Weaning Off Dairy...The SUPPORT Thread!

[urbandryad]

this is going to be tough for me. Cheese is one of the loves of my life. But I think I've become lactose intolerant from eating too much of it, and now I get headaches and dizziness from eating dairy products. I don't know. I'm switching to soy anyway, but converting my lasagna is going to be easier than I thought. I ran out of cheese this month and instead of paying money for more I just made my mushroom lasagna without it. (actually, the only thing I can make WELL is lasagna. Must be the Italian in me) Still, it was good. Num num num. I'll submit the recipe eventually. XD

[Coney]

Okay...I've been doing much better about avoiding cheese.

Myself and 15 other friends had a progressive dinner, and one course was a Cheese and Fruit course. I mentioned ahead of time that I wasn't in favor of a cheese course, for reasons I'd rather not go into. So now, all of my friends know I'm "lactose intolerant" so that'll help the dairy situation around them. And I never buy cheese for the house, so it seems like i may be able to avoid it for good. My family will be the only forseeable problem, and I see them about twice a year.

i'm pretty darn happy about my current strict-veg diet, and it seems as though most days I'm vegan. Go figure! (keep up on the flax, keep up on the flax...)

[Fyvel]

Cheese and ice cream. Those are my weaknesses. The more I try to give up cheese the more I crave it. Many years ago when I found out what rennet was, I mostly gave up cheese for about a year (would snack ocassionally on Havarti that didn't have rennet). When I finally found non-rennet cheese, I was back at it again.

It's summer. There are dairy bars like crazy here.. and ice cream from "Cows" is just so amazing...

I do try to focus on the positive: I no longer buy milk. I no longer put 18% cream in my coffee (though the Inernational Delight does have sodium caseinate in it, but I'm not worrying about minor ingredients right now). I threw out my last tub of yogurt because it grossed me out (which was big for me because I was eating it like crazy for a while).

[Amy SF]

That's how I felt about cheese back when I was a happy l/o. I'd eat it by the tubful. Now that I'm trying to convert to veganism, it all just seems kinda gross. :spew:

[Fyvel]

I'm hoping to get to that point. That's really the only reason I am such a successful vegetarian. I don't have all that much willpower!

Just in the past couple of months I have really managed to start thinking of milk, yogurt, and eggs as disgusting things I don't want to eat. And I haven't been eating them. Not that I was ever a milk drinker (except on cereal). So hopefully thinking that way about cheese is something that will come with time.

[righteousbabe]

It's been difficult for me to go full on vegan too. My main problem, or, only problem really, is eliminating things with dairy by-products in them. Like today, I was waiting in line at the DMV with my sister and we were there for two hours. I hadn't eaten all day, so I got some hot-cheetos. I was still a bit hungry after eating a small bag of them, so I shared some of my sister's normal cheetos with her. I WAS STARVING! The first one I ate, it was actually kind of repulsive because now even the thought of eating dairy sickens me (like eating . . . steak . . eww), but I got used to it again after about the 3rd cheeto. Yeah, that's my only failure for today. It does make me feel rather guilty, but the main, more obvious things like cheese on sandwiches and ice cream, I have no problem saying no to those.
Oh, and Toffuti Cuties! SO GOOD! I have some in the freezer right now. I think I'll go have one . . . yum!! I like this thread. it makes me feel a little less guilty that I have some set backs now and then. It's also funny I think because it's liek it's an addiction or something and we're having withdrawls. LoL.

[Fyvel]

It's also funny I think because it's liek it's an addiction or something and we're having withdrawls. LoL.

Actually cheese is considered to be an 'addictive' food ....

[soulshine]

I'm thankful that I never loved cheese... as it seems many people do have that addiction : )

Weening off dairy has been not so bad considering I'm not trying to do it.

I switched to soy milk (i'm in love with light silk), got smart balance light and haven't had eggs. However, i have been eating baked goods that do have both eggs and milk. If I ever do decide to completely let go... I think that would be my MAJOR weakness.

[marina13]

Actually cheese is considered to be an 'addictive' food ....


can you elaborate? i'm curious.

[Fyvel]

can you elaborate? i'm curious.

http://www.worldveganday.org/html/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=193

Explains it pretty well.

[MEM]

O.k. So I'm working on being vegan in my own house, at least. This started about 2 weeks ago, so I'm still working up to a lot of things, trying to take it one meal, one day at a time. Some days it works. Other days....not so much....

Yesterday was a "not so much" day, but with some noticable changes in attitude. When I got home from work I was starving. I usually grab a snack since the boy and I don't eat dinner until 7pm or so. Right now the fridge is kinda empty, but there was some cheese and some bread, so I made myself a half a grilled cheese sandwich. Usually this sort of thing makes me happy. This time it didn't. It didn't look appetizing. It looked greasy and icky. Still it tasted good, but not good enough to make again. And it didn't make me feel good. It sat in my tummy like a lump for the rest of the evening, including during martial arts training, two hours later. Ick.

The problem is that cheese is easy to grab for a quick snack after work. I don't have to think about it. It lasts a lot longer in our fridge than veggies (which are gone after three days), doesn't take as long to cut up and goes on sandwiches easy.
Not buying cheese is not always an option, since my fiance is an omni and buys it for his sandwiches.
I'm not a big fan of standard cheese slices (the ones that come in plastic wrap), although they seem fairly indistingishable from the veggie slices, then again both taste plastic-y.
I'm actually going to look for the follow your heart stuff the next time I'm at the Co-op.
I've noticed that if I have the vegan alternatives in the fridge, that I will choose them over the non-vegan ones in the fridge (cream cheese, sour cream, etc...)
I know what I have to do (look for and buy the vegan alternative), but I wanted to post my progress some where, and figured that here would be a good spot.

ETA: the whole point, I think, is that I'm at a stage where I can consider giving up dairy at some point in the future. 6 months ago it wasn't even something I could even consider, since I thought all vegans were kinda weird (to put it mildly. no offense intended).

[Kelson]

Hey, thanks for telling us about your story! Don't worry, I used to think Vegans were totally bonkers when I was younger and even when I went Vegetarian at the age of 20 I thought there was no way I could go Vegan, but now I am one so it just goes to show you how much things can change with time.

Keep on keepin' on! :vebo:

[SpaciousDreamer]

When I was younger and worked at the Cleveland Food Co-op, I was vegan for 6 weeks. One day I freaked and went to the dairy isle and pigged out on sharp cheddar! But I haven't had cow's milk in so long I can't remember. I love Rice Dream! Now, years later, my housemates are both vegan (he is lactose intolerant and she's married to him) and we share so many meals that most of my menus are all vegan. I also went on a huge weight-loss rampage, and cheese/dairy is the biggest fat enemy.

Now I substitute sherbert or smoothies for ice cream, and will only occasionally indulge in mac n' cheese. Soy milk in coffee is great. I really limit all fatty/processed stuff, and that includes avocados, tofu, nuts, not just cheese. Even Tofutti and vegenaise, all that stuff in moderation.

It's ironic, b/c my BF works for a gourmet cheese importer, and he can get the best cheese, but we no longer take advantage of that perk, choosing instead kalamata olives or roasted peppers.

[Megs]

Hi everyone! I've been considering going vegan for awhile. Natch, like pretty much everyone else here, I figured I couldn't really do it, and was too intimidated to try. There's not one specific thing that changed that, I just feel like I owe it to the animals to give it a go. I feel pretty hypocritical taking this major stance on not killing animals, and then paying the industry to do exactly that when I go out and eat cheese or eggs or milk products. I may buy organic for home (and, really, it "may" be truly organic), but I certainly don't when I'm at a restaurant.

So...here I go. Unfortunately I seem to make these decisions at the worst possible time! I have a bit of tofu left in the fridge, and oatmeal and malt-o-meal. Then there is milk, eggs, and a TON of cheese, along with white bread. Yikes! My bf is a meat-eater (called omni here?). And I've been out of a job for awhile. I have one now, but won't be paid until the 15th. And there's no food! Of course, since bf has been supporting us, he doesn't have money for food either. So I fear I'm going to be putting this off until the 15th, which will make me feel so much worse! Ick.

I really do WANT to give up dairy. I have the same cheesey-monkey that so many others have here. I'm ready to face my monkey, but I don't have any monkey tools!:brood:

It was no problem at all for me to be veggie. I think I was lacto-veggie? I don't eat fish, but do/did consume dairy. I just decided one day that I didn't want to contribute to the mass murder of animals, and that was it. I haven't purposefully eaten meat since. But I just don't think it's going to be that easy here. I decided a long time ago that I need to be vegan, but I still haven't acted on it...:-/

Know what I'm going to miss? Olive Garden's cheese-ravioli. Wow...:cry:

[TheWrongGirl]

Know what I'm going to miss? Olive Garden's cheese-ravioli. Wow...:cry:

Me- Olive Garden's Mushroom Ravioli in that sun-dried tomato cheese sauce. GOOD STUFF. Oh, and queso. I am a fiend for cheese dip.

I am currently going vegan too, and taking it one day at a time. I haven't done too bad, actually. I still have the cheese craving, and I allow myself cheese one meal a week. There will be slip-ups at first, but it's do-able.

It is hard, though, when you've no money and the other people in your house are not vegan. You'll be alright, though.

TWG

[Megs]

It is hard, though, when you've no money and the other people in your house are not vegan. You'll be alright, though.

TWG

Thanks...:bow: I'm just going to throw together as much vegan stuff as I can over the next week and a half. Then I'm going to go buy some basics that will allow me to expand my menu and still keep it as low cost as I can.
At least bf is totally supportive of this. I told him last night, and he said that if that's what I wanted to do to support my beliefs, then he would do what he could to help me along. (Of course, that excludes going veggie or veg*n - he's afraid of vegetables!:dizzy: )

[Fyvel]

Owww... that Cows "Peanut Budder Boom" ice cream I almost didn't get is disagreeing with me right now....

Guess it will make it easier to choose not to have it next time around :/

[Megs]

Owww... that Cows "Peanut Budder Boom" ice cream I almost didn't get is disagreeing with me right now....

Guess it will make it easier to choose not to have it next time around :/
Maybe there's a great vegan sub...& it won't make you sick!:up:

[Fyvel]

I've tried the soy stuff before (when they were giving out free samples ;))... I liked it alright, but not enough to pay so much for such a small tub of it. I don't think there is anything that could quite sub for "Cows" ice cream... as much as I am paying for it now, it was quite delicious :p

[MEM]

I wanted to give an update on some of my progress, since I'm finding it sort of funny.
I keep having this reaction of "why didn't anyone TELL me that vegan food was so tasty?!"
We made pesto last night without the parmesan cheese and substituting cashews for the pinenuts (because there were no pinenuts in the house).
It was tasty enough that I had the leftover pesto on my toast this morning instead of butter and jam.
This weekend in general was a mixed success, the majority of the meals were vegan and when there was dairy, it was minimal. I dunno, it feels like progress....

[Megs]

Arghh...OK, so I thought my bf was being supportive. He was at first. But now he's on this "what about when we go here, or there?" stuff. Now he tells me he'll feel guilty eating things he knows I like in front of me. I asked him if he minded eating a steak in front of me, because in my day I really liked steak. No, because he didn't know me back then. Finally I told him that while I was sorry that I was causing him some guilt, my decision had nothing to do with him, and if he felt guilty for keeping factory farms in business, then I wasn't going to feel bad about that. He also feels guilty because he bought a bunch of dairy "for me" to eat since I'm home during the day. ??? Sheesh, sorry my decision is so rough on ya, buddy!

[isowish]

Very late into this thread, I'm joining in. I'm desperately trying to reduce dairy :(
But today, I think, has been dairy-free. Mostly because I haven't had much in the house all day to eat. But I did make sure the chocolate bar I got was vegan, so some of it was down to effort!

[Fyvel]

I've had an almost dairy free day today. I had International Delight in my coffee this morning after another failed attempt at an alternative (it has "sodium caseinate", which is a milk ingredient... but it's fairly far down on the ingredients list, so for now I am not counting it).

And the Ragu sauce I had on my macaroni had "may contain traces of milk ingredients" on the label. But I figure this is just because they are processing it in the same place as dairy ingredients (cheese?) and this is their way of covering their butts if some milk ingedients get in there and someone takes an allergic reaction.

So a pretty good day :) But I still have a piece of leftover homemade pizza with cheese on it in the fridge. Plus I have a whole block of unopened cheddar - a huge block... that I think I may have to give away....

[Megs]

What is Calcium Carbonate? Silk Soymilk (chocolate) has it. Darn! I like that stuff.

[Amy SF]

What is Calcium Carbonate? Silk Soymilk (chocolate) has it. Darn! I like that stuff.

Relax, it's not animal OR vegetable. It's a mineral.

http://web1.caryacademy.org/chemistry/rushin/StudentProjects/CompoundWebSites/2003/calciumcarbonate/home.htm

Click on "Uses" at the top of the page and then scroll down to "At the Grocery Store"