Vegetarians and Vegans- come on in!

blessedhope

I've been making the move to a vegan diet. The process has been sloooww. I decided I needed to work on replacing things in my diet instead of just going cold turkey without stuff because I have tried going vegan many times and failling.

I fall into the trap of replacing meat dishes by covering everything with cheese! Cheese is my total  weakness and right now it is my last non vegan thing to get rid of. The problem is, I don't know of any cheese substitutes. Please share what you do!

VeganLady, I know your out there and I curious to see who else is either vegetarian or vegan.

Also what is everyones reason for choosing this lifestyle? For me, the main reason is health. the other reason is, after I lost my baby this lifestyle just began to develop kind of naturally. I was suddendly aware of much more suffering in the world and it became hard for me to eat animals. I know that sounds strange, I don't tell people that second reason IRL because it feels really personal and I don't think others would understand.

Anyways, TIA!

P.S I'm looking for non soy cheese substitutes if anyone knows of any

rachelizzie

I'm a pescetarian because I'm too thin and need extra protein. I don't eat fish all the time though, just when I lack options. I went cold turkey vegetarian five years ago, started eating fish again two years ago. I could never give up cheese... I just eat mostly organic everything.

killian09

I'm vegan. I eat this way primarily for ethical reasons but also for health. (I've seen my dad drop his cholesterol from the danger zone to nearly heart-attack proof numbers with a low fat vegan diet.) I have a dairy intolerance and always thought eggs were kind of icky, so that makes it a little easier.

Daiya is my favorite brand of vegan cheese and it is soy-free. They sell it at Whole Foods in my area. It melts well and is super tasty.

I learned to cook primarily from the cookbook Veganomicon. It remains the most used cookbook I own and I have a large collection. The website blog.fatfreevegan.com is also a great resource.  

I don't use cheese substitutes very often--maybe once a week? I try to focus on cooking stuff that doesn't rely on cheese for most of its flavor. The cookbook and website I recommend above have lots of ideas along those lines. 

Good luck!  

Mrs.E.07

Vegetarian checking in. I've been a vegetarian since I was 8. I wanted to save the world and didn't want to kill or eat animals. My parents were like ooooook. We didn't eat a lot of meat when I was little, so it wasn't a huge deal. My little sister (who has always been a major copycat) became a vegetarian a few years later, and we are both still vegetarians. My reasons today are mostly ethical, partly health-related, but also just that I like it and it's a part of who I am. It doesn't bother me when other people eat meat around me (except if they eat things with eyes, like a whole fish, ew), but the thought of eating meat MYSELF is completely disgusting and revolting to me.

I don't have any advice on the vegan cheese, sorry. I eat a lot of beans, quinoa, and for meat substitutes when necessary I use mostly Quorn products. I don't like stuff that tries to taste like meat.

Follow-up Q - Does your DH eat meat? What will you do about future kid(s)? My DH eats meat, but we usually cook veggie at home. If we make tacos or burgers or something like that, he will eat meat. We have discussed the kid thing a lot and I think right now what we will do, is expose the kid to everything, but I will not cook or serve meat. Then if at any point they voice an opinion, we will respect that.

JennOH85

I completely agree with PPs: Daiya is the best cheese substitute, though I don't use cheese substitutes often because I don't quite care for the texture. I don't like the meat replacements either for the most part, also because of the texture. 

The Vegetarian Times website has some great recipes -- not all are vegan, but a good portion of them are, so it's worth checking out. Google is great, so is pinterest for finding recipes.

 A vegan or vegetarian diet is amazing for your health when done right, but I'll eb the first to admit that when I first became a vegetarian in college, I was a cheeto-pasta-atarian, lol. The only thing I "worry" about is Iron, so I take a vitamin and that's about it. 

DH is still a sometimes-carnivore and I feed my dog and cat meat products, so we're not a completely vegan home. As strongly as I feel about my diet, I feel just as strongly that DH should be allowed to make his own choices. Although he knows better than to expect a kiss if he's eating steak!  

BootsOrHearts

I've been vegetarian since I was 20, I've dabbled with veganism. I like to say I'm an aspiring vegan. I drink soy or almond milk exclusively but I still have a weakness for cheese and ice cream.

My husband is great, although he loves his meat, he will pretty much eat anything I cook him including tofu and fake meat, like boca crumbles. I don't cook meat for him and it's banned from being cooked in the house which is just fine because he grills outside if he wants some. The smell of meat cooking makes me a bit nauseated.

I'm trying to lose a little bit of weight while we're TTA so I think fatty dairy products will be on the no-no list for a while anyway.  

killian09

My DH is vegetarian too, so raising our kids vegetarian is a no-brainer.  (He became vegetarian about 1 week after we started dating.  He had tried before and struggled with it a little, but once we started eating together, it became easier for him.)  My DH's dad had a heart attack when he was under 40, so I feel good about helping my DH do what he can to keep healthy and reduce those risks.

We are both vegan at home, but my husband will eat eggs and occasionally dairy products when he is out.  I'll stick to the vegan-at-home rule with my kids, but I won't ban them from eggs/dairy when they are out.  So if they want a slice of someone's birthday cake or a cheese pizza, they can go for it.  Although both my DH and I are dairy intolerant, so there's a good chance our kids would be too (if we manage to have bio kid!). 

I was raised vegetarian, as were my siblings and many of my cousins, so I'm not too worried about it.  Kids seem to "get it" pretty easily, and I know it can be perfectly healthy diet for children.

My mother-in-law, on the other hand, drives me nuts by suggesting that my veg diet has somehow contributed to my pregnancy losses.  It completely infuriates me b/c she is not educated about nutrition at all.  I see my SIL and little nieces sustaining themselves on a diet of white bread, cheese, ice cream, and occasional lunch meat (no fruit or vegetables), but my MIL spends her time worrying about my diet and not their's.  My doctors have no problem with my diet, and I have had blood work showing that I am not anemic nor B12 deficient. Part of my family is from India and has been vegetarian for millennia with no ill effects. So she can STFU about that, thankyouverymuch.