I need some support in becoming vegan?!
Problem is, I've been vegan for only a few days now and I am just CRAVING meat. I live in Daejeon, South Korea (a.k.a. meat city) right now so it's virtually impossible for me to get veggie burgers or other fake meat products.
Can somebody please give me some advice so that I don't loose hope and eat some beef right now?
Answers: I just read the book, _Skinny B*tch_, and it convinced me to become a vegan because of the horrible conditions in farms and slaughterhouses and because of the unhealthy chemicals pumped into the animals.
Problem is, I've been vegan for only a few days now and I am just CRAVING meat. I live in Daejeon, South Korea (a.k.a. meat city) right now so it's virtually impossible for me to get veggie burgers or other fake meat products.
Can somebody please give me some advice so that I don't loose hope and eat some beef right now?
Quitting meat cold-turkey is very difficult to do. It's the same as trying to quit smoking abruptly. I would recommend reducing your meat intake gradually. This way it will be more likely to be long lasting. If you try to stop all of a sudden, you are likely to start eating it again very soon.
Just try to eat more fruit, vegetables and grains if you can.
Woah, are you sure there are no fake meat products there? You can look up some recipes on the internet and make your own fake meat or some other delicious vegan meal. You could also read more about it, watch videos of slaughterhouses and think of that stuff each time you feel like eating meat. You could go vegan step by step, maybe go vegetarian first if it's hard for you to give up all animal products at once.. You could get some of your friends to go vegan with you to make it easier or get some new vegan friends.. Really, I have no idea what you feel right now, going vegan was really easy for me because I don't enjoy eating, it's just a task for me so I don't really care what the food tastes like and I only ate meat like once a month before so.. GoVeg.com is one of my favorite vegan sites.. n_n'
I don't agree with the weening off meat. If you think it is wrong then don't eat it, an animal still gets slaughtered so you can have a little bit of meat.
You don't need fake meat products if you can't find them- just eat lots of fresh fruits, vegetables beans, nuts and seeds. There should be soy products such as tofu available as well.
I second the idea that you go vegetarian before going vegan. It's an important transition step, if you're finding it difficult to give up all animal products.
I also second the idea that if you can't find fake meat products that you make some yourself. Check the internet sites for vegetarian recipes. You can create a food called SEITAN, which is just wheat gluten flour plus water and spices. You can make beef-flavored SEITAN, if that is what you are craving. Here's a basic recipe with some other links below to vegan recipe sites.
Seitan (Basic Boiling Recipe)
from Vegan Vittles, ? J. Stepaniak 1997
Dry ingredients
* 1 1/2 C instant gluten flour (vital wheat gluten)
* 1/4 C nutritional yeast flakes (optional; adds a deeper flavor and vitamin B-12)
* 1/2 t garlic granules (optional; can vary amount)
* 1/2 t onion granules (optional; can vary amount)
* Desired herbs & spices (optional)
Liquid ingredients
* 1 C water, vegetable broth, tomato juice, or a combination (the juice adds a "beefier" flavor)
* 3 T soy sauce
* 1 T olive oil (optional)
Simmering broth
* 10 C water or vegetable broth
* 1/2 C soy sauce (optional)
Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Combine liquid ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Pour into dry ingredients, mix well. If there is still flour around the edges, add a small amount of additional water.
Knead the gluten directly in the mixing bowl for about a minute. Slice the gluten into 3 relatively equal pieces, and set aside.
Place the ingredients for the simmering broth into a 4 1/2 quart saucepan or Dutch oven, add the gluten pieces, and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer with pot partially covered for 1 hr. Maintain the heat so that the liquid barely simmers, and turn the gluten over during cooking. Let cool in broth uncovered.
Transfer to storage containers, adding enough of the broth to keep seitan immersed. Seal containers tightly and store in the refrigerator up to ten days or in the freezer for up to six months. To extend the life of fresh or defrosted seitan, boil it in its soy sauce broth for 10 min., 2 times a week.
Other recipes:
http://myhq.com/public/s/u/susanv/
http://www.vegan-food.net
I've listed some of my favorite veggie recipe sites at
www.veg4lifegainesville.com
Take it a little slower, try to go vegetarian first, keep that up for a few months, then ease into being vegan.
I also read skinny B****, very good book.
A good thing to keep you away from meat also is keep a few things with you that are constant reminders to why you dont eat it, pamphlets with pictures of the horrible conditions animals endure in slaughter houses ect
this will def help turn you off to a burger. Anytime I think it would be easier to just give in, I think about some videos ive seen on slaughter houses. Reminds me why I made this decision.
Best of Luck!
you really shouldnt base your enitire decision on one book that you read....do your reasearch..trust me you will be glad when you know you have looked at all the angles and have truly made the right choice for you...as for the cravings do what drug addicts do..they ween onto somthing not as strong in ur case get rid of the red meat and move to chikcen and fish...then move to fish then stop completely...if you do this over time you will more than likely stay vegan...its like losing weight...sure you can stop eating for 3 weeks and lose bout 35 pounds but as soon as you start eating again your weight will come back because you didnt do it properly.
I also agree that going vegetarian first is the way to go. I tried to do it all at once and I almost had a panic attack. I was vegetarian for a year and went vegan in January and it's so easy now. I spent 3 months researching veganism, what products I can eat and what to avoid. Just read and read. Going vegan is a great thing!
I also found this site very helpful:
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/de...
Ahhh, and give up galby? Are you sure? :)
:)
I am vegan, I was in S.Korea(Daegu/Siji) when I was vegetarian, and I ate meat while I was there. I had been a vegetarian for a year and wanted to experience their foods, it is such a huge part of their culture (and I still dream of galby).
It will be really hard, they don't consider fish meat...and I am not sure about fowl. I would ask no meat, and would always find a clam or something in my soup lol and just went with it...what else can you do?
As for the people who say, go slowly, go to chicken and fish...it's crap...you will get cravings no matter what. But it will be really hard to be vegan in Korea...the only other vegerarian I knew there never came out to eat...ever. I didn't eat much meat when I was there...but I am glad that I ate some. (I miss it, I wish that I was there right now).
So, do what you can....if I were you, I would cut down and eat as less as possible, but I can't help but feel that your goals would be really really hard to reach in Korea...
Sorry, I don't mean to be negative, of course you can do anything you can put your mind to, but I understand just how hard it is, I've been there (I miss the bath houses....oh man...I miss them so much)
Ahhh nostalgia
Generally, when people say they're craving meat, or protein, what they body really wants is fat. Have some nuts, or an avocado, or a piece of bread with some olive oil and a little basil. It will help- I promise.
Being vegan doesn't require "fake meat." Get a good cookbook, and figure out how to live with a diet based on fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, grains, beans, peas, lentils etc.
When I first became vegan I would get many cravings but I would watch the video at http://meat.org/ and they would go away. I also found it extremely helpful to join http://www.veganforum.com/forums/index.p... The people are great, very helpful and supportive.
You might want to start off vegetarian, before jumping into vegan!
Try this website and its links: http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/in...
They also have a free guide that you can use to begin.
They say that you don't have to give up all the meat and animal products right away.
It is better if you begin reducing meat from everyday to 3 or 2 times a week. Once you succeed in reducing meat, you begin reducing eggs and so on.
Even if you don't stop the animal products, just the meat, you are helping.
Good luck