The KInd Life Community Forum
Use this space to share stories, exchange ideas, ask questions, and contribute to our growing community!
CALLING ALL COLLEGE VEGANS!!!
Started
by Belle Messina
on March 30, 2011
Hello everyone! I figured we should all start a discussion about what its like to be a vegan in college. It can be especially challenging, especially when you don't have access to your own kitchen and are surrounded by usually unhealthy dining hall food, even if it is vegan. Also all those temptations you experience from your friends when they get unhealthy food. Even if you are a committed vegan (like me) french fries and chips and some chocolate is still vegan and sometimes its hard to say no =) So yeah, figured we could all support each other during this period of our lives!
I am glad to hear that other people are struggling with this to. I have never been 100% vegan for an extended period of time but I would love to be a full vegan. I tried really hard to be this summer but once I got to college I gave up because everything was to tempting and I started putting on weight because I felt deprived of good food which caused me to go out of control with sugary foods and desserts. I am still trying to get a hold on my diet and it is a daily struggle not only physically but emotionally as well. For the time being I have had to put the idea of being vegan aside because I just could not make it work in a college setting. I hope that I will have a change of heart and try again.
Amanda,
I definitely understand about it being hard to keep a good diet, especially in college. There are a lot of awesome vegan desserts though! I don't know where you go to school but my school actually sells some vegan desserts at the campus center! And even if you don't have access to this, Luna Bars and Clif Bars are delicious! While they aren't exactly healthy, they are still vegan and better for you then non-vegan desserts, and they will definitely satisfy your cravings! Chocolate soy milk or almond milk is delicious also! Hope this helped and I hope you decide to join us all on our vegan journeys soon =)
Sinless Raw Foods is a brand new company in Charleston SC. Our first product is SInless Raw Vegan Chocolate (six flavors) net one carb, taste amazing. Our mission is to offer solutions to the health crisis and show people that raw vegan food taste great. AT the same time it must be convenient for todays lifestyles. www.sinlessraw.com or contact me Leslee Mays and I will find a retail location to place it in a city where you live. Keep demanding and supporting Raw Foods.
Hi! I'm a sophomore in college and last year when I lived in the dorms it was IMPOSSIBLE to be vegan. Without my own kitchen or even a FRIDGE there were just no choices for me to eat besides my dining hall's SALADS (how many times a day do I have to eat a salad? all the grilled veggies they offered were smothered in butter). But now I live in an apartment and everything is so much easier. I have been a full vegan for a few months now and I love it. I love experimenting with my cooking and learning about new foods and introducing my friends to vegan food. I just feel healthier and happier all around knowing that I am eating such kind diet =)
Also- Alicia came to my school and autographed my copy of her book! how groovy (as she'd say)!!!
Thanks for the encouragement Belle, I really need it. At the college I go to I am required to have a meal plan but I do have a refrigerator which is nice. But like Suzie said eating salad is fine but not for every meal every day. And unfortunately my school offers very few vegan options, occasionally they offer vegan pudding but no other desserts, they do make really good vegan wraps but that is only very once in a great while so I catch it when I can and try to bring one back with me for the next day. I was quite excited to find that our little store sells regular and chocolate soymilk. But I am apprehesive to drink that very regulary because I have heard that it contains hormones. Although when I think about it I get twice as many hormones and chemicals when I eat non-vegan things so what is the difference?
I do really like Clif bars but they are quite expensive and not easily available to me. I have only tried two flavors of Lunabars but I did not really like either of them. I have made my own before and those were pretty good but it is hard for me to make them often since I can only do it when I go home.
I wish that I had a vegan friend on campus to help me stay on track and motivated. I have a hard time talking about it with other people because I have not really commited to it 100% yet. I continue to doubt if I can do it. When I first started flirting with veganism I was hoping to loss some weight but the opposite occurred ( I am not saying that my vegan diet was the culprit but my brain seems to think that it was). I continue to over eat (usually feeling awful afterwards but that does not seem to stop me from doing it again) and I also eat when I am stressed which does not solve any problems. Anyway I hope that things will work themselves out I am not sure where to go from here.
Thanks for listening sorry for the long venting story.
I'm also a sophmore in college and have had some of the same problems as Suzie B!! As a vegan who is bored with the salad bar, it is definitely a little difficult to be vegan in a dining hall! Almost everything is cooked with butter, so I have to get very creative sometimes! Hummus and spinach sandwiches have definitely become a favorite of late :) Admittedly, the dining hall makes some pretty great accomodations for vegetarians/vegans... like labeling anything that contains gluten or dairy, offering soy milk, and even a few vegan desserts. But, I'm dropping the meal plan next year, so I'll get to experiment with fixing more great vegan food soon. Also, I definitely agree Bella; it is hard to say no to some of those tempting (but still vegan) junk foods. I just have to close my eyes and ask myself, is that really good for my body? But still, my sweet tooth sits like a devil on my shoulder sometimes!!
Alex,
I love hummus sandwiches! They have definitely become a staple. Even this morning, I went to the dining hall and I had a whole wheat bagel with hummus and spinach. So delicious! While its more carbs than I prefer, I rarely eat bagels. Has anyone really been able to be superhero at college?
Belle,
I also love bagel-hummus sandwiches! But, same as you, I try to limit them. And I haven't given superhero a shot yet, but I really want to this summer when I can dedicate more of my time to planning my meals.
Hey everyone! So nice to know there are other college vegans besides myself. I feel your pain, I used to live in the dorms and was definitely unhealthily skinny from not eating enough on a vegan diet, because there was nowhere to eat! I tried attending farmers markets and stocking up in my mini fridge, but still with the cost etc. it was hard. If you ever need some inspiration to continue with the vegan diet and make it work, watch this lecture by Gary Yourofsky on veganism, it is one of the most eye-opening things you'll ever watch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es6U00LMmC4
25 Comments