(Part 3) Top products from r/vegan

Damn, reading this is like reading my mind when I when vegan. I was so angry as well about being taught that meat and taking from animals was normal and alright. I felt like I had been brainwashed my entire life, and in truth, I had. I also used to be someone who made fun of vegans. How stupid I was being.


But the biggest thing that struck a chord with me is that I feel the same way about thinking of myself as a caring, compassionate, and empathetic person. I though I always tried to do the right thing. Somehow I just completely missed farmed animals.


I've been thinking lately, and we really are brainwashed into not caring about farm animals or even thinking of them as animals. We are taught that they are stupid, dirty, hard-headed, and common. We are taught that they are not worth saving or even caring about. We care about endangered animals but couldn't give two shits for pigs. It's depressing as fuck when you realize it.


I just want to say thank you for coming here and letting us know your thoughts and feelings. It's immensely important to me to read about other people learning and changing their behavior. It gives us all hope and it's another person standing up for the animals.


I appreciate you showing the posts that made you think. That's cool too.


Anyway, tips on becoming vegan- just know that it's actually a lot easier than you think it will be. And you don't have to be a health nut to be vegan either. There are tons of awesome vegan junk foods that will help you get through the change.


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Some of my tips:

1. Spend as much time in vegan online communities as you can. You learn a lot about nutrition, how to handle questions from non-vegans, tips on cooking, humor, commiseration, and other very important things. I prefer this very reddit sub r/vegan, but some people join facebook groups as well. Check out facebook or meetup.com to find other vegans in your area. I dig the facebook group ‘what broke vegans eat’ for meal ideas on the cheap.
   
   
   
   
2. Use cronometer.com- it's a free website that lets you track your food and it shows you how much of each macro and micronutrient you're getting. It's based on your height and weight, it calculates your RDI (recommended dietary intake) from that, and most foods are pre-loaded with nutrition info, though you can enter new ones that aren't found- you just need the nutrition facts section from the box. It really helps to know what your RDI are, even if you don't feel like using cronometer, though I suggest using it for the first 4 weeks of being vegan- honestly, lots of new vegans simply don't eat enough calories. I still use it, have been off and on since being vegan, almost 12 months ago.
   
   
   
   
3. Along the same line, if you don't really want to use cronometer, at least look up your RDI here. It helps to know your targets for calories, protein, etc. It is also a helpful aid when non-vegans give you shit about protein, you can ask them, "How much protein do you need in a day, in grams?" They won't have a clue most of the time.
   
   
   
   
4. One last nutrition tip: You'll probably want to start taking a B12 vitamin. There are tons of vegan B12 vitamins on the market, in pills, sprays, etc. It's the one nutrient that doctors agree on is not available on a vegan plant-based diet (although it’s actually from bacteria, and lots of livestock are given B12 shots anyway). I started off with one I got at Whole Foods, by Garden of Life which is a mouth spray and I also bought a D3 one while I was there because I had read somewhere that it was a good idea. They last a long time, I still have them. But I recently decided that I didn’t need to prove that I needed very few supplements just because I was vegan (which is true), but I don’t always eat a perfectly balanced meal 3 times a day, so I grabbed a vegan multivitamin and take that now.
   
   
   
   
5. Recommended reading: The China Study by Dr. Colin Campbell, How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer.
   
   
   
   
6. Recommended viewing: Dr. Michael Greger's Nutritionfacts.org videos, especially this one. This one is a long one, but extremely worth it and a good preview of what you’ll learn when you read his book, How Not to Die. But his nonprofit website has tons of amazing videos on youtube. There is a short version of the first one I linked but I can’t find it right now. Anyone want to help me out? Dr. Melanie Joy's video on the psychology of eating meat. This one in particular will make you feel a lot better about how you’ve been able to think you’re a good, compassionate person and still eat meat. Seriously, it’s 14 minutes, give it a watch! Good documentaries: Cowspiracy (on Netflix- environmental impact of eating meat), Veducated and Forks Over Knives (both on Netflix- health aspects of veganism), and most people suggest Earthlings for the ethical/moral aspects. I… would only recommend this when you’re craving meat. I also highly recommend this Gary Yourofsky vid though some vegans find his attitude distasteful and off-putting. Hell, I think it’s an excellent video.
   
   
   
   
7. You might want to look into joining the Veganuary campaign, it's going on right now and has access to lots of helpful info/resources, as well as daily emails of support if you want them. Another helpful website is ChooseVeg.com as they have tips, recipes, free guides, meal plans, etc.
   
   
   
   
8. You will possibly experience some extra gas during the first two weeks of eating more fiber and beans, but that’ll ameliorate itself soon as your gut flora change. Also, you will probably crave cheese more than anything else. Some good vegan cheeses: Daiya Cheezy Mac which I get at Kroger in the ‘health food’ section, Follow Your Heart Mozzarella shreds, and Chao slices by Field Roast (both of which I get at Whole Foods or the local co-op. Beware that ‘Go Veggie’ is apparently not really a vegan cheese.
   
   
   
   
9. Get yourself a pinterest account if you wish to find lots of awesome vegan recipes, but if you don’t feel like searching through a ton, I recommend the following websites: Minimalist Baker , Reddit r/VeganFood , r/VeganFoodPorn, r/ShittyVeganFoodPorn, It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken , Where You Get Your Protein , and The Edgy Veg .
   
   
   
   
10. Check out Happy Cow to find vegan restaurants in different cities. There’s also an app. And if you want to order, you can easily get vegan food at pizza places , taco bell , and other fast food restaurant chains.
    

the only nutrient that is harder to get on vegan diet is b12 as far as I know. everything else will just require you to learn and change your habits a little bit.

• B12: I take this brand, which is a little pricey, but is very high quality. Contains both methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, and does not contain any additives. If you set a price alert on camelcamelcamel.com you can also get it for pretty cheap (I got a years supply for about $24 dollars a bottle). One bottle should last you a month or possibly more.
  
  as for other nutrients that are important to make sure you're getting, vegan or not:
  
  
  
  
• Zinc: this is a good brand if you want to supplement with it. pumpkin seeds are a good whole food source.
  
  
• Iodine: Spirulina is a good source, a daily serving will get you about 30% of the RDA, and spirulina is kinda like a whole food multivitamin. High in protein too. Sea vegetables like dulse (would recommend getting atlantic only) are great sources of iodine. I put a tablespoon or two in a smoothie that I have regularly.
  
  
• Omega 3 (EPA/DHA): Pure encapsulations is generally a good brand, though this particular formulation seems to melt/stick together. They'll probably fix that. You can also get them from flax seeds (either ground, or blend them), hemp seeds, stuff like that. Make sure you're getting a good balance of EPA and DHA-- some things just contain a lot of DHA.
  
  I handle most of those just by taking b12 supplement in the morning, and sticking some flax, hemp, and pumpkin seeds as well as dulse flakes in my smoothie. Once it's a habit, you don't need to think about it anymore.
  
  As far as any other concerns, it's just about making sure you're eating enough, as vegan foods are less calorie dense and so if you eat the amount you're used to eating, you won't be eating enough; and eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables somewhat consistently. Adding a bunch of things like raspberries, frozen wild blueberries, spinach, kale, cilantro, etc to a smoothie in the morning also makes this easy.
  
  Making fruit a big part of your life also makes things easy. Apples, bananas, avocados, dates, mangoes etc are great, easy snacks.
  
  Make steamed potatoes or other veggies-- it is so damn easy! You just wash the potatoes, put some water in the bottom of the pot, steam for 15-30 mins (until a fork can go all the way through), and then toss with some herbs, olive or coconut oil, and sea salt, and you have a delicious filling dinner.

My staple dishes are curries, Indian and Thai most recently. I love some curry! You can use tofu, chickpeas, beans, lentils, etc. It's a great way to use up the rest of your veggies and clean the fridge. Curries are so flavorful and easy to make. There are even premade sauces if you don't want to make them from scratch.

• Patak's
  
  
• Archer Farms Curry Sauces
  
  
• Kitchens of India
  
  
• Thai Kitchens Curry Pastes
  
  My favorite cookbooks have been:
  
  
• Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook: Eat Like you Give a F*ck
  
  
• Vegan Richa's Indian Kitchen: Traditional and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook Her blog is really great as well: http://www.veganricha.com/
  
  
• Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen
  
  Some other blogs/youtubers I would recommend highly are:
  
  
• Hot for Food Lauren Toyota also has a blog: http://www.hotforfoodblog.com/ (My favorite recipe youtuber)
  
  
• Edgy Veg
  
  
• Mary's Test Kitchen
  
  
• So You're Dating a Vegan
  
  
• Sweet Potato Soul
  
  
• Show Me the Curry
  
  I am always branching out to new foods, Ethiopian is great for vegan cooking as is Indian, Thai, Italian, and Vietnamese. Soon you will take recipes you love and veganize them. Google search recipes you love and just preface it with vegan, the possibilities are endless.
  
  Build up your spice rack! Amazon is great for this, a great suggestion made to me was buy 1 new thing each time you grocery shop to expand your recipes and cooking.
  
  Thanks for your compassionate choice to join us and feel free to ask any questions you may have.

I have no problem with swearing in general. It is not to my taste, but it is not something I am against. This particular book is not just full of swears, it is specifically imitating the cadence and language that it supposes urban black people use. And that is the sole "joke" of it, the juxtaposition of fancy vegan food and "hood" language. The authors concealed their identities for a long time allowing readers to think they were something other than who they are.

I never said that white people should not be allowed to cook whatever they want to or that it wouldn't be good food. In fact, I recommended Thug Kitchen as a book that I have heard good things about and that my friends really enjoy, with the caveat that I have never personally tried it for those reasons.

Yes, I do know that many restaurants hire chefs and cooks that are of varying ethnicities and I did say appropriation is not about any individual person cooking food, but is about profiting and power dynamics. I would rather support a vegan cookbook by an actual black person like Bryant Terry or Makini Howell than Thug Kitchen. Similarly I would rather financially support PoC owned restaurants rather than white owned restaurants that get more recognition and praise and are able to charge higher prices. I say white because white people are the majority where I live and are in a position of power over people of color. That doesn't mean that the white restaurants don't serve good food, it means I recognize that they aren't operating on an even playing field.

You can call me a SJW, it doesn't bother me. My passion for social justice lead me to veganism because I believe all living beings deserve respect, consideration, opportunities and just treatment. Veganism should be intersectional.

Welcome!!

If soul food is what you know & want, look into Bryant Terry's cookbooks. Vegan Soul Kitchen has gotten some amazing reviews. I've actually been thinking of picking up his most recent one, Afro-Vegan which is African, Southern, & Caribbean inspired recipes. Plus it looks like some good food porn for my coffee table book collection!

This subreddit is what inspired me to go vegan myself so I can attest that there are a lot of great resources around here. The people are friendly and helpful so never hesitate to ask questions!

My one piece of advice is this: patience. I know you've experienced this revelation of sorts and it's exciting and you want to share it with the world! I know I did. But sometimes the world is a few paces behind. My friends and family are still slowly coming around to the idea about a year and a half after the fact. So don't be discouraged if they don't hop on the vegan train with you right away. Have no expectations, don't take it personally, and enjoy the small victories.

Good luck! You're doing a great thing :)

skinny white privileged vegan kid here (don't think I'm low on empathy or have a closed mind though):

wouldn't judge you for doing what you need to do, but a vegan diet is less expensive for a given quality (i.e. an organic, local omnivore diet is more expensive than an organic, local vegan diet; and a conventional omni diet is more expensive than a conventional vegan diet). There's a reason that the staple foods in third world countries (rice and beans, lentils for example) are vegan.

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I'd aim for a high carb low fat vegan diet consisting mainly of whole foods, i.e. non processed foods. Per calorie these are also usually less expensive because you do the preparation. This will mean a lot of cooking on your own, and if you don't have time to do this and need to rely on processed foods, that's okay too, do what you need to do. I'd make meals out of bulk staples like rice, beans, and lentils; and then add whatever fresh veggies and fruits your budget allows on top of that. It will definitely be important for your nutrition to have a variety of fruits and vegetables, so the more the better, but these are typically more expensive than staple grains and legumes, so do whatever is possible. If you can't get fresh fruit, try Wyman's frozen wild blueberries.

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You'll also need a b12 supplement and probably iodine as well, as going without them will lead to severe cognitive problems. Most people get b12 from meat because animals are injected with synthetic b12. This is a good b12 supplement because it has no additives and contains both methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin, but despite the fact that it'll last you a month, it's expensive (about $1 per day-- the price fluctuates though, and I've gotten it for $25 a bottle) so get whatever you can afford.

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Dulse flakes are a good source of iodine and you can use these like you would salt, as is spirulina which is kinda like a whole food multivitamin (has some b12 too) which is probably your best bet to make sure you're covering all your bases, but again, whatever you can afford. I believe most salt is iodized so if you use an iodized salt that is probably good enough, though my personal belief is that the naturally occurring version is a better bet.

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Good luck.

I make my own curry powder seasoning for easy cooking when I'm too lazy, but the majority of Indians don't use "curry powder". Just your usual coriander, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, turmeric, chili powder, salt, asafoetida, and a few others. Plus, it tastes best fresh!

Cashew cream is usually the go-to for vegan creaminess, but you can also forgo that and use blended tomato/onion/garlic/ginger. I find that for certain dishes, it makes a very creamy base without all the added fat. Of course, it would taste best sauteed in oil until it's nice a browned.

You should check out Manjula's Kitchen, Holy Cow Vegan, and look for Anupy Singla's Vegan Indian Cooking.

As for veggies, it entirely depends on what kind of curry I'm making. Mushrooms and peas in a tomato base is very good. Chana masala is usually the first Indian dish people try, because it's fookin delicious. Saag is another great one (it's blended greens with cream and sometimes paneer/tofu). I also really enjoy legumes cooked in coconut milk (I know you're not looking for that, but it's soooo good!) with curry leaves and cumin seeds. Pretty much any vegetable will work though, you'll just adjust your spices accordingly.

Can I ask what kind of background you have in philosophy? You're asking some fundamental questions about metaethics though I'm unclear where you stand on them and why. First you say that sentience is not a sufficient condition for moral consideration, appealing to a reductio ad absurdum about gnats and mosquitoes. You go on to downplay the range of experiences available to cows, saying:

>There doesn't seem to be much inherent value in a cow's existence, unlike the existence of a human or other more intelligent form of life.

Ok, how much inherent value is there to a cow? Are the capacities to enjoy the sunshine and prance out of happiness not enough to make you think she shouldn't get her throat slit for someone else's trivial pleasure? So that's my first question to you: do you value sentience or not, and why shouldn't sentience be a sufficient basis for giving an animal such basic considerations as "we shouldn't slit her throat unnecessarily"?

Secondly I would like to point out to you that someone can likewise apply your open question (but why is that enough to confer a being with moral worth?) to whatever you're putting forward, namely intelligence or certain higher-order thoughts or whatever. How are you going to convince another stubborn human, or an alien or a god, that humans have inherent value if they refuse to recognize anything which we possess as valuable? You might be unable to persuade them in the end. They might fail to accept what you're arguing even if you're ultimately correct.

So I can try to gesture towards some reasons for valuing sentience more highly than you do. I'm happy to refer you to some good academic resources as well. But I can't promise that you will be ultimately convinced despite your preconceptions.

-Valuing sentience is intuitive. We already do so in some contexts. If you come home to your child picking apart a leaf or blade of grass you would probably think that it's good to see him experimenting and acting on his curiosity. If instead your child was pulling the wings out of a butterfly, if you're like most people, you would scold him and teach him he ought not do that. If instead of a butterfly it were a bird, you would be deeply worried about your child's character (and it wouldn't matter if he took sanitary precautions like wearing gloves either, you would still freak). What's going on here is that we recognize that more mental activity is grounds for more consideration.

-Building on the previous point, I agree with you that we highly value humans' mental abilities. It means a lot to us to be able to reason, reflect on the meaning of life, create and appreciate art, etc. This is exactly why I think humans are more valuable than other animals, and why I would choose to save a human child over a calf any day. When it comes to a human being, what we consider morally relevant is that she can reason, reflect on the meaning of life, etc. but also that she can feel pleasure and pain, and happiness and sadness. Suppose that I'm in a position to prevent a man from harming a woman. Among the reasons I have to help her might be that she has a concept of bodily autonomy, or something, but certainly my primary motivation is to prevent her from being in pain because that is unpleasant and she does not desire it. But hold on, pigs and cows may lack the concept of bodily autonomy (maybe that's false but just roll with it) but they do have the capacity for pain and the desire to avoid it. How am I to maintain that pain, and the desire to avoid it, are mental states significantly shared by humans and cows, but it's only when they occur in the former that I should care? After all when a human is in pain I think it is worth alleviating for its own sake without recourse to her ability to reason. Humans and cows share capacities A and B (pleasure and pain), but only humans have capacity C (higher thought processes). Why are A and B morally insignificant for a cow, but A and B are significant when it comes to a human with C? After all, ABC are all mental capacities, and they are all treated as significant when it comes to humans.

-How would you feel if you were a non-human animal? If you traded places with a cow you would still be sentient, still feel pleasure and pain, still have desires, etc. If you found yourself in a slaughterhouse you would be scared and terrified with or without higher cognitive faculties.

-Valuing sentience would make you a better person. It's intrinsically rewarding to care about others, to be empathetic and experience joy and suffering through others. So you should stop harming and killing sentient creatures so that you can cultivate your own virtue. It feels better to care about the lives of others no matter how intellectually superior you are.

This is getting long so I'm going to cut it off here rather than go line-by-line through your thoughtful comment. I have minor points of disagreement here and there but I think it's more important to tackle the big questions. If you're interested in reading into this further:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/moral-animal/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness-animal/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognition-animal/

http://spot.colorado.edu/~heathwoo/readings/norcross.pdf

http://www.columbia.edu/~col8/lobsterarticle.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Liberation-Definitive-Classic-Movement/dp/0061711306

Hey, that's awesome!

First and foremost, educate yourself about nutrition. Seriously, nobody wants to further affirm the stereotype of the malnourished vegan, especially as an athlete or with somewhat athletic ambitions.

For nutritional information I would recommend the following resources:

Vegan for Life: Everything You Need to Know to Be Healthy and Fit on a Plant-Based Diet: A book with a lot of nutritional information.

Veganhealth: Website that has all the information about nutrients that need attention in a vegan diet and more. (Especially read up about B12 and take a supplement! I take the one I linked, because it's super cheap and vegan.)

Learn about complete proteins.

 

There are websites aimed at vegan athletes like these:

Tips from a Vegan Athlete plus meal recommendations

Meal Plan, information and a real life vegan bodybuilder

Some possible problems and their solution


 

Other stuff:
List of vegan athletes: Great as an inspiration and for that moment when people will try to tell you that it's impossible to build muscle on a vegan diet.

I love tofu, which has a lot of (complete) protein and I especially like this recipe.

Eat tofu, seitan and for the cheapest option rice with beans, lentils, chickpeas etc. Also plant milks, bananas, spinach, oatmeal, nut butters...


 

As a new vegan, you might find some of the things useful I posted yesterday. Skip the text at the beginning and especially take a look at the things about nutrition. I like to recommend the accidentally vegan foods as well.

Good luck! If you have any questions feel free to ask :)

> I think some of the issues I'll have are egg cravings (I love eggs)

You should try to get your hands on some kala namak (black salt). It has a strong egg-like flavor and a little goes a long way. I bought this from Amazon back in 2012 and still have a decent amount left.

You can cut up some tofu into small cubes, toss with olive oil, kala namak, a bit of corn starch (not strictly necessary but helps it get crispier) and black pepper and fry on medium high heat to get something pretty fried-egg like (or at least as well as I remember it). Be sure to stir and scrape it off the bottom of the pan very frequently because it can stick, especially at first.

Another way to use it with some mashed up chickpeas, vegan mayo and kala namak. I'd add black pepper too. It's rather egg-salad like and suitable for using on sandwiches.

> not feeling full enough (I have very fast metabolism)

You'll probably find you need to eat somewhat more bulk of foods than on an omnivorous diet. Don't make the mistake of only eating veggies like broccoli or salad because those plants are not at all dense calorically. Foods like rice, pasta, nuts, oils, peanut/nut butters are high calorie. Beans are relatively energy dense as well.

> and not getting enough protein.

Is there a specific amount you're aiming for? The World Health Organization recommends 38g for men on a 3,000 calorie diet which is probably surprisingly low to a lot of people. It is quite easy to reach that number eating normally.

Foods like tempeh, tofu, beans, etc are pretty protein dense but generally somewhat less so than most meats so you'll probably need to eat a larger amount of them - which will indirectly help you avoid the not feeling full enough problem also.

One thing I don't see that anyone has mentioned yet is that if you stick with the vegan thing (thanks for giving it a shot, by the way!), you will either need to supplement vitamin B12 or eat foods that are fortified with it. B12 is only produced by bacteria and you won't get any eating just plants.
B12 deficiency takes a fairly long time to show up, so you won't have to worry about it in the span of a few weeks but the effects are unpleasant enough that it's not something you will want to ignore if you end up staying with veganism long term.

IMO: don't announce to your parents. Make it a transition, phasing animal products out as you learn how to follow a vegan diet. That way you'll probably avoid fears about your health and other related things, and it'll be easier for you (and more likely that you stick with it).

You could say something like you're working to reduce your consumption if you're asked. The word vegan can be scary to some people.


Make fruit a staple would be my advice for diet. Super easy + healthy + tasty. Steamed potatoes (with other stuff if you like, but I like them on their own with a bit of salt and cayenne) are a super easy satisfying meal, which you will crave as you make the switch. Also be sure you're getting critical nutrients (not that a vegan diet makes you any more likely to be deficient than the standard american diet)-- b12, iodine, and omegas are the big ones I think (the linked brands are the best ones I've found). Those supplements are expensive, but it helps that you don't need a lot. A bottle of the b12 could last you two months, and iodine could last you a year.

Spirulina is also like a vegan whole food multivitamin/mineral and good source of easily assimilable protein.

Awesome, great job of getting out of bad habits.

I'm also not really into the raw thing but a couple of quick tips. Buy a blender and get your smoothy on! You can throw as many fruit and vegetables in that thing as you like. Just find out what combinations you like.

If I eat smoothy as a breakfast I usually put in a banana, some frozen berrys, a fist full of spinach, an inch of ginger, a cup of rice or almond milk, some lemon juice and some flax seeds.
But they can be much simpeler, just a banana or mango, rice milk and some cinnamon is also great.

To make just plain old veggies a little more exciting try eating them with humus, peanut butter or sriracha if you're in to that. Thats great with carrot, apple, bell pepper, cucumber or whatever.

But I do encourage you to learn a bit about basic nutrition and how to encorporate it in your daily life.
This is supposed to be a very good book on raw veganism. I have the same book for a normal vegan diet and it is very thorough and helpfull.

> Sometimes I’d be vegan, and it’s what I really want to do. But making the switch is kind of hard because of convince. I only bring vegan food into my apartment

That's great! Do what you can, and

> but when I’m out I usually will do dairy and/or eggs.

look for little ways to improve over time, where you can. There are sometimes ways to eat vegan food even if you don't make it yourself, like there are even a bunch of vegan fast food options now.

Another thing you can try if you're a regular at some restaurant is ask if they can add a vegan option. Restaurants usually want to retain their regulars as much as possible (because they're a steady source of income), and often can be more flexible than you'd think when it comes to making vegan food. For example, try asking for stir fries or fried rice without egg, that use tofu or fried tofu instead of meat at Chinese places, or try asking if they'll do a tomato pie without cheese at Italian places.

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> I’m 19, pay rent, and work a lot. I got out of an abusive relationship in the past year so I’m dealing with healing from that and depression from it.

You sound like an incredible person who's accomplished so much already! Honestly, any one of these things can be hard to deal with. It may not seem like it right now, but you have an incredible character for battle all of them, and one day you might look back and gain a lot of self-assurance from realizing what you've survived.

> I don’t have a car so I can’t go buy ALOT of stuff at once, but I live close to stores

Is there any way you could walk, bike, or use public transportation? I know it can feel like a hassle to do these things, but one of them might be an option, especially in good weather.

> I know someone might say I should wait until life gets easier... I really don’t want to do that. I want to be fully vegan.

Something that can help simplify it is finding things that work, and getting into habits. If you find something that works (and you feel like you won't get sick of), just keep doing it until it forms a habit, eventually you reach the point where you do it automatically, and you don't have to think about it (and it won't feel like putting as much effort into doing it), because it happens "on autopilot".

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Be sure to learn the basics of vegan nutrition if you do go completely vegan, it's very important for long term health.

• http://www.theveganrd.com/vegan-nutrition-101/food-guide-for-vegans/ A one page beginner's guide
  
  If you're on a tight budget or have difficulty eating a variety of food due to depression, here are some very cheap supplements you can buy online if you need to, that might help shore up your nutrition:
  
  
• Daily Multivitamin containing B12 and D.
  
• DHA/EPA supplement. Take daily.
  
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  Keep us updated as to how you're doing! And if you want to talk to someone, PM me if you ever want to.
  

First of all, good for you two for jumping in, it seems like a huge challenge at first so good for you for taking it on. Having a partner puts you both at a serious advantage, the transition is completely painless.

I would suggest the website vegankit.com for help getting started. I found the site a few weeks after I had been vegan and if nothing else it can point you in the direction of other references. Also I suggest the book eating vegan on $4 a day . I haven't read the book but I have seen it recommended several times on vegan youtube channels. That's another huge resource, youtube has a ton of recipes and tutorials.


I would also try your best to forget things people have told you about veganism especially that it is "expensive". This is simply not true.

Also from what I have researched on soy, (I am not a doctor) just a passionate vegan that wants to encourage you both, consuming normal amounts is perfectly fine for you, anything you can get from too much soy is probably not nearly as painful as the consequences of too much meat (colorectal cancers, bowel cancer, heart disease, etc.) I feel like many of these arguments are just based on things that are spread solely by word of mouth and don't really hold up to argument whenever you look at them critically.

Go into this experience with an open mind, and a positive outlook knowing that you are making a simple and exciting change (read that improvement) in your daily lives and in your health while simultaneously excluding yourselves from supporting mass torture and killings of innocent, sentient individuals.

One other thing, you don't even need that much soy, a lot of the easy pre-made kind of stuff is soy based, but definitely not all of it. I personally eat about as much lentils as I do soy (maybe more?), there are a ton of options. I have been vegan for about six months now, and from what I hear it has never been easier; and I believe it.

Not an expert at all, but I've read/heard several times that including the child in the food-making progress can help it overcome pickiness as it is in direct contact with what it will later eat and will have more of a connection to it.

Also, apparently it helps to let children play with the food as well, before it's prepared and after.


>He tells me he doesn't want to be vegan

Does he know what veganism is? And what chicken nuggets are made out of?

Maybe if you can't get through to him on a food basis, take him on outings to go see farm animals and then explain to him what he's eating (there are some good children's books out there for that sorta thing. Like this one, or that.). Show him that veganism is more than just a dietary choice but a compassionate and kind outlook.

I don't really have any tips for going raw, but Dr. Greger suggests this book for people that do. I thought about doing it, but it seemed like a big hassle for little reward so never ended up doing it lol. Good luck :)

Hello! If you’re doing it for food reasons I would suggest to start with

Nutrition Facts

Lilykoi

I’d suggest them because they’re backed by science, and (nutrition facts especially) really helped me transition.

Becoming Vegan UK amazon

Apps as well. If it helps you download Cronometer just to make sure you’re getting enough of certain nutrients.

oh she glows app

Vitamin B12 to ensure that’s not something you end up deficient in :)

I’m located in Canada, but I was able to have free appointments with a dietician to talk about my diet as a vegan. Not sure if that’s available to you.
I also let my family doctor know when I was transitioning, and she did a full blood panel and then I try and do them every 6-8 months.

Edit to add: I’m fairly positive this YouTuber that I follow is in the UK.

Vegan UK also some UK groups, depending on your location.

hope this helps!

>I will pick up a b12 supplement as soon as I can.

Deva makes a really good one, and all their vitamins are vegan.

>And today I'm making steps to schedule an appointment with a university counselor.

Wonderful! I hope it goes well. I don't know if you've seen a counselor before, but a couple of things to keep in mind: 1) It will take time to make progress, so stick with it, but 2) don't be afraid to find a different counselor if you don't mesh with them or feel uncomfortable for whatever reason.

>I am an ethical vegan as well, and recognize its effects on the environment. I don't plan on leaving veganism for any reason.

:-) Glad to hear it.

Hey! I know you didn't message back but I was just looking at cookbooks to buy for this next year (this is my next 'get my shit together' year and hopefully it works this time!) and I saw one for vegan athletes by a professional Ironman triathlete and it made me think of you so I thought I'd send you a link:

• His guide
  
• His first cookbook
  
• His second cookbook
  
  I just wanted to let you know there are vegan options for you that fit with your lifestyle, whatever it is, and it would mean a lot for me if you could help me find the perfect resource for you so you can try to make a change. Thanks for reading :)

Find a good vegan cookbook. Heck, find three or four of them. I like the Veganomicon, which is a great general reference, but you can find one for everything, from pies to soul food to sandwiches.

Cookbooks will do two things for you. First, they'll provide a resource if you start to feel cravings for food you used to rely on: if you get desperate for burgers, or chicken parmesan, or mousakka, you'll find a great alternative that scratches that itch. Second, they'll provide an excellent resource to browse through and find recipes you'd never have thought of on your own. Expanding your palate is a surefire way to improve your diet.

I'm not too knowledgeable about raw/mostly raw diets but I recommend checking out http://veganhealth.org/ to make sure you're aware of what nutrients you need.

If you can get a hand on a copy of Becoming Raw that might help.

In my smoothies I use different foods at different times to keep things varied. I vary the base (water/soy/rice milk), use different frozen fruit, then add stuff like white beans, avocado, olive or coconut oil, oats, pumpkin seeds, flax, and maybe a scoop of protein powder. It depends on how many calories or how much protein I want in there.

Here are some low-cost raw recipes:

http://plantbasedonabudget.com/?s=raw&s_submit=

If you want your tofu scramble to taste eggy, do yourself a huge favor and buy some [kala namak] (https://www.amazon.com/Spice-Himalayan-BLACK-Crystal-ground/dp/B001O1VDXM/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1466094545&sr=8-1&keywords=kala+namak) - the one linked I bought like four years ago and I still have a half a bag. Use in place of regular salt. It tastes like egg salt and it's bizarre but it really helps out in the scramble department!

Buy some extra firm tofu, smoosh/crumble it into an oiled pan, add in black salt, pepper, I like dill and basil as well, add in some sauteed veggies and soy crumbles, and top off with some good sauce!

> Should I go vegan?

Yes! Absolutely.

> Does going full vegan involve nutritional sacrifices?

Could be the same or better. It depends on what you eat. To answer specific questions a really good source is NutritionFacts.org (look up protein, calcium, B12, iron, etc). If you are looking to be really healthy do some research on whole foods plant-based diets. Otherwise, eat what you eat now but vegan versions and you'll be fine.

> Should I just jump in 100% or ease my way into it.

If I could go back in time I would go vegan sooner. But it's harder to see from the other perspective. Just learn everything you possibly can and your motivation will grow. Check out documentaries, blogs, speeches, books, etc.

> Lastly exactly wtf do I eat lol

Whatever you want to eat, just leave out or substitute the meat and dairy.

For some examples I can show you what I've eaten the last few days (I live in the US and shop primarily at Kroger-brand stores):

• Breakfasts: cereal with vanilla soy milk, bagels with jam/peanut butter/cream cheeze, pancakes with fresh fruit (sub out eggs)
  
  
• Lunches: burritos at Chipotle (sofritas!)/Qdoba, Japanese pan noodles at Noodles and Co, teriyaki tofu stir fry at any Asian fusion place, Amy's brand frozen meals
  
  
• Dinners: anything on Minimalist Baker, pizza with pesto base (no cheese or with vegan cheeze), normal American dishes with faux meats (Boca, Gardein), most ethnic foods are easily vegan, anything with tofu/seitan/tempeh
  
  
• Snacks: chips, ice cream (So Delicious, Coconut Bliss, Ben&Jerry's), fries, hummus
  

Hey there! I just made a gigantic batch of pancakes and I thought about you and your kids. It might be something they would like. Whenever I make them I mix up a crazy amount of batter and freeze the extra pancakes. Then they have easy breakfasts and something to toss in their lunch boxes whenever we are short on time. We get pretty creative with the pancakes, usually adding fruit, nuts, and sprinkles onto each pancake before the first flip.

I use 3 cups of whole wheat pastry flour, 1 cup soy milk powder, 1 tsp baking powder, a little salt, and enough soy milk (or whatever milk is around, even water is good) to make it into a thick batter.

I also make french toast in big batches by saving the batter in the fridge and making fresh french toast with the leftover batter. I use chickpea flour, soy milk powder, and milk or water for the batter. Maybe a little vanilla in there also.

I got the idea about adding soy milk powder to baked goods from Becoming Vegan: the complete reference to plant-based nutrition (comprehensive edition) by Davis and Melina. It has a lot of great tips with regard to feeding children. The comprehensive edition is large but I have never wished for the condensed edition instead.

I would be interested to hear any easy recipes that are popular with your kids.

Edit to provide link to Becoming Vegan: The Complete Reference to Plant-Based Nutrition (Comprehensive Edition)

Any of these books are great for beginners. I would recommend checking out these amazon links and skimming the reviews...

• Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets by Brenda Davis
  
  
• Going Raw: Everything You Need to Start Your Own Raw Food Diet and Lifestyle Revolution at Home by Judita Wignall)
  
• Raw Food Made Easy For 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet
  
• Ani's Raw Food Kitchen: Easy, Delectable Living Foods Recipes by Ani Phio
  
  Goneraw and Rawfoodtalk are good for recipes.
  
  EDIT: Broken links

google is your friend.

"eating vegan for cheap at trader joe's" - first result

"cheap vegan recipes" - first result

"vegan budget recipes" - first result

this way you can make a list based on stores around you & recipes tailored to your tastes/skill level. i love throwing veggies in a skillet with some tofu and brown rice, or black bean burritos with whatever veggies i have on hand. good luck, you got this!

edit - this book is called "Eating Vegan on $4 A Day" and I think the author is on social media!

>the only person to reverse heart-disease in the world" makes me think you're full of shit.

Fair enough, it is a bold claim, so I do apologise for presuming you have heard of him.

• Here is his research publication where he saved the lives of 20 patients by putting them on a oil free vegan diet:
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2100124/
  
  
• He then went on to do the study again with 200 patients which had 1 year expected life span, most of them are still alive 20 years later (the ones that followed his diet!). And he writes about it in his book here: https://www.amazon.com/Prevent-Reverse-Heart-Disease-Nutrition-Based/dp/1583333002 and this contains references to all of the studies he based his work on (there's hundreds in there)
  
  
• There is a documentary about him called Forks Over Knives on Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/au/title/70185045
  
  
• here is his talk summerising his research (long version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1varIImYec) (short version TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqKNfyUPzoU)
  
  He's also not the only person to recommend no oil consumption, and all of these plant-based doctors speak against oil too their books or talks: Whether it's Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Michael Greger, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Pam Popper, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. Garth Davis, Dr. T.Colin Campbell, Dr Michael Klaper and the other 700 of them :-)
  
  
  Anyway I'm a huge fan, as you can probably tell, because if the general public followed his advice, we'd have approximately 14 million fewer heart-attack deaths each year! It blew my mind, because I always assumed that heart-disease was a result of getting old, and it turns out it's generally not. I hope it blows your mind too :-)
  
  

You should really check out the stuff by Ashland Creek Press Lots of great fiction (and non-fiction) with an animal/eco perspective, I highly recommend the Tourist Trail. If you are looking for non-fiction I recommend Animal Liberation or Diet For A New America both older but highly influential books. Another great one that influenced my activism was Free The Aniamls

Pea protein, my man. Say goodbye to whey farts.

Edit: I use this. It's very cheap too! It does gets a bit foamy if you only use water - I throw a scoop of PB in and it cuts the foam, blends nicely, and kills the "pea" taste :) and peas are a complete protein!

If you're interested in milk substitutes: soy is a great one. If you choose to believe the unfounded smear campaigns against soy with regard to estrogen, I suggest trying Silk Protein Nut Milk. This stuff is amazing though can be hard to find sometimes. Good luck!

Since we are all a little lazy... Here are links to all of the books in my stack:
Betty Goes Vegan (my mom got this one for my boyfriend - so not strictly mine - in hopes that he would cook for me. I am pressing the tofu right now at his request, so far so good)

Vegan Eats World

Eat Drink & Be Vegan

The 30 Minute Vegan

Thug Kitchen

The Lusty Vegan (my sister bought this one for me)

One-Dish Vegan

Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker

Vegan Brunch (second most used, the muffin recipes in here are crazy easy to customize)

Vegan Yum Yum

Twelve Months of Monastery Soups (not blatantly vegan, but almost entirely so)

The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook (My most used, and longest owned, the best of all. All super simple ingredients, only non-vegan ingredient mentioned is honey on occasion)

Make your own snack bars! This is from the Thrive Diet book.

Chocolate Blueberry Energy Bars

High in antioxidants and flavonoids, these bars help reduce free radical damage in the body and improve cellular recovery.

1 cup fresh or soaked dried dates

1/4 cup almonds

1/4 cup blueberries

1/4 cup roasted carob powder (or cacao to make 100% raw)

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 cup hemp protein

1/4 cup unhulled sesame seeds

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

Sea salt to taste

1/2 cup sprouted or cooked buckwheat (optional)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

In a food processor, process all ingredients except the buckwheat and blueberries. Knead buckwheat and berries into mixture by hand. Roll them into balls and let 'em dry. That should make about 12 of them.

I'd really recommend checking out some children's books on veganism, especially when she gets a little bit older, to explain why you live the way you do. Here's a list of some that I've found:

The Girl Who Could See Stories

We're Vegan!

That's Why We Don't Eat Animals

Vegan Is Love: Having Heart and Taking Action

V Is For Vegan: The ABCs of Being Kind

Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen might help make the transition a little easier. I've made a few things from there that have all been great. Her Rockin' Ricotta is really yummy.

I haven't tried them unfortunately :( I'm in Canada and they're only available in the US from what I know. But apparently they're amazing and taste like the real thing.

Yeah unless you do it well tofu tastes bland. You've gotta wrap the tofu in paper towels, and place some heavy stuff on top (e.g. textbooks) to press it in for around 20-30 mins, so that you get all the water out of it. That way it'll soak up all the sauce.

Try out some bean curries and stir fries too, those are my favourite. In fact if you wanna get a cookbook, I recommend this or this times a million. Not a single recipe I've made in those books that all my meat-eating friends haven't loved.

That looks scrumptious!

I must try the garbanzo flour.

Have you tried the salt that tastes like eggs?

The recipe I use is super simple and is included in the revolutionary Non-Dairy Evolution Cookbook by Chef Skye Michael Conroy. The uncannily eggy flavor in this recipe (and in many others in this feature) is achieved via kala namak salt, a highly sulfurous rock salt that tastes and smells just like eggs.

Here is a cheap vegan multivitamin on Amazon. This isn't a replacement for eating healthily, but it can be an added level of insurance against a potential micronutrient deficiency.

The book Vegan For Life is often recommended when it comes to informing yourself about eating a healthy vegan diet. You can probably get a copy from your school's library.

I'm going to side with your girlfriend in not supporting your shoplifting either. Foods like rice and beans are incredibly cheap if you are buying them dry and in large quantities. Those two foods can form a large portion of a healthy diet together.

I'm a fairly lean guy, and you are 5" taller than me and you weigh 10lbs less. I suspect that the weight loss is a significant factor in any health issues you are experiencing. Just make sure to be eating more high calorie foods. You were eating 4,000 calories a day, and even without exercise someone of your height is going to need about 3,000 calories per day. It is entirely feasible to reach those numbers on a vegan diet.

Unless you're buying imitations of non-vegan foods, veganism can actually be one of the most affordable ways to eat. The vegan meals that I make are almost always the cheapest. If you don't like beans, stir fry is pretty great. Here is a recipe for sesame stir fry that I made earlier this week. It was delicious, and you can substitute different veggies each time you make it to keep it from getting boring. PB&J is a cheap and easy vegan option. If you're worried about not getting enough proteing because you don't like beans or nuts, pea protein is actually cheaper than most other protein powders. The only downside is that it's a bit high in sodium. Here is the stuff I use. Good luck!

I just have to underline this. How Not to Die is amongst the best books on nutrition ever. As long as someone is open to reading it, it's perhaps the best gift you can give them. Sadly, the folks who need to read it the most, are the most likely ones to ignore it.

Another book that is quite excellent, though a little older (but appears recently updated), is Becoming Vegan

I hope he recovers! Moreover, I hope he changes his diet so that he doesn't need further bypass operations. Maybe the work of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn would convince him.

EDIT: Particularly the book: "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn"

Happy I could help.

These aren’t vegan cookbooks, but they are vegan children’s books you might be interested in.

Vegan is Love

V is for Vegan: the abc’s of being kind

That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals

They could be a useful tool if children have questions about veganism.

Thanks for posting! I would love to have sunny side up "eggs" again. People are getting so damn clever with recipes. Did it really taste like eggs? I put the black kala Namak salt in my tofu scrambles. It does have a good egg flavor.

You can buy that special salt on Amazon 11 bucks for a pound of it. (That's a crazy amount but you can share it.)

Are nuts and avocados oils? NO! Oils are olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, etc. Dr. McDougall is not the only one to recommend no oils. Dr. Esselstyn, who has done extensive research on the prevention and reversal of heart disease also recommends no oils.

Nuts, seeds, and avocados are all okay on the diet in small amounts. It is only recommended not to overindulge, as they're very calorically dense and it can impede weight loss (if that's the goal).

John McDougall is a very respected vegan doctor, author, and personality.

I just finished reading the Starch Solution, and I would say it is pretty good info. I eat a whole foods plant based diet, which is the healthiest type of vegan diet. On r/vegan there's a lot of junk food vegans.

Here's a couple I found!

http://www.amazon.com/Hubert-Pudge-A-Vegetarian-Tale/dp/0763619922/ref=pd_sim_b_17?ie=UTF8&refRID=0QY46SG9VYZ2WTWEPY9N

http://www.amazon.com/Thats-Why-Dont-Eat-Animals/dp/1556437854/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=16D1S2MA82P23BNVWXGF

I couldn't find any that are like "Here are the facts. Do what you will."

Both of these encourage a vegan diet and some articles have said that they're too brutal for kids... but I think that especially the first one looks very sweet and to be a nice story even without the message.

I have found the two following books to be very helpful on the subject...

The China Study

Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease

Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn has done amazing work in reversing Heart Disease in severely sick people. He has the arterial and vein scans to show exactly what his nutritional plan can do. Both books are must reads in my opinion.

Chiming in here with the most fantastic Italian vegan cookbook- Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen (it's an Amazon link, fyi)! I've made so many recipes, including homemade pasta from her cookbook and it's awesome.

Go outside in the sun. VITAMIN D IS FREE! The only suipplement that people recommend that is absolutely necessary is B12. The highest quality one I have found is this one:

https://www.amazon.com/VeganSafe-B-12-Vitamin-Global-Healing/dp/B00RXEW7R0/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1478467928&sr=8-1&keywords=vegan+safe+b12

This is the absolute bible on the subject:

https://www.amazon.de/Prevent-Reverse-Heart-Disease-Nutrition-Based/dp/1583333002

Forks over Knives is also a good resource, as is anything by Dr McDougall (The Starch Solution, The McDougall Plan) and Dr Greger (How not do die).

All the best!

digging this particular one

http://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Methyl-B12-1000mcg-Lozenges/dp/B002FJW3ZY/ref=zg_bs_3774741_2

from description
"Methylcobalamin (Methyl B-12) is better absorbed and retained than other forms of B12 (e.g.; cyanocobalamin).* Methyl B-12 protects nerve tissue and brain cells; promotes better sleep and reduces toxic homocysteine to the essential amino acid methionine."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1476736073/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1476736073&linkCode=as2&tag=chechl-20&linkId=S6J36OAGZZ7OH3H5

This is definitely the one me and my family most often use. Delicious and easy meals.

This seems to be the book you were talking about. I'm honestly surprised that there is such a book! I figured most would be for older children. This is great though! I will be getting this and be on the lookout for anything similar.

For Indian, I definitely recommend Anupy Singla's Vegan Indian Cooking. It's accessible and full of great recipes.

I don't have firsthand experience with the other two cuisines you mentioned, but this book looks promising!

I'm obsessed with every recipe from The Indian Slow Cooker by Anupy Singla. The recipes are easy, flavorful, healthy, and authentic. A lot are vegan or easily veganizable, as she's also the author of Vegan Indian Cooking, which also has some slow cooker recipes. Both cookbooks are highly recommended!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JL6ZKFE/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_i_EmlMDbMY5JCM8

This one is really good. And it's a really good price too, this jug is huge

Have you read any of the Thrive Books?
http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Nutrition-Optimal-Performance-Sports/dp/0738212547/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409777153&sr=1-2&keywords=thrive

Or

http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Energy-Cookbook-Plant-Based-Recipes/dp/0738217409/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409777153&sr=1-4&keywords=thrive

Super helpful for vegan athletes!

Here is an awesome book that helped me start making logical and ethical decisions.

Everything I've made from [Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1558327908/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1GndAb342YGKP) has been super good!

Yeah that's the only thing you need. But honestly just get a daily multivitamin that has it in there. I left a link for the one I like below.

https://www.amazon.com/Deva-Vegan-Vitamins-Multivitamin-Supplement/dp/B01FRJTSW4/ref=sxin_0_sxwds-bia-wc1_0?crid=H8184JLF9TCK&keywords=vegan+multivitamin&pd_rd_i=B01FRJTSW4&pd_rd_r=a8426285-2b85-461c-b1c1-a0303478c2e9&pd_rd_w=qHnsx&pd_rd_wg=jB9Pu&pf_rd_p=39e7c2a0-69e1-4a3f-8d8f-4c4ee1aefdb5&pf_rd_r=210RXNKX693594K46TEP&psc=1&qid=1569265770&sprefix=vegan+mul%2Caps%2C224

This is a good cyanocobalamin b12 by nature's way. Deva also makes great vegan supplements, and they have a methyl b12 that's cheap.

All home-made last weekend, using the recipes from Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen - the book is full of excellent recipes, highly recommend picking it up!

I strongly recommend either of these two books to get a good grip on what you need to eat:

https://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Vegan-Reference-Plant-Based-Comprehensive/dp/1570672970

or

https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Life-Everything-Healthy-Plant-Based-ebook/dp/B0053GOYLW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503983996&sr=1-1&keywords=vegan+for+life

Your primary mistake is in making the assumption that the group "raw foodists" is a homogeneous group. While it is true that some raw foodists subscribe to the theory that enzymes found in raw foods supply significant aid in the digestion and absorption of nutrients, this assertion is not supported by science. These enzymes play a minor (if any) part in aiding digestion. This is not why I am a raw foodist.

Another fallacy you launched was the idea that raw food diets are environmentally destructive. Sure, I can eat coconuts and other tropical fruits, but I do not eat them in any greater quantity than I did when I was a cooked vegan. In fact, I strive to eat as locally as possible, getting as many of the fruits and greens I eat from local farms. If anything, I would say that my environmental impact has gone down since going raw. I am no longer using energy to cook my food and the amount of packaging waste that must be discarded or recycled is practically nil. The average family produces hundreds of pounds of food packaging waste per year. What I produce in a year could probably fit into a backpack.

Beyond that, I am a raw foodist because I like it. I have completely lost the taste for cooked food and after 7 years of being 100% raw vegan, I feel and look better than I ever have. I love the simplicity and ease of it. I waste no time preparing and cooking food. Being raw also forces me to eat really well all the time. I am also free from the horrific effects of several autoimmune diseases for the first time in decades...conditions that lingered despite a whole food vegan diet. The elimination of gluten, refined foods and cooked starches does make a difference in some cases. All I'm trying to say is that if you're going to attack raw foodism, attack the diet on the facts, not some weird BS you've read online. If you want a fully fact based intro on the world of raw foods written by a registered dietitian, I would recommend reading the book "Becomming Raw" by Brenda Davis. She explains the fallacies like the enzyme myth, but also explain the real, science based benefits of a raw foods diet.

I love marmite and eat it all the time! However it's still recommended to supplement b12 even if you eat fortified foods.

I take three of these pills a week. It works out very cheap - that one pot of pills will last 33 weeks for me.

The recipe came out of this book a friend gave me recently. Ive only tried a few recipes but they've all been amazing. https://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Indian-Cooking-Healthy-Recipes/dp/1572841303

There's two things that I was forced to eat constantly as a kid: lentils and lima beans. I'll still eat them, but only after I've consumed everything else in my kitchen and pantry. It's sad, because they really are delicious.

Just subscribed to these vitamins on Amazon. I'm hoping that'll be enough for now, until I can stock up on everything.

My favorites are Afro-Vegan, Vegan Soul Kitchen, Alternative Vegan, and The Inspired Vegan.

Yeah it's cyanocobalamin. Anything over 250mcg/day should be fine. Another form is methylcobalamin that works better for some people. This is the one I use. I just had my levels tested and they were above range. https://www.amazon.com/Deva-Nutrition-Sublingual-Dissolve-Tablets/dp/B00EW1BVIS/

The one you linked is the "Tiny Tablet" version, which I've never tried. But I've been taking the full sized version for about two years now, and I really like them. I don't pay too much attention to what I eat, and I haven't gotten deficient in anything, that I'm aware of. :)

Why is your protein goal 85g/day? Protein intake should be calculated using lean body massage not total body weight. I use pea protein powder. It is very affordable and it's taste is pretty easy to disguise. You can get it in bulk on Amazon for $0.45 a serving: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JL6ZKFE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_88OCzbC5FXGJH

Hey if you're eating raw/mostly raw you might want to read this:

http://veganhealth.org/articles/cooking

As the above link mentions at the bottom, you might want to get your hands on a copy of Becoming Raw. It's a great book.

My Beef With Meat

The Starch Solution

Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease

I understand. There are B12 lozenges that dissolve in the mouth. The B12 is absorbed mostly sublingual and not only in the intestines. Hope that helps.

https://www.amazon.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Methylcobalamin-B12-Supports/dp/B002FJW3ZY/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1520978944&sr=1-1&keywords=b12+1000+jarrow

Congrats!

Fellow vegan lifter here. It's really not as hard as people make it out to be. (I don't compete, for the record, I just train for my own fitness.)

Protein shakes are going to be your best friend for reaching a caloric surplus without an obnoxious amount of volume. My go-to was pea protein + frozen banana + peanut butter + soy milk + cocoa powder. Pea protein is known to taste like ass on its own, but it's actually the cheapest protein powder per gram of protein on the market, as far as I know -- even more than whey! It's a little low on L-methionine, but you get plenty of that from nuts / soy / beans, which you'll presumably be having plenty of anyway.

Go-to meals for me, in broad strokes, are usually a bunch of vegetables, beans, and tofu on top of rice. That basic food schema has nearly infinite variations, and covers a lot of different types of cuisines/flavor profiles (Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Thai, etc.), so it doesn't really get boring.

I have a question about vitamin supplements.

I am looking at buying this vitamin sup, DHA&EPA, and flax seed oil omega 3

Should I skip the flax seed and only take the vitamin and dha&epa pills?

Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker: 200 Ultra-Convenient, Super-Tasty, Completely Animal-Free Recipes https://www.amazon.com/dp/1558327908/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_h49NybDEZ4JVT

That one ^^ :)

You'd love The Vegan Soul Kitchen

Of course, here's a few! I bought several for my 5 year old niece but she doesn't speak English yet (I'm her cool American auntie but unfortunately she lives on the other side of the world in Russia). I'm actually pissed at my brother because growing up, him being 17 years my senior, he would literally HOUND me about eating animals until I was about 9 years old and saw the light. But any time he'd bring home pizza he'd be like "you know what you're eating is a dead animal right" and now when I talk to my niece about he's like SHE'S TOO YOUNG LEAVE HER ALONE. Like, bro, what happened to you. Anyway! Here's a compilation:

​

Here's a little list from ChooseVeg

A very cute book at Barnes & Noble

Vegan is Love

That's Why We Don't Eat Animals

Steve the Vegan

Another great summary of Vegan Kids books!

If you are going to do it read Becoming Raw Vegan Becoming Raw: The Essential Guide to Raw Vegan Diets https://www.amazon.com/dp/1570672385/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zswSBbTBFH73C

I love raw food, and feel great eating more of it, but there are a lot of garbage psuedo science books about it out there.

I use these: MRM - Vegan Vitamin D3, Meets Calcium & Bone Health Needs, Vegan & Vegetarian Approved (5000IU 60 Count) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CYA8HMW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_t9nyCb0CQNYQP

They’re about $10ish through Amazon. I’ve found vegan vitamin D through the vitamin shoppe, but they’re way more expensive.

My wife used to eat 4 eggs a day before we switched, so she gets it. Anyway, she loves this salt. It has the sulfur taste you need. Just put it on food, tofu scramble, etc, AFTER the food is done cooking because the sulfur taste does cook out of it.

There's vegan for $4 a day. I can get you a pirated copy if you want it. I don't know what your budget is, but you can follow this and then spend the rest on proteins like TVP and seitan as others have mentioned.

If you like Indian food, pick up this book. You will not regret it.

http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Indian-Cooking-Healthy-Recipes/dp/1572841303/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348860807&sr=8-1&keywords=vegan+indian+cooking

Also you might want to start on a B-12 supplement. Get a sublingual that uses methylcobalamin instead of cyanocobalamin.

Vega Multivitamin

Try this link. This is the one I use. (:

Vegan Indian Cooking by Anupy Singla. I've been trying the soups which are very good.

I suppose Indian would qualify as "unusual flavor combinations".

If you're relying on nooch, just make sure it's fortified. Not all of them have B12. And it is because of fortification that they have these nutrients. Also just so you know, Deva tiny tablets are on sale on Amazon from $11.07 to $5.99. Stock up.

This book is good and written by 2 dieticians

I recommend this or this.

I like these sprays (from Amazon):
D3
B12

Seriously on the B12. I make an effort to eat a very balanced diet, hitting all the greens, beans, and grains. I was incredibly sluggish starting a couple weeks after I switched to a veg diet. I went to the doc, got a blood test, turned out I was super balanced except I was short on B12. I was likely low on it before I went completely veg because I only ate meat 2x/week at most before that. A B12 deficiency doesn't usually hit someone so quickly. B12 is the only thing that's nearly impossible to get outside of eating meat. I started taking this B12 supplement and for the first few days it seriously felt like I was on amphetamines because I was so low on B12. Now I'm back to normal, and it feels good.

Lots of good advice here, B12, plant-based milks, calories etc

But if you're somewhat overwhelmed by too much information and don't know what to do you have to option of just buying a vegan multivitamin and be done with it.

https://www.amazon.com/Deva-Vegan-Vitamins-Multivitamin-Supplement/dp/B01FRJTSW4/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvp?keywords=Multivitamin+vegan&pd_rd_i=B01FRJTSW4&pd_rd_r=a1792494-7027-40d8-b6a7-1c86cc6ff369&pd_rd_w=cTP0p&pd_rd_wg=ujGxp&pf_rd_p=d006b618-5fac-44e6-850d-a0fdd19f7847&pf_rd_r=YV4C1N5M7MHM41K64VPH&qid=1558521863&s=gateway

A bizarre coincidence: I had this same article (hosted on a different website) open in another tab and just hadn't read it yet...

Are you looking for info on weightlifting specifically? Vegan Bodybuilding has a ton of info, most of which I haven't explored completely yet because I'm only just getting started. If you're looking for more general advice I've also heard great things about Thrive, and I think I'm going to order it this weekend. And of course, the unforgettable Jack Norris RD.

OP, here's the vegan D3 I buy.

Bonus vegan omega-3.

Edit: to answer your discussion question, my line is my health. By law, at least in the United States, all medicine and medical procedures must be tested on animals. Also, most prescriptions meds contain animal products already (gelatin, lactose, shellac, etc). It sucks, but we have to live in the confines of reality. I am vegan as far as is practicable and possible, after all.

If you have any sort of desire for an eggy taste, I’d recommend this stuff

Yeah, this seems a little thin to me, but I'm no expert either. Check out Brendan Brazier's Thrive. Some of the recipes are a little eccentric, but it's a good resource and he knows what he's talking about.

Oral supplements are absorbed just fine https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3922551/.

I just had bloodwork after 2 years being vegan, and my b12 was slightly over the top-end of the range. I just take an oral pill probably every 3-4 days or once a week sometimes, basically just whenever I remember to take it. I also drink some plant milks that are fortified with it. I also take blood builder every once in a while as a pre-workout, and it has a little bit of b12.

But a simple cobalamin or methylcobalamin supplement should be all you need. I take deva b12 (methyl) and sometimes natures way (cobalamin)

Well geepers, you gotta at least be gettin' your B12's.

Get these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002FJW3ZY

And start takin' one a day until it's out, then you'll probably be back to normal levels. Afterwards find and take 250mcg ones every day, or 2500mcg ones once a week.


In addition, you should probably pick up some of these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004LL7AXE
and these:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XDPAU6 (Unless you get out in the sun often)

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B002F86LNK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I take these. Doesn't make me sick to my stomach but I have never had a problem with that.

A year's supply of sublingual B-12 pills.

For example, here's the Deva Vegan B-12 supplement with 2500 mcg. There are 90 tablets for $13, and since you only need one tablet per week, that means it lasts 90 weeks (1.7 years). This comes to $7.50 per year. The brand I have was cheaper but I cannot find it now. There are also cheaper brands on Amazon and at local grocery stores.

Becoming Vegan: The Comprehensive Edition

I just searched amazon for "vegan d3" & plenty came up

Ex: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CYA8HMW/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_lYRvxbDB6KNJR

If you want a protein powder Now Pea Protein is cheap. $48 for seven pounds (96 servings) each serving is 24g of protein.

Sublingual or oral doesn't matter. You can swallow or a chew sublingual if you want, or get a capsule to swallow. I use Deva but there are tons to choose from.

Peter Singer's Animal Liberation did for the animal rights movement what Rachel Carson's Silent Spring did for the environmental movement.

https://www.amazon.com/Animal-Liberation-Definitive-Classic-Movement/dp/0061711306

Three big ones that immediately come to mind:

• The China Study
  
  
• Animal Liberation
  
  
• Vegan with a Vengance

Maybe read http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Nutrition-Optimal-Performance-Sports/dp/0738212547/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2 . Though some of the products he reccomends are quite expensive.

she deserves your money

Found it! http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1558327908/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_twi_2?qid=1419485649&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

Have you seen this book http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1570672571?pc_redir=1405488280&robot_redir=1 eat vegan for $4 a day?

Eat Vegan on $4 a Day

It's also called kala namak or black salt and it's used in Indian cuisine a lot. You could try looking for it at an Indian grocery. I just ordered a pound of it from Amazon!

Not Norwegian, but I was also worried about vitamin D3 and not getting enough sun. I use this brand of supplements!

https://www.amazon.com/NOW-Protein-Natural-Unflavored-7-Pound/dp/B00JL6ZKFE/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1526012451&sr=1-5&keywords=now+pea+protein+powder

I just picked this up the other day.

One spray a day is all. It's a tasty vanilla flavor.
http://www.amazon.com/Garden-Life-Organics-Vegan-Spray/dp/B00K5NEPLW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416337859&sr=8-1&keywords=garden+of+life+vitamin+d+spray

I don't swallow pills but I take a lot of vitamins. I take this b-12, pour liquid iron in my OJ (I get it from my local pharmacy), and spray vitamin D. I also eat a chewable turmeric. I used to get my b-12 from all the nutritional yeast I ate but I don't eat it as much anymore so it's easier to take the vitamins. If you get your blood checked every 3-6 months you should be able to keep tabs on what you're lacking if anything.

Try taking this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00RXEW7R0/ref=pd_aw_lpo_121_bs_img_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=AWR0J7AN16D0M1CEVZK0

Its a little pricy so I'd recommend taking it maybe once or twice a week.

Global Healing Center VeganSafe B-12, 1 Fl Oz
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RXEW7R0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_nxEiDb080FE6N

Becoming Vegan: http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Vegan-Complete-Adopting-Plant-Based/dp/1570671036

Vegan for Life: http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Life-Everything-Healthy-Plant-Based/dp/0738214930/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311656144&sr=1-1

Animal Liberation: http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Liberation-Definitive-Classic-Movement/dp/0061711306/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311656159&sr=1-1

Terrorists or Freedom Fighters: http://www.amazon.com/Terrorists-Freedom-Fighters-Reflections-Liberation/dp/159056054X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311656159&sr=1-3

Don't forget "Eat Vegan for $4 a day"!
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Vegan-4-00-Day-Conscious/dp/1570672571

Your post made me think that we should have our own "Random Acts" sub. There are several specialized ones--Christmas, Food--heck, they even have one just for games! Why not one where people who are already living compassionately can help one another out? I see we have /r/veganexchange but it's more about, well, exchanging.

I'll start--I have about 20 packages of pasta that I'm not supposed to have any more due to stupid GERD :( If you'd like them, PM me the address and I'll send them over

I am lazy so I like Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker

The one you linked says 100% vegan.

Personally, I use the Garden of Life Spray and my GF has the VegLife D Tablets, because she hates the taste of the spray.

This multivitamin.

https://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B002F86LNK/ref=ppx_yo_mob_b_track_package_o1_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Any criticism on this one, anyone?

Hell yeah. I have a similar Crock Pot and can't say anything bad about it. I'm actually about to buy this Crockpot Recipe book


Also, in the same note I would recommend you buying a cheap rice cooker like this. Cooking 2-3 cups of brown rice helps me through a whole week and it is cheap as hell (protip: add curcumin to the rice at the end for color and nutritious flavor). I also use this cooker to steam vegetables and bake (yes, bake) banana cake. Supposedly you can even do pasta there.


I think that by buying a rice cooker and a crock-pot will help your wallet. Two xmas ago I was really really short on money, and I made it through the whole month by mostly just brown rice plus a lentil recipe similar to the post above, no complains at all!

This book will show you how to eat a vegan diet very inexpensively:
http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Vegan-4-00-Day-Conscious/dp/1570672571/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369194374&sr=8-1&keywords=eat+vegan+on+%244+a+day

In theory that would bring you down to $28 a week.

Out of curiosity are you eating a lot of vegan fake meat products or other packaged foods?

This is actually why I've never gone out of my way to buy this book. I got Vegan Soul Kitchen. I hate when a recipe requires me to get a ton of dishes dirty or measure too many things. I like minimal prep & cleanup, and my recipes amount to: one starch, one vegetable, one bean, varying spices, and varying oils. Tada!

shit, i have vitafusion multivite vitamins - are they not vegan?? what multivitamin should i get instead?

just ordered these I didn't mind giving up meat, but now that I have lost my chew-able vitamins, I feel completely empty :( couldn't find any chewable vegan multivitamins :( someone needs to make one asap. i like chewable vitamins more than swallowing a pill :(

>Except that eating is necessary. Killing someone would only be beneficial in the same way if you're a cannibal.

But you already admitted that meat is a choice. If you can eat something that doesn't require the death of an innocent creature, why in the world would you choose to kill an innocent creature for your meal? I view this as ethically impermissible. In fact, I view meat eaters in roughly the same way as cat torturers. I can't imagine why a person with a choice in the matter would actually choose to kill innocent animals because they taste good. I find it deeply disturbing, and I can't view those people as anything other than soulless monsters. For that reason, I have great difficulty with the idea of dating a meat eater. I wouldn't date a hobo-killer either.

> my goal is to cut out that expense and prepare food at home which is where my plan tends to fall apart.

You can be vegan on four dollars a day.

> I just don't think the OP's tactics are right. Making him hide his food, making him hide when he eats, "rewarding" him by allowing him the use of a room in his own house...it's so degrading. You don't come at someone like that if you are hoping to convert them.

I agree, but I also understand the sentiment. I've been vegan for nearly four years and I approached it initially in roughly the way you seem to be doing now. My problem now is that I have been exposed to too much information. I believe I suffer from mild Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder, and I think many vegans can claim likewise.

The problem, of course, is that we live in an omnivorous world and it's very difficult to find love even without the added constraint of ensuring that our loved ones are vegan. I once had a girl who was interested in me hint that I must get lots of girls because I'm vegan. Girls are often attracted to my dedication when they find out I am vegan, but you've heard enough from me to understand the problem with that. My life would be a lot easier if I just gave up and went back to killing animals, but I would hate myself (to put it mildly). So even though I don't agree with OP's approach, I have a lot of sympathy for her.