vegan cheese: 'Ello there:) I'm fifteen, sixteen in August, and I've been a vegetarian for almost a year now. People say I'm a "strict" vegetarian? I don't consume gelatin, or wear leather/suede. I've done all my research, and despite being fifteen, I believe I'm rather successful at maintaing (no, bettering!) my health. As of late I feel utterly repulsed at myself for stealing milk from a forcefully impregnated animal of a species not my own and consuming its milk, while separating it from it's helpless calf and sending it to the veal farm. (also repulsed with curdled milk, aka cheese) I desperately want to become vegan but I live in a VERY small beach town with only two small grocery stores. (one especially small) so I feel as if I'd literally have to eat nothing but salads, grains, vegetables, and fruits. For example: -I wanted to make vegan sweets using soy or almond milk and egg replacer instead of cow's milk and eggs. No egg replacer. -I wanted to make vegan pizza using vegan cheese. No vegan cheese. Any suggestions? Do you have any vegan recipes easily made with common groceries? Even if I have to wait to become vegan when I move out in just over two years, I'd still like to inch my way towards it and start eating some vegan dishes now, so any help is appreciated.|||Ugh, I know exactly how you feel. I, too, live in extremely small town with only a couple very basic grocery stores. I've gone vegan, though, although it wasn't exactly easy for those reasons. I did think about waiting until I was out on my own, but...well, I just didn't want to support it any longer. So, I have a Whole Foods about 40 min. and a Trader Joes about 1 hr away from me. Do you have and stores like that in a somewhat reasonable distance? They have lots of vegan stuff. Every week or two, my mom takes me up there so we can get some food for the week. If it's only an occasional trip then it shouldn't be too much of a burden, right? At worst you could always be semi-vegan for now until you get out on your own. Sorry I couldn't give more advice D: Just going off of personal experience is all. Hmm, recipes...well, you can use other things other than boxed egg replacer for sweets. Here are some examples: http://www.theppk.com/veganbaking.html You could always try one of those instead of commercial egg replacers. You could try making some vegan seitan enchiladas (I think seitan is best when you make it yourself anyways), or some veggie lasagna. Like, tonight I had vegan seitan stew and was able to get all the ingredients right here in my town. I don't know, just thinking of random stuff off the top of my head. Good luck! :)|||So My way to help you is, If you can find a library(hopefully you have one in your small beach town) Look from Books with Vegan recipes Also, Check in the freezer section of your grocery store and look for Morning star(maybe you already eat this) but even in my TINY town we have morning star, and also look in the diet and Oriental sections(if you have them in the grocery stores) and there are vegetarian/vegan options there too And also, sad news here is although there is a lot you can do with is a vegan's staple food seems to be pasta, and rice. But by making different stir fry like dishes, with vegetable base, and soups(ever heard of lentil soup?), and then If your willing to experiment with tofu(you might already) You can make many AWESOME dishes, if they're prepared correctly, might take a while to get the hang of it. (for sweets milk replacement, try coconut milk)|||Try this site http://www.recipezaar.com/ You sound very educated and I'd give you a hug if I could! It sounds like the closest you'll get in your town in soy milk. People are lactose intolerant so they should have something. If you go to these groceries often and they recognize you.. speak with them about get some soy milk (Silk chocolate soy milk is fabulous!). If you are a regular and they know they can count on your business.. it wouldn't be a waste for them. Make a few trips outside of your town with a grocery list and grab some things you can keep in the freezer at home. I wish you the best of luck! I'm not so strong. :)|||I think going vegan is great, but I also think it can be more realistic and convenient to do a vegan-minded diet instead of pure vegan. I live in Los Angeles, so I could, of course, go vegan with lots of new age restaurants and everything nearby. However, I'm the kind of person who wants to eat my mom's cooking when I go home; I want to be able to cook "normal" things for my friends and eat their "normal" food when I go to their houses. I want to be able to go on a date anywhere instead of telling the guy I'm vegan right off the bat. Besides, if you're 15 and not much of a cook and without stores with many options, you might end up missing a lot of nutrients/calories if you go vegan at this point. I would definitely recommend heading toward veganism - I pretty much don't consume any milk anymore and try to avoid meat and dairy for the most part - because it does feel good! However, by not labeling myself as vegan, I can eat non-vegan when I want to be polite or if my body seems to be craving something that's not vegan. Just listen to your body! Good luck. :) Oh, and as far as recipes, I'd really recommend cooking with lentils and beans, sauteeing vegetables, making soups (use seasonings like curry powder or cumin or basil or whatever to add flavor since lots of people depend on meat to add flavor normally), brown rice.. There are a lot of vegan things to eat that come from regular grocery stores. Just stay open minded and get creative!|||"I feel as if I'd literally have to eat nothing but salads, grains, vegetables, and fruits." This is a problem how? Throw in some nuts/seeds and you have everything you need right there.|||i think you should go for it. atleast, give it a try|||Same situation. I'm vegan now, and I'd rather starve than consume animal products. Like literally, I don't car e if I'm dying, I wouldn't eat any of that ****... And you don't have to use vegan cheese or egg replacer to become vegan. I am actually becoming a raw vegan-- and yes, I am the same age as you-- because of this very convincing website --> purelyraw.com