The vegan appreciation thread!

pixiesis

pixiesis

Cathlete
Hello to all you Cathe ladies. Someone suggested that I start a post about my wonderful experience being a vegan. At first, this seemed like a bad idea. I'm sure some of you know why. Then I thought, why not? We're all adults, aren't we? :p I for one pretend to be an adult somewhat regularly.
So here goes: I am so thankful every day that I made the choice almost two years ago to become a vegan. I'll admit it took some time to figure out how to do it right. I eat mostly fruit, vegetables, beans, tofu, and seitan. I cook a lot and own almost every Vegan cookbook I know of (right now I love The Untimate Uncheese Cookbook). Lately I love to snack on pinenuts and for convenience I eat a lot of Amy's frozen meals for lunch. Since switching from vegetarian to vegan I haven't been sick once, not even a cold. I've lost about 30 lbs. and am still losing. Every day I feel happier, healthier, fitter, and more energized. I have tons of energy for my Cathe workouts. I also have a very, uh, healthy digestive system (you all know what I'm talking about!). I recently finished my Masters degree and was able to quit biting my fingernails (so embarrassing to admit to this yucky habit!). It was the first time I let them grow since being vegan and my nails are so much stronger than before. I truly feel in my heart that a balanced vegan diet is a joy to the human body. It is beautiful, pure, and full of life. I also love that my way of eating is less destructive to our planet and can sustain so many more people than a diet based on animal products. Every day I am grateful that because of my choices nearly 100 fewer animals die each year. The main difficulties with this diet are other people who feel defensive when they find out about it. This gets so old. I also get tired of assuring these people that I don't judge them when they are so quick to judge me. But I'm so lucky that my DH, my sister and her DH, and our parents also live this way.
I'd like to invite others to share their thoughts. What about you fellow vegans out there?
-Amy
 
Amy, I have been Vegan for 2 years. I have never felt better. I feel you are fortunate to get the support from your family. I don't really. So, therefore sometimes family gatherings can be somewhat uncomfortable. I know sometimes it is a lack of knowledge. I have not been quick to judge the way anyone eats. I am Vegan for health and ethical reasons and not everyone will agree with that. I feel good about the way I eat, and that is what counts to me...:)
 
Amy,

I enjoyed reading your heartfelt post. I am not vegan, but find myself going more and more that way. There are several foods I cannot eat any longer without becoming violently ill, beef being one of those foods. I applaud anyone who has converted and maintained the vegan lifestyle and I consider it often these days. My problem lies in the fact I already have to prepare so many different types of food for myself and family due to likes, dislikes, food allergies, texture/smell issues that I feel too overwhelmed to attempt an actual switch at this time.

Any suggestions on books instructing one how to slowly make the switch to vegan?

TIA for any suggestions.
 
Carole, you are such an inspiration to so many here. One look at your awesome bod proves what a vegan can accomplish. I'm hopeful that this lifestyle will continue to be less misunderstood and more accepted. I'm sorry that you have to deal with the negativity. I've been told that my diet is too extreme and that there must not be much for me to eat. How untrue! I think that the realities and consequences of animal based diets are pretty extreme, and I feel lucky that there are so many healthy and wonderful things for me to eat (and that much of the bad stuff is off-limits). So, good vibes to you in your struggle to keep the faith. I'm proud to have something in common with you!
Melody, I feel for you. With only me and DH to cook for, I can't imagine what you must go through. I like the book Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina. As far as cookbooks, there is so much good stuff out there. I love Vegan With a Vengeance, Sarah Kramer's cookbooks, the Chicago Diner Cookbook. There's more, it depends on what you like! HTH. Best wishes to you.
-Amy
 
I was home sick yesterday watching Marilu Henner expound on the evils of dairy, and decided to try to cut back on my dairy consumption. I'm going to try using soy milk in my oatmeal this week. I'm assuming that the soy milk will do well in the microwave. I just wish they made low-fat soy ice cream, but I haven't seen any in my grocery store.
-Nancy
 
Nancy,

I use soymilk in cooking where I formerly used cow's milk and have had no problems, microwave included.
 
Thanks Amy! I have gotten alot of pointers from your sis Carolyn..:). I feel the same and wish the lifestyle was more accepted. One of the best things for me was discovering all the food choices I had never tried. Portobello mushrooms for one. They are awesome and make some great fajitas!! I love seitan and wondered if you had ever tried making it by scratch? I have contemplated that but so far no. I have also learned to love lentils and have made a great lentil soup. I will say you do have to cook alot which I don't really mind. My DH is mostly Vegan too (he has his setbacks) but we do eat the same at dinner as we eat together then. A great site for anyone interested is www.vegsource.com alot of info there...:)
 
Hi again Carole. I too love portobellos. I haven't tried making seitan from scratch either. It looks a little complicated, but I want to try it because I love to get my hands dirty on occasion. I love lentils too! Sometimes I make a huge batch of lentils and brown rice and live on it for a week. And they are also so cheap, I think I once calculated that each serving of lentils and brown rice came to about 20 cents (although I'm really not a math person so I could be totally wrong). I make an Indian-style lentil soup and that everyone loves, in fact my dad who claims to hate all indian food really went to town on it. I get a lot of recipes from vegweb.com
Good luck with the soymilk Nancy. I really like it, but if you aren't crazy about it there's ricemilk, almond milk, etc. I once had hazelnut milk and it was super good.
My current favorite thing in the world is whole wheat toast with lots of avocado and salt and pepper. If any of you try this, make sure you are seated and have a fan and some smelling salts handy. You will swoon. A treat this tasty cannot be from this world! I'm pretty sure it should be illegal.

Here are some interesting vegan facts I dug up on the internets:

Pounds of edible product that can be produced on an acre of prime land:
Apples 20,000
Carrots 30,000
Potatoes 40,000
Tomatoes 50,000
Beef 250

The number of gallons of water needed
to produce one pound of edible product:
Apples 49
Carrots 33
Potatoes 24
Tomatoes 23
Beef 2,500

5 million children in the US go hungry every month.

Approximately 40,000 people die each day worldwide due to hunger or hunger-related causes.

If Americans reduced their intake of meat by merely 10%, 100,000,000 people could be fed using the land, water and energy that would be freed up from growing livestock feed.

10 billion people could be sustained from present croplands if all ate a vegetarian diet.

According to the American Dietetic Association, vegan diets are associated with reduced risks for obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, and several kinds of cancer.

Hooray for vegans!
 
I've eaten vegan for the past 3 weeks now... and although it feels like more work, as I want to cook the food myself, I must say I'm feeling much better and healthier somehow.

I'm not sure how long I'll be at veganism for before I try to add in some nachos now and then( }( ), but so far, I'm really quite pleased about the entire switch!

I think you're also missing mentioning that when you eat this way: you remove a TON of the guilt over food choices!!! That has been an unexpected and huge benefit to my recent change.
 
Hi Carole or anyone who may know the answer,

I'm trying to eliminate dairy, sugar and red meat from my diet for about 3 weeks now (for health reasons). I've had a few slip ups the last few days (mostly because of family parties). My questions are:

1. I now know whey protein is dairy (silly me didn't know this) do you know of a good protein powder to substitute? Also, do you think I should finish the 5lb canister of whey protein powder or just give it away (actually Vitamin Shoppe said they would exchange it for me).

2. My slip ups have been with the whey protein, small amounts of cheese and butter and some sweets. My face is breaking out (it usually doesn't breakout this time of month). Could the slip ups be the possible cause of this?

Thanks,
Debbie
 
Another happy vegan here. I must admit that my vegan lifestyle really began with the advice from my sister(Amy, aka pixiesis). Both of us were contemplating the change(from vegetarianism) for 6 months or so but I think we thought it would just be to difficult, restrictive and time consuming. Amy and her husband decided to just try it and see how it went.

Shortly after, my husband and I made the switch and haven't looked back. Yes, it was strange at first. We couldn't eat at IHOP (our favorite at the time), or countless other places. We had to forgo our weekly pizza,weekend omelettes, and various other junk food items that we had become accustom to. I was also afraid of soy milk because it had a "weird" taste to me. All of these feelings quickly went away and I really began to enjoy soy milk. I did miss cheese for awhile(afterall,it is addictive), but soon enough that feeling went away too. I'm actually so glad that my 'out to eat' options are limited because I really don't want to fill my body with junk anymore. I no longer need or desire those options.

Another great side effect from being vegan(besides all the physical stuff), is being so informed about nutrition. Because you have to be so knowledgable about ingredients, you can't help but become super smart about what you're putting in your body. I remember watching Oprah the other day about toxic foods, etc, and I felt so proud that I already knew ALL of that stuff. It all seemed like basic nutrition to me. I have yet to meet a vegan who is uninformed about nutrition. I'm telling you, they're ALL nutritionist! You just can't be a vegan and not know TONS about nutrition. Just isn't possible.

Go vegans!
Carolyn
 
I'm not a vegan, nor even a vegetarian. I do try to limit the amount of animal protein I eat and have been increasing the amount of vegan entrees I prepare. I salute those who choose to live this sometimes difficult lifestyle. I also salute those who choose not to follow this particular pathway. There are enough healthy choices in the grocery store for us all.
 
I am not vegan or vegitarian either. In fact, DH and I are probably as far from it as 2 people can get. Almost every dinner I cook has either poultry, meat or fish in it...and that's just to start. We enjoy it though and I personally couldn't imagine life any differently.

I must say though that I too applaud those who decide to do it and are successful. I can't imagine it is the easiest task to undertake and I know personally that I would never be successful.
 
>Someone suggested that I start
>a post about my wonderful experience being a vegan. At first,
>this seemed like a bad idea. I'm sure some of you know why.
>Then I thought, why not?

Well, I don't know who made that suggestion but she really knew what she was talking about!;) :7

I hope someone will post some great main dish veggie recipes and a few for tofu and seitan (my DH loves these but I don't have many good recipes for them).

Michele
 
>I've been told that my diet is too
>extreme and that there must not be much for me to eat. How
>untrue!

I don't get hassles from my family (mostly because there aren't many left) and never really did much (except for my stepmother preparing meat for me after I told her I was a vegetarian back in 1976). But I've definitely witnessed the dynamics that seem to happen almost any time a veg*n eats with non-veg*ns (and which the book "Vegan Freak" talks about...a good resource for new vegans or old). The old "call attention to what the veg*n is or is not eating, even though they are not doing so themselves, comment about it by making a joke or even attacking their way of life, thereby asserting your commonality with other non-veg*ns."

One woman who reacted in exactly the same way you describe, Amy, is someone on the same board of directors I am for a state foreign language association. When the board was discussing foods to have available at a coffe break for the meeting, I was pushing for fresh fruits and hot water with green and herbal tea bags in addition to the sugary pastries and coffee that's usually offered. After the discussion, this woman said something to me about not being able to eat much. As you say, what a complete misunderstanding, since the majority of food on this planet is plant based.

I've been vegetarian since 1976 (coming up on my 30th anniversary in September, I think)...went cold 'turkey' for ethical reasons...and a vegan since 1990, though I never ate that much dairy or eggs from a few months into going vegan, because as I learned more about the dairy and egg industry, I couldn't justify being just vegetarian if my reasons were ethical.

Currently interested in more of a raw-food diet, but not 100%. I think 80% or better raw would be ideal, but don't know if I have the discipline to do so. I've been reading a lot lately about it, and about the benefits of green drinks in particular.

I'm glad to see so many vegans on this site. It's good to 'hang out' with people with whom I not only share interests in fitness and health, but are also vegan.

I feel it's empowering to be able to make a compassionate choice with every meal, every day, several times a day. One thing I hate is when collegues bring in non-vegan food as 'treats" and say to me "oh, you can't have that." I immediately respond, "no, I could have it if I wanted to...I just don't want to."
 
> I just wish they made low-fat soy ice cream, but I
>haven't seen any in my grocery store.
>-Nancy


It's not soy, but Ricedream makes a rice-milk-based "ice cream" that is lower in fat. I also think that soy ice cream is lower in fat than full-fat regular ice cream. Soy Delicious and So Delicious (same company, two brand names, don't know why!) has about 30% of calories from fat (off the top of my head, since I just at my last two containers).

Another option: get an ice-cream machine and make your own using lower fat soy, rice or almond milk.
 
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