. I am just sharing some of the information and you can decide where you draw the line.
I have been really happy about my decision to go vegan and I wish I did it sooner. I honestly feel great, happy, energetic, and I think I actually get more important vitamins and minerals now that I pay extra attention to things like calcium...
Good luck with the transition! If it's hard, you can always do it slowly by weaning things out. After not drinking cow milk for a long time I found that when I had some it tasted pretty funny to me and I realized I prefer soymilk. Anyway, this post has gotten way too long so I will let others hopefully cover the rest. All the best!
4. Come up with some lists for each meal of the day (eg. 15 different breakfast food ideas). Then you will realize there is still so much to choose from and it is not that different from what you already eat. If you have been lacto-ovo the only big change is not being able to eat the real egg dishes like scrambled eggs or omeletees. Otherwise, there are tons of replacers and imitations for eggs in baking, and lots of alternative cheeses, milks, icecreams, yogurts, margerines, etc. Since becoming vegan I have found restaurants to be quite a problem, and I do eat at them a fair bit (every 1 or 2 weeks). I find it helpful to read menus online, call restaurants ahead of time and ask about ingredients or if they can make you something, or send emails to find out about ingredients (sometimes they don't write back though...). I am also very proactive in choosing the restaurant. Since I am the pickiest person in my family the place we go is often up to me. I don't often choose vegan places because they are not all vegan, but at least if I am the one looking into the restaurant I can find a place to go that will make everyone happy. I have spent MANY hours googling restaurants across the city...
Another great way to start the process is spend time on vegweb! I started really spending time on this site in October and I have learned so much from reading the posts of others and having some of my own questions answered.
I'm pretty shy, so I had to learn to let go of my fear of asking 'what's in that'? when I went to restarants. Most places I have gone to are pretty good about taking things out or adding things to dishes...so don't be afraid to ask.
I have a very conservative family so I was bombarded with questions and expected explanations that would satisfy them. I didn't always do that, but I had to get to the point were I was ok with them not being ok.
Wow, thanks so much VeganFaith, and MdVegan! I knew I was asking the right people here! ;)
Okay, so that is alot of information to take in there..I'm really looking forward to becoming a super label reader, lol. Right now, I'm just average.
Also, I don't visit my local heath food store enough, because alot of the stuff is just too darned expensive. But I'm sure I can work that out. I'm going to try looking online, too. I'm really interested in trying some new things, even though they sound a little scary, like "nutritional yeast flakes". :o
I'm really good at list making, it's a hobby of mine, so I'll check that one off the list. That's a great idea, to make up lists of food beforehand. I plan out my meals now, and it always gets me excited to cook, and to experiment.
And I can't forget the vitamins. I know vitamin B12 is a major concern for vegans. I don't take any right now..*shamefully ducks head*. So it's long overdue!
Anyway, great advice, guys! I'm going to take it step by step. Thanks for responding, this is really going to help. Next is breaking it to the family..
sorry, i forgot to mention applelover! how could i???
you spent so much time and energy on that amazing post, and i'm really going to use all that information. i really appreciate you taking the time to help me like that.
you rock! lol :)
This is my favorite vegan cook book, it is part of a series of 3. Even my non-veggie friends love it!
oops..edit...I guess I should add the link. LOL
http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Vegan-How-All-Again/dp/1551521288/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-2003070-8822460?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176841461&sr=1-1
So much great advice here for you Danucal! These lovely folks on VegWeb helped me out so much when I went vegan (plus all the info on VegWeb alone is awsome. I suggest reading the articles on VegWeb. Lots of info there).
I was also Lacto-ovo before I went vegan. The only thing I would add to the advice given already is, take it slow. The first time I went vegetarian, I "rushed" into it, and failed BAD. I didn't do enough research and things of that nature. What I did next was wean myself off of one food item at a time, got used to it, and then on to the next item. My biggest problem (where most people have a problem) was cheese! I was a over-grown mouse! I loved cheese. So I decided to take that one thing out of my diet last. It worked. Now I'm vegan. Although, I'm not as strict as some on here, but I am always reading labels. That is a MUST as a vegan.
Also, if you want to cook vegan (eating out will be almost impossible, unless you drill the chefs about their recipes), there's so many great recipes on here. It's so much better to cook for yourself. That way, you know what's in your food.
02Bveg: Thanks for the heads up on that. It makes sense that dairy would give me some problems when I start to come off of it, but I hadn't thought of having headaches before. Now at least I'll know what's going on with me if that happens.
veganfaith: I'd heard of the first book "How it all Vegan" before, but since I wasn't planning on becoming vegan, I didn't look into it. It's good that your non-veggie friends enjoy the book too, that gives me hope that if I buy it, and use it to cook for my omni family, they'll have the same reaction. I'm going to check out the link some more when I log of of vegweb, thanks!
karatekid: lol, i'm a mouse, too, then! that's one of the biggest things for me. Actually, when I let my mother know I was thinking of going vegan, the first thing she said was "Hmm...well, what about the cheese? You can do everything else but cheese. You know how you are with cheese!". But, just as you said, I'm going to wean myself off of these products slowly. I don't want to go through a really bad detox as 02Bveg said.
And yes, you're right, vegweb has really inspired me to educate myself, and to make changes. The recipes are mind-boggling to me. Like, you can make a cake rise, and stay together without egg?? Are you sure?? lol. Obviously, I'm really new here, but it's already having a positive effect on me.
I'm glad we can help :) We are a friendly bunch of people here, even the angry vegans (Inside joke .... not to scare you away LOL ... even those folks are willing to help on here). If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Scared? Whose scared? No one's scared...*shiver* lol! No, really, I'm "angry" and I'm not even a vegan yet! Another problem for me to resolve. ;)
Thanks for saying that, I'm so happy right now. I sound corny as heck, but I'm really happy I found vegweb! ;D
Just a response from a librarian... ;) Trot down to your local library and check out (literally and figuratively) the cookbooks they have. They may or may not have vegan ones, but they can get them for you through interlibrary loan. That's a good way to save money. You can either photocopy or scan recipes that appeal to you or at least try some recipes to see if you think there are enough you like to warrant your buying a copy of the cookbook for yourself.
I completely agree with all of the above, I would also say, don't get too mad at yourself if you make any 'mistakes' (accidentally eating something with caesin in it for example) 'cos small hiccups aren't worth making into a big problem.
Also i found that i transitioned quite slowly, not so much in the food sense but in things like toothpaste and clothing. I had a couple of wool jumpers from when I was veggie and couldn't afford to relace them straight off so waited 'til i had some dosh and then passed the sweaters on to the charity shop. This again depends on how strict you are about things like that. Similarly with facewash and other toiletries I finished what I had and then bought ones which were definately vegan.
I also wanted to say that I know what you mean about the HFS being expensive. I personally tend to get certain things there that are hard to get elsewhere (nutritional yeast, vegan cheese, arrowroot, natural toothpastes for examples) and get other things elsewhere. I also found that I actually ended up spending less as I was a) thinking about how/where I spent my money more and b)dairy is expensive and gets used up quick (in our house anyways!) so by being more concious about what I was eating/spending etc and ending up eating many more wholefoods it actually cost me a little less.....and what i save i spend on chocolate ;)
how it all vegan is a great cookbook, so is vegan cooking for one by leah lenemann
bookmama: That's great advice! Yeah, I used to do that, but I've become rather lazy now that I can get all sorts of veggie recipes from the web. But it's good to be able to test out books before you buy. Also, very good idea about photocopying the recipes. That way I won't be weighed down with, like, 50 different recipe books.
gingergirlbb: I think transitioning the clothes I wear, and products I use will be the most challenging thing. I guess I just have to get into the habit of doing lots more research. It's going to be interesting, and I hope it will be fun, too.
I'm going to try your suggestion of just getting the difficult to find items at the health food store. There really is no other place around me that sells agave syrup, or nutritional yeast flakes. I'm going to see what kind of personal care products my hfs offers.
I'll check out Vegan Cooking for One, too. I'm getting so much good advice, my head is spinning! Thanks again, everyone!
and for fun, you can expect more gas now that your insides will be digestin' all that beany and whole foody goodness :D i swear, if someone gives you a hard time about it just tell them you're happy to know your intestines are actually working right....
Or you can quote my mother, who used to say, "Well, there's more room in the world than there is in me." And there's a little ditty that goes, "Is it better to squelch the belch, and bear the pain, or belch the belch and bear the shame?"
Or, the ever eloquent and refined ;) "Better on the outside than on the inside"
A great book for the begining vegan is 'Vegan Freak'
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-6687594-8365748?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=vegan+freak
Huzzah! There's finally an excuse for my gas! ;)
Also, excellent choice tanevab! The customer reviews are great, and the price is just right for a little bum like me. ;)
I would say experiment with your food. If you are used to putting egg and dairy in almost everything, then it may seem daunting to drop it. But I just make up meals as I go, have fun, try new combinations. There is no need to go out and buy all the fancy products, you can make delicious meals with mainstream easy to access foods. But if you just omit dairy from recipes, or substitute something else for it, then you will find yourself comparing the food to how it used to taste. Instead cook different things, new recipes. Give your taste buds time to forget the taste of egg and dairy - you don't crave what you can't remember.
If your worried about getting all the vitamins you need, go see your doctor and maybe a dietitian. Your doctor can test your blood for things like iron, B12, folate until you think you've got it all under control. But, generally if you eat a good variety of veges (broccoli and leafy dark green veges are brilliant) you should be okay. A tip for iron: consume Vitamin C (in any form) with meals that have iron in them (dark green veges and others), it helps you absorb the iron. And don't consume caffeine within an hour before or after the meal.
It's easier than it sounds. Logistically for me, it's a piece of cake.
Excellent point, BCSH! Different, not modified, may be the way to start. I have always felt that way about "meat subs"--why, if you don't like meat or have moral/spiritual reasons not to eat it, would you want something that looks or tastes or smells like it?
As I transition back into fulltime veggie, I declared two "Veggie Days" a week, days on which I served a vegetarian dish I knew DH would like for both of us...tofu stirfry, or lentils, or mushroom pasta. Then two became three. And now I am back to cooking some things for me, some for him, and he tries new things. He has discovered that sprouts are yummy! Gradual changes, and certainly new ways of preparing food, are the way to go.
Great advice, BCSH! I always make up new stuff or if I see a recipe I like, but not vegan. I make it vegan. You will also get used to that. It's like second nature to me now and it only took me 5 months. Well I used to do that when I was lacto-ovo, too (I just didn't use meat that the recipe called for ... it was a bit easier then). But, like BCSH said, the dairy issue in recipes may be a tough one. So try new recipes that don't call for it.