Needing some information to make the switch from just Veg to Vegan

[kellie payne]

 Hi all;

I have been a 'semi'- veg for near on 3 years now, chicken and fish were still in my diet as I was finding it hard to not have 'meat' on my plate.  What has changed that?  I've started uni this year and am doing anatomy, we have to look at dead bodies in the lab. These bodies are 3-5 year old, and have the skin removed. So you SEE all the muscles.  It was around 3-4 weeks into my course that I realise that meat is muscle... And really, there is no difference to animal or human... then this week I was standing there looking at a removed ribcage; we were talking about the inter-coastal muscles that assist with the respiratory system. I nearly vomited. It was the thought of what the meat inside those ribs were - I sit there are watch my youngest daughter and husband pick at those ribs of a sheep or pig.  That class has made me realise that I simply cannot keep doing what I am doing.  

I am also the type of person that is IN or OUT, there is no in-between. Sometimes, it may take me a little while to understand and recognize that..... it took me 7.5 years to realise that in my marriage!!

So, what I need from you lovely people is some guidance.  I have bought the soy milk in which I drank at a friends house one day - (I did freak at the price though).  I need some subs for cheese and yoghurt.  I dont eat marg or butter, have not done since I was a teenager.  I will miss the junk - jubies mostly, and will have to learn to 'love' dark chocolate....  But I will get there!!!  

So any advise on where to start would be great.  I live in Nth Qld, Australia - our town is classed as a city, but I'm not sure at this stage where I need to go shopping... That will take a bit of looking and researching.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Regards

Kellie

(ps. Im also a wildlife carer, so I think it was always going to end up this way!)

[Gemma Elsworthy]

Hi Kellie Im sort of the same will have to do your course sounds grouse, but you see things differently. Tammy helped me alot with her chats because she's not one of those pushy be vegan or die people, it takes time for everyone and i think every little bit helps, one daughter eats meat and so does matt, I sort of stopped everything at first then went back to chicken sometimes, but my daughter gave me the lecture about the ribs etc, i watched that kfc video and thought thats fucken it, this is really bad, been an animal lover all my life have eaten meat all my life wasnt a huge fan had it maybe once or twice a week but until ive watched all this footage , videos and what the poor animal goes through , i was like wtf, i thought stupidly everything was done in a humane way they were stunned asleep or something till friggin facebook, im telling you im feeling better though, i tried the soy milk and rice milk some i know tastes like shit, but i found the vanilla milk soy isnt to bad, i do have skim on my cereal, i have a thyroid problem and my levels went up cause of the iodine in the soy, but theres almond milk also, i know its expensive trying to just cut milk out all together. I have bought alot of books now im at home had a chance to learn to cook some stuff that was my main problem , wtf do i cook, copied some recipes of fb and try and prepare stuff, matt has soy milk now, sarah still eats meat but i wont buy it they do and have to make it, so they only eat it once a week because they really cant be bothered, my daughter is a vego after she came back from working in England in animal sanctuaries and was enlightened over there and had some good recipes, I know some of the stuff is expensive but the lentil dishes arent, they just take a while to prepare with the soaking over night crap, im just trying to make a conscious effort. Your doing a great job I feel the recipe books help and talking to some other nice not judgemental vegans. Everyone has to start from somewhere. I feel guilty now also knowing that i was eating meat for years and not really thinking about where it came from, plus its hard to get out of that routine of how you were bought up and thats just what you were fed, My Mum thinks im an idiot but she knows I love animals and i take vitamins anyway you wont be iron defient like people tell you as i was iron defient when i was eating meat so i dont really know where that theory came from. Funny enough Im not iron difient now, you can crumb tofu and cook it in pasta and it absorbs all flavours and is very high in protein so its not to bad, i do feel better, but am still trying to make a conscious effort hope it helps as I can talk for ages as you can tell, hahaha

[Tim Gier]

Hi Kellie:

It is inspiring to hear of the changes you are making in your life! Thank you for sharing your story. It sounds as though you have found good reasons to remove yourself from the systems which do nothing but harm to others, and you are acting on those reasons. That means the world, literally, to so many innocent lives. You should be proud of who you are.

I live in the United States, so there may be products available here which aren't available where you are, but I will mention a few anyway. Turtle Mountain produces a wide variety of plant based dairy substitutes including the best vegan "ice cream" I've ever tasted. http://www.turtlemountain.com/products/products.html

Daiya Vegan Cheese is excellent and is available here as a shredded cheese in packages so you can use it at home, and it is also used by other companies in their products (some vegan frozen pizzas, for example) http://www.daiyafoods.com/

Another thing to consider is that many products readily available are vegan even though they may not be labeled vegan. Many organic candies are vegan, as are some breakfast cereals, prepared mixes, etc. As far as knowing whether any particular item is definitely vegan, you can visit this site http://vegan.fm/ivegan.html and simply enter the name of any ingredient and it should tell you whether it is vegan or not.

In the beginning any change of old habits can be quite difficult, so go easy on yourself should you find yourself craving things you've always had in the past. It's natural. I can tell you that in my own case, I found it helpful to just think of certain foods as I thought of alcohol when I quit that. I just quit and told myself that I would never touch it again. When I became vegan, I just quit eating cheese completely, and didn't even buy any of the substitutes. After 30 days, my lifelong love of cheese (extra sharp cheddar especially) didn't seem so important to me anymore; the habit was broken. Now when I have a vegan cheese product, I enjoy for what it is, without wishing it was something else.

I can't say enough how tremendous it is to hear your story. Please continue to post here and tell the world how you are doing as you continue on your journey.

tim

[Gemma Elsworthy]

Wow wish I lived In USA so many more products available

[Leo Lopes]

I'm from Brazil although I've been living in the UK for the past few years and am moving to America next month all I can say is: It is almost impossible to find here in Brazil products like in America and you will not find in any other part of the world as much vegan READY food as you will find in America but hey, is that a bad thing?? NOt at all! To be honest is much better cause you will have to change your eating habits and start with more and more veggies and you will learn more and more recipes instead of just going to a whole foods shop and get a burger or hot dog or fake chicken wings. Do you want all that junk food in you? How about fruits? Eat them like there is no tomorrow! Instead of a ice cream get some fruit, or some tasty freshly squeezed juice! You can find dark chocolate in there, you can find it anywhere. Take nature as an example, nature doesn't do mistakes so why non human animals(not carnivores) just need water and veggies and fruits? Because it is good and healthy and it contains all the nutrients they and we need. It is a myth that we need meat and processed food! It is just an unconscient act of eating food that we see people around us eating! Rice ,beans, breads, pasta, all the veggies in the world, all the fruits in the world, nuts, grains, cereals etc. There are plenty food to satisfy our taste buds, body and soul! You just have to be creative and you have internet, all you want to know you can find on the internet, recepies of all kind you can find on the internet! Try making your own salad dressing, your own cake if u sweet tooth needs it. Cook your own meal is so good and brings you closer to creating your own recepies and experimenting new foods. I know it is easy for me to say it cause i don't crave processed foods that much but give it a try. I can guarantee that in a month you will be feeling much more energetic! Remember to eat a handful of nuts everyday. Fruits are allowed with no restrictions and don't forget the best tastier most delicious drink of all, the one that is given to you by nature:WATER!! it will help flush all the toxins out of you body and keep it clean!

I'm sorry for my english is kinda rusty since I've been in Brazil for almost 8 months now.

I hope I helped a wee bit !! I know it is not easy but give it a try!! Going vegan is easy, is healthier and is the best thing for you the animals and the environment!

Kind Regards,
Leo Lopes

[Leo Lopes]

OH, SORRY, ithought you have said you liked dark chocolate!! Sorry!

I don't like it either! LOL

[Lisa V]

Kelli,

Being vegan is like a great big wonderful food adventure. I've enjoyed food more as a vegan than ever before, and more than I ever thought possible.

Milks ... you can make your own almond, rice and oat milks. There are all sorts of recipes online and they taste really good, plus I can make a couple gallons (rice and oat) for just a dollar or two. Here's a good rice milk recipe ... I've tweaked mine because the cook time was too long ... Rice Milk

Almond milk ... also simple. There are videos and recipes online.

Ice cream ... this is awesome and doesn't even require an ice cream maker: Slice and freeze ripe bananas. Once frozen, process in a food processor until smooth and creamy. It's like soft serve ice cream. Add cocoa powder for chocolate ice cream, or frozen strawberries for strawberry, or frozen mango for mango ice cream ... snozzberries for ... well, you get the idea. This can be flavored any way. Add chopped nuts to the top, add a drizzle of maple syrup, chocolate sauce, or sliced fruit, or whatever.

Yogurt ... you can make and culture your own yogurt from a thick coconut cream, or a nut based cheese. Here's one of my recipes ... Blueberry Fool

There are all sorts of imitation cheeses out there ... or you can make your own from nuts or a blend of nuts and coconut. Mac and cheese can be made from hummus that has some nutritional yeast added and that can be served over pasta.

There's really a practically unlimited variety of vegan food out there that can be made from simple and commonly available ingredients.

[Gemma Elsworthy]

Sounds pretty good Thanks for that info

[Lisa Qualls]

When I started it took me 3 months to stop eating all bodies, but I was still eating some milk and egg ingredients.  I kept reading about what happens to animals and wanted to stop eating everything taken from them.  When I first tried to eliminate all animal ingredients from my diet I tried too hard and I failed.  Then, believing I would never be vegan, I just kept learning about what happens to animals and about the lesser known ingredients taken from them and incidentally eliminating one thing at a time, and after 3 years I finally realized I was vegan. I did not do it on purpose.  It just happened. I've been vegan for 6 years.

In this thread I have only seen diet addressed.  For me, the other aspects of veganism were much easier.  It is easy not to go to a circus, zoo, aquarium, or other entertainment that uses animals in any way.  It is easy not to buy clothing or accessories containing materials taken from animals.  It is easy to find household cleaning, cosmetic and personal care companies that do not have ingredients taken from animals or tested on animals and do not test their final products.  It is easy to learn to adopt homeless animals when you are able to fully provide for them, instead of shopping at a pet store or buying from a breeder. 

It took me longer with food, but I just did it one thing at a time. Knowing details about the cruelty involved with all animal exploitation made it easy to choose to stop being a part of the exploitation, but more than that, I think one of the most important keys is unlearning speciesism.  I did it by comparing any situation in question with a human-similar situation. If you unlearn speciesism it makes so many decisions easier and many questions easier to answer. 

[Jeannie Habbal]

Listen to:  Gary Yourofsky .                                       

If he doesn't open your eyes, nothing will.

[Jeannie Habbal]

Hi Kellie,

 

There are so many great web sites where you can order whatever your heart desires that is vegan. I have found so many items that, I feel make it so easy, as compared to even a few years ago. There are many products that actually taste so good that it is not difficult in the least to give up a meat-based diet for a (torture and murder-free) vegan diet.

It does tend to be more expensive, however, the way I justify the expense is by remembering that I am not contributing to the horrendous murder of living animals. It costs countless animals their lives every second of every day when people eat meat. I will spend more if I have to so that I can have a hand in saving an innocent animal's life. In time, as more and more people purchase more vegan products, the costs will come down as happens when there is more demand and more competitiveness in making vegan products.

I just had a soy yogurt that is DEVINE...it is called WholeSoy & Co.   It was AMAZING!!  Here is the web site:

http://www.wholesoyco.com/

 

Here is a link to an other  great web site: 

http://www.vrg.org/links/products.htm

 

There are so, so many web sites and I am sure you can find whatever your heart desires.