Vegan roll call?

Just curious how many of us vegans are on the site.

Maybe just say if you are vegan, for how long, and why you made the choice?

I've been vegan for 5 years... made the choice for only ethical reasons (but now it's ethics and health).  I went cold turkey (no pun intended) from eating meat to being vegan....

Went vegetarian at the turn of this year.  Was vegan on and off, here and there for "cleansing" purposes... and then, well, it sort of stuck with me.  I simply perform and feel better as a vegan.  Clean conscious.  Aaaaand!  Nothing I buy spoils!!!  I hated being compelled to drink the milk left in the carton because it was about to go bad.  Vegetables don't really have that problem.  (Ok, everything spoils EVENTUALLY, but you get my drift).

I think, however, besides how good I felt being a vegan, the ethical implications of my choice are what really drive me to continue.  I'm not supporting the cruelty and environmental damage of the animal-industry.

*raises hand* I am 26 and have been vegetarian almost my whole life but turned vegan about a year ago. I love being vegan! I live in a town called Vancouver, WA. No NOT in Canada. We are a suburb of Portland, OR. which is less than 10 minutes away from my house. Anyway, Portland has tons of great places for vegans to eat and shop but Vancouver is not the most vegan friendly. Anyway my sister and brother in law just moved to downtown vancouver and we walked to this little restaurant near our house. I saw on one of the buildings someone had spray painted "GO VEGAN" it made me happy to think that there is at least 1 more vegan in my town other than my sister and I.

OoOo ME ME!

Ive been vegan for about a year and a half and I LoOoOVE it! I like knowing that my living on this earth isnt harming fellow animals or the environment. I also like knowing that I am no longer harming my body and can live a more guilt-free life.

I too turned vegan cold turkey. I actually went on Peta.Com because I heard that you could get free stickers lol and once i started reading i was instantly changed. The next day I went out and ventured into the land of soy and mealtess meat and I havent turned back since...

YAY FOR VEGANS!

Im 14 and Ive been vegetarian for 5 years, but 2 years ago I went vegan.  Because of that I lost 55 pounds and I've never felt better.  I gave it up for Lent 2 years ago, and I never went back to eating dairy or eggs or meat.

I am surprised there are so few vegans. Maybe there are lots more but they just haven't responded yet. Do you guys know many vegans in real life? Two of my sisters are vegan and they are the only others I know. I have met a few more but just in passing, no one who is really associated with me. Sometimes I think life would be easier with more vegans around. Sometimes when I go out to eat I feel like I'm put on the spot and it is such a hassle trying to find something I can order. About 6 mnths ago my husband and I went to a restaurant and the only thing I could eat was spinach leaves with lemon squirted on it. And the waitress thought I was completely crazy!

I can make so many wonderful dishes at home but  going out to eat is really hard. Sometimes when I go to a restaurant I think of the scene in Interview with the Vampire where they are sitting at the table and there is this great feast in front of them but they aren't eating cause of course they are vampires. And they take drinks from empty cups. Sometimes I feel how they must feel!

Hello everyone,

I'll be honest. I've been wanting to become a vegetarian for a while now. While still at home I did it for a couple of months but then moved in with my fiancee and I totally lost all sense of control over what I eat. This sounds kind of silly but do any of you have any advice for how to slowly wean myself back into a healthy food lifestyle? I know it takes a lot of self-control but my biggest issue seems to be food shopping and coming up w/ new and imaginative recipes. When I first started out I ate a lot (ALOT) of pasta, shrooms and tomato sauce. lol I cook for two now so I don't want to bore the crap out of him and myself.
Any suggestions? Also how hard was it for you in the beginning? I feel like I fall back into this rut because I seem to have no real lunch choices, so I go w/ the standards.

Thanks!
Elsie

Sarah_sue -- I do have a lot of vegan friends (well, did in the city I just moved out of), but that was a liberal college town.  I've met a lot of other vegans mostly through the music I listen to, or we used to have bi-monthly potlucks at a house I used to live at a few years ago... it was always all vegan, and vegans and non-vegans could come, as long as everyone brought a vegan dish (met a lot of vegs that way).  There might be a veg resource group in or near your town? I understand how you feel though about not being able to eat anything at restaurants--certain places definitely have zero vegan options. I'll say I'm very lucky in that where I have lived and where I live now caters well to vegetarians and vegans alike.

Ealdahondo -- It can be very hard at first. It takes getting used to, but once you get into it, vegetarianism is a great thing!
Here are some sites with great recipies:
www.theppk.com (my absolute favorite--she has a cookbook out too that is awesome),
www.vegweb.com, www.livejournal.com/communities/vegan_cooking , and www.vegetariantimes.com

www.vegnews.com also has a bunch of links to great sites and resources.

I used to love meat--it was sort of hard for me to give it up at first, but I just kept thinking of the ethical reasons for it, and it made me disgusted by it (same for eggs, dairy, and other animal by-products). If you feel like you start to crave something, think of what it is about your craving specifically that you are wanting--for example, if it's bacon, are you wanting the seasonings? the texture? then figure out how you can substitute that, by either trying vegetarian bacon strips or even as someone else suggested in another thread, maybe some sun dried tomatoes would work.  There are so many really good vegetarian and vegan versions of classic favorites out there now that it's hard to miss anything, and you can usually at the very least always find a recipe for whatever you would want.

Take it slowly if you need to, or if easier, just go all out--whatever works best for you, do that, and in time you will get accustomed to it.  Then before you know it, you'll be craving vegetables more often and not even miss certain non-veg items.

Goodluck!Myself, and others I'm sure, will be here for support!

Hi!

I am very new (just signed up!) and wanted to say that I am a vegan!!!

I've been vegan for roughly 5 years, and vegetarian for over 10. I'm 23 and need to lose a few pounds.

I live in Montana and the only other vegan I know is my husband!

Peace! Ruthie

Hey Ruthie!

Wow, Montana--I don't think I've ever known anyone from there!

Welcome to the site--I'm going to add you as a friend

Hi Ruthie. You are lucky that yor husband is Vegan. My husband is vegan about 80% of the time and thats because I do all the cooking. But when we barbecue or go out to eat he has meat :( I actually have been trying to convince him that he is lactose intolerant. It runs in his family pretty bad and all the signs are there. Last night he had some ice cream and he said he thinks I might be right. Yeah!!

Anyway it's always nice to meet another vegan! I know 3 people from Montana. They always talk about how people there are so friendly and here in the Northwest people are standoffish. I've been here all my life so if it's true, I'm not bothered by it.

By the way, I KNOW I have the most pathetic profile ever.

About 6 months ago I was looking for quick lunches to make in between classes, and stumbled across Dr. McDougall's split pea soup.  It was tasty, filling, low in calories, high in fiber, high in protein, and...it was vegan...

So I bought The New McDougall Cookbook and really absorbed the information about switching to a plant based diet in the first few chapters.  Besides thinking about the implications of eating animal products and negative effects on my body, I (after doing research) realized that to me, it seems wrong to exploit animals when there are so many edible plant based foods.  I've always been HUGE into vegetables (I eat more spinach that any human I know, hence the name), so it was an easy transition for me.  I'm not going to rant or rave too much, but this website/podcast was really great, if you haven't heard about it:

Vegan Freak - I love you Bob and Jenna!!
www.veganfreak.com/

In terms of being vegan and watching my calories, I think many of us know that vegan baked goods can be mighty dangerous to the waistline.  I ate way too many vegan treats in my first few months of veganism, and needed to lose about 10 pounds.  Calorie-Count is great because it really shows you how beneficial plant based foods are.  I would like to see a few more items on the food list, like plain old TVP and nutritional yeast--but hooray for being able to enter your own nutritional information!

I think TVP is 80 calories for 1/4 of a cup. I have always wondered about nutritional yeast as well.

I've heard of the book Vegan Freak, which was promoted through the Post Punk Kitchen site, but I haven't read it--sounds like it could be cool though

Nutritional yeast is a mystery to me too... nevermind though, I just googled it and found nutritional info!

For two heaping tablespoons, it's 60 calories and 0.83 grams of fat

OMG Nicole thats a lot more than I thought it would be. I eat A LOT of nutritional yeast. *crying*

I am a Vegitarian, newly converted.  Not vegan...i eat eggs and cheese etc but no meat.  about 7 months.  I live in Northern Michigan where people look at you like you are an alien when you tell them that you don't eat meat.  I have been feeling better and have been losing weight and i really don't miss meat other than it is an easy protien source...

Sarah, really? I thought that was semi-average... for two heaping tablespoons... I mean not too shabby... similar to flaxseed, right?

I will put like 8 tablespoons of it on a bowl of popcorn. Not anymore though!

I have been a vegetarian since April last year because I realized that animal lovers especially should not be eating meat, and that eating animals is wrong. I, along with my parents, turned vegan about a week ago after watching a graphic video on how animals are treated cruelly and inhumanely on farms.

I find it hard to get vegan cheese though. I've only had it once in an organic restaurant where they served vegan pizzas, and it was nice.

I shall be adding you guys as friends so we can give each other tips about vegan food and stuff.

Hi Claireann nice to meet you! I just added you as a friend.

Here!


Nutritional yeast is mmmm good. 

Random Recipe! If you can stand eating small portions, cause this one's high-cal for sure:  Creamy White Cheez Sauce http://www.veganchef.com/crmychz2.htm

Serve yourself a bit as a treat on whole grain pasta with a ton of steamed greens on the side, and give the rest to your high metabolism partner, kid or sibling! :)