Vegan wannabe

[Sheik del Mar]

So, I'm new to the site and the vegetarianism, and I need some help :help: :cry: ! Can anyone send me some tips to help me ease into this, por favor? Gracias!
Sheik

[Sheik del Mar]

Yes, Sheiky, we feel your pain, not to mention your impatience. But you can wait longer, luv, just a little longer...go burn that incense and do your yoga...*whimper*...you are not a hippie, no matter what anyone else says....*sniffle*....

[Sheik del Mar]

-Official Apology-
Sorry if anyone finds me overtly strange, but I feel I have to warn you, that is my way. And no, I know what you're thinking, I am NOT normal. But the insanity tips once in a while, so (hate to be blunt) get over it! Forgive my utter maladroitness and my lack of fortitude.

[lollypop]

hey if you want some hard copies - info i can post some to you and if you dont want to give your address you could give me a school or local sorting office's address#

good luck with everything you insane person :dizzy:

[Loki]

Well, not everyone is online all the time, so don't worry if you don't get a reply for some time.

The bestt ip would to take it at your own pace, such as reducing the amount of meat you consume slowly. Other than that, there's not much that I can contribute.

[Loki]

Well, not everyone is online all the time, so don't worry if you don't get a reply for some time.

The best tip would to take it at your own pace, such as reducing the amount of meat you consume slowly. Other than that, there's not much that I can contribute.

[raylea]

Well, I'm glad you've decided that you want to join us, and, no, I don't think you're weird... We all have our moments.

What helps a lot of people is to "ease in" to vegetarianism. For instance, start by giving up red meat, then poultry, then fish, then eggs, then dairy, etc. over the course of weeks or months (even years, if you need to). If you go to a point that you are happy with (ie. no red meat or poultry, but eating eggs and dairy), stay there! No need to become vegan overnight! Find veggie alternatives to things you usually eat... good things to have on hand are veggie burgers/veggie hotdogs and soy cheese. Also, get to love beans, nuts, and other legumes, they contain protein and vital nutrients. But just because you're vegetarian doesn't mean that you have to eat "weird" food. Peanut butter and jelly, unfrosted strawberry poptarts, and french fries (not cooked in animal fat) are all vegan.

And here are some links.
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/teennutrition.htm
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/nutshell.htm
http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm
http://www.vegetarian-diet.info/vegetarian.htm

Good luck!!

[maple_syrup]

ha it makes me smile how everyone is like (gradually ease yourself into it, eat less and less meat everyday, etc.) i became vegan overnight (literally). thursday night's dinner was chicken fingers and then ice cream, the next day for breakfast, toast with jam and peanut butter. then when i got home i went on a giant "stock the vegan pantry" grocery shop with my mom who was almost amused so she went along with it, and now i just recently celebrated 9 months vegan. ok enough about me.

it's not so hard once you learn how to properly cook things and have meal plans. when you first start out the cooking takes awhile, so on weekends its a good idea to make a giant pot of soup or chili and then freeze individual servings for days when you dont have enough time. for each meal (except breakfast) i try to think, "okay, wheres my protein, my veggie, my calcium, my iron". if you're worried about nutrition etc. you can take a veg*n vitamin with everything you need till youre pretty sure you have it under control. also, watch out for soy cheese that says dairy free but still has casein (a milk protein) in it. that cheese tricked me for a while till i read on here that casein isnt vegan. graham crackers, normal crackers, most whole wheat breads, rice, couscous, pasta, tempeh, tofu, tvp, lightlife products are all vegan.

veggieburgers-only the original boca burger is vegan, then gardenburger makes a chik'n grill herb one thats pretty good and the diner deluxe is vegan (the whole list of their vegan burgers is at http://www.gardenburger.com ) amy's brand frozen foods make alot of vegan things too. oh pickles!!! cant forget pickles! and..maple syrup, oatmeal, bagels, twizzlers (if you dont count the sugar...ive been meaning to call them about the sugar they use), hersheys chocolate syrup, tofutti (soy) ice creams, cream cheeses, and sour creams are all good, so are soy delicious ice creams...hmm...thats what i can come up with now. please please please pm me if you have any questions or anything, im always here to help usher new vegans into the world!!!

[Sheik del Mar]

Thanks a lot, guys! I don't suppose there are any fav recipes you could share? I don't have trouble giving up meat, it's just that I'm worried that I eat to many carbs and starches and such. I've tried being a veg. once, but I stopped to research a bit more because I didn't have a balanced diet. Muchas gracias for the info and the sites! It's a big help!

[vegan_hottie07]

I don't have much time to give you the link, but somewhere on the site theres a forum on food and recipes..go check it out, I liked it!

[maple_syrup]

hummus!!! (it's protein, not starchy, i think)

can of chickpeas/garbanzos/whatever they call them on whatever country you're in
4 leaves fresh basil (thats what i like in it, you can put anything from garlic to rotisserie spices in it to make it whatever flavor)
some water or olive oil

put beans into food processor. turn into mush. add spices and enough liquid to get it to desired consistency. blend till smooth. eat on sandwiches with spinach, with crackers or chips as dip, with carrot sticks (im weird), or as spread on veggie wraps. speaking of veggie wraps,

Veggie wraps

-1 whole wheat tortilla
-spinach or lettuce
-assortment of veggies (shredded carrots, chopped up green or red peppers, corn, w/e you like/can fit)
-black beans or tofu or tempeh cubes (i like to use my leftovers from dinner and then make my lunch for school tomorrow)
-hummus

Spread hummus on tortilla. put spinch on top of that. put mixture of all veggies plus beans or other protein source* on top, but not to much so that you cant close it easily. then fold it and eat or wrap in saran wrap or wax paper for later.

*you can make a ton of the veg n bean mixture, and then use it throughout the week. yum yum!!

sorry if im hard to understand!

[totalmuggle]

lets see

1. a while ago i vegetarian overnight.( im not a picky person-just stop eating meat and shut up)

2. a while later i became a vegan-overnight

[totalmuggle]

sorry im not much help. but i will tell u one cool thing! i dont miss any candy!i thought the worst part would not being able to eat things like chocolate and other non-vegan sweets but i really have never had a craving. i do miss pizza a bit- but thats one of those things i expected becuase of my family friday pizza day. uggg but now that im a bit over it i can watch them eat pizza smothered in cheese without ever wincing! u can do it if u try! :no:

[RveganR]

I was one of those people that whent vegan overnight. It was quite a pain because I was very committed but had serious cravings in the first few months. I quickly found to reduce these craving I had to remove myself from situation were I would be hungry around animal products. So I started scheduling my meals the day before to ensure that I would'nt miss a meal and at the same time to be sure I would'nt go hungry. I also bought a few vegan meal bars and anytime I get hungry and didnt have a meal prepared I could munch on those and It will usually satisfy me.

[FafaFrappy]

here is my favorite, favorite recipe!!! I made it up m'self. :D

This is great served over quinoa (or brown rice). I also like it with a side of steamed (glazed with brown sugar and cinnamon) baby carrots, and a nice salad. :)

Spicy Orange-BBQ Tofu

Ingredients:

Tofu itself-
- 1/3 a block of extra firm tofu. (water-packed, drain before frying)
- Flour
- Salt
- Oil for frying

Sauce-
- approx. 1/2 cup vegan BBQ sauce
- 2 heaping teaspoons orange marmalade
- Cayenne Pepper, to taste.

1) Take apart the tofu (with hands for a more nugget texture) into bite size chunks.

2) To bread the tofu, take 1/2 a cup of flour, and salt it. Roll the tofu around to generously cover with the flour mixture.

3) Pan, or deep fry all tofu until golden brown. Let drain on paper towels.

4) Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Heat a pan to medium-high heat.

5) add tofu to the pan, and cover with the BBQ sauce mixture. Stir, and simmer until sauce becomes a thick glaze (vinegar will boil out, so be careful with the fumes getting to your eyes!)

NOTE: if you think you haven't added enough cayenne pepper, you have. Keep in mind most of the liquid ingredients boil off to make the sauce denser. I tried the (unboiled) sauce after adding a lot of cayenne pepper, it was sort of spicy, but when all the ingredients boiled off, man was it HOT!

[annabanana]

Here are some good ones:
Fruit French Toast

· 1 banana, peeled and broken into chunks
· 4 large strawberries, fresh or frozen
· 1/3 cup apple juice
· ½ teaspoon cinnamon
· 4 slices whole wheat bread

Blend together first four ingredients. Soak bread in the fruit mixture. Cook on both sides on lightly oiled or non-stick griddle until just beginning to brown.

Variation: Use other fruits such as pineapple or blueberries. From Being Vegan by Bebra Wasserman

This isn't as complicated as it looks. Just lots of ingredients, but they're almost all canned:

Three Bean Chili


· 1 tablespoon olive oil
· 1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
· ½ small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
· 2 garlic minced cloves or garlic powder
· 1 small, fresh hot chili (optional), seeded and minced
· 3 tablespoons tomato paste
· 1-2 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste
· One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
· One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
· One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
· One 15-ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
· 1.5 cups water
· 1 teaspoon salt
· ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper


Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and bell pepper, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (about 10 minutes). Add the garlic and chile (if using) and cook for one minute. Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, and tomatoes until well blended. Add all the beans, the water, salt, and pepper and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced and the flavors are blended, 30 to 40 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings, then serve hot.

Note: 1.5 cups cooked beans may be used for every 15 oz. canned beans.

Adapted from Vegan Plant by Robin Robinson

Italian Rice and Veggie Supper
· 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1 cup thinly sliced fresh carrots
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini or yellow summer squash, cut into bite-sized pieces
3/4 cup uncooked regular long grain rice
1 & 1/2 cups water
1 (15 or 15.5 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with garlic and oregano, undrained
1/2 teaspoon salt
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat until home. Add onion and celery; cook and stir 3 minutes. Add zucchini; cook and stir 2 minutes.
Stir in all remaining ingredients and bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetable oil and liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.