Trying to transition, very very new but so far so good.

[Shin]

Christmas was filled with a lot of meat at all those family dinners. My family is very much the opposite of vegan/vegetarian. My mom did raise me to love vegetables, but also meat and such. Now that January is here, I as many others really feel like having a change. I feel like having a big change. I don't intend on quitting all of animal products at this second completely, but definitely cut down on it a lot. Don't know if I'll ever manage to be completely vegan, or just end up something like... flexiterian. I ordered two vegan cook books, and bought one ebook as well. I've also lived on "heat and eat" type of dinners pretty much since I moved by myself half a year ago, so I really need to make more food. My kitchen is super small tho... oh well. Now that I live by myself I feel like I do have the power to be more vegan than when I lived at my parents.
Just because I'm sorta proud of myself I'm going to write the groceries I bought yesterday and today, it's mostly vegan friendly.

Yesterday.
Nuts
Pasta
Cereal with berries etc
Salad
Vegetables (broccoli, carrots and much more)
Vegan pizza
Potatoes
Vegan burger (+ bread)
Soy milk

Today.
More salad
Vegan "milk" chocolate
Cola
Vegan chocolate dessert
Soy milk with chocolate taste
Sushi
Garlic bread
Chips (vegan)
Smoothie (vegan)

I know, not all of those are vegan friendly, but I'm definitely buying more vegan than I used to. And while it's still early, I really like these things so I don't feel like it's hard, yet. Quitting fully would be hard I'm sure, but adding a lot of vegan friendly foods and drinks and only having a few non-vegan things are better than not caring at all, right?
The thing that would be hardest for me to give up on if I were to be fully vegan is sushi. I know there are vegan options, I have yet to try but I'm definitely going to. Hopefully it can satisfy my needs. I've been wanting to go vegan for years, but I never really tried because I've been living with my non-vegan parents. Now it's actually possible for me. I find it hard to tell people like my family that I'm trying to go vegan, because they know me as a omnivore (I think that's the correct word?) and if I were to fail, I'd feel even worse if everyone knew I was trying.

Anyway if you have any suggestions or advice I'd love to hear! For reference, I live in Norway, so if you happen to be Norwegian too and therefore have sorta the same items in the grocery stores, I'd love to get direct suggestions about what to buy. If you're not Norwegian then any general advice, your favorite easy recipes etc would be appreciated

Thanks for reading!!

 

[amberfunk]

Sushi use to be my favorite food along with seafood. The way the oceans are going and the fact that there is a lot of chemicals and other unpleasant stuff in fish was enough for me to give it up. I have found a vegan lox alternative that's actually really great. It can be found here

It was really simple to make and great tasting and super close to the real thing.

My main concern when I went vegan was missing cheese. I have since May of last year though have found great vegan cheeses. My favorites so far are the follow your heart provolone and chao cheese. After giving up dairy though after a few months I don't crave it anymore. I'm sure you'll find it to be easier going vegan as you go along than you thought originally.

 

[Veganite]

As you've so honestly stated...you're trying to make the transition. It looks to me that you're off to an excellent start. It's not easy for everyone to make the transition. I was raised the same as you in a meat eating family, full of traditions, and poor eating habits. It's not an easy thing to undo all at once for some people. For me the change was pretty fast. I just made up my mind it was what I wanted to do. I discarded everything in my place that was not vegan, and restocked fully vegan.

I do believe there are some things that can ruin it for people. One of them is lack of variety. There's no way I could live on rice and beans alone. You need spices, and you need variety. It's really turned me on to a lot of ethnic foods I may not have tried, previously. I love spicy Thai noodle dishes now. Sushi, as you mentioned, is so easy to make yourself. Being winter here in Canada, I like to make a lot of soups and stews this time of year. I enjoy those because you always get a few meals from it. Chili is yummy too, and very hard to tell from the meat version.

I must admit that YouTube is a wonderful place for recipes. I highly recommend looking there for just about any vegan substitute you can imagine. I mean sub for just about any non-vegan meal you ever loved. You can pretty much make a version of all your former favorite foods. It's actually kinda fun trying out new recipes. I recently did a mock pulled pork sandwich YT recipe made with King Oyster mushrooms. I used a smoker to lightly smoke them first. It all took a bit of effort, but it was amazing! Well worth the effort.

Lastly, just remember that it only takes two weeks to re-train your taste buds. I honestly used to think I would miss meat, but I don't anymore at all. It didn't take that long either. The thought of meat to me now is somewhat repulsive. I don't even look for meat-like recipes so much anymore. In the beginning I would try all the mock meat recipes, like seitan, for example. Homemade pizzas were a huge comfort to me in the beginning too. The more I started eating legumes, and whole grains, the more satisfied I was finding myself. My cravings now are for things like sushi rolls (veggie) and stir-fries I seem to crave a lot.

What I suggest is to keep inspiring yourself. Watch more vegan documentaries, and read more vegan literature. Get enthusiastic about it. Again, YouTube has a wealth of inspiring videos on the subject. Want to really change your mind about eating animals? Don't watch "Earthlings" on YouTube whatever you do. I do recommend watching "Forks Over Knives" on Netflix, if you have that, and "Eating You Alive" was another good documentary. I also recommend watching "Cowspiracy", and "What The health" if you can find them. You have every reason to stay inspired. Take the transition at your own pace, but don't give up.

The most important thing is to stay educated about it. Get your B12 supplements, and do the research, so you're not one of those unhealthy vegans. Eventually, I hope you take fully to the lifestyle. Best of luck!

 

[Shin]

Thanks so much for reply!!
Will watch some documentaries I've subscribed to a couple of vegan youtubers (Cheap lazy vegan, and one I forgot the channel name to but it's a Norwegian vegan girl)

Today I started the day with some cereal with soy milk, and smoothie. Had some soy chocolate milk for lunch. Now dinner is in the making, vegan burgers and fries. My day has been fully vegan, and I'm feeling very good I haven't tasted the burger or this specific type of fries yet, but I like the smell so that's a good sign at least.

In the future maybe I'll be able to eat completely clean - no "meat" (even vegan) whatsoever. I don't know though, but maybe. I'm happy with my progress so far at least, even though it's only been a few days since I decided to transition.