Thinking about going vegan...

Tosie

1100 miles from "home"
Joined
Sep 9, 2005
Messages
1,008
I just started researching the vegan lifestyle (for health and ethical reasons) and was wondering if anyone has some great websites or advice they can share?

We went to a vegan bakery today and OMG was I pleasantly surprised!! The stuff is terrific!

TIA!!
 
Just out of curiosity, are you currently a vegetarian?

Either way I'm popcorn:: because I've been toying with the prospect of both myself.
 
My sister and best friend are vegans. If you eat home most of the time and like to cook, it will be easier for you. If you go out to eat often with non-vegan friends/relatives it's certainly possible but a little more difficult. So many things that may appear vegan may have chicken broth or something similar added so you have to always ask for the ingredients.

It also helps if you happen to like tofu, it is a big part of their diet.
 
www.veganculinaryexperience.com

My MIL is vegan, she is a WONDERFUL cook and loves this website. They also have a newsletter or something you can subscribe to.

Seriously, her vegan food tastes better than most of my full meat/fat/etc food.
 

I could totally be a vegan IF I could afford to buy all my meals prepared, lol. Everything vegan I have ever tried has been FABULOUS! I especially love tofu. Vegan baked goods are so yummy too. However, I just don't have the ability to prepare all my food like that...with 3 kids sometimes I need the convenience of prepared foods that don't cost a fortune.
 
I started eating vegetarian (and trying for vegan) about two months ago and this website has really helped:

blog.fatfreevegan.com

Most of these recipes are relatively easy to follow and the food is amazing! FYI, I was a BIG meat eater but decided to go vegan for health reasons. Apparently meat aggravates my gout and I have discovered that not eating meat actually helps. As a side benefit, I have lost 20 pounds and resembling my pre-kids self. My wife is a life-saver as she has taken it upon herself to make these recipes for me. I have discovered that I really don't miss meat as much as a thought I would. Good luck!
 
I highly recommend the Veggie Boards message board site. It has a vegetarian and vegan sections with lots of good info and even a recipe section. Many of the vegans on the site have excellent blogs with delicious recipes!
 
I am not vegan but I have a great cookbook. It is called Veganomicon. It is all vegan recipes and they are realistic. They really are good and the book is a good read as well. They tell you in the beginning how to stock your kitchen so you are not always running to the store. The items are also easy to find. So it's not like you have to go looking for some obscure spice. I highly reccomend this book. Good luck!
 
I second Veganomicon :thumbsup2
I have her other one too Vegan with a Vengeance great recipes!

I have been vegetarian toying with Vegan for awhile, I have been baking Vegan for years though,
its super easy
you can replace 1 egg with flax seed.........1 tbsp flax with 3 tbsp water to equal one egg.
there are commercial egg replacers too in the health food store, but i find the flax works great
I also use plain rice milk instead of soy milk in cooking.

another good cookbook to check out is Vegan Family Favorites, very simple recipes that taste great.

wanted to add
check out www.theppk.com
the author of veganomicon's website
 
Thank you all for your replies!! I am going to check out everything that was suggested!

To the PP, I am currently not vegetarian but do enjoy most veggies.

I'm a little nervous about the tofu thing (especially cooking it - it seems so foreign) but willing to give it a go!
 
I grew up Vegetarian and toyed with vegan-ism for awhile. Id start by giving up red meat. This sounds easy you say then great. Next give up poultry and then seafood, then dairy. Do it in baby steps. I'm not an herbivore anymore but I eat red meat less then twice a month, and poultry perhaps once. Be very careful with your diet ensure you get all your nutrients. its very easy to develop dietary issues. I am anemic and need to take supplements daily for it. I also don't eat sufficient quantities of dairy so I have to take vitamin d and calcium. I also don't consume sufficient amounts of protein and have to add it to my diet via beverage supplement. Its easy to mess up a natural thing. Also remember soy is not the only way to get protein and is not always a great thing to stuff yourself with it can change the way your hormones function and like cabbage can bring up underlying thyroid conditions.
 
dh grew up seventh day adventist, so that means he grew up as a vegetarian. my kids have gone to sda schools which are vegetarian and also their summer camps.

if you want a resource for lots of books (cooking, health and informational) on vegetarian and veganism you can google the adventist book company (abc stores).

for vegetarian/vegan food products, while more mainsteam grocery stores are carrying them, you can find some good deals if you have an actual adventist store convenient to you (when i've gone shopping for school potlucks and family get togethers i've found some of the products a bit pricey at my large national chain store, if i had to buy them on a regular basis i'de likely hoof it to the adventist store and take advantage of the prices their bulk buying power allows for).

like others have said, make sure you educate yourself so you continue to receive the proper vitamins and nutrients your body needs.
 
I highly recommend the Veggie Boards message board site. It has a vegetarian and vegan sections with lots of good info and even a recipe section. Many of the vegans on the site have excellent blogs with delicious recipes!

I recommend this message board aswell as it helped me alot....I'm closer to vegan as I don't like the taste of dairy (never have...). I'm not sure if you have them in your are aor not but health shops are really good for this stuff aswell, though sometimes expensive (some really nice mock products that taste great).
 








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