[khadijah]

<p>I  am newly   transitioning to vegan. Every time I get off to a good start I fall of the bandwagon. </p>
<p>what gave you the push to decided to make the stitch. I am really having a hard time .</p>
<p> </p>
<p> Eggs not so much of a problem but cheese and milk I cant seen to get away from, and it really irks me the wrong way.</p>
<p> I hope I put this in the right thread</p>

 

[Vegan Dave]

<p><span style="font-size:14px;">I had a hard time with giving up cheese.  I never drank milk, not too many eggs, no yogurt, etc.  I would have butter every so often, too.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;">Then I read <span style="color:#FF0000;"><strong>VEGANIST</strong></span> by Kathy Furston (?).  She lays it out WRT not eating meat, but continuing to eat eggs, cheese, etc.  I felt like was only doing a partial job of abstaining from animal products.  If I give up chicken, but eat eggs, what's the difference?  The hens are crammed into cages & produce an egg every 30 hours.  I didn't want to be a part of that anymore.  The same with cheese.  You might not eat a cow, but eating cheese still subjects the cow to horrible abuse.  Constant impregnation, nonstop milking, and everything else that's not natural to a cow.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;">My thoughts were along the lines of buying a new sports car & never driving it over 40 mph.  What sense does that make?  I wanted to truly give up ALL animal products, so the vegan transition was the way to go.</span> <img alt="" src="http://files.veggieboards.com/images/smilies/grin.gif" style=""></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;">I was apprehensive, since I travel a fair bit, & was worried about starving to death on the road.  It has been quite OK, however.  I carry oatmeal, apples, oranges and snap peas in my suitcase.  When I have to eat a meal, I can find rice, veggies, salads, etc.  There's always a vegan friendly restaurant that I can find also.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;">Overall, it was not nearly as tough as I thought.  <strong>I just kept thinking about the similarities between actual meat & animal by-products.....and that did the trick.</strong></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14px;">Take it a meal at a time.</span> <img alt=":lick:" src="http://files.veggieboards.com/images/smilies/lick.gif" style=""></p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong><span style="font-size:14px;">GOOD LUCK!!!!!!</span></strong>  <img alt=":sunny:" src="http://files.veggieboards.com/images/smilies/sunny.gif" style=""></p>

 

[khadijah]

<p>Thanks </p>

 

[inkhorn]

<p>Cheese was the only thing I missed going from a big carnivore to vegan. I now love Daiya (vegan cheese). The best flavor is "cheddar". Carnivore's say it is just like cow cheese. Really what is cheese any way? The flavor comes from the fat. Daiya's fat source is olive oil and it's great. Regards Inkhorn</p>

 

[shotgunmidget]

<p>It was hard for me too at first.. The dairy/egg industry is just as bad as the meat industry though, so I just kept that in mind! Also, soy and rice milk is delicious.. and if you can find nutritional yeast.. it's a seasoning that tastes a lot like cheese. <img alt="" src="http://files.veggieboards.com/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style=""></p>

 

[Nooch]

<p>I was vegetarian for 16 years before becoming vegan. By that point, meat had ceased to be a foodstuff to me - I would not have eaten it any more than I would have eaten stones or handfuls of soil. I struggled with cheese and milk for a while, as I loved them and ate them regularly, but by telling myself they were not edible foods but inedible things it helped me to view them as I view meat. My cravings have gone because I make sure I eat a good varied diet, and I listen to what my body tells me - more carbs, more protein, a big plate of veggies for dinner.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I eat the soy cheeses occasionally, but the ones I've found in the UK are not particularly amazing. When I crave protein, I opt for chickpeas, tofu or seitan instead. Almond milk is delicious! I drink it straight up, which I could never do with soy. Try to experiment with different foods until you find the ones you like and listen to how they make you feel - full, satisfied, content. Hopefully those cravings will fade once you have found the right meals and snacks for you.</p>

 

[Naturebound]

<p>I use this recipe for a "cheese" sauce to go over potatoes, brussel sprouts etc.  It makes a nice macaroni and cheese too (I use sweet potato in place of pumpkin for an even richer sauce and use coconut oil in place of the earth balance)</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2011/10/13/vegan-pumpkin-mac-n-cheeze-sauce/" target="_blank">http://ohsheglows.com/2011/10/13/vegan-pumpkin-mac-n-cheeze-sauce/</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I wasn't much of a dairy eater before (intolerance) but I used to eat Greek yogurt all the time and that was a challenge to find a replacement for.  Most vegan  yogurts are too sweet.  I am still waiting for Whole Soy to come back on the market with their plain unsweetened soy yogurt formula (and what's with these vegan yogurt companies no longer having the three serving tubs!  argh!).  What helped me in that regard was thick creamy homemade smoothies, especially with banana.  I have gotten more used to the vegan yogurts and do enjoy them on occasion now.  I use nutritional yeast a lot in my cooking.  I even grind it up with blanched almonds for a "parmesan" cheese to go over spaghetti.  The taste is different but the texture is similar.  I have tried daiya a few times and liked it.  It seems to melt well.  I don't eat it often due to expense and unavailability where I live (I was vegan two years before I even tried the vegan cheeses other than homemade nut cheese and nutritional yeast), but I can see how it would curb a craving for something like grilled cheese.  Also, with plant milks, there are a ton of different brands of each type, and different flavors and caloric amounts etc for each brand.  So if you don't like one, try another.  Sometimes the differences between brands are vast.  My omnivore husband likes the full fat silk vanilla almond milk and has been drinking that in place of cows milk.  I tried it recently and man is that stuff rich!  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>For me the push was purely ethical.  I simply didn't want to support industries that exploit animals on such a vast scale and so atrociously.  I read a lot of books on veganism and animal rights from a variety of angles after first learning about it ("Animal Liberation", "Sistah Vegan", "Sexual Politics of Meat", "Vegan Freak", "The Dominion of Love", "Animals as Persons" and many others) and all of them had a profound influence on me.  I made up my mind one day, chose a date and made a commitment to change my lifestyle to reflect the new values I felt were important to me after all that I learned.    I loved the challenge of baking and cooking without dairy and eggs as it made me a much more creative cook and made my dishes interesting.  I actually relished the challange!  And in the beginning I relied heavily on the foods I was already eating that were naturally vegan to get by til I learned what all I could eat (that didn't take long lol).  I ate a lot of oatmeal, mangoes, bananas, lentils, potatoes, almonds, that sort of thing because those were foods I really enjoyed as an omnivore and was familiar with.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It also helps to meet other vegans and vegan groups in person.  Even doing an event like Farm Sanctuary's Walk for Farm Animals is a great way to meet other vegans and get involved in the cause.  Some natural food stores offer plant based cooking classes that can be inspiring and helpful.  If nothing else, documentaries on factory farms such as Earthlings always brings me back to the root of why I am vegan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A lot of people take time to fully transition so don't feel bad.  You don't have to be perfect on the first go!  HUGS</p>

 

[Reila]

<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);">I  am newly   transitioning to vegan. Every time I get off to a good start I fall of the bandwagon. </p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);">what gave you the push to decided to make the stitch. I am really having a hard time .</p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);"> </p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);"> Eggs not so much of a problem but cheese and milk I cant seen to get away from, and it really irks me the wrong way.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);"> I hope I put this in the right thread</p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);"> </p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);">I had the same problem, it's so hard to give up with cheese! <br>
Now, when I desperatly want some cheese i try to cook something very tasting and salty and i forget about the cheese. There are also a lot of recipes of vegan cheese on the internet, so if you like to cook you can try someone of them.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);">I don't know where you live, here in Italy there aren't many vegan products or are very expensive, so i try to make them by myself.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);"> </p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);">Tell me if you need some recipes for vegan cheese, i can show you someone.</p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);"> </p>

 

[60225]

<div class="quote-container" data-huddler-embed="/t/145688/newly-vegan-having-hard-time-transitioning-need-some-help#post_3292251" data-huddler-embed-placeholder="false">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>KHADIJAH</strong> <a href="/t/145688/newly-vegan-having-hard-time-transitioning-need-some-help#post_3292251"><img alt="View Post" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br>
 
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);">what gave you the push to decided to make the stitch</p>
<p style="color:rgb(24,24,24);"> </p>
</div>
</div>
<p> </p>
<p>I watched (some of) Earthlings.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No going back for me after that, I can't be a part of what happens in the factory farming industry.</p>