Trying out the Vegan lifestyle for a month?!
Answers: My husband and I have decided to go Vegan for a month to see if it is something we can live with as a family (we also have a 20 month old son who eats meat but no real dairy so his transition will likely be easier than ours). It is something I've always wanted to do but was unsure if my hubby would be up for it however my ? is this, would it be possible to go Vegan without soy and/or mushrooms-- I'm just not a big fan of either and my son didn't tolerate soy well either (he drinks rice milk) though) we do love all other vegetables, nuts and whole grains.
Congrats on your decision. Hopefully you will get rid of the month timespan and go for as long as you are comfortable without thinking about time-constraints.
It's very possible to be vegan without using soy and mushroom.
There are vegans who are allergic to soy and I am personally not a big fan of mushrooms and I never cook with them. If a recipe calls for them I substitute with more veggies instead.
Get plenty of whole foods in your diet. And really look at some websites for great recipes and hints and tips:
Sure you can but do it slowly not all at once then you will be more tolerant of it. I would not do it for a month but 1 day a week prepare a vegetarian meal or a couple more. Usuallu when people do it all at once they hate it or do not stay with it. Like anything else in our lives we must transition gradually so it will be smooth.
Yes you can avoid soy there are lots of other protein substitutes, beans etc..
Mushrooms are good but you can abvoid them too. There are so many things now a days that are vegetarian, have a ball.
I will point you to a veg store that has an awesome selection and good prices. The Seventh Day Adventists are vegetarian and have stores that sell all veg stuff. They are called ABC stores and you can llok up the local church and they can point you to the nearest one, there are also links on the web to find them usually on the church sites.
I also wanted to say I am some what veg., no more red meat or pork. Just poultry and fish. I will many meals just have veggies and tofu products.
There are lots of great veg recipies on the web too!!!
I seriously doubt that you'll have grand 'ole time eating vegan for a month if you are currently on a eat-whatever-is-placed-in-front-of-you diet.
If you have serious intentions of finding a suitable meal plan, you should learn to make great vegan food before you even decide to "try" being vegan. You can't jump into the deep end without learning how to swim first.
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It would definitely be easy to live without soy or mushrooms.
I don't know what makes you think of mushrooms when the subject is vegan diets. Soy is considered a reliable source of protein but it isn't really necessary unless you are extremely lazy and eat crap the rest of the time. If you eat a variety of whole grains and legumes, there is no way that you will be missing out on any amino acids.
Being vegan doesn't obligate you to use soy. I'm fond of rice milk. I use my soy milk maker to make it. I'm also fond of hemp milk and almond milk.
Yum.
I recommend a few good vegan cookbooks. Sarah Kramer's or Isa Chandra Moskowitz's.
Sure, it's possible. Avoiding soy is hard even if you're not vegan (it's everywhere) but it's totally doable. Like you said, there's rice milk, as well as several others you can try (I like almond.) And I've never eaten mushrooms. Most recipes I just leave them out, and obviously I avoid recipes that are mushroom based. If you want a soy-less meat substitute, try your hand at making seitan. There's a simple seitan recipe in Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero - loads of other great recipes, too.
Why? Has becoming PC had that much influence? Our bodies are designed to eat meat and vegetation. I am diabetic and very in tune with food. We NEED fat to assimilate certain vitamins, we NEED protein but not as the new diets claim. A small amount of meat will suffice and that is what certain animals are here for. And we NEED carbs, even as a diabetic I need carbs. There are only 3 types of food, protein, carbohydrates and fat. I have seen my own niece suffer as a vegan. Her skin had huge problems and the doctor suggested she eat meat, fish and chicken. The amount of work and near impossibilities of eating the right amount of vegetation to remain healthy is staggering. Food is not medicine. It is a beautiful thing that is allowed us on this earth (well, along with sex). There is nothing wrong with eating animal protein. The idea is to be respectful to the animal that gave it's all. Don't waste and eat in moderation. As to your child, breast milk but vegans have a hard time producing it. Babies need milk fat. It helps the oil soluable vitamins. We have survived and stayed healthy for thousands of years by feeding our children breast milk or cow and other animal milk. I do not like to use anything but natural or raw milk. I give in to the fact we are using to many hormones and chemicals but there are sources that are natural. I am a cheese maker and a ham and sausage maker. If I use any product that is not natural I have to add chemicals to adjust for taste and processing. That is why I only use naturally raised products. By the way, sheeps milk is high in fat and very good for children and pecorino cheese! Please don't push your beliefs onto a child who has not had a chance to speak for itself. When your child is old enough the decision is his.
You can. I have an acquaintance who is allergic to mushrooms, and as far as I can tell, she doesn't eat much soy. However, if you can tolerate soy, and you have weaned your son, there's no reason you can't cook with tofu and tempeh.
If you prefer not to eat soy, you will want to eat other beans for protein. You can also eat seitan (wheat gluten). Get Arrowhead Mills Vital Wheat Gluten and make the dough according to the directions on the box. There are recipes for simmering broths in "La Dolce Vegan" by Sarah Kramer.
And do make sure your son is getting enough fat. I have read that babies need a lot more fat than adults do, and rice milk doesn't have much of it. Oat milk might be an option, as it's thicker and creamier.
Good luck!