I've started fasting again and while it hasn't been easy, I feel really good for having done it. I've been watching some documentaries, pondering on my dietary habits and I feel called to cut out meat, dairy, and eggs.
I was vegetarian for most of my childhood by choice, vegan for a few years as an adult. I stopped mainly due to social pressures each time. I have a vegan multivitamin that includes B12 and A so my potential deficiencies will be covered but I still feel nervous about making the jump. I know there are some far more skilled vegans/vegetarians here than I so I'm wondering what pointers you'd have-especially to replace the salty and sweet flavors-good vegan chocolates, cheeses, pizzas, burgers, yogurts, meat replacements (in the middle of a fast right now so these are what are coming to me.)
Some ideas I have for foods are: vegetable soups, fruits, stir fries, french fries, salads, pancakes, portobellos grilled in aioli and vinegar, avocados with grilled garlic, lemon with nuts/seeds, apples and peanut butter, lentils. I've also cut out most bread/gluten which makes this more difficult but potentially more rewarding on the health front.
Going vegan is not only a great choice for your health, but also for the planet. To make sure it's also a sensible choice for your budget, try to use "replacement products" sparingly (talking about vegan cheeses, protein bars, ready-to-fry meat alternatives and plant-based dairy alternatives). It's somewhat normal to fear the jump, feeling like you have to commit forever - so just take it a day at a time and it will soon become easier as you see you still have plenty of options. The fuller your plate is with fresh, satisfying, healthy choices, the less craving you will have for snacks and junk foods anyway.
If the snacking urges strike anyway, here's some things I enjoy that you could try:
- Savoury snacking: DIY hummus (don't be greedy with that olive oil), olives, dried tomatoes, DIY nut mix (buy almonds/cashews/hazlenuts/walnuts in bulk, then roast and flavour yourself), fresh homemade foccacia. There is one vegan cheese I get as a treat about every 3 months it's called NO MUH (from Switzerland)
- Meaty: Tofu (marinate overnight, then fry) and Textured Soy Protein (sounds like future food, but I love it! You can get it in bulk and different shapes/sizes, it's dry and stores really long, to use you just rehydrate with warm water, then proceed to marinate, fry, add to dishes. The minced makes for great taco filling, lasagne or spaghetti sauce, the bigger pieces are for stir-fry or stews, larger ones get made into Schnitzel, burger patties or BBQ steak. It's un-prepared, cheap, lean protein). Flavouring and spices are key to prepare good meat alternatives, you can find recipes for simple marinades and spice rubs online aplenty!
- Sweets and chocolate: I'm really into dried fruits (some DIY) and dark chocolate. If you don't like the bitter taste of dark choc, try cutting it with marzipan or creamy peanut butter.
Speaking as a non-vegan who tends to cook vegan, because I avoid dairy and dislike handling raw meat, I would second avoiding the substitutes. Don't go in expecting hamburgers and lasagna. For the most part I've found shifting the types of dishes I eat was more pleasant than trying to make the same things "without meat/dairy." Curries, chutney, soups and stirfry are just as great without meat. It takes a lot more work/consideration to make something approximating meat, like green lentils with taco seasoning to make a Sloppy Joe style innard of sorts.
Salty foods: garlicy hummus, salted nuts, crisps without milk powder (check for ingredients)
Sweet foods: fruit, dried fruit, jam, oreo cookies
Chocolate substitute: dark chocolate (check for ingredients, sometimes contains milk powder), cacao nibs, plant milk with cacao as a healthy hot chocolate
Cheese substitute: I don't buy cheese substitutes as they are expensive, but I sprinkle yeast flakes on some dishes for a cheesy flavour
Pizza substitute: make your own (with ready-made pizza bottom if you are lazy, like me)
Burger substitute: I don't buy burgers often because they are expensive and often not very nutricious
Yoghurt substitute: I don't buy plant yoghurts because they are expensive
Meat replacements: lentils, chick peas, beans, soy products, seitan, ... lots of vegetables have a high protein to everything else-ratio
I went vegan for a day. Well, it was really a meal. Ok, truth be told, a salad. Then it was an hour in the bathroom hurling lentils. It was awful. I still remember the sounds I was making and the sheer force with which the lentils came out. It was like some Exorcist shit in there. My wife was outside wondering if she should call a priest. I cleaned myself up and went to McDonald's.
When you are vegan on natural foods, you will lose the taste for salty foods, etc. I try to avoid processed foods as much as possible. So eg, options would be vegetables (such a huge selection), lentils, tofu, nuts can be mixed in many meals to add texture. I make a big smoothie every day and add in a healthy vegan powder. There are many different rices.
If is very cheap to make homemade soymilk, and you could also make your own yogurt. I buy the ready-made plant-based yogurts and non-dairy milks but they are expensive.
I would consider an algae supplement for the omega 3s, while flaxseed has ALA omega 3, the health benefits are mainly from the other omega 3s, which are found in algae, so if you do not get that, then you could get a supplement, but it is expensive.
Aww man, got logged out after writing a long reply
Abridged version is:
Start by looking for cultures with vegetarian food. That way you are starting from food designed to be meat free from the bottom up. Then you are only substituting here and there to make it vegan. Example, Indian food, vast array of cuisine that is veggie by design, but you might need to swap ghee for vegetable oil. By doing this, you'll learn what makes these recipes work. This will help you get creative in your own way. Others might be food from the middle east, south east asia, older Chinese cooking that only had meat as a seasoning. It's about changing your mindset from one of 'sacrifice' (this meal had meat but I'm giving that up) to a thriving mindset (this is a purpose built vegan powerhouse of a meal, designed that way at every point.
By doing the above you are building a good foundation of meals that are vegan that you know you love and know you can put together without fuss. From that position of strength you can start to get creative around recreating formerly meat based dishes and textures etc.
Use fake meats only for the odd fix, not as a base. Don't be the vegan that lives off wedges for two weeks then gives up due to malnourishment.
I'm not really convinced by giving up gluten for health reasons unless you are actually intolerant. More people say they are intolerant than are actually genuinely coeliac. I think it's just a fad. What would you be then, paleo-vegan? Go hard or go home I suppose
Just something else to add, monitor your cravings for meat. I've noticed with me and a lot of vegans I know that any cravings for meat are cravings for things like bacon, fried chicken, fast food burgers etc. They are rarely cravings for a well roasted duck or medium rare steak. It's surely more a craving for salt and fat than anything else. A vegan diet is generally low in both. So if you can look behind the craving you might be able to address it without running out to buy a burger or eat the fake meat stuff.
So, why are many people advocating to stay away from fake meat? Anything else besides cost? My initial forays into not eating meat were made much easier with eating vegan sausage.
Full disclosure we basically operate one step above dumpster diving and get most of our vegan treats for free. If you can swing something like this it would reduce costs for sure! the only downside is we are probably getting spoiled with the free goodies.
Full disclosure we basically operate one step above dumpster diving and get most of our vegan treats for free. If you can swing something like this it would reduce costs for sure! the only downside is we are probably getting spoiled with the free goodies.
Very curious how you have been able to "swing something like this"?
So, why are many people advocating to stay away from fake meat? Anything else besides cost? My initial forays into not eating meat were made much easier with eating vegan sausage.
Health benefits of whole foods vs processed foods, I think.
So, why are many people advocating to stay away from fake meat? Anything else besides cost?
Based only on my own experience, I think it is better to build a foundation of vegetarian food. Many people lived for years without eating much if any meat, way before the invention of fake meats. I think to be a successful veggie it's good to learn how to do true vegetable based meals that taste really well. If you are using fake meats, is it not still a meal designed around the meat?
Eg
Wants to go vegetarian
Makes a chilli, but instead of beef mince, uses a meat free mince from the freezer
Ends up disappointed as it's just not as nice as the chilli they always made before
"Being a vegetarian is really depressing"
OR
Go in a different direction and try and do a different chilli altogether.
Maybe an analogy is like going to free weights from those machines in the gym? Hard at the start, you need to learn new skills, but ultimately you build a better core.
The world of a herbivore is easier if you try and teach yourself to have a herbivore mindset.
I completely agree though, some of the fake meats are great and sometimes I just need a hot dog and will eat a fake sausage. But it's a now and then type of thing.
Not only your own experience. I know tons of people who tried going vegan with the meat substitute mindset and were disappointed. I don't think it is wise to go vegan thinking you will be able to recreate meals and tastes using only plant foods. If you want to be in it for the long run, you will have to change your mindset and teach yourself some new recipes.
I'm making it sound harder than it is, though. It is completely doable.
I've also cut out most bread/gluten which makes this more difficult but potentially more rewarding on the health front.
I wonder how that's going for you. I personally feel much more attached to pasta, beer, and glorious, glorious bread than any animal product. I'm also not getting the connection between gluten and health, unless you're suffering from celiac disease? If you're after health benefits, switch to whole-grain pasta and bread, and reap the benefits of vitamins and minerals, feeling full for longer and having wonderful stool consistency!
I wonder how that's going for you. I personally feel much more attached to pasta, beer, and glorious, glorious bread than any animal product. I'm also not getting the connection between gluten and health, unless you're suffering from celiac disease? If you're after health benefits, switch to whole-grain pasta and bread, and reap the benefits of vitamins and minerals, feeling full for longer and having wonderful stool consistency!
leftover cooked rice from the previous day/night fermented in just water throughout the night have loads of B12. Indian rural folks who works for the whole day out on the fields under the scorching sun used to have this as breakfast with some dried salted red/ green chilli roasted on the fire for a spicy kick.
I second Astra's post above. I usually have a stockpile of crunchy nuts/dates/dry fruits for these hunger pangs. And the most important attitude is to feed the stomach when you feel hungry and not because of boredom(google about Time Restricted Feeding). Please understand for the last so many centuries now, many (read I am not saying most/much) of North Indians are vegetarians and they still fought numerous wars and had a flourishing economy. How is that possible with a weak unhealthy population? its a myth that we need meat for healthy life. If you still need some influence from modern medicine, watch the below segment. if you have time, watch the whole doc. this is what made me move to veganism on a fine evening in Nov 2015.
leftover cooked rice from the previous day/night fermented in just water throughout the night have loads of B12.
I wouldn't recommend this to anybody. Contrary to what a lot of people think, vitamin B12 is made by bacteria. I don't know the details, but due to our clean lifestyle in the west, there is not one plant food ingredient that provides enough vitamin 12 to be healthy.
@Mae- May be we can come out of the mould of thinking that only the West is clean and everyone else in this world is dirty. I do not like to pick fights but may be we can be more restrained in conveying our thoughts Even after so many years of ending Colonialism and achieveing so called enlightenment, we are still biasing/ judging other cultures based on pre-conceived notion built in the previous generation/ by the media.
Thanks for the article link, it helps me understand why this "fermentation" will not help with B12, but I want to test it myself before blindly trusting their articles.
Even though my principle can be summarized as: "If God wanted me to be a vegan he wouldn't have made so many animals out of food," I find myself eating noticeably less meat (as a proportion of intake) over the last year or so. I'll have to keep an eye on this report since I seem to be drifting in that direction.
