Considering becoming a vegan - Diet & Nutrition Message Board

Dark Stranger · 06-24-2004, 10:08 PM

I listened to my health teacher talking about veganism (??) earlier in the school year and it sounded like it had a lot of benefits. By cutting out meats, I could decrease my fat intake. By cutting out dairy, I could greatly decrease my saturated fat intake, and by getting rid of eggs, I can cut out the bad cholesterol. It might be difficult at first because I love cheese and turkey, but I think I can do it. Just so long as I can still have grape juice.

Any opinions on this, perhaps on a good way to begin this regimen? Or any foods that I missed?

Dark Stranger - wants a veggie burger

llamamuffinmama · 06-24-2004, 11:38 PM

Hi! I've been vegan for about 3 years and feel better than ever! I would definitely recommend it.

You're right that losing the animal foods can definitely cut your fat intake, especially of saturated fats. Also, cholesterol is only found in animal foods, so if you go vegan, you won't have to worry about cholesterol intake. Our bodies produce all the cholesterol we need.

If you think turkey and cheese will be hardest for you to give up, you might consider trying meatless and dairy free versions of these foods you enjoy. There are vegan "turkey" slices available at health food stores and some mainstream grocery stores from Tofurkey, Yves, and Lightlife. They have very little fat, plenty of fiber and protein and taste great! There are also a few decent non-dairy cheeses out there, from companies like Tofutti and Follow Your Heart. They aren't as close to "the real thing" as the fake turkey slices, but are good in sandwiches, melted on pizza, etc.

It's possible that a lot of the foods you already eat are vegan: pasta and tomato sauce, rice and bean burritos, PB&J, felafel, salads & fruit salad, cereal / oatmeal (you can use rice, soy, almond, oat, or hazelnut milk instead of dairy milk here), veggie stir fry, rice pilaf, baked potatoes (there are delicious dairy free margarines,too! yum) ... Other things can easily be made vegan, for example when getting pizza, you can pile it high with your favorite veggie toppings and leave off the cheese.
And there are also a lot of vegan cookbooks for people who want to use basic ingredients and follow simple recipes. Check at your local library for more ideas.

It might sound like it would be hard because you are "giving up" some foods, but I honestly never feel like I'm missing out. I eat really well and a huge variety of different things, so I know how delicious and exciting vegan food can be! If you like to try new things, the possibilities are endless! And almost every animal product has a vegan version out there or can be easily made without the egg/dairy/meat/fish/poultry at home. I haven't figured out how to make a convincing meringue yet (working on it), but other than that, I really can't think of a single thing I haven't seen!

You might want to look online for Compassion Over Killing's website, which has an online vegan starter kit to help you make the transition. Viva! also has one, and you can get a free booklet from them called Vegan Basics which gives you tons of ideas, recipes, some nutritional info, and the names of hundreds of great vegan products you can try.

If you have more specific questions, I'd be happy to take a crack.
Good luck!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dark Stranger

I listened to my health teacher talking about veganism (??) earlier in the school year and it sounded like it had a lot of benefits. By cutting out meats, I could decrease my fat intake. By cutting out dairy, I could greatly decrease my saturated fat intake, and by getting rid of eggs, I can cut out the bad cholesterol. It might be difficult at first because I love cheese and turkey, but I think I can do it. Just so long as I can still have grape juice.

Any opinions on this, perhaps on a good way to begin this regimen? Or any foods that I missed?

Dark Stranger - wants a veggie burger

joquiero · 06-28-2004, 01:01 PM

I have been a vegetarian for about 16 years now (since my early teens). I initially ate fish but then cut it out 3 years into being a veggie. Recently, I started getting grossed out by eggs and don't eat them anymore (but will eat stuff that has eggs in them) Also, I eat brown rice cheese which I LOVE - but I do sometimes eat regualar cheese. I don't drink milk at all - i opt instead for rice and soy milk.

But, that said, if I could do it all again, I would just cut out diary, red meat and chicken but still eat fish. Why? Because I've read so much on the health benefits of fish. It seems that your skin ages quicker if you don't consume fish.

If you're until 21, wait until you're 21 until you give up fish. Thats just my opinion.

sarah1000 · 06-28-2004, 05:51 PM

Hi! I'm a vegan too, for several years now, and the previoous posts about not missing out are exactly right, but you do have be mindful of getting enough B12 (take supplements) and eat fortified foods to get enough calcium and iron.

Some people go "cold turkey" and some people slowly eliminate foods one by one to go vegetarian or vegan. I did the one by one method: first red meat was out, the poultry, then eggs, then dairy, then fish. I left the fish in for a while because I heard about the health benefits, but recently they have been reporting that women of childbearing age should not that much tuna or oily fish becasue they are high in toxins that could be bad for a developing child. So now I get my Omega 3's through walnuts, flax oil, olive and canola oil, and an algae supplement (the last is what the fish eat to get their Omega 3's).

I did notice a huge change in my fat intake after becoming vegan, it was much lower in saturated and trans fat.