The KInd Life Community Forum
Use this space to share stories, exchange ideas, ask questions, and contribute to our growing community!
Advice for becoming a Vegan.
Started
by Amber Kellogg
on December 26, 2009
I also have a lot or problems with keeping the right foods in the house. It does get expensive and during the holidays is the worst! I have a husband who refuses to change his diet (to each their own) and then my four kids. To cut down on cost I buy a lot of cans of organic pinto or black beans, lettuce (or some type of leafy green), hummus, and some sort of tortillas (Trader Joe's has a great spinach one) and will make wraps. I wish I could go out and get a bunch of items but it is too hard with a family of six! I also keep quinoa on hand always. And Trader Joe's is by far the cheapest place to get it! I am hoping the more I learn, the easier it will be to find the ingredients that work for me and my family. I want my kids to eat healthy (I cannot do anything about my husband--and his family thinks I am nuts). I am tired of being the odd ball and everyone looking at me like I am crazy. I cannot even explain myself because they find ways to belittle my way of life. I cant even tell anyone if I get a cold because they blame my diet and lack of meat and diary. It is tough. I need advice on how to deal with my family and those who feel the need to let me know every chance they get about how weird I am. I just want to be myself and peace and I would love for someone to take me seriously. I am in school to become a Physician Assistant and I want to work in nutritional health, maybe then someone will take me seriously and let me feel some sort of validation.
I'm not a student but i am on a budget, so i'm following the path of half now half later. I just cooked a sweet potato curry, i put half on my plate and half in the fridge, i'll re-heat it by wednesday and have it with some of the rice i had left over.
This is my first vegan day, i went to the supermarket and bought a small bag od couscous, some pasta, some rice and different beans i have some basic meals there to add to salad and veggies for week.
My family is the same way. I was so excited about this book and the way of life I wanted to share with everyone. Here is what I learned (after being told the same things that you have listed) I just don't say anything at all anymore. I believe that when they see the changes in me and want to know what I did then I will talk to them again. Recently some of my family members are trying some of my foods and they like them. So let them see how wonderful you feel then they will want the information. Also, my husband is a meat eater he cooks his own food. I don't want any part of it. I get him to try my food and I believe eventually he will go more towards what I eat. Kids are so versitile that if you have a positive attitude about what you eat they will want to try it and maybe they will lean more towards what you eat. You know you can always talk to someone on here and that will help you feel better.
@ laura williams, just keep going with it. My boyfriend used to be veggie now eats meat i haven't told him yet that i'm now vegan but what i am doing is cooking our meals as normal, but wholesome vegan meals, i then add some meat for him. Tonight we had a sweet potato curry and rice, i put chicken on the side for him and he ate the lot. I got to eat a vegan meal without him asking what i'm eating.
I'm going to tell him in a few weeks when i'm fully adjusted to my new lifestyle and he as no chance of talking me out of it or forcing meat on me (which i doubt he would) but just incase.
do one meal aweek for all your family thats completley vegan but not far away from what they would normally eat and then i'm sure they'll start realising your new way of eating is not dangerous or deprived.
I know my testing time will be last week before payday so i'm going to put some things in the freezer or live on beans and toast for a week lol.
Good luck shop around and turn a deaf ear to everything else
I was once vegetarian, but never fully vegan. I am giving things another go. I find that eating animal products makes me feel unhealthy and tired.. Like many on this thread, I am on a tight budget. I live alone, which is great because i control what is in my house, but also find that it can be bad too since no one is around to see if i follow my plan. Can anyone suggest some good staple snack foods that I should keep on hand? I am needing some help controlling cravings!
This thread is really interesting to me! I ate my first vegan meal in Hawaii in November, and then my second and third, and then my fourth and fifth. Without knowing it, I was on the way. I just stopped buying milk, cheese, and other dairy products. I was already scarcely eating meat anyway.
Store cupboard staples for me to have on hand include grain breads (I make my own -- no rise, very easy and quick and cheap), sugar free jam, peanut butter, pasta (delish with olive oil, chili flakes and veggie parmesan), rice crackers, quinoa (a thousand possibilities! thanks to Google), bulgur wheat (ten minutes, so quick! just add spring onions, chopped green pepper, diced cucumber, sesame oil). Oh, and hummus, of course. Yum.
I could go on forever. I am learning so much and I feel so good! Thanks everyone for the discussion.
and I meant to write VEGAN parmesan - sorry for any confusion!
Sounds great Jo! What is your easy bread recipe, if you are willing to share? :) I would really like to start making my own bread.
Sure thing. This is the one I use, and I have varied it a lot, depending on what is in the cupboard!! Soya milk/water, seeds/no, salt/no, wholewheat flour/rice flour -- whatever -- it always turns out delish! I stick it in a loaf tin for baking. Enjoy!
http://www.recipezaar.com/Yeast-Free-Bread-67405
hmmm....that looks so easy! I have to try it asap. I'll finish up my ezekiel bread and then do this one. I have white whole wheat flour and brown rice flour, so I'll mix those and add sunflower seeds. Thanks for the recipe! I'm on a really tight budget, but sometimes making all your own stuff can just be too time consuming. This looks as if it won't take forever!
28 Comments