Thank you!

Guess I'm out of luck though... the closest store to me is 200 miles away! :wall: I hate Georgia...

They don't carry the Vegan Gourmet, but if you're in a pinch you might like the nacho chreese...
http://store.foodfightgrocery.com/cheesy.html

Yea.... I actually posted on another thread recently that I've been telling waiters lately that I'm allergic to dairy, meat, etc., but a few people said I shouldn't do that.... They had a good point, but your post is exactly why I do it.

It really is sick the way people are treated who are trying their hardest to be compassionate. Makes no sense to me...

I'm thinking I may start using my sister's excuse (which is actually legit) - she's from China, where the food staples are rice and beans mostly. Her body literally can't digest any meat or dairy (or sugar!). She won't have an immediate allergic reaction if she eats those foods, but she will be uncomfortable and sick (and stinky! haha) for *weeks* if she does.

I like that line: "My body can't digest those foods; please leave them out unless you want me stinking up your whole restaurant." :lol:

That does seem like a good thing to say. I think I might say that, if I ever do eat out again. I would say I can't digest it and it makes me violently ill, that way maybe they will be afraid of me sueing them or something. Not that I am vindictive or anything...:angel:
Oh guys remember when I posted about getting sick after going out to eat? Well, I found out (when my friend asked our friend whose family who owns the restaurant to find out) that there was actually chicken broth in the sauce. I was really pissed. He probably just found out when she asked him to, and wasn't saying he already knew and didn't tell me, but in the heat of the moment I emailed her back saying "Did he find out or did he know????" I was just really pissed and I think my trust kinda slipped after seeing posts about a-hole restaurant staff and stuff.

I don't have any great advice for eating out safely. However, I can tell you what I did to successfully kick the cheese habbit.

I used to be a cheese-oholic before I decided to vegan last month. I decided that the only thing to do was to gross myself out so thoroughly that I'd never be able to look at it the same way again. So I decided to start substituting the phrase 'moldy cow excretions' for cheese in my head.... :spew: Moldy cow excretion pizza, grilled moldy cow excretions, macaroni and moldy cow excretions... :lol: You get the idea...

Anyway, suffice to say, I haven't craved moldy cow excretions once since! :bobo:

Emily

:spew:
I love it, Pink!

Hi, I'm jumping in late here, but oh well! I decided to become vegan this past monday. I realized my diet was based too heavily on dairy and eggs product, and I want to cut them out, so I'm doing good, but the other day I had some MF buffalo wings that have eggs and milk in them, but they are hard to find and I was really craving them, other than that its been good. I stocked up at the store the other day too. I've had some experience with vegan foods before, such as the vegan gourmet cheeese. I bought the cheddar flavor, and took one single bite, and it was so digusting I literally spit it back out and it still sits in my fridge three months later because I paid 3.99 for it and feel too bad. Also all soy yogurt I've had has been really nasty. I can handle tofutti singles ok, they melt fine, but the taste isnt so good unless its disguised in a sandwhich with plenty of vegenaise and mustard. I think that silk vanilla is also really good, I had been drinking the light version for a long time, but I tried this recently and it tastes a lot better, and the calorie/fat comparsion isn't much higher.

Hi Jill:

Are you going substitute crazy? :) I love trying substitutes (and some I really like, though I've acquired a taste for them without them being much like the "real" thing.) You might want to put more emphasis on the already vegan dishes, such as a lot of Indian foods, barbeque tofu sandwiches, beans and rice or quinoa, spaghetti marinara, tofu scrambles.... I guess some of these could be considered substitutes in a way, but they are much cheaper and good in themselves.

That aside, I think the Health-Is-Wealth Buffalo Wings are vegan. I have no idea how they compare to Morningstar Farms.

Hi, I'm jumping in late here, but oh well! I decided to become vegan this past monday. I realized my diet was based too heavily on dairy and eggs product, and I want to cut them out, so I'm doing good, but the other day I had some MF buffalo wings that have eggs and milk in them, but they are hard to find and I was really craving them, other than that its been good. I stocked up at the store the other day too. I've had some experience with vegan foods before, such as the vegan gourmet cheeese. I bought the cheddar flavor, and took one single bite, and it was so digusting I literally spit it back out and it still sits in my fridge three months later because I paid 3.99 for it and feel too bad. Also all soy yogurt I've had has been really nasty. I can handle tofutti singles ok, they melt fine, but the taste isnt so good unless its disguised in a sandwhich with plenty of vegenaise and mustard. I think that silk vanilla is also really good, I had been drinking the light version for a long time, but I tried this recently and it tastes a lot better, and the calorie/fat comparsion isn't much higher.

Congrats! I hope you're still doing well?

You're right ... I'm definitely not a fan at all of a lot of the imitations and soy products ... I'm sure they're just an aquired taste (after all, we've been eating the same old stuff our whole lives!), but I found the best way to go vegan (still new to it, too, by the way) is to just start eating all new kinds of food and replace all the cheees, yogurt, etc. completely instead of trying to find imitations. They'll never measure up, in my opinion...

But maybe once you've been vegan a while you could try those products again - if you've sort of forgotten what the 'real' things tasted like, you might find you really like them! I know it's the same thing for me with meat. I tried some boca ground 'beef' a few weeks ago, and I couldn't eat it because it creeped me out - it tasted *way* too much like meat to me - but my boyfriend (who's only been without beef for a few months) said it tasted nothing like beef to him!

been vegan since 1996, and moved further to organic and non-gmo, and currently am eating 90% fresh organic fruit on a caloric restricted diet, and feel fabulous, great energy, and never get sick :)

don't stop at veg, don't stop at vegan! keep exploring and go with the flow

You're right Jonjan!

That's what I love about this place ... I always thought going vegan was the ultimate "goal" until very recently.

When I joined VB, I not only realized how many things weren't actually vegan (or even vegetarian) that I'd been eating, but I also realized that veganism is just another step along the way!

I keep telling myself it's just not possible to go any further than veganism... but that's what I used to say about vegetarianism not long ago too! :)

I hope everyone's still doing well!!

Moe, thanks for giving me a big smile :)
that is so true. i think of diet, and life too, as a process or a journey. There's always more to learn, and explore, and improve on... and never any reason to stop :D It's encouraging to know there's no limit to learning and improving :)

Hey-- hope you don't mind me jumping in on this thread.. I am pretty new here and have not posted much..

Anyhow, I am making a transition from vegetarian to vegan.. would love to hear what has been most helpful/leaste helpful for you.

I was vegan for awhile, then backlashed and even started eating meat again.. gained alot of weight, felt very poor- health not great, etc. Anyhow, I am starting fresh (many life changes, actually) and am very excited about have a clean diet once more.

hi,

for me, maybe 3 keys things helped me most.

1 was to never leave a hole be eliminating any food. I could always see the diet change as a blessing for my tongue and hunger as long as i would replace any food i eliminated, and explore more new foods. That way I was actually increasing my choice of foods... rather than only trying to find foods that were as similar as possible to the old foods.

2 was getting back on track whenever i'd notice i was thinking of eating something not the best... or maybe after i already had eaten it. Good rest helped me be more able to not be guided by urges. And always looking at photos or videos about the animals made my urges disappear.
Being at social food situations required extra effort also, against the urge to just go with the social energy and old choices.

3 was, well i mixed 2 and 3... focusing on my trend, no matter how many times i'd slip... and keeping my reasons in my mind until they became natural, so reading more information, seeing picturs and videos, and talking with others about my diet choice. (just a note, i've avoided any videos or content with much anger involved, or darkness... i do better and am more energized by seeing content than is more centered around caring to help. The anger and darkness can be draining to my energy and spirit usually)

4 and social pressures and feedback was actually my biggest challenge. So many of my famil and friends abondonded me on my journey, and wanted to avoid the topic, and sometimes treat it as a fad or trivialize it. It helped me a lot to stop trying to be a team with people who didn't want to be a team. My mom supports me fully know even tho she still eats the basic american diet, but other family members avoid it with awkward silence.



Can I ask what you feel would inspire you the most to stay dedicated...?

Hey-- hope you don't mind me jumping in on this thread.. I am pretty new here and have not posted much..

Anyhow, I am making a transition from vegetarian to vegan.. would love to hear what has been most helpful/leaste helpful for you.

I was vegan for awhile, then backlashed and even started eating meat again.. gained alot of weight, felt very poor- health not great, etc. Anyhow, I am starting fresh (many life changes, actually) and am very excited about have a clean diet once more.

Hey! Glad you decided to make the change!

I'm vegan for the second time around ... The first time I went vegan I gained around 30 pounds (a lot for me! I'm only 5'2!) But this time around, I actually lost all that weight, plus 15. I feel 10 x's healthier than I ever have.

Did you gain the weight when you went vegan, or when you went back to eating meat? If you gained weight when you went vegan, it was probably because you weren't eating a balanced diet. My first time going vegan, all I ate were CARBS, soy milk and CARBS ... and really nothing else. Learning to cook helps tremendously. I work three jobs and attend school, so I don't have much time to cook, but I've been able to find some really quick, easy vegan recipes that are real inexpensive. I haven't bought a vegan cookbook yet, but there are great recipes all over the internet if you have the time to search for them.

One thing I will say: don't compare going vegan the last time to doing it this time around. I made that mistake the first couple weeks, and I just kept remembering how hard it was the first time (which is silly, because at the time I didn't think it was difficult at all ... funny what the mind does). I've also found that "out of sight, out of mind" is the best thing for me. If you're able to, I think getting all the non-vegan food out of your house is the best way to go. If it's not available to you, you can't be tempted to cheat! :)

Best of luck to you!

Okay, so I'm a little confused.... Could someone help me understand why Boca is suddenly not vegan anymore???

I went to pick up some Boca burgers yesterday for a cookout coming up... I don't eat Boca products often, but it's the only thing I can think of for parties/cookouts since all my friends are omnis... Well, I just happened to read the label on one of the 'sausages' and it said it contained egg whites! I read three other Boca packages next to them and they all had egg whites in them also .....

I'm so confused. I wouldn't even eat eggs when I was vegetarian. Has Boca gone non-vegan?

at my HFS, the only product without egg whites are the burgers specifically labeled vegan. a lot of frozen 'meats' seem to have egg whites/eggs, but after the list of ingredients, it will say 'contains;eggs/milk/soy/wheat' so you can check there to be sure.

Okay, so I'm a little confused.... Could someone help me understand why Boca is suddenly not vegan anymore???

I went to pick up some Boca burgers yesterday for a cookout coming up... I don't eat Boca products often, but it's the only thing I can think of for parties/cookouts since all my friends are omnis... Well, I just happened to read the label on one of the 'sausages' and it said it contained egg whites! I read three other Boca packages next to them and they all had egg whites in them also .....

I'm so confused. I wouldn't even eat eggs when I was vegetarian. Has Boca gone non-vegan?My experience is similar to Giddygarbanzo's: Boca makes both vegan and non-vegan meat analogue foods, but if you want to avoid those containing egg or dairy, you have to look for those specifically labelled "vegan" on the package. When I buy veggie burgers, it's often at the supermarket, not necessarily at the health food store- and their selection can vary, even at different stores in the same chain, such as Price Chopper or Hannaford.

I'm doing pretty well. A few nights ago, I was cooking rice, and poured the measured rice into a small bowl. I brought the water to a boil and added the rice... and noticed a small object in with the rice... I forgot I had put a few calcium tablets in that bowl. I fished them out because I didn't want to consume 200% of my RDA of calcium in one meal. Might have tasted kind of funky, too.....

Anyway, I took them over the next few days after they had dried out. I think taking half a calcium tablet (~25% of the RDA) before bedtime helps me sleep.

I'm new to this and I'm a little lost but here goes.
I'm working on becoming vegan. I was a vegetarian for 2 years until my ex husband and I got back together and had a baby. I did not want the added stress of worrying if I was getting everything the baby needed and being in my late 30's and pregnant I worried about a lot of things so I ate meat since then it's been difficult to go back to being a vegetarian. My son is now 15 months and I have been vegetarian for a month. Wow. I'm trying to transition to become a full vegan for ethical reasons but also health reasons.
I've studied many diets including the macrobiotic diet and I have plenty of information regarding food and nutrients. So to answer your question in this long post I'm up for support to being vegan.

Namaste,
Jen

My experience is similar to Giddygarbanzo's: Boca makes both vegan and non-vegan meat analogue foods, but if you want to avoid those containing egg or dairy, you have to look for those specifically labelled "vegan" on the package. When I buy veggie burgers, it's often at the supermarket, not necessarily at the health food store- and their selection can vary, even at different stores in the same chain, such as Price Chopper or Hannaford.

Yea, I guess I had just been spoiled for awhile then ... I'd been used to following the rule "Morningstar is vegetarian; Boca is vegan," because all the Boca options were vegan for a long time (at my Walmart anyway... the only place i can find Boca here). I guess they're just bringing in more of a variety of Boca products now, because it was all the 'new' products I'd never seen before that had eggs in them ..... Oh well! Guess I'll keep a closer eye on them from now on! :)

Welcome, Jen! Maybe I read over something, but are you back to vegetarian now? Best of luck to you! :)

Hi Jen,

you've got my full support :)
What is your plan to go all-plant... doing it gradually or all at once? And what's the easiest part for you, and the part that takes the most diligence?

best wishes of course..
Jon

Hi all.
Is it too late to join this thread?
I've been vegetarian since July last year (found the transition very easy and had no withdrawals) and this morning made the decision to cut back on dairy. The best way for me is to start initially with no more eggs or milk, as I recon I can do this easily. This should give me the boost to start cutting down on the dredded cheese (so glad I'm not the only one who will find this difficult!) and start to read labels more.
I felt so much better health wise when I became vegetarian so am interested to see whether I feel any benefits with less dairy. I also think that, for me anyway, veganism is a natural progression from vegetarianism. Plus making the change slowly gives friends and family a while to get used to the idea. I just think if you can do it, then why not.
Its also encouraging to see so many other's wanting to go vegan.
In a bit I'm off to Sainsbury's to stock up on soy milk and veggies. May pick up some dark chocolate too, as I don't want to be tempted when my sweet tooth rears its head.
Anyway, great thread. I need abit of support as I don't know any vegans.

Grimble: Not all dark chocolate is vegan. Check the label first. For your sweet tooth, I would suggest sweet fruit like berries, mangoes, pawpaw (I think some people call it papaya) and bananas (when they're speckled they're at their sweetest).

As well as soy milk, stock up on almond milk, or nut milk, or rice milk. Rice milk is often more palatable for people).

When you long for cheese, just remind yourself that it is SO unhealthy. You are giving your body a GREAT gift by stopping all dairy products.

For chocolate, carob is really yummy and doesn't have caffeine (sp?) I can never remember how to spell caffeine, i think that looks right. Check the label too though like Diana said.

Thanks for the advice Diana.
I have tried soy milk before so luckily know which one I like. Green and Black's dark chocolate is vegan isn't it? Will do some label looking I think.

I have been a vegetarian for 7 years and tried to go vegan 3 years ago. It only lasted 2 months. I lost several pounds which was good but I craved cheese so bad I couldn't concentrate.

My B/F can't eat dairy, I wish I couldn't (I would then be addicted to lactaid pills)He refuses to take them. I enjoy soy milk but am having trouble finding a good vegan cheese substitute. We won't refuse to eat something at someone's house (say his mother's or best friends) just because it has egg in it but we are trying to avoid eggs at home.

Any good suggestions on giving up eggs and cheese would be appreciated.

I recently bought tofutti cheese singles and they are pretty good. I got the American and mozzarella flavors. it says non-dairy on it and i read the ingredients and i think they are vegan. Also Galaxy Nutritional Foods makes vegan cheese that is not bad.