I'm realizing so many things aren't vegan, help?!
Well, my dad brought home a giant box of Cheerios and a big pack of whole wheat tortilla bread. I checked the ingredients and neither of them are vegan, and I feel really bad that they waisted their money. My mom said this weekend we can go shopping for more groceries, should I just eat them anyways so I can get new stuff this weekend? By January 1st I want to be full-force vegan with NO animal products, but I'm giving myself about 2 weeks to adjust. Help?
Answers:
January 1st is always a good time to start anything. :-)
You can eat lots of "regular" foods; just read the labels. Is it the D3 in the Cheerios? My kids eat Joe's O's (from Trader Joe's) all the time, and they're vegan. Just look around and you can find vegan versions of most things.
Also, foods you make at home are a lot easier, in the sense that you don't have to read labels. Try some oatmeal for breakfast. And it's not that hard to make your own tortilla. If they're something you eat regularly you might even want to invest in a tortilla maker.
Vegan food can be quite cheap if you're willing and able to make it yourself.
Edit: At least I *think* Joe's O's are vegan. I just looked at the package, and it said "Vitamin D." I assumed it was vegan, but now I'm going to ask them.
If you want to go vegan then you should get a part-time job and pay for your own groceries.
Being vegetarian is one thing, and clearly your parents have been supporting you on that.
But if you want to be vegan then it will disrupt the whole household and greatly increase your parents' food bill, and that isn't fair to them.
If you are mature enough to make the choice to be vegan then you are mature enough to get a job and pay for your special vegan food.
The thing about being vegan is you pretty much have to abandon most processed foods and resort to making your own. Its not the cheapest lifestyle or honestly the healthiest (if you're doing it for health reasons). But go ahead and eat the stuff. I'd do a week as a lacto-ovo vegetarian and then dip into the vegan lifestyle.
Until you have your own income you have no right to complain about the groceries your parents buy for you. Of course you should not only eat them but also be thankful plenty that they tried hard to satify your meal plans.
Before being grateful with cows, fish and chickens be grateful to your parent who are all you have in this life!
Being vegan can be cheaper, but you have to shop right and cook right.
Eating whole grains combined with lentils is a great way to get practically all the nutrition you need.
Try find lentils and try new grains like millet.
How to cook millet:
http://www.healthaliciousness.com/recipe…
It should be cheaper than rice if you just keep looking. Go to whole foods and ethnic foods stores, which are often cheaper on vegan products than the western super markets.
I think you could easily solve this by going on all the shopping trips to check the ingredients for yourself. After a while, your parents will know your "usual" brands and won't need you for every shopping trip.
Vegan
It is not easy to shop for a vegan; you need to read all food labels for products that you don't want in them; there are food specialty stores that carry more vegan items than regular grocery stores, but the items are more expensive
Hi, don't worry too much about it. As a vegan you are probably going to consume things by mistake on occasion, but I'll make a list of foods that should be vegan but are not:
-Canned collard greens or mustard greens
-Beans from restaurants (usually some kind of butter)
-Some guacamole is made with sour cream
-Tortillas
-Frosted shredded wheat cereal (geletin)
Items that aren't vegan:
Some lead pencils are made with animal fat, particularly artist pencils/charcoal.
Sodium Tallowate is the ingredient in most bar soaps that is marine life fat.
Shimmery/pearly lipstick which is made of crushed fish scales.
Makeup made with beeswax.
Speed dry nail polish spray contains mink oil.
Here's a list of foods that *are* vegan by accident: (there's a bunch of cereals listed)
http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-li…
As far as vegan non-food items, you'll want to look for the bunny on your soaps and you may have to buy your makeup from a store like this:
http://www.veganstore.com/cruelty-free-c…
Vegans don't need any vitamin supplements, but I take a multi-vitamin and about twice a week and a B12/ Folic Acid combination about once a week for added security. Everyday I take 1 Calcium tablet and the rest I get from food.
Calcium is very important and you'll find that in sesame seeds, vegan milks, broccoli, etc...
Good Luck :)
Vegan