Im vegetarian and i want to cut out milk eggs and cheese etc.How difficult is it?

Question

i love my tea in the morning hehe what can i replace milk for my tea?


take care xxx


SAVE THE ANIMALS!

Answer 1

Hey,

I am a pesco vegetarian but I tried being vegan for a week. I am now vegetarian since being vegan was do-able but so extreme I admire people that can be vegan for the long term.

I was doing ok- just making sure I ate plenty of vegetables and bread... one time I had a pitta bread with beans, sauce and various veg and it was (contrary to popular belief!) very nice! But it is extremely restrictive but you'll find out how hard it is when you start doing it. The first few days seem easy enough but you'll find as a long term plan it is quite difficult.

I had to check the ingredients in every thing and it's suprising how MOST foods have a form of dairy in them. Quorn or veggie items have milk or dairy in them and I even found that a pack of crisps had skimmed milk powder which meant I couldn't eat them so be sure to read the ingredients very carefully. The only thing you can be 100% sure is ok is fresh fruit and veg and bread.

Another tip would be to go to the food allergy sections. They have many 'free' varieties including wheat and most importantly for vegans dairy!

... including dairy free chocolate. If you like it but I never tried it so I couldn't tell you. I now don't have as much of a sweet tooth as of lately but used to have a huge one and liked a piece of chocolate here and there so if you have a sweet tooth for choccie that could be your alternative.

They have mayo for vegans in most supermarkets but I never got round to trying it as you may find you don't need it as I did! Mayonnaise is often used with egg, tuna, chicken etc but with a vegan diet I am not sure why you would use it? Or what would compliment it?

I like milk and I must admit I did not like the choices, as far as I know there are two:

1- rice milk
2- soya milk

I wasn't keen on either. The rice milk was very off putting but try them and see which you prefer. Personally I am so pleased I am back to drinking cows milk now- I do still have personal views on egg and milk products but it is VERY hard to cut dairy out of your diet. Just select 20 items from the supermarket and read the ingredients and you will find out how most things have some dairy in even if it is just milk powder. Now I just buy the eggs where they are raised freely etc etc and although more expensive it's a compromise I am happy to make.

Very best of luck, I admire your choice- it is difficult but if you can manage it then good on you :)

x

PS- My cousin's friend was vegan and my Mum was telling me a story that when she came round with my cousin she was lost at what to offer her and she said it was cool she'd have mustard on toast so perhaps you can try to include your friends and family in talks about your new food lifestyle choice and share any recipes you pick up with them so they can help you too :))

Oh and with the tea if you don't like alternative milk options try herbal teas such as green tea, white tea, peppermint tea, fruit teas- they are lovely- just find the one that suits you.

My favourite is Aveda peppermint and licquorice in powder/leaf form- they are always fresher and tastier than the tea bag options if you can get hold of them- well worth it!

Answer 2

There is Hazlenut milk, Almond milk, and Hemp Seed milk, which all have slight taste difference, which would make for interesting new tea flavors! As for the difficulty, it took me a little over a year of removing it, resuming, and removing milk and egg until now I won't have it anymore. It is more difficult for my family because my husband is an omnivore so we always have cheese, and my daughter wants it too. So we chose to switch to the vegan rice and soy versions (but in moderation as they are heavily processed). It really depends on where you stand on the matter. If you really feel strong about the situation cows go through or feel that humans should not be consuming the milk of another species (especially if it is stolen from their spawn), then there's a greater chance of succeeding. But if in the case you do have a downfall, don't worry, and just back back to where you were! The world won't end!

Oh and I forgot to add, as everyone else stated, almost everything has eggs or milk in it! Simply read the ingredient labels prior to buying, make everything from scratch, or just buy what says they are vegan. It's not as hard as people want you to believe. Yes you might end up losing an item that you adore, but maybe you can make something similar or even better tasting in your own kitchen!

Answer 3

I never liked milk in my tea, so that wasn't a problem. There's soy milk, rice milk, and almond milk, and you'll have to experiment to find the right stuff for you. Or just drink it black.

Eggs: If you're baking, it's pretty easy. There are numerous recipes out there written without eggs, and you can use Ener-G egg replacer for ones that do have eggs. Two things to keep in mind: 1) mix the replacer and the water well before adding to the batter and 2) the more eggs in the recipe, the harder it is to pull off.

Cheese: There are soy cheeses out there. Just make sure the one you buy doesn't have casein (a milk protein). Follow Your Heart is good in casseroles, not so good on top of a pizza. To make a cheesey sandwich, check out Road's End Organics Chreese (it comes in little packets). Make the cheese sauce, and have at it!

For eating out, check www.vegdining.com and www.happycow.net. They will guide you to veg and veg-friendly restaurants.

And you can always have a cheeseless pizza and load it up with lots and lots of veggies. Yum!

And you should be able to find treats easily; you'll just have to read labels more scrupulously. "Skinny B!tch" has a list of vegan junk food at the back.

Answer 4

I find it quite hard but well worth the effort. I suppose changing to herbal tea or having weak black tea in the morning is a good option. Cheese as a topping can be replaced by tahini its a pretty good substitute.
Soya cheese - make with hard vegetable margarine such as tomor, melt, mix in soya flour and add tamari or soy sauce to flavour. Leave to set and you have a pretty tasty cheese substitute.
I think its best to find brand new ideas and recipes rather try and make a substitute coz you will never replicate the exact favour and often feel disappointed if you try.
As for the comment above about missing out on protein and vitamins - our bodies only require approx 15% total daily input of protein and things like hemp and millet, quinoa and many other foods have a much more complete protein content than any animal product. Same with calcium etc, seaweeds and many other foods have higher and more easily absorbed calcium than animals. I think vit B12 is the only difficult one to obtain and quite frankly thats not bad when many people who eat absolutely anything and everything are defficient in many vitamins and minerals!

Answer 5

You can replace the milk with soy milk, but it taste nothing like the real thing. You could try rice milk too if you don't like the soy milk, some seem to like that better.

For tea, I just drink it as is, no milk, honey, or anything else. I tend to buy the flavored teas though which helps. Most are made with real flavoring, but still read the labels.

edit: SundaeG1rl, honey is not vegan as it's a byproduct of bees, an animal.

Answer 6

Yup, vegetarians eat dairy products from animals, just not the meat. Vegans do not eat products from any animal - milk, cheese, eggs. Some vegetarians and vegans do it for the sake of the animals - the didn't like the idea of animals being slaves for human consumption. Others do it for health reasons. Red meat has fat, so cutting out the fat would help in staying healthy. Some who don't eat red meat still eat chicken and fish - again, it all depends on how you want to eat. No one else can tell you what you want to eat or not and whether you're doing it right just do what makes you happy.

Answer 7

I'm a vegetarian that eats vegan at home and lacto-ovo-vegetarian when I go out.

This is because getting rid of dairy and eggs is VERY easy when you do your own cooking. There are plenty of good cookbooks and online recipes that don't use these products and you can just make those.

I used to think that vegans couldn't bake, since they couldn't use eggs, milk or butter, but that's not true.

Meat can be replaced with beans, tofu, seitan or tempeh or just skipped entirely.

Cow milk can be replaced with soy milk, even in cooking.

Butter can be replaced with Earth Balance (brand name butter substitute) or vegetable oils

Eggs can be replaced with firm tofu in eggy things like scrambled eggs.

Cream can be replaced with pureed silken tofu

Cheese can be replaced with soy cheeses, or a cashew/nutritional yeast combo. Look up vegan "cheese" sauces to get ideas with this.

Eggs in baking can be replaced with a whole slew of things. There's a powder called Ener-G egg Replacer that you can mix with water to replace eggs. Red Mill also has a product like this. You can also use banana (1/4 cup = 1 egg), ground-up flaxseeds and water (1 Tbsp. flaxseed + 2 Tbsp. water = 1 egg), soft tofu (1/4 cup = 1 egg).. there's more too just read the link I posted in references

Eating out is a different story. There are many dishes that could be easily made vegan that just aren't because vegans are the minority. You can contact a vegan society near you and ask for a list of restaurants that serve vegan dishes.

Also, if you go vegan, don't forget to take B12 pills!

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Edit to address another post:
"Milk wont hurt any Animal ...Why do this..?"
Cows have to be kept constantly pregnant to produce milk, which already is harmful. Preganacy is a difficult thing on the body. Their babies are turned into future milk cows or sold for veal. Also, when theirs milk production wanes after a few years, they are sent to slaughter. So, yes it DOES hurt animals.

"My cousin did the same ....then went all "Strange" lost weight...died at 6 stone.....at 41 years old..."

I'm sorry about your cousin, but there are plenty of vegans who live long healthy lives with no problem at all. Your cousin's problem were likely unrelated to his veganiam.

Answer 8

If you care enough about your morals then it can be quite easy... just think of an animal having to go through pain just to please your tastebuds. (I'm not trying to preach by the way... I don't mind what others eat, it's just that's what helps me avoid dairy etc)

You can replace milk with soymilk... I actually really like it now that I'm used to it. Make sure your tea isn't boiling hot when you put it in though because it will curdle.

As for cheese... yep, a lot of them are foul! I find the Cheezly brand quite nice though, especially as it's the only kind I've found that melts.

The hardest thing I found was giving up krispy kremes! They were my all time favourite food but like I said, if you just think of your reasons for going vegan then it gets easier.

It's great you're choosing to go vegan but please don't make the mistake which some vegans do of preaching your ethics. Explain your views to those that ask for them but try not to force them on people.

Good luck with everything... I've become a lot happier since going vegan so hopefully you will too!

Answer 9

Personally I think cutting out cheese is pretty difficult. There are soy-based cheeses you can eat but they aren't that great.

For the milk in tea just get some soy milk, that isnt difficult at all and it tastes good.

Answer 10

I've always hated dairy and eggs - even ice cream grossed me out, just knowing it was a frozen body fluid...

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to gross you out! The trick is avoiding hidden dairy/egg ingredients! Anything with the word "lact", or "eggs" or "casein" or "whey" = no no.

Oh, and the tea?
You have not liiiiived until you've tried plain (or vanilla, if you like) ALMOND MILK in your tea. They sell it at most supermarkets. Get it fortified/enriched so you get the same nutrients as milk, without any of the yucky stuff you get in milk.

So, I prescribe: Almond milk.

{Food 0rgaasssm}