Hard Time Being Vegan :/

gjbz123 said:

I'm allergic to all nuts... Here in Canada no fruit is fresh so it's hard to find in the winter. And I have no good pasta recipes everything I try to cook just tastes really bad. I'm thinking of just going back to vegetarian because I can't be vegan it's too hard and I'm not getting any food or nutrients. When I was vegetarian I ate: Salads, Pasta, Noodles, Soups, Eggs, Cookies, I could also bake cakes and cookies for the family and we'd all enjoy them.

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All you've listed here can be vegan apart from eggs. If you like butter you can have soya spread. Do your family know you are trying to stay vegan? Maybe worth discussing with them so they consider you when doing food shopping? Anyway as I've said salads, pasta, noodles, soup can all be vegan. If there not much fresh fruit at the mo, what about canned or dried or frozen? You can still bake vegan. I make awesome vegan pancakes which are much Nicer than your usual ones and very easy and quick to make: banana replaces egg and sugar, flour, baking powder, almond milk. They melt in your mouth. For vegan baking ideas check out food porn thread there are lots of delicious things on there with links to recipes. Talk to your mum, she may well be happy to prepare separate meals for you if you explain things to her. I cook separate for my children, sometimes different things for all

Why don't you switch back to vegetarian for now? Once your stomach is full, your mind will be calmer - then you can more effectively learn your new vegan cooking skills. Vegan dishes don't have to be complicated - whole wheat spaghetti with from-a-jar pasta sauce is a healthy dish. You can add some mashed tofu to the pasta sauce if you want. Add some dark leafy green vegetables (raw or cooked) with a little dressing, and you've got a nice meal. Be sure to eat plenty! Don't let yourself be hungry.

Before going vegan again, first find 5 or 6 delicious vegan dishes that you really enjoy - that way, you won't feel hungry or deprived when you do decide to go vegan. These dishes can be simple, like these:

Burrito: Canned veggie refried beans, sliced celery, and corn in a whole wheat tortilla, with lots of salsa

Canned vegetarian chili (any supermarket should carry this), mixed with no-salt canned corn. Eat with some toasted whole wheat bread.

Oatmeal with raisins (it's good for any meal, not just breakfast)

Whole wheat pita bread with hummus


Just enjoy these types of dishes. Later, you'll have an easier time letting go of dairy and egg foods.

Hi there, sorry to hear that you are having trouble

Don't worry your problems are not insurmountable...

Vegan soya spreads (instead of butter) do exist, as do vegan milks and vegan egg substitutes...You can bake cakes with these

I would suggest you try tofu or some kind of seasoned tofu as it is pleasant and quick to make into a dinner. You can make vegan macaroni cheese easily too (pasta+soya/rice milk+vegan cheese)...

Vegan sweets and chocolates exist too. It might be that you need to look in another store or online...

Don't give up, you are doing really well

OP - If you have been skipping meals/starving and you don't have anything to eat in mind and to hand, then just eat something! Don't worry if it's vegan just now, it's more important that you eat something to avoid making yourself unwell!

Once you have done that, OR, if that doesn't apply to you - plan a weeks worth of simple well-rounded meals that are vegan with the intention of starting sometime after the next household shopping trip!

Research is your friend when it comes to being vegan, the more your read/watch - the more you know about meal combinations that will maintain/promote health, you'll be able to plan meals so they are as cheap and as tasty as possible. No one likes a sick vegan, especially if you're the one that's sick so don't skip the research part and absolutely don't eat the one meal morning/noon/night - your diet has to be relatively varied encompassing vegetables, grains, legumes, beans, fruits, spices, herbs, avocado (I see you mentioned you cannot eat nuts, to ensure healthy fats which are needed are in your diet avocado is a good place to start), use Rapeseed/Canola oil & olive oil for cooking (best fat ratio's and will need to be included if nuts are out of the question), Seeds i.e. hemp/flaxseed (can be used by the body to make omega 3's but a regular serving is advised), Fortified foods can be very helpfull i.e. cereal, soy milk, mock-meats etc can be helpful if you are struggling with wholefoods/cooking. Vit-B12 needs to be supplemented either by pill or several helpings per day of fortified foods, Vit D3 (Vit D3 can be got in vegan form and while it's effectiveness is debatable it's somewhat advised for people from northern climates and vegans), Omega 3 EPA &DHA supplement - this will help overcoming your lack of nuts by supplementing your other Omega 3 options, menstruating women may need to pay attention to how much iron is in their diet and boost it's absorption by combining it with Vit-C. Leafy greens i.e. Kale are something you should aim to have every day or most days - think of it as natures multivitamin. A further fat consideration would be coconut oil - in small amounts once again to cover your inability to consume nuts.

The above paragraph is just a cluttered list of pointers to highlight things a Vegan has to consider, you shouldn't use it as an instruction list but rather as topics to research!

It may seem hard and overwhelming to be vegan just now but with some reading/watching and some planning it's really quite easy, just remember that man made/processed foods are generally to be avoided and if it grew in the ground it's generally ok

Lastly - really don't worry if you need to eat some eggs or something just now, everyone falters starting as it's a learning curve, it's not failure it's just being better prepared for success!

gjbz123 said:

I'm allergic to all nuts... Here in Canada no fruit is fresh so it's hard to find in the winter. And I have no good pasta recipes everything I try to cook just tastes really bad. I'm thinking of just going back to vegetarian because I can't be vegan it's too hard and I'm not getting any food or nutrients. When I was vegetarian I ate: Salads, Pasta, Noodles, Soups, Eggs, Cookies, I could also bake cakes and cookies for the family and we'd all enjoy them.

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Peanut butter is not classified as a nut. Peanut butter is in the legume family. Also, people with nut allergies can often eat seeds. Just something to keep in mind. Hummus is great but is usually made with tahini, which is ground sesame seed paste. there are beans spreads you can make to go in sandwiches, or apple butter to try on toast. Have you ever cooked apples with cinnamon and sugar to get them soft, then spoon them over some toast? Delicious! Even plain applesauces is nice over toast.

Here are some foods you can ask for your family to buy for you that are inexpensive and widely available:
canister of oats
box of raisins
canned or dried beans (garbanzo, black beans, white beans, kidney beans, red beans, lentils, navy beans...)
cans or jars of salsa
cans or jars of tomato sauce and paste and diced tomato
package of tofu
frozen or canned fruits, applesauce
all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cornflour
rice (brown, white, wild etc)
sweet potatoes, potatoes
dried fruit like bananas, dates, coconut flakes
cider vinegar
pure baking cocoa powder

You can make your own mayonnaise blending silken tofu with cider vinegar, spices like turmeric or garlic powder, and a pinch of sweetener. You can make chocolate pudding blending tofu with cocoa powder, banana (optional), and a little plant milk or water, maybe a little sweetener.

there are a ton of vegan pancake recipes on the web and even on here that you could try. Everyone loves pancakes. I'll bet your family would eat them. Banana pancakes generally do not even require an egg substitute because the banana acts as the binder. And banana bread can very easily be made vegan and there are a ton of vegan banana bread recipes out there that require only simple ingredients. I found Vegweb to be my best friend as a database of vegan recipes that tend to be more mainstream and not too far out there with ingredients.

Just do the best you can under the circumstances, and don't worry about labels.

Don't worry, it will get easier! It can be especially hard when you don't necessarily do the grocery shopping, but it sounds like your family is at least somewhat supportive?

That Mercy for Animals guide David3 posted is really nice and has meal ideas as well as nutrition tips.

As far as things to add to the grocery list, I would start planning a few meals and snacks. If you enjoy cooking, look around the internet for vegan recipes and check your local library for vegan cookbooks. Good websites for recipes are vegweb.com, theppk.com and allrecipes.com (just search add vegan to your search to get vegan recipes, or browse their vegan category).

If you have family dinners, you can try to coordinate with the family meal. If everyone is having lasagna, you can make lasagna with a tofu filling instead of cheese. A bread loaf pan works pretty well for a small lasagna. Many jarred pasta sauces are already vegan. For other types of pasta, you can add bean or tofu balls or premade veggie meatballs to make the meal a little more filling. I'm not sure if Gardein products are available where you live, but I like a "chicken parmesan" with Gardein chicken scallopini over spaghetti with marinara sauce, with melted daiya mozzarella and nutritional yeast on top.

You can make a salad more filling by adding sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, canned beans or baked tofu. You can find tons of recipes for baked tofu online -- my favorite is baked with a mixture of soy sauce, lemon juice, oil, garlic powder and a pinch of red chili flakes.

There are several canned soup varieties that are vegan. For some ideas of grocery store prepared foods that are vegan, try PETA's accidentally vegan list: http://www.peta.org/living/food/accidentally-vegan/ - not sure if you have Progresso brand soup, but the lentil soup is one of my favorites: http://www.progresso.com/products/soup/vegetable-classics-lentil - have that over some rice, and that is a very easy and tasty meal.

Don't sweat going back to vegetarian while you come up with a plan for how to fill yourself up on a vegan diet. Some people become vegan all at once, but it took me 6 months to a year to become vegan since I knew a gradual change would be easier for me to handle.

I'm in my 30s and I'm not much of a cook, either! I stick to very easy recipes and ready-to-eat foods. Here are a few quick and easy ideas:

- Cereal (many are vegan!) with soy milk and a sliced banana

- Salad made of greens, carrots, onion, tomato with dressing (most Italian and balsamic vinaigrette dressings are vegan)

- Microwave meals: Try Amy's brand or Boca if you have it in Canada. Your grocery store might have a vegetarian freezer section with vegan frozen food! Also look for "steam in the bag" veggies that you can cook in the microwave. Sprinkle some seasoning on top, add a bit of vegan margarine and you'be got a tasty side dish.

- Black beans (canned, just heat in a pot on the stove) with rice (I buy the microwave rice pouches that cook in 90 seconds!)

- Dried, frozen, or canned fruit for snacks.

I hope this helps! Please let us know how you're doing!