Vegan Food I love it

Never thught me of all people would be saying this. But I guess I am. Being on a iet i am eating almost strictly vegan. More becuase veggie cheese has 40 calories compared to 120 in regular cheese and I cant tell the difference in the slices. I drink some milk mainly becuase I havent found non fat rice milk yet. I also eat some already prepared meals an what not that arent vegan but are vegetarian anyway. Most vegetarian stuff i found that is pre made is a lot healthier. And has a lot less calories.

So I am stuck here grinning sheepishly and wondering if I dare try Veggie burgers. To bad they are so expensive or I would have bought some sooner. Any ideas on a good veggie burger to buy? And try not to use expensive brands. My wallet would have a heart attack.

p.s. Is there any vitamins I should be taking cnsidering this lifestyle change I kinda happened on? I have never even considered going vegitarian or vegan it just kind of happened when I woke up one day and realized I didnt have any meat or eggs in the house. Or cheese that was made from actual milk. I dont want to have a vitamin deficiency.

I acutally love veggie burgers....I am not vegetarian, but they are really good for lunches. I tend to like the Boca Burgers...they are not too bad on the wallet either.

Boca-burgers are cheaper but tend to be less-flavorful than Gardenburgers. Also, sometimes there are non-frozen veggie patties available in the same section of the store that has the veggie-cheeses and tofu and such, and I tend to like those the best.

Or you could make your own. Just Google a recipe or use allrecipes.com 

do you honestly think you were getting more vitamins as a meat eater?! think about that for a minute.

if you really are going to go totally vegan the only thing you might want to keep on eye on is your b vitamin levels. pick up some nutritional yeast, you'll be fine.

hey I don't want to be ridiculed over this. It really isnt so much choice for veggie as the calories I save please dont speak down to me.

wasn't trying to ridicule you or talk down to you, it's just that there seem to be MANY posts like this lately by people who have done little to no research into a vegetarian or vegan diet.

You seem to like rice milk, but there is a light Silk soy milk that I like - and it's fortified. I also enjoy Luna bars and Balance bars - they have good vitamins and protein in there for you. Nutrition is tricky, but if you keep track of it for a month, even less, you'll get the food intuition on things. Also, think of beans and quinoa for your protein - and they are low in fat! I love veggie burgers, but I buy only what's on sale. Usually if one store doesn't have them on sale, the other does. Shopping around helps. Check out the posts on here for recipes, links to the veg/vegan sites and advice - you'll get everything you need! Good luck.

hey, I think it's great you turned veggie! i'm going to address only one of your questions, about the vitamins -- if you stay on the vegan diet absolutely, and i mean absolutely, take B12 suplemments. also soy milk and cereal is often fortified in B12, but usualy not enough.

best of luck :)

ok i will go out and get the b12 stuff. I hate beans. But I will see if I can find that q stuff.  thanks for all the info.

oh i aso heard soy milk can mess with a womans hormones? something to that afect dont kow if its true that hy i choose rice milk. Plus soy is a bit chalky for me but the chocolate stuff is good.

One more question. Does this mean I have to learn how to *Gulp* Cook? I dont know how to. Sounds weird becuase im 20 but I can bake. I can bake just about anything but cooking a full fledged meal is very intimidating.yes I do mostly live off cans and boxes and sometimes what my mom cooks.

Actually soymilk is good for women; There is little to no cases of menopause in many Asian countries due to the high levels of soy in their diet. I live almost entirely on soy and I haven't noticed any problems! :D

But remember, it's only worth it if you'll actually use it, right? Find one that you like; also, about cooking, I was afraid to start cooking when I found out I was gluten-intolerant but just play around with things you like. Sauteed veggies and tofu are yummy, add a little bit of brown rice to it or some other starch and DELISH. I also love beans. Let me know if you want any good recipes! 

Yes, try learning to cook! It might surprise you how fun it is!

Try starting with cooking a new meal once a week, and soon you'll get the hang of it. It is so much better than buying processed stuff.

As for veggie burgers, I am a big fan of President Choice soy burgers, but I find most soy burgers are pretty awesome. Especially with some low-sodium ketchup and dijon mustar, lettuce and maybe a slice of cheese if I'm feeling crazy (or a vegan version of cheese, I'm only vegetarian right now)

try almond milk. it's high in calcium, and ridiculously low in calories. if you get the unsweetened version, 1 cup has only 40 cal. my favorite brand is "almond breeze"... you can get it at most grocery stores. even the sweetened stuff is pretty healthy: only 60 cal in 1 cup