How do I become a vegan?!
How do I become a vegan?
Im interested in becoming a vegan. My fiance is a hunter who is a meat-eater, how do we co-exist in the same household? What steps should I take to buy foods, products, etc?
Answers:
A vegan does not eat anything that came from an animal. So, you could not eat regular cheese or eggs or anything of that nature. You just have to be really careful to read labels and know what to look for. It can be really expensive to be vegan if you are going to get the right vitamins and minerals everyday. For instance, you would have to buy rice or soy milk instead of cow milk, and it is easily 3-4 times more expensive.
It is possible to co-exist because my husband and I are in the same situation. It just takes a lot of planning because you will have to use two pans to make everything...one with his animal products and you without. For instance, when I make rice, his has regular margarine and mine does not. So, it is twice the cooking. It can work, though.
u dont suck it up
Im a vegetarian and I would say take small steps, like be vegetarian first and then move on to vegan. Buy what you want and prepare it and your fiance can just add meat to whatever meal. Its easy to co-exist as long as you dont get preachy about it.
A good compromise would start off by buying soy products.. many items imitate the taste of real meat and dairy.. then you could start eating many other variations of non-meat foods... you might even have your husband cross over!
I dont eat nothing w/a face but eat food thats good for you & take vitamins for women.Buy products that dont test on animals.I wouldnt be able to live with a hunter.
As far as you are concerned, just stop eating meat! (duh!)
And if your fiance has to go out to kill his food, for sport, I'd dump his barbaric butt (in case he doesn't know this, we now have this thing called a 'store' where you can buy your food--you no longer have to live in the middle ages & hunt down your next meal!)
http://www.recipesforvegans.co.uk/whyveg...
It would be easier to start off being vegetarian (if you arent already) and then gradually cut out dairy and eggs and honey, rather than making the radical change from meat to vegan straightaway. It might also be easier for your husband to understand and accept a gradual change. I would find it hard living with someone who approves hunting as my values are so important to me, but I suppose it could work if it isn't a major issue to you and there is mutal respect for eachother's beliefs. If veganism does becomen an important part of how you live your life (which to be fair it does to most vegans) then you might find it hard living with someone who supports the meat industry. Just a thought.
Good luck with the change, there are plenty of tasty vegan recipes so you won't be missing out on anything.
It depends entirely what reasons you've become a vegan for, ifs its simply killing animals...then you and your fiancé will have to prepare your food separately and eat separate meals. However if like I, you make the choice out of the cruel ways in which animals are treated and their torturous conditions during life, all for the sake of feeding us...then perhaps you don't necessarily need to be a vegan at all. Investigate your fiancés hunting environment and if the animals enjoy a happy, uncruel life while they live...and you wish to be a vegan for the life-style reasons of the poor animals...then you may be able to eat the hunted meat. I am a vegetarian/Vegan because of this reason, so if i came across the possibility of eating meat from an animal that lived a decent life, id find that acceptable, because that is the cycle of nature and the animals would do the same to their prey. This way you can begin your new regime straight away and not face the slump of cold turkey (excuse the rather ironic pun) and quit it all in one go.
Hope this helps, i know the dilemma your in! :D
If you want to be a true vegan, living with a meat eater takes a lot of effort, patience and compromise! I never use same cutting board as my husband, meat lingers even after washing up. We use different knives, containers, etc. He eats dairy products, I eat soy cheeses, yogurt,milk or rice or coconut milks. I dont eat any foods that contain eggs, I use Organ egg substitute.when baking. No butter or margarines with milk solids in them, only plant based marg. HE now eats many of my foods, but that is because he had to eat them or go without deserts, but funny enough he never complains about taste(before he said it would be disgusting).Amazing what can happen when people take the effort to try all plant based recipes. I dont eat gelatine, I use a plant based one called gelozone. I dont wear wool, leather. Good luck, it should interesting to know how it goes.
Ten ways to get more vegetables into your diet. Your goal is to get more vegetables into your diet.
1. Serve them straight up - Every dinner, put a plate of raw vegetables on the table. Good choices are cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and green peppers. Consider offering a different dip each evening : salsas, herb dips, vinaigrettes, blue cheese and milk put through the blender.
2. Have a nightly salad - A fistful of mixed salsd greens from the bag, a few cherry tomatoes, a few slices of cucumber or apple, and you have a delicious, healthy salad in barely a minute's time. It's a great way to start any dinner.
3. Roast them - Most vegetables taste great when roasted in the oven with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic. Cut the vegetables into large chunks before cooking, toss them with oil, vinegar, and seasonings, and cook in a roasting pan at a medium heat for 20 to 40 minutes, depending on their thickness. Try to limit your mix vegetables with similar textures and piece sizes to ensure that all cook evenlly.
4. Puree into soup - Potatoes, carrots, winter squash, cauliflower, and broccoli - just about any cooked (or leftover) vegetable can be made into a creamy, comforting soup. The recipe for "any-vegetable soup" is simple: In a medium saucepan, saute 1 cup finely chopped onion in a tbs of vegetable oil until tender. Combine the onion in a blender or food processor with cooked vegetables and puree until smooth. Return puree to saucepan and thin with broth or low - fat milk. Simmer and season to taste.
5. Do a fast saute - Many vegetables taste terrific with simple, fast sauteing. Pick a favorite - and cut into bite size pieces. Heat a skillet or small wok to a high temperatyre. Add a swirl of olive oil and then the vegetables. Constantly tun the vegetables until cooked through. Toss on your favorite seasonings (we like salt, peper, and thyme; alternatively, we like soy sauce and a little sesame oil), giv a final stir, and voila! They're ready for the table.
6. Make into sauce - Wonderful cooked and uncooked sauces or salsas can be made with tomatoes, onions, peppers, mushrooms, and cooking greens, alone or in combination with other vegetables. Put them on chicken, pork, pasta, or most any other entree.
7. Fill an omelet - There are few vegetables that can't go into an omelet, especially when combined with a little grated or crumbled cheese. Vegetables that make especially good omelet fillings include onion, peppers tomatoes, mushrooms, and potatoes.
8. Grate into ground meat - Enhance the flavor and nutritional value of ground-meat mixtures for burgers and meat loaves by adding up to a cup of finely chopped or grated raw vegetables before shaping and cooking: carrots, zucchini, sweet peppers, mushrooms, spinach and other greens, and of course, onion.
9. Ovens are great for vegetables - Stuff them in poultry; surround briskets and tenderloins with large chunks; put them inside rolled-up fillets of pork, beef, or chicken.
10. Try a recipe makeover - Add chopped cooked spinach or grated carrot to the sauce you use to make lasagna. Increase the amount of vegetables and decrease the amount of meat you use to make homemade soups, stews, and casseroles. Add cooked vegetables and beans to baked ziti, stuffed manicotti, and other pasta dishes.
The book "Becoming Vegan" is good.
About living with a meat eater... hm... I could (as a 'vegan') probably live with that if he took his "Food Safe" (food handling) course so as not to cross-contaminate my stuff. If you are just starting the transition, then he will slowly learn to adjust too. Different colour cutting boards is a good first step. And if he loves you, there shouldn't be a problem living together as you will both respect each other's choices. If you can put up with the stench of wild meat and he can stomach tofu, I don't see a problem unless he takes offense somehow, as many people do.
Ted Nugent is a very pro hunting and killing and eating your own meat kind of person. He even had a TV show all about it. But he's cool with vegans, since some of his children and friends are vegan, so if he can do it, so can you.