Want to go Vegan but need help - transitioning
Hey ladies! I just read the book Skinny B*tch and loved it. I am really wanting to go Vegan and have already taken steps toward a healthier lifestyle. I do have some concerns that I would love have your input on.
1. I am more aware about crulty to animals, and it just makes me sick. However, I have a freezer full of meat (very small freezer that is) and feel that is is even more inhumane to just throw it out. What do you all think? My feeling to to maybe do a few meat meals per week until it is used up, but start making most of my meals meat free.
2. Should I make my kids eat the way I do? I have a rule that if I don't eat it, neither do my kids. Maybe I just answered my question on that one! They already drink only soy milk, so that will not be hard.
3. We live in a small town where "vegan" stuff is hard to come by. Can't I just read lables and get the same effect? We do buy a large variety of organic food and I am looking into a food coop.
4. If I do decide on the food coop, isn't that better than buying non organic tht has been shipped from other states and countries? Or, is fresh non organic produce just the same as non organic local farmers market producce?
I really want to give this a go and do it right, I just need to be better informed. Do you all know of any good books about vegan eating? Am I over anylizing this? No dairy, no meat, nothing with animal products. Is it that simple?
Any information would be great. Thanks in advance!!
Congratulations on your decision! ;)b I will give you my input for what it's worth. About the meat in your freezer, there are a few options. Your idea of making a few meat dishes a week until it's gone is a good way to do it. By incorporating more meatless dishes into your cooking, you family may be able to get used to it easier. Or, if you just don't want to eat it, you can donate it or give it to someone else.
As far as your kids, I think age plays a big part in the decision. With young kids, I would definitely just feed them what I cook for myself. With older kids, it's probably a bit trickier...but you could do a "eat vegan at home, but I can't control what you eat elsewhere" type deal if they are reluctant. No matter what you decide, I think it would be a good idea to sit down and explain the changes to your family. Let them know how important it is to you and why.
As far as the "Vegan products" at the super market, that's not a huge deal. You should be good if you center your diet around whole grains and fresh produce. You say you already drink soymilk, so you can probably find tofu (if you don't know how to cook it, learn from this site! Don't feed bad tofu to your kids...they will hate it forever!) Since finding vegweb, I rarely buy "vegan products." There are lots of recipes for easy veggie burgers and the like.
Wow. I'm typing a lot. A co-op is a great idea. I'm not a member of one, but I would like to be. I try to buy as local as possible. I also like to buy organic. But, I will buy non-organic produce from a small local farm before I buy organic that has been shipped across the country. Just my opinion.
Good luck! I think you are starting off with the right mindset. Don't try to be perfect, just do the best you can! Read labels like crazy!!! :D
Vegweb is a great resource!
Sounds like you're doing great! Don't worry too much about the whether local or organic is better. You will find arguments on both sides showing one is better or that the environmental damage caused by food is primarily done in the production, not transportation of the food. Also, there is a lack of regulations concerning organic, so it's hard to know what really is and is not organic. Choosing one or the other doesn't make you more or less vegan. Just do what you feel is best! And yes, lotus is right, vegweb is a fantastic resource!
Good luck!
Yeah, I agree with foofs that the jury is out about organic vs. local produce. If you are concerned about pesticides on your produce, you might want to buy certain produce organic and certain local, with an emphasis on buying the top most-contaminated produce organic (they are: nectarines, celery, pears, peaches, apples, cherries, strawberries, grapes, spinach, potatoes, bell peppers, and raspberries). That being said, since organic is more expensive, I often have to settle for non-organic, and I try to buy from the farmer's market as much as I can as well. Remember that animal agriculture causes more greenhouse gas emissions than all other human activities put together, so you're making an awesome positive change by transitioning to veganism! But yeah, just buy the produce that looks good, is in season, and is affordable for you. I'm sure you'll find a balance in time.
As far as your kids go, there are a few vegan parents here on vegweb as well! I see no reason why you can't start feeding your kids vegan food. If you find some good recipes and feed it to them, they'll eat it! Veganism is a great way to teach compassion and health to your children. They'll form wonderful eating habits! It's great that they don't already drink dairy milk. That will make the transition easier. There is a section for "kid-friendly" recipes here on vegweb as well.
I rarely buy "vegan" products even though they are readily available where I live. There are SO many easy recipes with just beans, grains, vegetables, nuts, and tofu. You don't need fancy cheese substitutes and other processed things, at least not all the time. Eating without them is healthier anyway!
Good luck!
eta: bp has a good point about the kiddos. I am envisioning younger kids. How old are yours?
Thanks a bunch for your comments. I went to the grocery store and bpught a few new things, but didn't over do it in case I didn't like it. I was surprised at the things that are in the food that we eat. I got some organic bread and I think that it was egg free, but I am not sure.
My kids are 3 and 19 months. So really whatever I fix they will eat. We have good eating habits for the most part, just not vegan. My girls love veggies. Carrots and dip are a must, and hummus and pita chips are a hit also. I am going to try tofu in the near future. I know that Moe's has it. I ahev heard that it tastes good, but the texture is weird. We shall see!
Once again, thanks a bunch!
I am just fine with the texture of most tofu I've had- it's the taste that I can't get right when making it myself!
;D
Granted, I am afraid to cook tofu, but there are some really good threads here on the tofu "basics." It doesn't really have its own taste... if you just eat it plain it kinda tastes like plastic (or maybe like crayons). Not good, not bad... just blah. You have to give it a flavor (which reminds me of lolcats- "i has a flavor"). Apparently freezing tofu makes it chewier, so you may like it better that way.
That's all explained in the various tofu threads, though. I could talk forever about it... tofu makes me curious and excited and apprehensive at the same time.
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Welcome Crysann - I'm so excited for you! Becoming vegan is one of the best things I've ever done and I hope you'll love it as much as we all do :)
Here are my thoughts:
1. in regards to the frozen meat, I hate being wasteful as well and I think using it up is a great idea - it also helps in the transition from meat eatng to vegan; it wasn't particularly difficult for me, but I did a "cold turkey" switch and it was a bit rougher
2. Since your girls are so little, they shouldn't have any problem going vegan - they probably won't even notice the change (okay, your 3 year old might, but it shouldn't be a tough change for her)
3. I live in Texas, in the heart of meat country and vegan is hard to come by here - don't worry about buying specifically labeled vegan items, just read ingredients and go from there. It's much easier to cook and bake veganly (is that even a word) than you might think
Don't worry about overanalyzing - I'm the queen of it ;) (just ask anyone on vegweb) - I just found the book Vegan Handbook: Over 200 Delicious Recipes, Meal Plans and Vegetarian Resources for All Ages at Barnes and Noble. It's from the Vegetarian Resource Group and I found it to be really helpful (and I've been vegan for a few months and vegetarian for almost the past year). You might like it since it discusses children's nutrition when eating vegan.
Hope that helps and again, welcome!
I Can't Believe It's Vegan! may help you when shopping at a regular grocery store. It lists regular grocery store food items that are accidentally vegan. It doesn't have everything. It has Duncan Hine frosting, but not Duncan Hine cake mix, which I believe is vegan.
From another thread:
...all of our Duncan Hines Cake Mixes and Frostings are derived from plant. EXCEPT our Signature Dessert Orange Dreamsickle which the Jell-O is derived from animal.
Use the list as a guideline, but check the ingredients at the store. They sometimes change.
And welcome. :)
I had the same situation, meat in the fridge and decided to go vegetarian.
I agree with what everyone else here has said, just buy vegan from here on out but make an occasional meat meal just to use up what is in the freezer. Also that will make the transition easier. Switching and dropping all animal products all at once(I tried this too) is harder than you would think. I am no sure if it is addicting or if I just wasn't used to the new food and how to cook it or what, but a sudden switch didnt' work out too well, for me it took some time. But now I am 90% vegan, 99% vegetarian. Actually probably 100% vegetarain by now because last week I had some pizza at work with meat on it, and for the next half hour I felt nauseated. I don't think my stomach can handle all that fat and greese anymore. But I only buy vegan. But Kroger has free samples of garlic cheese and everytime I go there I have to have a piece, because it is damn good cheese, but I never buy it.
You will find also that cheese is probably the hardest thing to give up, it was for me, and I have heard it from others as well. But eventually you will find that as you slowly cut that out of your diet you will start to crave it less and less. It is like a drug! Now I am finding that I don't crave it anymore, no longer looks good to me...well except for those garlic cheese samples at Kroger, it will be a big day when I will be able to walk by that and not grab a piece!
We are with you and congradulations!
:)>>> You ladies are awesome!! I was expecting something totally different from this website. I love the site I can't believe it's Vegan. I really can't believe that all of that stuff is vegan!! This will make it much easier to feed the kiddos!! Thanks again!
Congrats and welcome to the wonderful world of vegweb and veganism!
I am so happy you desided to do this. I went cold turky after reading Skinny Bitch and fell great doing it. This site should really help you on the way. Cheese is addictive but hang in there, You`ll fell great with the new meals you make.
Hi, I'm new to this board, and am vegetarian. For the most part, the things that keep me from claiming vegan are I don't struggle to find bread with no whey in it, I just buy a low calorie dark rye or whole wheat like German rye or Nature's Own. I do eat various gardenburger or morningstar patties that have dairy/egg in them in trace amounts. I eat one of Amy's frozen organic dinners is veggie loaf dinner and it also has honey, but bought agave for things I make myself. If you look on the boxes, you will see several of the Gardenburger are VEGAN, like the chicken pattie and the black bean chipotle burger, and the BBRibz. I'm sure there are some others that are vegan in the other brands, but those are the ones I can think of because I have them.
I drink soy or almond milk instead of milk. I love the Galaxy veggie Patch cheeses which are not vegan, because eventhough they have no animal rennet in them, they have casien, which is a bacteria that they grow on milk protein. I use earth balance margarine and veganaise, and Tofutti better than cream cheese and sour cream.
When I realized I had became a veg*n, I went thru my pantry and took out anything with animal broth/stock or lard in it, or gelatin.... oh, and the OBVIOUS things like chili and beef stew. (hey, Hormel has a fantastic vegetarian chili!) I gave that to the food drive they were collecting for, and was only stuck with a few things that were out of date. But, like you, have some things in the freezer. I'm trying to decide an easy way to try to get around to offering them to a neighbor without it seeming weird.
I tried the Tofurky deli slices in 'peppered' and loved it on rye with a slice of veggie patch swiss, or their vegan mozerelli slice + mustard, lettuce, mater - or with hot saurkraut! I bought the Tofurky italian deli, but haven't tried it yet, and notice that one says vegan.
This month I learned how to make seitan and made BBQ RIBz and a chickn version. Both delicious.
I just realized I had became a vegetarian in March.