Hardest part of transitioning?

[winter.frost]

For me it was keeping the balance of iodine and iron in my diet. I made mistakes at first, but taught myself it would be a learning process.

Many restaurant dishes can be made vegan but you have to have the courage to talk it through with the staff - sometimes I made life harder for myself simply by being unable to ask a restaurant to cook my dish with oil and not ghee etc..

Then realising that if you don't eat enough simple whole foods the vegan diet can be very expensive if you constantly chase the latest culinary developments in your organic store.

In my family it's common to get together for a big meal once every other month and have an after-dinner cheese course. I found this part of the socialising difficult at first, but now I try to bring some kind of vegan snack to keep the veggie conversation going too.

Internet searching the vegan credentials of wines and beers etc. can be a pain, but now I drink only about once a month. Really the transition went well for me apart from the mineral mishap at the very beginning.

 

[Jamfingers]

I'm totally with you on this. I have merino wool jumpers and socks that keep the heat in like nothing else. Plus some leather boots that have many years left in them. From now on I will buy no new products made from animals, but I do continue to use the stuff I already own. Part of the vegan ethos is care for the environment and I think you're right, why contribute to environmental damage by buying new synthetic items, when the wool/leather things you already own will do fine.

Eventually these things will have to be replaced, so eventually we will have completely cruelty free homes/wardrobes. And I think that is enough

 

[mikeroberts]

You clues are all around you. There are tonnes of recipes both on the internet and in dedicated vegan books that will give you ideas. If you like Indian food, most of that is actually vegetarian, (I mean proper Indian food and not what is served in a lot of restaurants who have laced everything with meat because they are catering for a non-vegetarian customer base) and it is a great place to start. Also have a look at cookbooks, those paper things, look on Amazon and the likes because they are going out of fashion and the paper versions are great because they are cheap and all the recipes are in one place of often a book is themed. I may have been an IT Engineer, but I still find it easier to use paper. ...clipped...They need a little bit of planning to use from dried and have much more flavour and are far cheaper than the canned options, but turning vegan is not something you can do without planning and consideration. You can't just expect to know what to do, you have to research it and this means sitting down and planning meals, going out to purchase set items for that week and sticking to that week's meal plan.

OK - I have 3/4's of a life time of experience at veggie and 1/4 at vegan, so it is easier for me, but you need to start reading and buying a few books for ideas and you will find it suddenly gets so much easier.

Hey Connie, I know this is an older post. Am a new member and was reviewing this thread. Very nice post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Fruits and vegetables are an important part of my and my families diet. Am still Not sure of the vegan part ...am figuring that out.

 

[jarasane]

I think having to explain to others why I made the switch is the hardest part. Not everyone will understand or appreciate your decision and one question will just lead to the next. There are just some people who will try to maybe convince you that you made a wrong decision.

Finding a place that serves my kind of food is also another struggle. From where I live we have fast food chains all around the area and the only option is to prepare your own food. This would bring me to my other post which is trying some food available in my area that looks and tastes like meat but in reality the food is made from vegetables.

I agree with that,having to explain yourself to everybody, and having to ask everywhere if they do vegan foods!!

 

[winter.frost]

and having to ask everywhere if they do vegan foods!!

I really recommend this website.

 

[jarasane]

I really recommend this website.

Wow thanks alot that's really helpful x