NWR: To Vegan or not to Vegan....

Rie1023

So I have recently decided to stop eating meat and dairy. Not necessarily for moral reasons but more for health benefits. I don't know if it will be a long term diet change, or just temporary in order to cleanse my body and get my eating habits more toward the healthy side. I'm just curious if anyone on this board is vegan, or even vegetarian. A lot of my friends and family think it's stupid and say "It's all about eating in moderation" blah blah blah.

So I'm looking for some support on this decision and also hoping to get some new recipes! FI and I had vegan sloppy joes tonight and they were quite delicious! But I can only eat so many salads and plain veggies. I'm a little picky and not a big fan of dressings and sauces so things are getting boring and I'm not ready to quit yet!

BTW - FI is totally on board with it and quite supportive... it just seems difficult when all the other people in my life seem to put me down about it. 

Milsey32

Congrats! I'm going to do that... eventually. I'm waiting until after the holidays because I would feel bad not eating Aunt whoever's this or Uncle something's that just because it's meaty or cheesy. As a health and wellness major, I think that's something that everyone should try (30 days minimum). Tell your family to watch the film Forks Over Knives. Their perspectives may change. Good luck!

csgman

I still eat chicken and turkey a couple days a week, but haven't had dairy in about 6 years (slowly became lactose intolerant throughout college).  I think the dairy is actually a little more difficult to give up than the meat, but once you find replacements, you barely miss it! 

Some non-dairy tips:  Trader Joe's has a soy yogurt that is pretty good.  Hillers, Plum Market, and Whole Foods also tend to have a lot of non-dairy options.  The Lisanatti brand almond cheese is my favorite non-dairy cheese.  I prefer it over any soy option.  I know they sell it at Whole Foods, not sure about HIllers or Plum.  There is also a brand called Tofutti that makes lots of non-dairy items-- including cream cheese and sour cream.  I've seen this brand at all the stores I mentioned, including TJ's 

This website has a lot of good recipes.  You can sign up to receive a new recipe every Monday via email:
http://www.meatoutmondays.org/7days.htm

Good luck!!

lauraprevost

I have been a vegetarian for a little over 2 years now. I have never really been a big meat eater and haven't eaten red meats in probably 6 or 7 years. I started out slowly, allowing myself to eat fish at first, but now I don't eat any meat. I would love to be a vegan, but don't know if I have the self control to stay away from dairy! I think dairy is much harder to give up than meat.

Just some advice, don't listen to anything negative anyone else has to say!! For me it was a personal choice, not necessarily for moral reasons (although now the thought of eating any animal kind of disgusts me) but more for the health benefits. My family does not understand my choice and at first it was really hard for me (especially since I lived at home with my parents/sisters). They have tried to be supportive but many times they just don't get it. FI has been GREAT! He even gave meat up for Lent last year and hasn't gone back! If people interrogate you about why you've stopped eating meat, simply say it's a personal choice. I've found that that usually makes people stop questioning.

Check out:
livingvegan.org
vegweb.com
chooseveg.com


Good luck

TheFutureMrsB81

Good luck! I don't eat red meat at all due to not having a gallbladder and not being able to break down all the fats. I do eat chicken, a lot of turkey and fish. I don't drink milk (lactose intollerant), but I can eat small amounts of cheese. My FI is ok with all of this. He's actually very supportive of my issues and doesn't mind "mexican night" having turkey instead of beef or lasagna with turkey instead of beef. Our 3 kids can't tell the difference either and they seem to actually like the turkey a lot better.

I can't do soy or almond or goats milk either, so I'm kind of stuck at what I can eat and we get in the same rut of making the same things over and over because we don't have any new recipies. Good luck and I'll also be checking out some of these websites you ladies have listed as well.

rcj2rcd

Hi my sister is a vegan and makes these incredible cookies. With the holidays coming up, I thought I would share (ps - they are vegan, but I wouldn't classify them as "healthy" lol). Vegan Sugar Cookies 1 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 8 tablespoons veggie oil 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon maple syrup 1 vegan egg replacer** Ground cinnamon and sugar for coating (optional) **1 vegan egg replacer for baking = 2 tablespoons water, 1 1/2 teaspoon veggie oil, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 2 tablespoons flour Preheat oven to 350F with rack in the middle. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in small bowl. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Using hands, form dough into a ball (if necessary, add a small amount of water and mix well). Form dough unto smaller balls (tablespoon size) and roll into cinnamon sugar mix or roll out dough and use cookie cutters. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 7 minutes.

Rie1023

Thank you all so much for the advice and encouragement!! It was definitely silly to make a lifestyle change right before all the major eating holidays - who was I kidding thinking I could say no to cheesy potatoes and all those delicious dairy-filled desserts?!