Resources and Information for New Vegetarians/Vegans

Ok folks, here is the place to put all your best tips for those considering a veg*an lifestyle.  Feel free to add links, copy and paste replies from other threads, or anything you think would be useful to a newbie. 

 

Read these books:

The China Study By Dr. T. Colin Campbell

Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Healthy at 100 by John Robbins

http://del.icio.us/popular/vegan 

Small Planet Institute

The Vegetarian Planet by Didi Emmons

 

Morning Star & Boca.

 

'nuff said. 

Veg*n Lunch Ideas

Vegan Lunch Box [link]
Vegan Lunchcast [link]
Vegetarian Lunchbox [link]
Veg Family lunch ideas [link]

www.postpunkkitchen.com

 it's got some really great recipes that aren't too hard to follow.

www.vegan.com
www.vegan.org

cool

www.GoVeg.com

www.VegCooking.com

 

I have not heard the term pescetarian. I usually tell people I am semi-vegetarian because  I eat  things that swim. I still have the occasional piece of chicken or hamburger. My choice to give up beef, chicken etc. is due to health concerns. I have early onset arthritis and have discovered I do much better without that type of animal protein.

 

I say bravo for this forum because I am still learning.

How do I handle questions simply and quickly from people who find out my eating habits. My close friends and boyfriend are all on board with me. My mom..however, and others..that is a different story.

I'm going total Vegetarian whats the differeance from Vegetarian and Vegan or are these the same thing?

How do I start

I don't eat beef

chicken very little 3oz like today

lot of salad

lot of vegtables

fruits

yogart

What do I eat to be a total vegatarin?

It seems there are many different kinds of vegetarians.  Some vegetarians won't eat any animal products at all (including meat, dairy, eggs, honey, etc - some won't even wear wool or leather), generally those are called vegans.  Some vegetarians will eat dairy and eggs, those are lacto-ovo vegetarians - some guy with a wikipedia account said they are the most common type of vegetarians.  Some vegetarians will eat fish, those are called pescetarians.  Some vegetarians will eat everything but red meat, those are called omnivores - kidding.

I am personally a whole foods vegan, that means I only eat whole plant products (no red meat, fish, poultry, dairy, honey, or things like refined sugar, white flour, white pasta, white bread, chips, crackers, vegetable oils, etc.)

You can start by reading The China Study and Eat to Live which are linked in my earlier post.  Others have posted great resources as well. 

I don't eat dairy, egg, honey, sugar, white flour, white pasta, white bread, chips, crackers. fish definitely no red meat

I will read more on this but definitely tomorrow I am committed to a vegetarian life style.  Maybe I am a vegan and didn't even know it.

 Maybe I am a vegan and didn't even know it.

Ha ha ha.. It's good that you're making the change, but even a l'ittle bit' of chicken is too much to be a vegan!

Vegan FAQS

I participate in this! Look forward to a GIANT post all about vegan nutrition.

"We are vegans, from all over the planet, with unique perspectives on life. We come from different countries, races, socioeconomic conditions, ages, and viewpoints. Aside from our commitment to helping animals, we are all as unique and varied as the animals we care for.

Daily, we get endless streams of questions about our veganism. Here we hope to share the way we did respond, the way we would have wished that we'd responded, or the way we should respond in future! Rather than linking to a bunch of websites written by other people, whose rhetoric we may or may not fully agree with, we'd rather share our voices, and do it in our own terms!"

I'm vegan- no eggs, dairy, refined sugar, honey or any animal product but I'm still chunky. yuck! My boyfriend said, "woah honey, I never met an overweight vegan...ever" and I was like, 'I've met plenty. It's a total stereotype that vegans and vegetarians are thin. It all depends on what you're eating" so that's why i'm here. Trying to count the calories...I sometimes go overboard on hummus and soymilk and peanut butter and all those high fat foods. Any vegan weight loss tips?

Stick to raw foods such as fruit and vegetables, eggs (if you're a vegetarian), nuts and bread instead of hummus, soy milk and peanut butter. Try to balance your fatty foods with healthier ones.

Thanks for the tips! I will try to avoid those foods but soymilk is my weakness. I need it coffee. I should buy the light kind through!

Yeah, the light kind is better and using it in your coffee isnt so bad because its just a little bit right? Sounds like you're doing swell =]