A lot of people end up asking me if I'm vegetarian because I rarely eat meat, but I always used to tell them no. I used to eat chicken/turkey breast, but the other day I had a turkey wrap and I wanted to puke it up. It was digusting. I want to becocome a vegan, but I know I can't do it suddenly. I'll just stick with being a vegetarian for now and gradually wean myself off yogurt. Anyway, hello to all- I'm glad I joined and hopefully I'll learn from you guys.

Welcome to VB! Definitely slow and easy is the way to go, especially if you think you might have a hard time with it. You will find a lot of good info here.

If you want to be vegan, you will be.
One thing that might help you feel less overwhelmed about what seems like a sudden/big change is to try a bunch of new foods instead of just cutting several out.

For instance, Tofurkey and several other companies make some great (and vegan!) faux turkey slices for sandwiches, and there are some really yummy yogurts made with soymilk instead of cows' milk. Even some good dairy-free yogurt drinks. If you try to throw some of these and other new things into the mix now, then whether you go totally vegan in a day, a week, or several months, you'll have figured out an expanded repertoire of eats so you never have to feel deprived or bored with it.

Good luck.

If that's the path that works for you, that's great. Congrats on choosing a better way of life.

Hi, welcome and congrats on deciding to go vegan.

If you think you need a slow transition then that is your best bet. Many people can go vegan suddenly even from a heavy meat based omni diet. But this path isn't for everyone. Choose the path that is best for you. There are lots of people here that are ready to support you and give you advice.

Thanks for the replies. I was wondering... What are some foods commonly mistaken to be vegan? I'm sure this has been discussed before, so can someone point me to a website or to another thread?

Breads, for example. Many are made with milk products (eg. NFDM, whey) and/or honey. If cysteine is there, it's probably from an animal source (eg. chicken feathers or usually *human hair*), as is something they're calling 'nadem' or such -- I forget exactly. Mono/di-glycerides could be either animal or mineral.

Filled pastas, eg. ravioli, are usually made with egg dough.

Caeser dressing contains anchovies, as does worchestershire sauce.

Some snack chips, eg. the Terra mediterranean contain milk products for no apparent reason. I've seen frozen potatoes like this as well.

Non-dairy creamers (!) and most "soy cheese" contain casein -- milk protein.

Many brands of red/pink grapefruit juice use carmine/cochineal for coloring.

The veggie/garden patties sold at some Subways contain eggs.

Refined white sugar in the US, at least, is often made with bone charcoal, and many wines are clarified with fish bladder or egg products which in theory the end product doesn't contain. Whether or not you consider those vegan is up to you.

I became vegetarian last spring. I'd like to be vegan but it's slow going. For now, I am transitioning all my favorite recipes to vegan ones and putting them on a site http://www.simple-vegetarian-recipes.com.

My big problem is milk in coffee. I have tried soy milk, soy creamer, and almond milk. Next up is rice milk. I've even tried to see if I can enjoy it black. So far, nothing tastes good like milk.

Other than that, I make a LOT of pumpkin pie and that calls for evaporated milk and eggs. Soy milk works for the milk and I FINALLY figured out how to take care of the eggs. The recipe is on my site.

My problem with those soy yogurts is they are just one big shot of sugar. They taste delicious, but I question what sort of nutrition I am getting from them. Omnivorous me used to eat dairy yogurt for nutrition as well as flavor. So the soy yogurt better have the nutrition as well or else I'm not going near it.

Thai food often has fish sauce in it, so if you are dining at a glorious Thai restaraunt (and you should) me sure they add no fish sacue or oyster sauce to your dish.

Lard can sneak up in all sorts of stuff: beans, tortialla shells, canned foods, etc.

My brother found out I was going vegan... and basically said I was a freak. He told me it would be hippie, and that I wouldn't get enough calcium or protein, and that I was just doing it to be cool or something (when I wasn't planning on telling anyone at all). His words: "You friggin vegan" (while shaking head in dissapointment).

I'm doing it because I don't like meat/meat products and I'm totally against eating it, too. Anyway, that was very discouraging and I'm kind of scared of telling anyone else. I don't want them to think I'm trying to impress them or anything. Following a vegan lifestyle doesn't seem hard or daunting at all to me; it's just telling people about it and explaining why that are difficult.

My brother found out I was going vegan... and basically said I was a freak. He told me it would be hippie, and that I wouldn't get enough calcium or protein, and that I was just doing it to be cool or something (when I wasn't planning on telling anyone at all). His words: "You friggin vegan" (while shaking head in dissapointment).

He sounds really educated on the subject. :rolleyes: