Is anyone here vegan?

KoalaBear103

Please help me! We thought my daughter had gotten over her mild lactose sensitivity but it appears not. Or maybe I just over did it on the dairy, but either way, I need to cut it out of my diet completely now, instead of just cutting back on it.

I live on cheese and butter. Like seriously every meal I eat contains cheese and in the morning I have some toast with my butter.  I have no idea how to eat vegan. I live in a small town in WI so vegan options at the store are extremely limited.  If you are vegan, can you give me some EASY (I suck at cooking) meal ideas? I really want to continue bf my daughter, so if I have to cut out dairy, I'm willing to try it, but I'm clueless as to what to eat.  TIA!

cyprissa

I'm not vegan...far from it but what about using almond butter on your toast. Also, I love dairy and despise most soy-based fake dairy products but the tofutti cream cheese is pretty tasty on bagel. 

judahsmommy1

Have you posted this on the BFing board? There are several women over there with children with dairy sensitivity. They may have some good ideas for you.

KoalaBear103

cyprissa:

I'm not vegan...far from it but what about using almond butter on your toast. Also, I love dairy and despise most soy-based fake dairy products but the tofutti cream cheese is pretty tasty on bagel. 

I've never seen the almond butter-like I said, we are super small town northern Wi-people think that since I'm a vegetarian I'm crazy. If I tell them I've gone vegan they will commit me!

I am able to find the almond milk though, and I do like that. But I can't imagine eating cereal every single day.

KoalaBear103

judahsmommy1:

Have you posted this on the BFing board? There are several women over there with children with dairy sensitivity. They may have some good ideas for you.

I haven't. It's uauslly a bit slower there than it is here, but I'll post it there as well to see if I get any replies!

cyprissa

You should be able to get almond butter at a local health food store (in my area it is even in the regular grocery) but if not, Amazon has it.

Also, oatmeal made with almond milk is wonderful! 

JBrianne

With the exception of milk in my coffee/tea, I eat vegan at home. You really don't need any special foods, I promise! A nice starting place might be The PPK. As long as you have access to veggies, milk alternative, and beans, you're pretty much good to go. Earth Balance is great, and is pretty widely available as well, so you might have luck using that as your butter sub. Depending on how long term you are going, you might want to look into a sublingual B12 supplement as well. Good luck!

 

ps avocado on toast is fantastic! and super rich and buttery feeling, so that might work too!

DrinknDerive

There are plenty of hearty, yummy vegan meals. 

We eat a lot of lentils.  We cook lentils, mix them in with sauteed bell peppers and onions and canned tomatoes.  Serve with angel hair pasta, asparagus, or whatever you're craving. 

You can make lentil sloppy joes, which are just fantastic.  Google vegan sloppy josephines for a homemade recipe, or you can just use the manwich sloppy joe sauce out of a can with some cooked lentils. 

Lentil vegetable soup is also really good.

We eat a lot of vegetable chili.  I can post a recipe if you're interested. 

We also eat a lot of chipotle-esque rice bowls, veggie stir fry with peanut sauce, split pea soup, etc.  If any of these sound good, I can post a recipe. 

afc1189

Do you need to go vegan entirely or just cut out dairy/ cow's milk products? I cut it out for my DD for a little over a year.. I actually loved it. I felt worlds better, had more energy, etc. I just don't have the willpower to only do it for myself now:/. Anyhow, it's easier than you think. Buy "earth's balance" buttery spread instead of butter, drink almond/coconut/rice/soy milk. Coconut milk actually cooks pretty well in muffins and baked goods. The hardest part initially for myself was the sweets but I found so many snacks that were dairy free- oreos, nutter butters, teddy grahams etc. I also replaced butter with butter flavored crisco in cooking- healthy right?

 I made chicken parm for my DH and just left the cheese off of mine. I made chili often and recipes that don't require cheese. If I made tacos, I just didn't put cheese on mine. I have to run but PM for more ideas if needed. Best of luck!

KoalaBear103

Thanks ladies!

I love lentils, but I've never cooked them myself. Looks like I have a project for the weekend!

I'm already a vegetarian, so just cutting out dairy would pretty much make me vegan, right? All I know is if I do end up completely cutting dairy out I will be having the biggest freaking cheese pizza ever when I'm done BF!

cyprissa

Lentils are super easy. I pour boiling water over mine and let them soak for 15 mins to speed up the cooking time. I saute finely chopped onion, garlic and carrots in a pan, add the lentils, a bit of tomato paste (like a tablespoon), salt and pepper and cover with stock/broth and then simmer until the lentils are tender adding more liquid as necessary. When finished, I stir in a small amount (1-2 teaspoons)of red wine vinegar for a bit of acidic punch and this makes all the difference. Yummy!!

KoalaBear103

cyprissa:

Lentils are super easy. I pour boiling water over mine and let them soak for 15 mins to speed up the cooking time. I saute finely chopped onion, garlic and carrots in a pan, add the lentils, a bit of tomato paste (like a tablespoon), salt and pepper and cover with stock/broth and then simmer until the lentils are tender adding more liquid as necessary. When finished, I stir in a small amount (1-2 teaspoons)of red wine vinegar for a bit of acidic punch and this makes all the difference. Yummy!!

That sounds good! Do you know if you can cook lentils using a crock pot? I'm lazy

Rachel R

My doctor just put me on a lactose and gluten free diet a couple weeks ago.  When I was doing my research, I found a lot of cheeses actually have very little to no lactose.  It's mostly harder cheeses, such as cheddar or parmesan.  I also read that yogurt is also low/no lactose.

I looked on a cheddar brick at the grocery store and it actually said "contains no lactose" on the label.

I hope that helps. 

DreadLoc

I'm not vegan but I like to make all sorts of different foods.  I made this in the slow cooker and it was easy, delicious, and vegan.

 

Chipotle Black Bean and Quinoa Crock-Pot Stew ? Vegan + Gluten-free
serves 6-8

1-2 dried chipotle peppers
1lb of dried organic black beans, rinsed and picked over
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and picked over
1 28-ounce can organic diced tomatoes
1 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 dried cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons chile powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
7 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

for topping:
cilantro
green onions, thinly sliced
lime wedges
avocado

Load all of the ingredients into your slow-cooker, stir to combine. If you wish to saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper first, you can, but I like to make crock-pot cooking as simple and quick as possible. Cook on high for about 4 hours, or on low for 6-8, until the black beans are tender. Remove the chipotles (if you don?t want a mouthful of a whole spicy pepper) and the cinnamon stick before serving. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with fresh cilantro, green onions, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, diced avocado, hot sauce, etc. 

KoalaBear103

MrsLacy:

I'm not vegan but I like to make all sorts of different foods.  I made this in the slow cooker and it was easy, delicious, and vegan.

 

Chipotle Black Bean and Quinoa Crock-Pot Stew ? Vegan + Gluten-free
serves 6-8

1-2 dried chipotle peppers
1lb of dried organic black beans, rinsed and picked over
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and picked over
1 28-ounce can organic diced tomatoes
1 red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 dried cinnamon stick
2 teaspoons chile powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
7 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

for topping:
cilantro
green onions, thinly sliced
lime wedges
avocado

Load all of the ingredients into your slow-cooker, stir to combine. If you wish to saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper first, you can, but I like to make crock-pot cooking as simple and quick as possible. Cook on high for about 4 hours, or on low for 6-8, until the black beans are tender. Remove the chipotles (if you don?t want a mouthful of a whole spicy pepper) and the cinnamon stick before serving. Ladle into bowls and serve topped with fresh cilantro, green onions, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, diced avocado, hot sauce, etc. 

that looks so good!

indika236

I recently started eating vegan again....I bought The Whole foods cookbook and I love it. I believe it is also gluten free. And you can totally cook lentils in the crockpot. Also try the cookbook "150 Healthiest Slow Cooker Meals"...there are lots of vegan options in there too.