I have a friend who is a vegan. She went over what she likes to eat. There are foods I've never heard of like Baked Eggplant Fries. She has showed me some interesting dishes. But I don't think I could ever become a vegan.
You might have to share this recipe. I love eggplant. I'm neither vegan nor vegetarian but I like vegetables a lot.
Still eat seafood and chicken but I wanna be a vegan and slowly trying to learn to make new dishes! I don't eat red meat at all and have almost fully stopped on diary products, one step at a time!
I am a vegetarian not a vegan. I don't eat meat/eggs/fish etc but I am not keen on giving up dairy products.
Switching from fish/dairy, first week. Well, if you have a good book, feel free to share. I'll probably get this one http://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/1570671036/ref=acr_offerlistingpage_text?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1 ... Or any tips/tricks... I'm one of those who read the label of everything I buy since I can remember, but going vegan is taking things to a very different level : There is at least dairy everywhere I look... And I live in germany, sausage country, you know... But I have good reasons, and I want to do this.
I see. Good luck, I'm sure you'll do well. I never used a book myself, but that one looks good. Do I have any tips? My experience is that cheese is the hardest thing to give up, and let to my failure at being vegan a couple of years ago (I was already vegetarian). This time, the cheese matter was resolved much more easily, because I simply didn't have access to any. From what I've heard, casein, which is in high concentrations in cheese, has chemically addictive properties, which is why it's hard for people. So... good luck, basically. If you're looking for cheesy flavouring, try nutritional yeast. /cheese rant over Being vegan is incredibly cheap if you're willing to cook. It doesn't even have to be that much effort. Buy pulses like chickpeas and lentils as opposed to fake meats (though they can be nice occasionally). The stuff about balancing proteins is bullshit. Pulses have all the amino acids you need in them. I don't know about in germany, but in the UK, egg and milk, the main non-vegan things that you might find in packaged food that isn't blatantly meat, are in bold on the ingredients list because they're allergens. This makes scanning packets really quick. If you like baking cakes, note that there is no chemical reason to put eggs in them. I can make some pretty excellent cakes, trust me on this. If things are the same in germany as here, aldi soy milk is the cheapest milk around, including dairy milk. Look into foods from other countries. Things like curries, chillis and falafel are really nice, and either vegan, or easily made so. Good luck
Short update, after almost 2 weeks of vegan diet. Energy levels = Wow, just wow... I feel as if I got rid of a huge rock I've been carrying around. Sleep quality = Amazing. I even wake up automatically. Concentration/Mental = Way better... I'm amazed of how quick I can react, and how well I can perform at work. Mood = In case you haven't guessed... Excellent. I also feel finally at peace with myself 'cause my lifestyle now matches even more my ideas. Do I 'crave' certain foods? = Nope... I've found vegan cookies, and something genious I'll talk about in the next paragraphs... Am I eating more? = Nope, eating way less and feeling full so quick it's scary. I don't binge eat cookies or anything unhealthy anymore (not that I did it normally, but it used to happen). Any weird stuff? = Yes, I'm buying tons of groceries, spend way more time engaged on finding food/ learning about it, etc. Food matters to me now, it's just not only 'fuel', but something that has become a part of my life. I also consume way less coffee, and quite a few energy drinks (vegan ones by the way). First week I felt bloated, but once past the first week I lost that bloated feeling. I also go to the bathroom way often, and the experience feels much nicer/natural. Conclusion = Being vegan works for me/my body. I think I made the right choice and I'm going to keep doing this. The only 'slip' was a bit of milk inside some vegetarian sauce I've got. I didn't feel great as I had to eat it, but I wasn't going to throw it away... I heard this one before becoming a vegan, and my first thought was 'bullshit', 'cause I had given up milk long ago and wasn't missing it at all, but it is true : I ran to the cheese substitute as I saw it. Luckily I don't crave the flavor... After all I've associated it already with feeling like crap. I've got a (vegan) Omega 3 dietary suplement (plus some vitamin E), reason being I used to consume huge amounts of salmon (smoked, cooked... Even raw), and I was proud of having high levels of 'good' cholesterol. The dietary suplement is meant to be taken everyday, but since I didn't ate salmon everyday, I'm not taking it more than 2-3 times every week. There are some cheap multivitamins that I take from time to time. I don't believe humans can't survive without meat and dairy, but after that salmon addiction I had, I'd rather be extra cautious... At least during the first months of transition. I don't want to go for the extreme and then giving up, you know. They do it, and most of products warn you 'it might contain traces of milk, soy...' I don't even want 'traces', but that's the deal you've got for buying at supermarkts... Hehe, I might get on your nerves later, when I move to a decent place with a kitchen... THIS. I don't like the term 'ethnic shops', but those shops they mean are great for vegans : Price, quality seem to be much better for certain products. And it is great fun to eat new dishes. Next month I'll have a blood analysis, so it'll be time for an update. I might also start to write about the experience of becoming a vegan, as well as checking out my local vegan restaurants.
I have been vegetarian for all my life and vegan for 6 years. I love it and I feel great , one of the biggest pros is also that I never get the common cold (which was linked to dairy consumption in some studies). But the real reason I am vegan is ethics. After you watch Earthlings, it is impossible to continue to pay for what they do to animals raised for food.
I am Vegan but for "ethics", although is not the same kind of ethic that most vegans have. I do not think killing non human animals is wrong, and i do not think we are erbivores
I'm trying to be but I have my own version of vegan since I'm doing it for my health. It's an anti inflammatory diet where I've cut out pork, poultry, eggs, and dairy completely and I eat very limited amounts of red meat and lots of fatty fish (salmon, tuna, etc).
