Is it really unrealistic to go vegan?!
Answers: I've been a vegetarian since high school, but I gave up eggs and dairy last October. For the last 5-6months I've kept away from and eggs and dairy with a few exceptions for things I didn't know had dairy or eggs and for a couple things I just wanted to eat (like a cadbury egg, which, of course, has no eggs but has dairy...). Easter was my first holiday that my eating a vegan diet was made a point (yes, I ate vegan on Thanksgiving and Christmas, but didn't tell everyone) and I felt akward and a little scared of potential questions, etc. Anyway, it went just fine and I wasn't put on the spot at all....so it felt pretty easy, but still weird in a way and I'm just wondering if anyone else feels akward during holidays. How do you handle that? Is it more realistic to be vegetarian during holidays?
No, it is no more unrealistic to go vegan than to go vegetarian, if you are worried about what other people are going to say or think.
Yes, it can be weird to go to a family dinner, or to a party, and not eat of everything there, but you must think about your own choices. (I overheard someone in a raw restaurant tell her companion that she eats fish when she goes out with her family just because it lessens the hassle factor -- that was her way... I don't necessarily know that I would do that, myself)
If you are going to a family dinner, you might consider offering to bring a nice vegan dish that you could eat and everyone else could try. That is what I do.
When you choose to follow a different sort of diet, and you are doing it in front of other people, as opposed to in the secrecy of your own home, you are going to attract questions, at the very least, and you need to prepare yourself with some stock answers, and be willing to smile a whole lot. Some people will be just curious, and family members may be out and out sarcastic, but you have to decide what it is that you want to be doing and then just go ahead and do it, but politely. (I would not choose such a time to missionize and rapsodize about the benefits of raw food)
Personally, I always bring my own main course, and usually a big side dish and dessert to share (my vegan pumpkin cheesecake was a big hit at Thanksgiving last year). If being vegan is important to you, and it sounds like it is, I think it would be better to show your family how wonderful vegan food is and how easy it can be to avoid all animal products in your cooking. No one in my family has gone veg yet, but they've learned that vegan food isn't weird and scary and neither am I for eating it. :) Plus since I provide my own food no one has to go out of their way to make sure I have something to eat, and I feel more comfortable eating my own food that I prepare anyway.
No, it is not unrealistic, just a bit tricky at first.
I recently became a vegan. About 3 months ago, and it is only now that I am really telling people. Its like I felt I was being weird. But I am not. It is hard to eat out, than it was when I was vegetarian.
My love for foods that have eggs and dairy, - cakes as such. have gone.
For family celebrations, I have found a vegan baker for birthday cakes and learnt to make many dishes. I also help family members cook veggie dishes, so they do not feel that I am impossing on them.
i have been vegetarian for 3 years and i hate the holidays because some of my family is very biblical and animals are here for us to eat and all that.
i wanted to vegan but i am in high school and living at home and my mom feeds me and she finds it hard some times.
i think if you are vegan the rest of the year and veggie during the holidays it is totally cool
hi i think if you make people aware that you are vegan then things would be easier for you.
if you need to, explain to them your reasons and hope they accept you decision.
the last 3 years i have been vegan(was veggie before that) my family and friends buy me vegan chocolate for Easter, and there isn't a problem they are more than happy to do that!
if you feel you would like to revert to being a veggie at holiday time then that's what you should do, you have to do what you feel happy about! :) x
I've vegan since September. I didn't have any more issue on Thanksgiving or Christmas than I had as a vegetarian. BUT, Thanksgiving was in my home; my boyfriend's mom made a turkey for his family and I was able to make sure all the sides were vegan by using Earth Balance and soymilk and making a veg-friendly gravy. No problem. Christmas was at my mom's, but I did all the cooking so my whole family had a vegan Christmas dinner with a seitan stuffing roulade as the centerpiece. I don't think veganism is difficult at all as long as you have some control over what goes on your plate and your family is supportive of you. My boyfriend's family did not even know the sides they were eating were vegan - people have this perception of vegan food as "weird" but it was all the same kinds of things you'd expect to see on any holiday table. They actually liked the vegan gravy better than the greasy turkey gravy their mom made.
Kudos to you!! No, it is not unrealistic. There are people like Fruitarians who are much more extreme than vegans. It's your life, you do what you want. I would stick to my guns if I were you. What was your reason for becoming a vegan? I would keep this foremost in your mind. If others ask, educate them. Spread the word!