PLEASE ANSWER!!!!!!!!!! vegan question???!
I am a vegetarian and i am in my early teens. I am thinking about becoming vegan, my mom is a vegetarian and has thought about becoming vegan, but has never become one. My dad and the rest of my family wouldn't care...i don't think.
I have went to a lot of VEGAN websites and read somethings about it.
I have a couple of questions:
> Do you know any good vegan books?
> Are you a vegan? or a vegetarian?
> Would Whole Foods or Trader Joes have vegan options?
> Do you know how I could persuade my parents?
> What do you usually eat for meals? (i know what vegans can and cannot eat)
Those were some of my questions! Please answer them!
Thanx!
If vegan doesn't work out I am going to back to vegetarian.
Thanx again.
Answers: Hello!!!
I am a vegetarian and i am in my early teens. I am thinking about becoming vegan, my mom is a vegetarian and has thought about becoming vegan, but has never become one. My dad and the rest of my family wouldn't care...i don't think.
I have went to a lot of VEGAN websites and read somethings about it.
I have a couple of questions:
> Do you know any good vegan books?
> Are you a vegan? or a vegetarian?
> Would Whole Foods or Trader Joes have vegan options?
> Do you know how I could persuade my parents?
> What do you usually eat for meals? (i know what vegans can and cannot eat)
Those were some of my questions! Please answer them!
Thanx!
If vegan doesn't work out I am going to back to vegetarian.
Thanx again.
Good vegan books:
Vegan Freak - Bob & Jenna Torres
Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating - Erik Marcus
Great vegan cookbook:
Veganomicon - Isa Moskowitz & Terry Romero
Are you vegan?... or vegetarian?
I'm a strict vegetarian. I eat a vegan diet, but I don't completely abstain from animal products (like wool, etc.)
Would Whole Foods or Trader Joes have vegan options?
Both have plenty of vegan options, but Whole Foods can be expensive. Even places like Wal-Mart have plenty of vegan options if you're willing to read the ingredient lists.
Do you know how I could persuade my parents?
Have them read Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating, and talk about why you would like to become a vegan. Be aware of vegan nutrition (know about iron, B12, protein), as you'll probably get a lot of questions about it.
What do you usually eat for meals?
Here is what I plan on eating today...
Breakfast: Peanut butter and banana sandwich on wheat bread, glass of soy (or rice, or almond) milk
Lunch: Giant salad made of spinach, romaine, etc. with crushed pita chips instead of croutons, Italian dressing, lots of steamed veggies, orange
Dinner: Burritos made of rice, black beans, salsa, etc., strawberries for dessert
Snack: Walnuts or dried fruit
Good luck with your veganism.
check out vegspace.com, there's vegans/vegetarians on there you can talk to and ask questions,
i have one
i wanted to become vegetarian but its harder then i thought =[[
There are a few good books about teens and vegan and vegetarian live with good info on health and making the change. Check your local friendly librarian for help getting them.
My vegan son calls me a sellectitarian because I like fish and occasionally other meats in moderation. He is a pretty strict vegan. I admire his devotion, though I worry he does not get complete nutrition because he has not developed and appetite for legumes that could make his diet more protein complete.
Whole foods is good. I drive twice a week from near Alabama to Atlanta for fresh produce and good prepared vegan foods. And thank God for Trader Joes for the price and a little variety.
Don't browbeat your parents about it. Like me, they are old dogs who resist learning new tricks.
I cook a lot of Indian style food. Also southwestern food. Lots of things like hominy we make at home and legumes. The two make a complete protein. I grow lots of arugula and fresh root vegetables. I had a great vegan sour cream and spicy sprout sandwich last week I can't wait to start making.
Try precooked meals from the grocery before you invest a lot in herbs and spices.
In any event I admire that you are interested in improving yourself. If vegan does not work for you as a diet, I hope you incorporate some of the spiritual aspects that you can share with your parents and others.
First off, yes I am vegan. Have been vegan for four years now, and was two years vegetarian before that (I transition slowly ;-).
Whole Foods is where I do most of my shopping, just because I am also an organic foodist. We also have a Trader Joes, but they do not have the wide selection of organic produce that Whole Foods does.
Vegan books? I really didn't get any Vegan books to tell me what I need to do. I just kind of went slowly and when there was an animal product or by-product, I would just go online alot and research what else there is out there that I could use instead. I am a self-learner I guess.
Now, vegan cookbooks are something I invested in! Vegan with a Vengeance and her new one out Veganomicon are absolutely worth it! The authors not only give recipes and hints on how to go about getting stuff, but what else to serve the dish with! That helps in planning out meals! Candle Cafe is another one that I like, and one that is made in a crock pot called Vegetarian Slow cooker is another one that I like alot.
Persuading parents. Mmmmm. Do you need their help in being vegan? Is it that they cook all the food, and you have no input as to what gets bought from the grocery store? Are you able to cook meals yourself? Or offer, and let your Mom/Dad help you in the kitchen? (This shows that you are responsible for your actions. And if your actions come from not eating animals and their by-products, then all the better!). Just start out slowly. Like if there is a meal that is all cheezy/dairy, then maybe you can just have hummus with tabouli on a tortilla as your meal for that night instead. (Hummus and tabouli keep for a week in the refrigerator). Or ask to have plain pasta put in a bowl before the sauce gets put on the rest of it. Then you can take the plain pasta and put on your own tomato sauce (Whole Foods has an organic 365 brand - Italian Seasoning is pretty good and vegan) and crumble Fakin Bakin on it (smoked tempeh in the tofu cooler section at W.F.) for your protein source, and maybe some baby spinach wilted by cooking the fakin bakin for your green vegetable (sprinkle some cut up red bell peppers and you have one pretty dish!).
Yesterday I ate for breakfast: waffles that I made, today I ate granola with warmed up rice milk (it is cold here today) and juice. I have been taking VegLife's Vitamin D (Whole Foods usually carries it) because the sun is not out to help me make vitamin D that is made in the skin with the sun's rays, and since it is 4 years of veganism, I also take VegLife's methyl-Vitamin B12 (they are so yummy!). I then have a sprouted wheat bread sandwich with Tofurky deli slices (also at W. F.) with broccoli sprouts, pickles, and Veganaise (grapeseed oil brand of mayo substitute - all available at W. F.) and an apple/carrot sticks/sugar snap peapods on the side. I have a snack of chocolate rice milk with some organic crackers in the afternoon before I start on dinner (I am a mom of a vegan family of six). We have seiten cutlets (in the Veganomicon book), smashed red potatoes with Tofutti Sour cream and garlic, and petite green peas. I ended the day of eating there, but some of my kids had either a PBJ sandwich or the ones who are trying to loose weight (yes, vegans can be a little pudgy!) had popcorn. Oh yeah, I also made them drink a Frutzzo Pomegranate with Blueberry juice with dinner for a boost in their immune system (flus and colds are starting back up around here now that everybody who went somewhere for Christmas break came back with all sorts of exotic germs!).
Hope this helps. And don't worry about making a mistake (as my son says "Oh, my Bad") by eating something that had eggs or maybe honey in it. Just by knowing that is was a mistake is good enough, and learn by it. Learning it how we become vegan/vegetarian in the first place. It is a journey. It is your choice to enjoy it as you learn. Just try to choose wisely.
I'm not vegan myself. I'm more of a flexitarian.
Anyway, I just bought a cookbook called How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. It contains a lot of vegan recipies and stuff you won't find in a regular cook book--like how to cook tofu and how to make vegan mayo. And it has a whole lot of basic cooking tips and a description of different types of veggies and how to use them and lots of yummy information. I've had it for just about a week and I've already gotten a lot of use out of it.
Read two books:
Skinny B*tch by Kim Barnouin and Rory Freedman
Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover by Marilu Henner and Laura Morton
These are the BEST books ever!!!!!
1. If you mean vegan cookbooks, I reccomend anything by Sara Kramer, or Isa Chandra Moskowitz (from PostPunkKitchen), Rabbit Food Cookbook, and lots more. Look on FoodFightGrocery.com, they have a great selection of books :)
2. Yes, I'm vegan. I went vegan in April '07 and have been vegetarian for 3 years. Best decision of my life.
3. I know Trader Joe's has plenty of vegan foods (and shampoos and stuff!) but I've never been to Whole Foods so I'm not sure, but I think they do. You should also check out your local co-op if you have one.
4. Since you're mom already understands and is thinking about it herself, she will understand your decision so that shouldn't be a big deal. Just sit down and tell her how it's important to you and something you'd like to do, and that you're well informed about it and know it's right for you. If your dad doesn't care, then there's maybe no hope there and would be a lost cause, but maybe tell him the same things you told your mom. If he doesn't approve, well oh well, if it's important enough to you, don't let anyone stand in your way! Don't try to get them to be vegan too though, I think it usually annoys people :(
5. Oh I eat lots of things. Pretty much anything I ate when I was vegetarian, I eat now. I've just found vegan substitutes. Cheese is a major thing you'll look for most likely. I use either VeganRella or Follow Your Heart (they have a website, by the way). Just read labels. You'll get used to it after a while and figure out what you can and can't eat, what you like and don't like.
If there's anything else you would like to know feel free to ask me!
Good luck!
if you are vegian you cant be helthy you must eat meet