The KInd Life Community Forum

So at the beginning of March I decided to start a kinder life. I started a job only a block away from a big meat producer and now I get to drive to work every morning behind a truck full of pigs on their way to be slaughtered and I decided it was time to change. I had been wanting start eating healthy for some time now and while I have never been generally unhealthy, I have not given much thought to what I eat in terms other than calories.

So after discussing it with my brand new husband (married for 6 months now!) I decided to go veggie (he's supportive but not committed to make the change). I would like to eventually make the full transition to vegan, but I know myself, if I try something drastic and go cold turkey I won't last a month. Also, I am very aware that such a major change requires planning and research so I am taking it slow. I have cut out most meats out of my diet (yesterday was the start of week 3) and minimized the intake of dairy (some in my coffee every morning) and cheese (some Parmesan and Feta left over in the fridge) and eggs (also left over in my fridge). I went to my local bookstore but I could not find a copy of The Kind Diet, so I will have to order it online but I can't wait to read it to get some information and ideas for cooking.

What mainly drove me to start writing here is the fact that although I feel great emotionally about my decision since Sunday I feel awful! I have been moody and have had bad headaches all three days. I have read that by now my body is probably going through withdrawals but I can't find much about this topic, what are some common symptoms and how to make them stop.

I figured some of you out there may have some advice. I think tomorrow after work I might try a multivitamin...

Anyway, I'm off to try to sleep this headache away, the computer screen is making it hurt.

I have been feeling the same way the past few weeks. Although i have been a vegetarian for years giving up cheese has been hard and fake cheese doesn't cut it. Try a green smoothie, i don't have a juicer so i usually go for the naked juice brand. Its like taking your vitamins except it tastes delicious. I felt crummy last night so i poured some juice and woke up feeling fab! Feel better and good luck on your journey!

a good introduction book is the 30 day vegan challenge. A good way to start this life style is by buying the fake meats. You can get them as well as soy cheese at trader Joes. We also like the almond milk. My favorite is almond fresh, I don't know if it's a canadian brand, but it's quite good. We use the yves meatless hamburger as well as tofuky brand cold meats and sausages as well as the diaya cheese. I've been vegan for 2 1/2 months. I went through the withdrawls as well but they're gone now. I feel great and am in less pain.
For the most part we have just veganized our regular meals. For spaghetti we use the meatless hamburger and some nutritional yeast. We use that for the vitamin b12
We also make chilli the same way
With pasta primavera we use toasted nuts instead of chicken.
When we want a meatier dish I use sietan, I suggests getting a recipe for this online, it looks funny but taste great. I usually sure it with brown gravy which is gravy made from the drippings of onion and garlic. Basically you saute your onions and garlic in vegan margarine we use earth balance then when they're tender separate the onions and garlic from the margarine and add flour to make a paste then add some veggie bouillon and some spices and whisk until thick.
I hope this helps