VEGANS.....I am a vegetarian and want to become a vegan....ANY TIPS AT ALL?

Answer 1

somebody pointed out that cows are vegans are are HUGE!
But then said that americans are fat because they eat meat!
Not a lot of logic there!!!
But then being a vegan is not logical.
(And saying that you only need 4oz of protein a day is GARBAGE! 4oz of steak does NOT equal 4 oz of tofu!)

Eating a balanced diet is the best thing you can do for your body.
With a vegan diet you CAN NOT get all the nutrients your body needs with out taking man made chemical nutrients (i.e.B12).
It is possible to get all the nutrients you need with a vegetarian diet but you need to be extremely CAREFUL!
Stay a vegetarian but make sure you are being very diligent about getting all the nutrients you need.

Answer 2

Find some ethnic vegan and vegetarian cookbooks.
By ethnic I mean Thai, Mediteranean, Ethiopian,
Korean, Indian, Lebanese, etc.

Experiment and find out which milk is right for you.
By milk I mean rice milk, almond milk, or oat milk.

Check out Nature's path cereal. Many of their products
are vegan- low sugar and high protein.

Go to whole foods or a natural foods store.
Check out the grain bends. You can mix millet,
steel cut oats, bulgur wheat, aramanth, spelt,
quinoa, wheat berries, barley in any combi-
nation and get your own great homemade
cereal.

Convenience foods- Simply Asia, A Taste of Thai,
Amy's, Green Guru, Dr. Sears zone( Vegan Texas
style omelet).

Use grains, mock meats, whole grain pastas, brown
rice and mix with beans, lentils and or split peas.
Add vegetables in.

Get at least 5 servings of fruit a day and at the least
five servings of vegetables. The more vegetables
the better.

Check out following sites: Pangea, Vegan Essentials.
These two have everything a Vegan could need.

Get a multivitamin that includes B, but don't get one
boosted with 100+% of the daily allowance. Get one
50% or under. GEt your B, iron and zinc from mushrooms,
grains, enhanced cereals and mock meats, nutritional
yeast, nuts, seeds etc.

Drink at least 8 ounce of water a day. Water aids your
cells' absorbtion of protein.

Vegan snacks and desserts:
Soy Delicious- frozen dessert
Rice Dream- Frozen dessert
Toffuti ( although sugar is not listed as organic)

Soy Crisp- barbecue flavor only
Terra Chips ( really salty though)
Sunspire chocolate
Cliff power bars
Luna bars

I'm sure the other vegans will list
some I haven't thought of.

Sorry to be so long winded but these are things you need
to know.

Answer 3

My advice is to do it!

If you find the transition difficult (but you might not- my diet is balanced and so it is an extreme rarity I want something "un-vegan"), find substitutes.

Make sure you keep get the right amount of nutrients in your diet. The one you should be most aware of is vitamin B12. You can get this in Nutritional Yeast supplements, as well as in fortified rice or soy milk... I think there is also a little bit in beer.

Invest in a good vegan Multi-Vitamin. Get yourself a bottle of Bragg's Amino Acids (its kinda like soy-saucey), a shaker of nutritional yeast, and a few good cook books with nutritional information in the front (Becoming Vegan is a good nutrition gude, the Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook is a very vegan-friendly book with a good amount of info regarding nutrition).

Do what you feel like you can. Don't panic if you realize your shoes or belt are leather, but be aware not to buy it in the future.

Decide how far you want to go. Many vegans won't eat honey. Lots won't eat processed sugar. Do research and find out what is important to you and to what extent you want this lifestyle choice to impact you.

You might want to get Animal Products A-Z, a handbook with a listing of pretty much everything you shouldn't buy if you're vegan. It can be a little overwhelming, but over time it gets easier and easier.

Try websites like HappyCow and find vegetarian/vegan friendly restaurants in your area.

Read labels.

There are plenty of substitutes for foods you might miss.

Some brands that rule.

Rice Slices (I think they're by Galaxy) are great on sandwiches. They're like cheese. Tofutti makes cheese slices that are good too. Vegan Gourmet Cheese melts which is great. Soy and Rice Milk are very easily found substitutes for milk. Applesauce, soft/silken tofu, bananas, and Ener-G Egg Replacer all can make up for egg in recipes. Earth Balance makes margerines/whipped spreads and shortening that is awesome. There are tons of Vegan "ice creams." Tofutti makes awesome Elio's style pizza (but you can make your own with a crust, sauce, and a mixture of vegan cheese, olive oil, crumbled tofu, and nutritional yeast as the topping)... Vegenaise is my favorite "mayo" but there are several others, including Nayonaise. Yves makes sandwich slices, fake pepperoni (which are really good), veggie dogs, etc. Tofurkey makes *better* sandwich slices and a variety of tofu-sausages which are awesome. Roads End Organic makes vegan "mac n cheese" as well as cheese mixes and gravy mixes.

Good luck!

Answer 4

PLEASE don't listen to these idiots prattling on bout protein. It's all a big lie. America is killing itself with the protein obsession. "The Zone" diet is as toxic as "Atkins." Suicide by food.

The average person only needs 4 ounces of protein a day. We eat 10 times that! No wonder America is FAT! For pitty's sake. Cows are HUGE. And they get that way, how? By eating grass and grain. Vegan.

My best recommendation is go slowly. Don't go fanatical. You risk losing your support system if you go nuts. Go slowly. Be kind to yourself.

Get some good books. You can check your local library. Becoming Vegan is a good one. Idiot's Guide to Vegan Living. Sarah Kramer's cook books, How it all Vegan, La Dolce Vegan and Garden of Vegan.

Go slowly. Don't beat yourself up if you slip.

Answer 5

Poutine,

I think the point Marie was trying to make is that you can get enough protein from plants, and it is possible to overdose on protein - both from plants and animals. But it's more likely that one would overdose on protein from meat. Too much of carbohydrate is bad. Too much fat is bad. Protein is no exception.

Answer 6

as quickly as I grew to grow to be a vegetarian i did no longer positioned plenty concept into it, one Thanksgiving I in basic terms desperate that I wasn't going to consume it anymore. I even have been one for 3 years now. i like meat, yet understanding what the animals pass by way of purely for me to consume it completely disgusted me. now and lower back i'm getting cravings for it, yet once you ever get doubts you purely ought to remember what made you prefer to grow to be a vegetarian contained in the 1st place. and you ought to ensure you're eating the remarkable ingredients to get the protein which you desire (if your no longer eating fish). in the initiating I in basic terms ate each and all of the comparable dishes I generally might - minus the beef; that's a foul component because of the fact in case you do not get the ideal protein you desire you are able to grow to be extremely undesirable and benefit a touch extra suitable weight. And organic is often extra advantageous, you are able to in no way pass incorrect with uncooked end result and vegetables. And there are soy alternatives to each form of meat accessible. some are no longer so good whilst others flavor in basic terms like the authentic component. you purely ought to test and learn what you like. you will possibly be able to additionally prefer to take supplementations or some form of diet to make particular you have become the remarkable food. yet typical, it is not that plenty diverse to eating meat. in the initiating it would desire to be a touch diverse (i grow to be constantly having to remind myself of what did and did'nt have meat in it) yet after a while you get used to it and that's extremely hassle-free. additionally, working around meat may be annoying, in spite of the undeniable fact that that's a job and now and lower back you purely ought to have one. It does'nt ought to impression your emotions on the placement, in short - confident, you will possibly be a unswerving vege and nevertheless artwork with meat! Afterall, your no longer eating it.

Answer 7

Take a look around this site,it has alot of info,you should request a vegetarian starter kit,you can get one from peta,goveg,or pcrm.They are all good and they are free.They have things you should include in your diet and recipes,etc
http://www.pcrm.org/

Answer 8

it would be really hard to become vegan. well yeah you probably need to take protein supplements and probably eat more or you will become skinny really skinny. i dont see how people could do that no jello,soap(some made out of animal fat i think well i know they use animal) candles,hair grease wow good luck:)

Answer 9

vegans aren't to have anything that comes from animals. nothing at all. no eggs, cheese, milk, butter, none of that! good luck!

Answer 10

personally i dont see what the big deal is about eating meat or dairy....
meat is great.. theres nothing like a big juicy steak covered with garlic sauce or..... a good plate of bacon and eggs for breakfast.... i dont think its fair how ppl brand us bad for eating meat when really its just a personal choice the person wants to make.... i just think its alot easier eating meat because thats what everyone does... you will find now that more than 80% of the ppl around the world eat meat alteast 3-4 times a week... with only a small % of the world eating stuff like tofu, veggies etc.... SO BRING ON THE MEAT.... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm