Tips for going vegan?

Question

Has anyone any tips for going vegan? What foods that are useful to have?, What foods are your main staple?, and have you any handy websites about vegan foods and nutrition for vegans. Please only people that want to help me post and no smart comments about going vegan! Thanks.

Thank you for your responses so far.. and yes I am already a vegetarian.

What about clothing? What fabrics are acceptable for a vegan to wear instead of for example wool?

I understand that people have different views on other peoples choices in life, but please all I am asking you to do is to recpect mine. I am not saying nor have I ever said that veganisim is "purer" so please do not put words into my mouth. I chose not to preach to others about their choices in life. It is hard enough being happy in your own skin and in your own life than having someone else telling you what is right and what is wrong and having to worry about this. I asked this question to get other vegans advice on what I should keep in mind for the future not to rub people up the wrong way or to affect others. So please just keep an open mind and try and respect what other peoples choices may be. After all if it is not affecting you and if it is not affecting others and it is making me happy then where is the problem?

Answer 1

Clothing tips:

The best 'sneaky trick' for dealing with clothing issues is the "hot pin" method. When you've bought something that claims to be "man made" you can test it to be sure! (Not in the store) Take a pin and heat the point to red hot with a lighter or match, then touch the hot point to an inconspicuous part of the item (like tails on a shirt); immediately sniff the touched area (and/or any smoke) and if it smells like plastic it's ok, smells like burnt hair or leather it really is animal! (You appear to be UK) In the US I've found shoes and hats that are labeled "All man made material's" are frequently leather! Especially the ones that say they were made in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

I've found that as a rule it's cheaper in the long run to buy several pairs of the cheapie no-name shoes than ordering 'vegan' shoes, with the exception of steel toe shoes (the only non-leather ones are on line).

Rather perversely many ties labeled as Rayon are actually Silk! (pin test on the back) Not sure why that happens since Silk commands a price premium...
(and yes; I do realize you're female)

Food tips:

Use Agave Nectar as a sweetener! It's a 1-1 replacement for honey and there's no worry about bone char with it!

Xanthan gum is *way* too useful to not have around, along with Ener-G egg replacer.

Even meat eaters think Yuba is a crepe once filled.

The only vegan food you can buy on a holiday is potato chips and fritos (wish I'd remembered to buy food yesterday)

Besides the links India gave you here's a good one (and don't let the title scare you).

The second one is a great source for books! I'd recommend "The new Farm Vegetarian Cookbook" and "Becoming Vegan". The cookbook should be on every vegheads bookshelf.

Answer 2

The best tip is "Don't!" Why would you deliberately choose a nutritionally incomplete diet? If you can eat milk and honey and eggs and no animal is harmed, what exactly is the point?

This is not a "smart comment" it's just the truth. Veganism is about as sensible as poking yourself with a sharp stick because it feels so good when you stop. Since there is NO scientific reason to do it, it seems to be a kind of arrogance about being a "purer" more "special" vegetarian so you can look down on others who are eating a sensible vegetarian diet.

As for fabrics, unless it's some sort of wool, silk, or cashmere, no problem. Cotton, flax, linen are OK if you insist on this kind of silliness. So are synthetics. Except for the silk, no animals are harmed by shearing, but if you are going to be absurd, why not carrying clothing to an extreme as well.

Answer 3

Go to Vegan.org (http://www.vegan.org/) it is a great resource for foods and healthy living as a vegan. Be sure to let your Dr know or get a Naturopath(http://www.holisticjunction.com/categories/HPD/naturopathy.html) to be sure you are getting all the right vitamins and minerals from your primary diet. Be aware the first few months you may have increased flatulence due to the body adjusting to the increase in legumes but this is normal and the introduction of Ajowan into your cooking as well as the increase of parsley should reduce this considerably.

Answer 4

Regarding fabrics, all man made are ok so is cotton and linen and I think silk as no animals are harmed when colecting silk threads (I think). Be careful when going vegan as vitamins and minerals can be a problem. Check out this site. http://www.vegansociety.com/html/

Answer 5

remeber all the animals you save each day. that keeps me going. i say peanutbutter...7 grames of protien in each serving of petter pan peanutbutter. TOFU!!!!!! i suggest www.goveg.com and www.peta2.com (yeah, i know, peta people are a little over the top, but they have great intions and are always there to help animals)

mEaTs No TrEaT fOr ThOsE yOu EaT!

keep doing what ya doing and keep savin' those aniamls!

Answer 6

1.Stay away from processed foods(not tofu or soy or rice milk,stuff like that)reading the labels constantly gets frustrating.
2.main staple is probably beans,heres m the eating plan I follow
B.fast: fruit smoothie and toast or bagel with jelly
Snack: nuts(almonds,sunflower seeds,cashew,etc)
Lunch:Beans(baked,refried,or chili) and rice(white,spanish,or brown)
Snack:raw fruits or veggies
Dinner:I usually cook a bulk of foods on the weekend and thats what I'll eat for dinner(veggie spring rolls,burritos,veggie spaghetti,etc)
Snack:juice

Answer 7

I am trying myself and the best advice I would give is... do it gradually. With time your palette will change and you won't even want animal products.

Start with becoming a vegetarian first - no meat; then gradually cut out eggs, milk, etc.

Good luck.

Answer 8

Biggest tip I have is eat REAL food. Lots of fresh raw foods also.

http://www.hacres.com/home/home.asp

Answer 9

get he book called "on food and cooking" by Harold McGee. It is a science book but helps with proteins and why things work and why, explains vegi proteins.

Answer 10

Ok i am semi vegan, i eat chicken because i cant eat fish, but you need to be careful to get all of the food groups. be careful with the protiens. ur body needs lots of protien in order to function properly. so, eat a lot of nuts which is very high in protiens. also, make sure to have a lot of calcium in ur diet if u are vegan.u can get a lot of calcium from milk. Good Luck