[AeryFairy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saramaus

I know what you mean about not really trying hard to avoid non-vegan things IN products. Maybe your favourite cereal contains honey, maybe your favourite pastry product has egg in it. It's frustrating, but eventually you learn to find brands that don't contain these things, or you'll find an amazing vegan recipe that is close to your favourite pastry product (I have a great one for poptarts, takes 10 minutes tops to make). It does take some extra work, and you will find that you'll need to do more in the kitchen to get what you want, but it's all part of being vegan. Instead of looking at it as an inconvenience, think of it as a blessing: I find that I love cooking now, and I also love to bake. Also a lot of things that contain non-vegan products, aren't necessarily good for you, and so refraining from eating those items in the food, you are in turn doing yourself a favour; think doughnuts, cakes, cheese puffs, fatty creamy coffee, frozen meals, processed junk food, chocolate bars etc. These things you want to be avoiding anyway because of calories and lack of nutrition and crap, so you're giving yourself extra motivation to avoid them

I want this pop tart recipe

Could you pleeease PM it to me?!

As for ebonyvegetarian... there isn't a right or wrong way to do this. I spent a year very slowly cutting down on products until they were out completely. Then it got to a point where I was able to do the last but all at once. I think if I'd tried to go cold turkey straight away, I'd have failed. Stick with what you're comfortable with for the time being, and keep working at it if veganism is where you want to end up

 

[Eonblue462]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebonyvegetarian

I'm wondering if I should do this. I want to be vegan, but it's hard. I'm like 50% there. I don't drink milk or eat eggs, but sometimes eat stuff that contains it. I really love yogurt and ice cream and haven't found a good enough sub yet. I was only using honey cuz it's natural but if there's a better substitute I'd love to try it. Should I just be a half vegan?

Honey substitute - Agave Nectar. Tastes basically the same (to me, anyway).
Ice cream substitute - TEMPT frozen desserts
Yogurt - Whole Soy and Co.

After much trial and error and lots of (mostly) yummy tasting, these have become my favorite substitutes.

As far as being half vegan, don't stress. Do what you can at your own pace. Not everyone can become vegan overnight. It comes much easier for some and it can take years for others. The fact that you are making concious efforts and eliminating animal products from your diet is a hell of a lot more than most people are doing, so keep your chin up!

 

[Dutchabbey]

It's really not that hard.

At the risk of sounding like one of those 'uphill, both ways in the snow and barefoot' type of people, I've been doing it since about the time man discovered fire. It was a lot harder back then, believe me. There are so many products out now that are easily accessible even in more suburban and more rural areas and you can stock up on stuff from online vegan stores if you're in an area that doesn't carry certain types of food or toiletries.

As far as eating out goes, most restaurants now have become accustomed to accommodating specific requests on account of allergies, religious restrictions and special diets. It's nothing nowadays to make inquiries about ingredients in a particular dish. And, if you want to do it the really healthy way, just eat plenty of fruit & veggies and skip all the processed junk. Your body will thank you years from now.

It's great you're making an effort but don't talk yourself out of it because you perceive difficulty where there really is none. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go chase some kids off my lawn.

 

[ashlend]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irizary

Some- maybe most - vegans never get to "perfection" in terms of trace ingredients when they're eating away from home (e.g. something like not checking the ingredients of bread at a restaurant, where the waiter might not even know...). Just keep trying to do your best

Personally, I won't eat anything that I KNOW is not vegan, or highly suspect is likely not to be vegan (like a typical restaurant dessert.) I also carefully check the ingredients of everything I buy for my home to make sure it's 100% vegan. But I do admit that in restaurants I still do things like eating bread without asking about possible non-vegan trace ingredients, or ordering a cheeseless pizza without asking about the ingredients of the base. I'm still pretty new at this and maybe I will be more of a purist later on, but right now this is what's working. I call myself vegan because I feel it fits me the closest and is the easiest way to describe my lifestyle to people in real life.