What's the easiest way to make the transition from lacto-ovo-vegetarianism to veganism?

Answer 1

After going to a workshop on this very subject, I took their advice and went completely "cold tofu" (I was a lacto-ovo veg at the time). The idea was that by cutting down bit by bit, you would give those products power and engage in a psychological battle with them.

Also, because I found the process daunting, I decided to try veganism for just 3 weeks, after which I would switch back if it wasn't going well. It made the switch more manageable - after all, anyone can do three weeks, right?

I'm still vegan 1.5 years later, so these tactics worked for me. Good luck!

Answer 2

It depends on how much dairy and egg products are currently in your diet, and in what forms.

If you're used to eating scrambled eggs, buttered toast and a glass of milk, for instance, it will mean more of an adjustment. If your milk and eggs are usually just in other foods like baked goods, it will be much easier.

For some foods, simply cutting out the non-vegan components is really easy. A veggie sandwich on vegan bread is just as good as a veggie sandwich with cheese and mayo...for example. When you can't just cut out those ingredients, use vegan alternatives:

There are several brands of vegan alternatives for cheese, butter, sour cream, etc. that taste and act the same as the real thing, but they tend to be more expensive and less available depending on where you live. *Although, I have yet to find a vegan "cheese" that melts in just the right way on a pizza.*

Soymilk (as well as rice and almond milk) is becoming more available and much cheaper these days, thankfully. These alternatives do have a slightly different taste, but do quite well on cereal, in coffee, etc.

Eggs in recipes have many alternatives. In most baked goods, a half of a banana will replace one egg pretty nicely. There's also powdered "egg replacer" you can buy, or potato flour and other powdery things that mix with water to replace eggs.

***

Start phasing in these alternatives little steps at a time. Start buying soymilk in 1-quart cartons, since larger quantities can go bad before you use it all. Cut out the non-vegan components as I mentioned above, then determine if you miss them enough to need to buy the alternatives.

Answer 3

Having been vegan for 5 years, the toughest thing i found was knowing what ingredients were often included in vegetarian food, but that are not vegan.

Casein is a milk protein, gelatin is an animal product, "natural flavors" could be anything, "artificial flavors" could be anything, sea cucumber is an animal, most Thai food has anchovy paste, and most Indian food is not vegan.

Peanut butter Cap'n crunch is vegan, but I wouldn't eat it.
PETA used to have a list of manufactured vegan products that one could use to check things out.

You can find vegan restaurants on line, use them, keep them in business, so we can all use them.

Good luck, and be flexible until you are comfortable. Don't preach, rather lead others to be more accepting of other vegans through invitations to wonderful dinners and conversation.

Answer 4

The way I am doing it is with baby steps... I have cut out whole forms of cheese and dairy completely. No cheese sandwiches, no cheese raviolis, no egg salad, etc.

I am slowly using up my stock of pastas, soups, and frozen products and whatnot that have whey, milk solids, etc. and replacing them with vegan alternatives...

While I do occasionally still use a few products that have some trace elements of animal products, it's progress...

My goal is April 1 to be animal free!

I'm a little sad I can't kick the trace animal products as immediately as I did when I first became a vegetarian, I'm slowly gaining new habits, skills and information that will guarantee my success and continued health.

Good Luck! Also, remember veganism is more than just a dietary choice, it is a lifestyle. If you don't cut out the animal products in the rest of your everyday life (leather, wool, etc.), you're just a strict vegetarian.

Answer 5

It really depends on the person. I found that by limiting the products and then, when I felt ready, completely eliminating them from my diet was what worked best for me. Understand that milk proteins actually are addictive and by quiting "cold tofu" you are probably saving yourself undue distress in the long run by getting your mild withdrawal cravings out of the way all at once. Just remember if you fail the first time, try until you get it right! If there is anything we can do to help you go Vegan feel free to pm me, or one of the other Vegans on the boards. We will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Good luck!

Answer 6

I started last year. I went "Cold Tofu" (thanks Matt - I love that comment!!) for Lent last year.

The important thing is to play with your food. I know your parents told you otherwise. But food is fun. If you're not having fun, you're wasting your time.

Tinker. Toy. See what really rocks your world.

I found the only thing I missed was pizza. Gooey, cheesy pizza. You have to watch it with vegetarian cheeses. They often contain milk so they aren't suitable for vegans. I picked up a rice cheese without reading the ingredients. It's got milk in it. Yet it's labled NON DAIRY. Go figure.

It will be a bit of a tweeking process finding your perfect substitutes. I tried a number of soy ice creams and really didn't like them. Rice Dream wasn't so hot. But Rice Divine is the BOMB. I found so many soy milks loaded in sugar, I ended up buying a soy milk maker. I love to make my own tofu and soy milk. It's also great for nut, grain and rice milks.

I love to make fake eggs benedict, tofu scrambles, fake egg salad. Egg replacement was not difficult for me. A little turmeric and nutritional yeast - I'm good!

I found I enjoy "raw food" versions of cheese than many of the vegan cheeses that are on the market. Mix a little tahini with some soaked almonds or cashews, a little nutritional yeast. Spread that on toasted pita and add other topping. It makes for a great pizza.

Answer 7

I would start cutting down on the dairy and substitutiong for alternatives...soy milk in the coffee, rice dream instead of ice cream, etc...until you have it replaced. I think with any diet changes, you can't just cut stuff out, you have to replace it with something. SO just evaluate your diet and see which areas can be substiuted out. It also depends on why you may want to switch...there are now a bunch of food products that have made dairy 'vegetarian', like organic milk won't be available while babies are fedding, so you aren't 'sacrificing' the babies for your milk consumption, also 'rennet free' cheese, which doesn't require the enzyme form the animals bowels to make the cheese, (Horizon organic cheeses are one example). Good luck ,and don't forget to drink soy milk fortified with vitamin D, right now our only sources of it are cow milk that is fortified, or the sun (vitamin K, which is metabolised into vitamin D by your skin). if you live where you can't always get some sun, you need to supplement.

Answer 8

Quite simply:

Baby steps.

If you have been a lacto-ovo-vegetarian for a while, you shouldn't have much trouble making the adjustments in your diet to vegan.

Just make sure that your diet is balanced and healthy.

Good luck!

Answer 9

instead of milk, soy milk (like silk), oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk and rice milk (look it up, their many types). You can no longer purchase regular cake and cookies, but vegan versions can be made or bought.

http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com
http://food.pinkhairedgirl.com/
read to get an idea what vegans eat.

Answer 10

Sometime back I also tried to make this tranistion. If your doing it for health issues, based on my experience and the growing body of documented evidence, I would not reccomend it long term. For the short term I think it has the benefit of detoxing your body and can provide assistance with controlling or defeating a disease.. But long term, in addition to needing to at least take a b-12 supplement, I found the diet to be lacking. Not just in taste, which it certainly was for me, but overall nutritionally as well. And I was careful to make sure I was eating a well balanced vegan diet. I felt great at first, but physically I could tell that I was lacking something in my diet after about 9 months. I added organic egg whites and dairy, and shortly thereafter I felt like myself again. So I certainly would not go vegan for long term health reasons. And if you are young and still growing, a vegan diet absolutely is not in your best interest. The diet would be deficient for you and simply lacks what a growing young body needs to thrive. However, if you are going to give it a shot because of ethical reasons, I commend you. I hope you will at least go in for regular blood work when you first go vegan to determine what vitamins and minerals the vegan diet is depriving you of so that you can take the necessary supplements.

Take a look at these web sights. I would research the vegan diet extensively before implementing it, as there are so many long term risks associated with it. The best of luck to you!

http://chetday.com/vegandietwarning.htm

http://chetday.com/strictvegandiet.htm