vegan cheese: It's only been a week and I find myself on the toilet constantly (mostly gas). I don't mean to be crude, but hey, it's the truth. Well, it is so hard keeping a Vegan diet. Even when I buy meatless products I MUST read the ingredients on everything! For example, this evening I baked some Boca Chik'n Nuggets, and it said that it contains "less than 2% egg whites"! I can't even trust brand names. Even veggie dishes are made with real milk!! I tried Vegan cheese and gagged. :-( But basically I would like to hear some of the daily staples you use to stay well fed. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I thank you and so do the many suffering animals of the world.|||Your body might be reacting that way because you're eating more fruits and vegetables and healthier foods, which your body has to get used to. Amazingly, many people that eat an unhealthy diet that rarely consists of plant sources find themselves taking meds so they feel better when eating their greens. Also, our bodies don't naturally digest animal products, which causes constipation. Just let your body get used to the change and believe me, your body will feel BETTER later on. Every vegetarian and vegan I've talked to has had these problems in the beginning and then it goes away. As for vegan foods, this should help: http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/ (all vegan) http://www.tofurky.com/products.htm http://www.lightlife.com/turkey.html http://www.lightlife.com/pepperoni.html http://www.lightlife.com/ham.html http://www.lightlife.com/bologna.html http://www.lightlife.com/tempeh.html http://www.lightlife.com/meatlessmeatbal鈥?/a> http://www.lightlife.com/jumbo.html http://www.lightlife.com/smart-bbq.html (love this stuff) http://www.lightlife.com/smart-orangeses鈥?/a> http://www.lightlife.com/smart-terichick鈥?/a> http://www.gardenburger.com/eat-positive鈥?/a> (one of my favs) http://www.gardenburger.com/eat-positive鈥?/a> http://amyskitchen.com/ ( ^ many vegan products as well as a really great vegan soy cheese pizza ) And the best ice cream ever: http://purelydecadent.com/ http://tofutti.com/ (really great vegan cheese pizza as well) Vegan restaurants in your state: http://www.happycow.net/|||My staples: Post Raisin Bran with Silk Light Vanilla soy milk Hummus, tomato and alfalfa sprout wraps with some fruit and almonds Organic Smuckers peanut butter topped with raisins in a pita pocket and some fruit Rice and bean, lentil, or pasta dishes with lots of vegetables (try www.vegweb.com for great recipes and meal ideas) Organic Strums oatmeal and fruit Whole wheat bread made at home Edit: Please ignore untitled.jpg. He knows not of what he speaks. "Anyway, why would anyone go vegan? Meat just has the most amazing flavor, and they contain most of the 8 required amino acids in their proteins." So basically, he is eating meat to satisfy his taste buds. Soy and quinoa contain all the essential amino acids. "If you care so much about animals suffering, I really don't think that is a good idea.If you care about saving lifes so much, you shouldn't do anything when you are sick because that would kill millions of microorganisms. They are going to die on their own anyways, so why not make them sooner and let their body serve a purpose? And plus, a life of an animal is not nearly worth as much as a human life." So, with untitled.jpg's logic, why not just kill a few humans? They are animals too and are going to die anyway. Back to the question. I know, it is annoying reading labels, but you should really try to eat unprocessed foods. It is much, much healthier for you. Good luck!|||hmm yes i don't like the vegan cheeses i've tried either.. what do i eat on a daily basis? I use all of these ingredients every day ( i eat basically the same thing every day): fruit and vegetables of all kinds, nuts, peanut butter, tortillas, guacamole, all types of beans, iced tea, almond milk, herbs, salsa,olive oil. :] if you want frozen foods try the brand called amy's. they make it very clear which of their entrees are vegan and which are vegetarian. only thing is, do NOT buy any of their vegan soups that have noodles. ickkkk|||Congrats on switching to a vegan lifestyle! In the beginning its hard and frustrating, I know, but after a while you'll get used to it. Try shopping at your local health food store, they'll have alot more vegan options. Most things that are vegan say so right on the packaging, which is alot easier to read than a huge list of ingredients! You might want to pick out what brands are vegan-friendly and which aren't before you go shopping, so you're not overwhelmed by all the food in the store. I like boca burgers (they have a kind that is vegan), Yves hot-dogs, silk soy milk, and Amy's frozen entrees. The rest of my food is just staples that I put together, like whole wheat bread (I use Ezekiel), peanut butter, fruits, veggies, nuts, and stuff like that. Some good websites for you to visit are vegcooking.com, peta.org, and peta2.com (they have message boards with a ton of stuff about what you can and cant eat). Good luck!!|||It will probably go away a bit after a while. Ive found that if I'm going to eat anything like beans, legumes and mushrooms, i just have some toast as well, seems to sorta rounds things of pretty good. as for staples, for big dinner type meals, spaghetti and curry are pretty good if you load them up with all sorts of vegetables and legumes. during the day i mostly just eat mixed leafy greens, chillies and some salad dressing for a meal. pretty much eat nuts, seeds and fruit most of the day in between stuff. veggie burgers are pretty good for a main meal too.|||i mostly eat fresh produce now.. my body and chemistry in processed vegan foods just doesn't agree with me any more.. too many times i ran into animal product in supposively vegan friendly foods... so thus i just went back to basics... fresh veggies.. fresh fruits... beans, (legumes) potatoes (tubers) all the green leafy veggies... spices that are fresh.. herbs that are freshly cut... things like that.. even edible flowers.. all fresh.. not frozen... (risky, been blanced.. minerals all gone) no canned stuff (salt, additives, no minerals, all cooked out vitamins... lacks any flavor... slimey and risky... ) no boxed stuff.... too many additives.. i've not had a problem since.. no it's not boring i find what i eat if more flavorful than what i used to eat ages ago when that crap used to give me headaches, gerd, heartburn, constipation.. so on. my health is doing way better.. (not perfect i have inherited issues) no longer suffering digestional garbage.. haven't been constipated in a real long time... many benefits... i don't miss any of the stuff i thought i liked.. sometimes my friends ask me to try what i used to like and wow.. what i once thought was delicious... actually tastes like poison to me, no flavor, very acidic, very chemically tasting and bitter. (then i get heart burn real bad) so thus i maintain my fresh produce diet... no regrets.. no dairy for me either.. no eggs.. (that alone gave me some bad issues... real bad problems.) cutting that out i don't have the hypertension i once had... my cholesterol is not a issue to be attended to with drugs... so on. no more burning sensations in my throat all the time. much happier.. i also feel very light.. very fluid in a way... it's hard to explain i'm not weighed down... my body feels 'free' i guess is the word. my skin had great color! i tan well.. i never could tan before.. no more zits.. no more weird oily patches then suddenly dry spots on my skin... no more aches and pains all the time... no more clicky sounds in my jaw or ears... no more restless leg syndrom.. that was annoying for a long time when i was young.. (didn't have a name for it back then, just creepy legs they called it) so on... i could go on for a while yet about how i'm happier but i think you've got the point. :D|||We use all whole grain staples to make everything we need. We don't buy those fake meats because a.) I never liked the real thing, why would I try the fake, and b.) they are so heavily processed in order to make them similar, it defeats the purpose of becoming healthier. Thats said, my children do on the rare occasion of huge gathering eat veggie dogs (our burgers are bean based, made at home...unless I'm in a rush and forget). I still haven't tried seitan (not processed when made at home), but am not sure if I am going to either. We do lots of oatmeal, stone ground whole wheat flour (to make everything), whole wheat pastry flour (for everything else, like certain cookies and pancakes), lots of fresh fruits and veggies, "milks" change with our taste buds, so if my daughter is really into almonds one week, we buy almond milk, or I'm getting sick of soy milk, we go for hazlenut, or hemp seed. We only buy the fake cheeses for specialties items (because of it being both heavily processed and pricey..plus taste is a factor for me, while my kids don't know any different) like homemade pizza (stone ground whole wheat flour), or enchiladas. We also do lots of beans, brown and wild rice, quinoa, whole wheat couscous, whole wheat/ other grained (but never white) pastas. Spaghetti sauce, tomatoe sauce, diced tomatoes, salsa, sundried tomatoes, lots of seeds and nuts. Variety of butters, like peanut, almond, sunflower, etc... As for reading all labels, it gets easier over time that you know the terms to look for and you can just scan it fast. It also helps when you stick to low processed foods so that there are maybe 5 ingredients. Also, for sake of health whether vegan or not, if you can't pronounce an ingredient, don't eat it!! And avoid anything with hydrogenated/ partially hydrogenaated oils (not animal derived, but so bad for you as it is main made...aka trans fats, but if the amount per serving is less than .5 grams, it can say no trans fats, but still contain hydrogenated oils...read ingredient labels, nutrition labels). My husband who didn't care much in the beginning as he still eats meat, has gotten the hang of it that he no longer asks me to double check!!|||I wouldn't rely so heavily on frozen foods aimed at veg people. They are ridiculously overpriced and aren't that great a lot of the time. Your best route is to start cooking. The sooner the better because it will take some time to develop some skill. If you learn to make everything from scratch, you will know everything that goes into your food and you have more control over how much fat goes into it. Just to clear things up, the vegetarian/vegan diet is not composed of salads, vegetables, fruit and fake meat. Fruits and vegetables are always important but they DO NOT make up the largest portion of any healthy diet. A balanced plant-based diet includes grains(breads, pasta, rice,cereal), legumes(soy, beans, peas, lentils), fruit and vegetables. http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/f鈥?/a> http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/ http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/ea鈥?/a> Being vegan can be an art, one whose challenge is to take things that involve the suffering of the innocent and change them into something free of cruelty. I'm vegan and these are some of my favorite things to eat: Breakfast: bananas, cream of wheat with brown sugar and soy butter, cereal, pancakes or french toast with real maple syrup, vegan "sausage" patties, smoothies. Snack: BRUSSEL SPROUTS =) no joke Lunch: vegan "sausage" sandwiches, sandwiches with vegan deli slices(Tofurkey is the only one that's kinda funky), fruit, dinner leftovers, couscous salad, vegan sushi, potato or pasta salad. Dinner: sloppy joes, "sausage" and gravy with homemade biscuits, Spaghetti and Trader Joe's "meatballs" or TVP, lasagna, Thai pad see ew, pad khi mao(drunkard's noodles), pad prig king, tofu+eggplant with basil sauce, yellow thai curry with tofu or vegan chikn and veggies and jasmine rice, Indian dal with homemade roti or dosai, channa masala, aloo gobi, vegetable or minestrone soup, pizza, STEAMED "PORK" BUNS with potstickers or spring rolls, sweet&sour/orange/lemon chikn, vegan pho or wonton soup, baked tofu, BBQ homemade seitan (tastes like BBQ'd ribs), kabobs I use these sites to find recipes: http://www.foodnetwork.com http://vegweb.com http://www.recipezaar.com --------------------------------------鈥?br> That is great that you want to become vegan. My biggest word of advice is to study a balanced vegan diet and learn how to cook/prepare everything that you will need to keep yourself satisfied BEFORE you start to label yourself as vegan. This is important in keeping yourself healthy and working towards a fit body that can redefine vegan stereotypes. Your journey as vegetarian was just the beginning of a longer one to a plant-based diet with no animal products. This should be due to the reality of factory farming in which animals that are kept alive to produce milk, eggs, etc suffer much more and longer than animals that are raised to a certain weight and then slaughtered.http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/ http://meat.org Some people use the word "vegan" in reference to this idea, but be aware that applying that label to yourself should always come with the inclusion of wise activism and advocacy.http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/in鈥?/a> Two extremely important examples of this are that you should never speak to someone about vegetarianism/veganism without their consent and genuine interest or as a comment on what they are eating AND your dietary beliefs should never be used as an introduction or explanation of who you are as a person. Veg*ism should be something that comes up AFTER people get to know you and they offer you a situation that makes it confusing to withhold the information/discussion. Also, if you are presented something that you choose not to eat or you are ordering food/eating together somewhere/picking the best place to eat. A responsible vegan ALWAYS studies the subject of their own health and how to keep their body completely provided for in every sense. http://www.veganhealth.org/sh To neglect their body is to define a plant-based diet as unhealthy and is the opposite of helping the animals. When you you hold off on the subject until it's necessary and then act like it isn't a big deal at all, people are usually surprised and WAY more interested and curious than if you were to bring it up when someone's eating or just using it as a conversation starter. A balanced plant-based diet includes grains(breads, pasta, rice,cereal), legumes(soy, beans, peas, lentils), fruit and vegetables. http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/f鈥?/a> http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/ http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/ea鈥?/a> Being vegan can be an art, one whose challenge is to take things that involve the suffering of the innocent and change them into something free of cruelty. A vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential. Technically the term "vegetarian" does imply that you don't consume anything that comes from the body of an animal that requires killing it. Many ingredients such as gelatin and glycerin are found in many candies, Fig-Newtons, and many of other foods as well as rennet found in many cheeses. http://www.happycow.net/health-animal-in鈥?/a> The best thing to remember is to take your time so that for example: when you are comfortable not eating whey and casein you can then give up sodium stearoyl lactylate and L-cysteine when you are sure you can make the commitment permanently. Depending on your age or reliance on parents or regional options, it may not be best to give yourself a label. The important thing is to do your best to make progress and be committed to your compassion towards animals. Never put your focus onto what you or other people use to describe yourself. If you meet someone that talks down to people for eating meat, dairy, etc or to you because they think they are "more veg" than you, laugh in their face and tell them they are a disgrace to the entire philosophy. People like this only hurt the idea of veg*ism AND the animals. The point of all of this is to live compassionately and and as free from cruelty as you can, all the while maintaining your health and a positive attitude. People who don't maintain either, need not open their mouths and represent our beliefs. If you actually choose to read all of this, I hope it helps. If not, feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.|||Watch Fast food nation, the blood of raw cow skin dripping into your milk and the baby chicks being murdered and you'll understand. Animals are pumped with chemicals. Our government is trying to kill us. Stop eating meat!! Other countries don't do this to their citizens!!!! We must revolt!|||I have not made the switch so I am not in any shape to help. I just want to say I think it is wonderful that you did. When I had my baby, it seemed to saddest thing in the world to feed him animals. Such a cruel cycle. I have heard my cousins who follow the diet say gas at first is common. My cousin who has been one since 17 said try some ginger ale and that will help greatly. GOOD luck and I am proud of your choice. As the family cook, I cut our meat intake greatly and I wish that my husband and children would change their thinking so we did not eat it at all. Even hostess products contain beef fat. Yuck.|||I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian, but I just wanted to say something. The human stomach is not ment to digest only vegetables. We don't have 4 stoumachs like cows do. Being vegan is hard, and you must read every thing carefully, and the replacement tastes horrible. Vegetables are harder to digest, because human digestive track can't do with the diatary fibers (That's what 4 stomachs are for!), and when they come to the intestines, the bacteria partial breaks down and cause gas. in other wirds, more gas, less digested. Anyway, why would anyone go vegan? Meat just has the most amazing flavor, and they contain most of the 8 required amino acids in their proteins. Vegan diet got most of the protein and fat from beans, and it is a well known fact that beans gave you gas. If you care so much about animals suffering, I really don't think that is a good idea.If you care about saving lifes so much, you shouldn't do anything when you are sick because that would kill millions of microorganisms. They are going to die on their own anyways, so why not make them sooner and let their body serve a purpose? And plus, a life of an animal is not nearly worth as much as a human life. Suffer from malnutrition just to savce some animals are not worth it. Scientificly speaking, the most intellegent animals on this earth are ether carnivores(dolphins) or omnivores( most primates). A few million years ago, the primate line of evolution splitted in to two branch, one herbivore,one omnivore. The herbivore line extincted, and the omnivore line evolved in to humans today. If you want stay helthy , get a balanced diet, no junk food, eat mostly lean and white meat,and exercise. Vegan is just not the way to go.|||You suck B*TCH! Eat meat and love life! It is God's gift! Animals are inferior and stupid beings! It is an honor for them to be eaten by higher beings like us!|||Hey it's not crude. If you are "going vegan" be prepared to be farty and concerned with bowel movements. Welcome to reality! Your body may adjust, but mostly you will be obsessed with gas and bowel issues. Discussing them constitutes a good portion of vegan discussions and social life. As for reading labels. You will be doing so the rest of your life and your mind will become so freaked and paranoid you will be unsuited to live among somewhat normal people. Try vegetarianism. Vegans are nothing but vegetarians with their brains knocked out. OH and I agree with you about "vegan cheese". I blew chunks with a group of vegans when some slipped down my throat before I could spit it out. GAWD it is HORRIBLE!!! Sorry to hear you had that experience, I can still taste it backing up in my pipes....EWWWWWWWWWWWWW.