Switch from Vegetarian to Vegan?!
Answers: I'm trying to make the switch from vegetarian to vegan... I am almost a vegan anyways (LOL don't yell at me about that) The only animal products I eat are cheese and chocolate... These are the hardest for me to give up..Does anyone have any advice or vegan friendly products? I live in a small town with one grocery store and the vegan items take up all of one tiny little shelf (Basically veggie shreds and tofu) I know there has to be more out there plus I read on a vegan site that neufelta (SPELLING but its like cream cheese) Is safe but doesnt that still have cream in it? Are there any products I wouldnt know that have milk in them or other animal products? (I know about geletin) Thank you!
Here are some web sites with some great vegan food.
http://amys.com
http://gardenburger.com
http://yvesveggie.com
http://sunshineburger.com
http://rightfoods.com
http://veganstore.com -they have chocolate!
If you have a dog here is a site to get vegan dog food: http://www.v-dogfood.com/
Here are some good recipes:
Stir fry- You need cut up tofu, olive oil, steamed veggies, and cooked rice
Get a frying pan and coat it with olive oil. The put the tofu in the pan and brown each side of it. Next, add the veggies. Add a little more olive oil and put in the rice. Mix everything up and then let it sit on the stove, occasionally stirring it to make sure it doesn't burn. After about a minute and a half of that put it in a bowl and enjoy!
Hummus- chick peas, lemon juice, paprika, black pepper, and any other spices/seasonings you like
Puree the chick peas. Then add a little lemon juice, paprika, pepper, and other spices. Then stir. Serve with a pita, with cucumbers, or on a veggie wrap.
Here are some snack and dinner suggestions:
Snacks:
Celery with peanut butter
Apples with peanut butter
Pita with hummus
Raisins
Amy's Apple Toaster Pops
All natural popsicles
Natural Valley bars
Fruit Leather
Silk Chocolate Soy Milk
Naked Juice
Apple chips
Dinners:
Tofu Stir Fry
Amy's Pizzas
Amy's entrees
Sandwiches made with Yves meatless deli slices
Tofu Scramble
Gardenburgers
Natural Oven's bagels
Dr. McDougall's Soups and Noodle Soups
Soy Cheese Quesedillas
Veggie Wraps
Whole foods is a great store for vegans, so I recommend grocery shopping there. You also can get a lot of the things I listed above there.
You made a great decision to become vegan. Remember to watch out for gelatin, honey, milk, eggs, ect.
Switch to dark chocolate it has no milk in it. Also there are rice, almond, hemp, and soy chocolate milks that have no dairy in them as well.
They make some ok vegan cheeses. The best are the rice cheese slices for deli like sandwiches or melting on not dogs, etc. Also they have vegan block cheeses for pizzas, tacos, fajitas etc.
http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/ca...
I like the vegan gourmet cheese for the pizza. I have a great BBQ and cheddar recipe that works out great with pineapple onions etc.
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/guideprod...
If your town is too small order off the internet or do research and have your local stores ship what you need. You might even consider starting a co-op. It sounds like you town needs one.
Some other good products are better than butter and better than cream cheese. They are almost spot on in their imitations but are vegan and inexpensive to boot.
As for other potential animal based products check out this link.
http://www.veganwolf.com/animal_ingredie...
Many blessings on your transition.
Oh, it's so easy to make the switch from chocolate with dairy to vegan chocolate! Most high-quality dark chocolates are vegan. They taste better and are better for you, anyway. Always make sure to double-check the ingredients, though. (This goes for everything, really.)
By the way, Veggie Shreds are not vegan as they contain casein and other milk products. Be careful with soy cheeses, most of them have casein and are therefore not vegan. Again, just make sure to read all the ingredients in any food you buy.