Teenage vegan?!
The thing is, I don't know if my mom will approve. She already has concerns about me getting my nutrients as a vegetarian.
Also, I really like cheese, I don't like soymilk, I like eggs, and my vitamins have gelitan in them (that is the only gelitan I eat). Any advice?
Answers: I've been a vegetarian for almost a year and I would eventually like to be vegan. I cut meat out of my diet cold turkey, so to speak, but I think that becoming a vegan will be harder so I plan on doing it gradually.
The thing is, I don't know if my mom will approve. She already has concerns about me getting my nutrients as a vegetarian.
Also, I really like cheese, I don't like soymilk, I like eggs, and my vitamins have gelitan in them (that is the only gelitan I eat). Any advice?
dont worry too much about the little things yet, those will come in time. i had some resistance from my parents when i went vegan in highschool, but the best way i was able to respond to that was by really researching the nutrition. if you do go vegan make sure you take a multivitamin. the only thing you really need to worry about as a vegan is vitamin B12, but a well balanced vitamin is good for you anyway. if you look around you can easily find a vitamin that doesnt use a gelatin capsule, just read the label and it should specify if it comes from a vegetable source.
tofutti makes good vegan cheese slices and a really great cream cheese. there are a lot of other imitation cheeses, but be prepared, they are good, though they dont usually taste the way you expect. i also really love cheese (its whats keeping me from going back to vegan at the moment) but after about three weeks, i really didnt miss it. i actually remember breaking down once and having macaroni and cheese, and i really wasnt impressed, it didnt taste nearly as good as i remembered. so stick with it, its really worth it.
as far as soymilk goes, try several different brands. a lot of people like silk, but i prefer 8th continent soymilk to it (though ive recently heard that the vitamin D isnt from a vegan source) -- both of which you can get at walmart or kroger. now i really like just plain soymilk, i think its called west soy.
some people use tofu to make vegan version of scrambled eggs, so you could try that (ive never had it myself though, but i dont like eggs)
other than that, it really comes down to reading ingredient lists, which you will learn to be very good at. first i would check for easy things like beef/chicken broth, whey, casein, rennet. youll learn the more complicated ones later, ortheres actually a file you can download onto an ipod (or any other mp3 player with a screen i would imagine) that has all the animal derived ingredients listed so you can have a quick reference at the store. ill see if i can find a link to it.
really just take it slow. dont be afraid to make mistakes, just try your best and learn as you go.
I am a struggling vegetarian too. If you want to become vegan, just take it step by step. Stop eating things one step at a time and eventually it will become easier. You can also get alternitives for cheese and milk. I am lactose intollerant so I rarely drink milk. Soy milk is good and better for you. Try Rice Dream Soy Milk.
[Also if you can answer my question that would be nice]
:)
you would have to take it step by step because you are cutting sooo much out of your diet like chocolate milk ice cream cheese ect so start with the bigger grouple like milk then cheese ect then it will get so much easier
best of luck
nobody says you have to become vegan, hon. if you're having these many doubts, i don't think you're ready yet. i think you should wait until you've been veg longer. i'm planning on becoming vegan eventually too (i'm 14) but i want to wait until i have been vegetarian for at least 2 or 3 years. (i've only been one for a year)
Yes. Eat lots of leafy greens--raw and lightly steamed. Ther are tons of choices and ways to make them yummy. You can even blend them into your smoothie(sounds weird but actullay really good with bananas). Greens are your best source of protein(yes complete protein look it up), iron, and calcium--the main things we eat dairy for. Eat salad for lunch and some steamed greens for dinner and you will be AOK. Make sure ALL the grains you eat are whole grains and eat as little white sugar as possible as it depletes your body of trace minerals as it is metabolized. Stick with fruits and whole grains, brown sugar, honey, agave nectar, maple syrup for your sweets. Also be sure to include plenty of fats such as extra virgin coconut oil, olive oil, avocadoes, and raw almonds or walnuts. Growing bodies and brains need fats and sugars so don't skimp, just eat the right kind.
For milk homemade almond milk is really easy: Soak 1/4 cup raw almonds overnight. Drain and blend with 2-3 cups fresh water. Strain (a nylon jelly bag works great) and drink. You can flavor and sweeten it a million ways. This is a raw food. Raw foods are a very important part of the veg diet as well so try to eat raw stuff at every meal.
BTW go light on the soy and processed stuff. Soy isn't all it's cracked up to be and is best used in moderation.
OK I'm done..
Your mother: there are millions of life long (birth to death) vegans all around the world for as long as history and none have had any problems. Your mother is just ignorant and if she was *really* concerned about you, she would actually go to the library and do some research and maybe even try to hook up with some vegan families or vegetarian groups etc. I don't know your mother, but most parents tend to be totally selfish and close-minded when it comes to subjects revolving around their children making their own choices. They would freak out just the same if you said you want to become an artist instead of a doctor like they want you to be, for example.
Soymilk? Who the hell gives a damn about soymilk or soybeans etc. Even in China they don't drink soymilk like Americans do. In Israel, have the vegetarians even heard or soymilk, or how about in India? No. So, forget about that bean water. There's a whole world of food out there. Traditional meals the whole world around are mainly vegan anyway. From Iran to India, to Japan, through Russia... Where I live I've met many life long vegans from India many quite old and doing very well health wise. Some I have met are still working in their 80s.
I can't help you with giving up your vitamins, but you don't need those. Throw them away and focus on quality fresh food. Vitamins are a scam. You cannot bottle a vitamin; a vitamin is a complex, that is, a part of a larger organism... thus cannot be extracted in pure form. Impossible (at least in this day).
Don't eat the gelatin capsules. Open them up and there you go. There are also lots of vegan vitamins on the market and many use vegicaps.
Hey, there are lots of things I like to eat, but I don't eat them. Such as chocolate. I really like it, but man, eating it keeps me awake and makes me feel light headed. Same with tea with caffeine in it... I'll be awake all night, so... I live without it... no big deal. For everything I've given up eating, I've discovered 100 more things I never even knew existed. You'll have to make that 1000.
www.rawfamily.com
www.thegardendiet.com
www.vegetarianteen.com
Book: Becoming Vegan
You can be a vegetarian for some time, then in time see if you really want and can be a vegan.