im going vegan any suggestions?

Question

me and my sister wanted to try being vegan for a week and see how it goes. we dont really know anything about it so could you give us the following:
1. how to get enough protein and stuff
2. should we take special pills
3. any good meals

Answer 1

1. Pretty much all nutritious food has protein. If you don't believe me, look at the nutrition labels. Beans, tofu, seitan and tempeh all have a lot of protein if it's something you're worried about.

2. Make sure you are getting enough calcium, iron and b12. Get into the habit of eating dark, leafy greens. It's also a good idea to buy fortified soy milk and cereal. There is also nutritional yeast, which can be very tasty if you know how to cook with it, but otherwise is kind of nasty. I've been vegan for 5 years, and the only vitamin supplement I take is a vegan B12 lozenge every couple of weeks or so. Just make sure you eat a good variety of foods, and enough of them.

3. Too many to list. There are tons of websites and cookbooks to help you.

Now a lot of people report going through different experiences while their body is adjusting to a vegan diet. I personally remember being constantly hungry for the first few days, so make sure you buy plenty of groceries, including lots of snack food, before you get started. Otherwise, you might get frustrated and give up, but I assure you once you get used to it, if you're smart and you're taking care of yourself, it will feel perfectly natural.

Answer 2

1) The only way to not get enough protein is to TRY. If you eat enough calories in a day, it's nearly impossible not to get enough protein, unless you're eating 2,000 calories worth of Double Stuf Oreos (which are vegan!!!).
2) As a fourteen-year-old vegan girl, I take Doctor's Choice for Female Teens by Enzymatic Therapy. The only two things I'm concerned about are vitamin B12 and iron. B12 is naturally in vegetables, but it's usually washed away in normal vegetable washing. Iron is abundant in some vegetables, but I don't feel like eating broccoli with every meal. Doctor's Choice for Female Teens is abundant with EVERYthing you need, even the things that meat-, dairy-, and egg-eaters (shudder) get without trying.
3) There are tons of websites out there with easy vegan recipes. Some of my favorites are listed as sources.

Being vegan has so many benefits, for yourselves, the environment, and the animals. I know so many intelligent people who are so ignorant about this! I know that if they knew what meat, dairy, and eggs do - to the animals, planet, and their body - they would become vegan in a heartbeat. Congratulations on making this outstanding choice! You won't regret it!

Answer 3

thats great that you guys wanna try out veganism!!! the first week or so is kinda of difficult but after that you dont even have to think about it. sooo now to answer your questions...

1.Protein:
everyone always freaks out about the protein thing. your body doesnt need that much protein, you can get more then enough from a plant based diet. just make sure you are eating well balanced meals. so if you eat carbs make sure to have some protein and the other way around. also eat lots of veggiesss!! here are some examples...
if you eat this, eat this kinda of thing and dont follow this exactly these are just kinda like guidelines lol

PROTEIN CARBOHYDRATE
soy milk ceral
veggieburger bun
peanutbutter bread
peanutbutter banana
Soy yogurt granola
tofu noodles/veggies

**there are tons of vegan candies out there, but dont become a junk food vegan**

2.The Pills
the only thing you can not get from a plant base diet is b12 (only comes from meat) but you can get it from supplements. i take a vegan multivitamin that work just fine for me. you can order it here....
http://www.veganstore.com/240-------no-iron.html

3. vegan meals...
there are lots of amazing vegan cookbooks out there that you can get from your lib. but vegan meals that i like are basicly just normal meal switch around a little bit. like i like spaghetti, and bagels, i make sandwiches with lots of olives and i love twizzlers!!!!

i hope this helps you guys!! if you have any question feel free to email me! and i would also suggest that you listen to the podcast vegan freak radio available for free on itunes, they are very funny and help keep you focused on being a vegan! but be warned they curse alot!

Answer 4

1) Please don't worry about protein--the only way to have a protein deficiency is by not eating enough food.
2) Just ordinary vitamins. If you decide to make your veganism permanent--and I hope you do!--you can find plenty of vegan vitamins. Also, try nutritional yeast for cheesy flavor and extra vitamin B12 (although you really need only small amounts). Most soy milks are fortified with B12 and calcium.
3) Too many to mention. You can crumble tempeh into chili or spaghetti sauce. You can have veggie burgers (I recommend Amy's Texas Burgers). Many companies make fabulous meat analogues that are good with a potato and a veggie dish.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Ive been vegan for about 7 years now and it gets a lot easier the longer your on it.

first of all you should eat a lot of protein. try varying it up from just tofu. you should try eating more beans and nuts too.

You definetely need to take b12. you should also try iron and omega 3s.

Amys frozen meals are really good, especially the veggie loaf, and u can ussually find them at publix. you can also try Yves if ur into fake meat.

I think its great ur going vegan good luck!

Answer 6

WHY?????? ? Vegan is the most unnatural way to eat. B12 is hard to consume in the body. B12 is very needed and only meat can distribute it properly. Not plants or vitamins... Vitamins are not worth it. Go natural. Humans are natural meat eaters. There is a reason...Eat meat only a handful a serving. No need to pig out. Remember plants hurt also when you cut them so don't feel so bad for animals that we eat. Plants bleed also

Answer 7

Since you may not know....

Vegan people do not eat any type of animals/meat or products that come from them or use them to be made: beef, pork, chicken, fish, shrimp, milk, eggs, honey, leather, wool, silk....
The word vegan implies that you do not believe that any animal can be owned and they have their own ends to meet without our interference.

Vegetarians do not eat any meat/animals or by-products of their slaughter. They can eat pretty much anything that doesn't have meat in it.

EVERYTHING has protein in it. =) Eating stuff like twinkies is the only way to miss out on protein. Beans, peas, lentils, nuts, seeds and even some pastas are VERY high in protein. If you eat a balanced diet and only eat junk food less than a couple times a week, you will never be deficient in protein.

A healthy vegetarian diet does not require any pills or other supplementation.
There have been vegan Olympic gold medalists and a vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML_(Draft).htm

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I'm vegan and these are some of my favorite things to eat:

Breakfast: bananas, cream of wheat with brown sugar and soy butter, cereal, pancakes or french toast with real maple syrup, vegan "sausage" patties, smoothies.

Snack: BRUSSEL SPROUTS =) no joke

Lunch: VEGAN "SAUSAGE" SANDWICHES, sandwiches with vegan deli slices(Tofurkey is the only one that's kinda funky), fruit, dinner leftovers, couscous salad, vegan sushi, potato or pasta salad.

Dinner: sloppy joes, "sausage" and gravy with homemade biscuits, Spaghetti and Trader Joe's "meatballs" or TVP, lasagna, Thai pad see ew, pad khi mao(drunkard's noodles), pad prig king, tofu+eggplant with basil sauce, yellow thai curry with tofu or vegan chikn and veggies and jasmine rice, Indian dal with homemade roti or dosai, channa masala, aloo gobi, vegetable or minestrone soup, pizza, STEAMED "PORK" BUNS with potstickers or spring rolls, sweet&sour/orange/lemon chikn, vegan pho or wonton soup, baked tofu, BBQ homemade seitan (tastes like BBQ'd ribs)

I use these sites to find recipes:
http://www.foodnetwork.com
http://vegweb.com
http://www.recipezaar.com

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There is a Japanese analogy/proverb that goes like this, "The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down". People are like this everywhere. When you tell your family that it is your personal belief that animals should not be eaten, they take a look at themselves and it can be subconsciously translated into, "What you do is wrong and I choose to be right."

Your parents have probably been taught a huge amount of misinformation by their parents and their teachers while growing up. You really need to research vegetarian diets and health before you even think about saying the "V-word" in front of your parents.

When you have gathered enough information and feel confident in a vegetarian diet's ability to maintain or even improve health, you may mention to them that you have made the decision. They may be shocked, angry, worried, curious or many other things, but you must NEVER react to their behavior and always stay calm. If they are able to speak to you and respect your choice, please tell them everything and answer all questions. If they are rude, inconsiderate, judgmental, violent, or verbally abusive, refuse to continue any conversation until they can speak to you with respect.

The best advice is to study everything that you can about a healthy vegetarian diet and keep yourself in good shape (better than most people your age or than your friends/family if possible). If nobody that you know shows a genuine, positive interest in your choice, don't give them the privilege of the knowledge that you have gathered. Work your way around any attempts they make to trivialize your beliefs and if possible, go shopping with your parents and buy things that aren't obvious veggie fare. Instead of trying to sneak fake meat into the cart, toss in lentil soup, peanut butter, pasta, fruits & veggies or anything else that you have learned is needed to fill any gaps in your diet.

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If you want to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian, the transition should be quite simple. Almost all meats have widely available commercial replacements. All that you have to do is replace any flesh in your diet (beef, pork, poultry, seafood) with meat analogs or just leave it out altogether.

You should keep in mind that a journey such as this can be quite short but should just be the beginning of a longer one to a plant-based diet with no animal products. This is because of the reality of factory farming in which animals that are kept alive to produce milk, eggs, etc suffer much more and longer than animals that are raised to a certain weight and then slaughtered.http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/
http://meat.org
Some people use the word "vegan" in reference to this idea, but be aware that applying that label to yourself should always come with the inclusion of wise activism and advocacy.http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/index.html
Two extremely important examples of this are that you should never speak to someone about vegetarianism/veganism without their consent and genuine interest or as a comment on what they are eating AND your dietary beliefs should never be used as an introduction or explanation of who you are as a person. Veg*ism should be something that comes up AFTER people get to know you and they offer you a situation that makes it confusing to withhold the information/discussion. Also, if you are presented something that you choose not to eat or you are
ordering food/eating together somewhere/picking the best place to eat.

When you you hold off on the subject until it's necessary and then act like it isn't a big deal at all, people are usually surprised and WAY more interested and curious than if you were to bring it up when someone's eating or just using it as a conversation starter.

A responsible vegan ALWAYS studies the subject of their own health and how to keep their body completely provided for in every sense. http://www.veganhealth.org/sh
To neglect their body is to define a plant-based diet as unhealthy and is the opposite of helping the animals.

Just to clear things up, the vegetarian/vegan diet is not composed of salads, vegetables, fruit and fake meat. Fruits and vegetables are always important but they DO NOT make up the largest portion of any healthy diet.
A balanced plant-based diet includes grains(breads, pasta, rice,cereal), legumes(soy, beans, peas, lentils), fruit and vegetables.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/food_groups.html
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/eating.html
Being vegan can be an art, one whose challenge is to take things that involve the suffering of the innocent and change them into something free of cruelty.

A vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.

Technically the term "vegetarian" does imply that you don't consume anything that comes from the body of an animal that requires killing it. Many ingredients such as gelatin and glycerin are found in many candies, Fig-Newtons, and many of other foods as well as rennet found in many cheeses.
http://www.happycow.net/health-animal-ingredients.html
The best thing to remember is to take your time so that for example: when you are comfortable not eating beef and pork you can then give up chicken when you are sure you can make the commitment permanently.
Depending on your age or reliance on parents or regional options, it may not be best to give yourself a label. The important thing is to do your best to make progress and be committed to your compassion towards animals. Never put your focus onto what you or other people use to describe yourself.

If you meet someone that talks down to people for eating meat, dairy, etc or to you because they think they are "more veg" than you, laugh in their face and tell them they are a disgrace to the entire philosophy. People like this only hurt the idea of veg*ism AND the animals. The point of all of this is to live compassionately and and as free from cruelty as you can, all the while maintaining your health and a positive attitude. People who don't maintain either, need not open their mouths and represent our beliefs.

If you actually choose to read all of this, I hope it helps. If not, feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.