New to being vegan

[MissBoomBox]

I'm new to this and i would really appreciate some advice. My willpower is crap and i love cheese :( is there any alternatives to dairy?:confused:

[Mojie]

I had the same issue (I loved cheese and couldn't imagine being able to give it up without a fight). It actually ended up being much easier than I expected. :D

For me, what worked was tapering down on my dairy consumption. I still let myself eat it now and then (whenever I wanted, but not when I was eating it just for the sake of eating something that tasted good) and then slowly worked down until I wasn't eating it at all.

I've been vegan for almost a month now (and I was near-vegan for a couple months before that), and I don't miss cheese at all. I haven't found a good vegan cheese yet (they're all disappointing compared to the real thing since the texture is generally off, they don't usually melt well and there's usually an aftertaste of some sort to them), so I've been not eating cheese at all. From what I hear, though, the best way to appreciate vegan cheese is to go without for quite a while and then try it. :lol:

As far as other dairy items go, these are my favorite replacements:

Milk --> Silk plain soymilk (I almost never drank milk even before I was vegan, but I used it to cook with; I don't particularly like Silk on its own, but I love it on cereal and to cook with)

Cream cheese --> Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese

Sour Cream --> Tofutti Sour Supreme

Ice Cream --> Temptations Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Tofutti Better Pecan

Butter --> Earth Balance margarine (either Soy Garden or Original, they taste basically identical to me)

Good luck! :rockon:

[MissBoomBox]

Thank you :wayne: I think im going to have to try going cold turkey for a while :( fingers crossed i dont let myself down :)

[Mojie]

You're very welcome! :rockon:

If you slip, just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and get back in the saddle. I know the worst part is letting yourself down (I'm the same way), but it's normal and nothing to beat yourself up about. :)

[MissBoomBox]

:)

[Fyvel]

It helps to change your perception of food. Before I went vegan, I was a vegetarian who put cheese on almost everything. It helped for me to find some new recipes that weren't so cheese-based. Avocado makes a nice substitute for cheese on things like veggie burgers, etc.

It may be helpful to start by saying you're just going to give it up for a month. By the end of that time period, most people's tastes have changed, and it will have given you time to get away from the cheese addiction.

I wouldn't recommend any vegan cheeses at this point. Just stay away - far away - from them for at least 6 months. They aren't cheese. They don't have the same chemical properties of cheese that make it so enjoyable (there are opiates in cheese - that's why it's so addictive). You will be disappointed. If it has been a long time though, you may find these foods a tolerable addition to some meals. But they aren't cheese, so don't go into it looking for a decent cheese substitute that will take away your cravings for cheese, because that just doesn't exist.

But don't despair! There are so many yummy vegan meals to be had. Expand your horizons and try new things. Check out www.vegweb.com for lots of great, free recipes.

[nontoxicglue]

As a new vegan, I figured I'll share some advice with you on how I managed the last two months. I tried going to go steadily vegan earlier this year, but I failed after 16 days. :-/ But, then I tried again, and this time worked like a charm. The key is to quit cold turkey and I began telling others that I was vegan. I think when you start defining yourself as a vegan, it's harder to succumb because I don't think anyone wants to come off as a hypocrite...at least for me...

Here are the treats I ate in substitute of egg-based baked goods...

Almond Breeze (original flavor) with Newman's Own Alphabet Cookies or Newman's Os will deter any cookie craving. :)

The vegan scones, muffins, and cookies at WholeFoods is delicious!!!

Choc. soy pudding is also good.

Basically, whenever I indulged myself every now and then so I don't feel like I'm missing out on much.

Summer is actually a great time to go vegan because you have less cravings for heavy foods. Salad is always great and if you want a cold treat, you can get soy ice-cream, which tastes better than real ice cream since it's "lighter." I know they have non-dairy frozen yogurt too. Those are great.

With so many options available, veganism just became second-nature to me.

[MissBoomBox]

Thanks for all the advice :D

[zombina]

As far as vegan cheeses go, I'm going to have to reccomend Rice Slices (some contain caesin, so look for the ones that say vegan on the package.) I couldn't see myself making a full out grilled cheese with them or anything, but I think they make an excellent substitute on veggie burgers and sandwhiches, much better than soy cheese.

[Simply_Love]

As a new vegan, I figured I'll share some advice with you on how I managed the last two months. I tried going to go steadily vegan earlier this year, but I failed after 16 days. :-/ But, then I tried again, and this time worked like a charm. The key is to quit cold turkey and I began telling others that I was vegan. I think when you start defining yourself as a vegan, it's harder to succumb because I don't think anyone wants to come off as a hypocrite...at least for me...

This is what I've been doing too :) I haven't technically gone vegan yet, because I need to finish up my prepared veggie meats and things that contain milk or egg biproducts(which is going to take forever because I rarely eat them gah), but I've told all my friends I'm going vegan, which is good considering tomorrow where cooking in french and using my FAVORITE type of cheese (totally spelt wrong, but guierre). If I hadn't, tomorrow I would of been eating a ton of it, but since they know it'll be easy to pass it up :)

As for vegan cheeses, I found a almond milk swiss cheese a few weeks ago that was vegan. It wasn't the best, it tasted just like almonds with fake cheese flavoring, but I made a pizza with it and it wan't half bad. If you look in the health food section of a Fred Meyer or Safeway(or if you're lucky enough to have a Trader Joes or Whole Foods) you'll find quiet a few options :)

[Dustin XVX]

Cheese was the only thing keeping me from going vegan as well. Seriously don't eat Vegan Gourmet, you will HATE it. However I hear good things about this Follow Your Heart brand....trying it this weekend! Glad to hear you've gone vegan, it's only been a week for me. (Vegetarian for two years)

[Hotchilidog]

The other thing to do is not to obsess about it too much. People can get too fixated on the cheese issue in terms of it being a negative, ie I'm giving something up. In reality you are actually making a positive choice by choosing not to have animals die or suffer for your benefit.

I'm also new to being a vegan (week six for me) and I've now stopped drinking cask beer which has been fined with Isinglass, this was a big deal for me but I've been able to cope with it because going animal-free is something I really want to do.

Good luck with your new vegansim!

[ilovesabzi]

The other thing to do is not to obsess about it too much. People can get too fixated on the cheese issue in terms of it being a negative, ie I'm giving something up. In reality you are actually making a positive choice by choosing not to have animals die or suffer for your benefit.

I'm also new to being a vegan (week six for me) and I've now stopped drinking cask beer which has been fined with Isinglass, this was a big deal for me but I've been able to cope with it because going animal-free is something I really want to do.

Good luck with your new vegansim!

Congratulations on becoming vegan!! I would have to agree... I was definitely addicted to cheese in my pre-vegan days, but as I learned more about it, it became much less appealing.

Of course, there's always Follow Your Heart "cheese" and tofutti "cream cheese" for those days that you're craving it.

Good luck! :)