Wannabe Vegan

Renée

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Joined
Sep 27, 2015
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43
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  1. Vegetarian
Hi all!

I've joined this forum to get more inspiration for being vegan. At the moment I am vegetarian but I hate the dairy industry and I love the cows and think it's all super cruel. Also as a health professional I know firsthand the effects of an unhealthy lifestyle-and I think raw/high carb low fat veganism is what I'd like to be ultimately.

But I do think it's a struggle.. in the UK especially. Firstly I have a baby and so I'm so busy some days I struggle to get to the bathroom! So I do need quick. I need convenience. Secondly-I'm quite the social butterfly, ahem! I love my friends and getting out and about.. and that often involves eating out.

Typical breakfast-porridge cooked with boiled water, honey (cuz maple expensive, other sugars hard to find), and lots of fresh fruit.

I try to make a green smoothie for lunch but that's not always possible.. but it all goes downhill after that. I end up snacking on crisps or whatever I can lay my hands on, and for tea my husband doesn't understand he does not need a 'protein' substitute like quorn and certainly does not require cheese-which he very nearly eats every meal.

Any tips/hints would be much appreciated! Thank you!
 
Quickly, honey is not a vegan product. Try substituting with something like golden syrup, or agave nectar, or maple syrup.

Secondly here are some links for quick and convenient vegan recipes:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/s...]=vegan&sortBy=lastModified&quickAndEasy=true
http://www.vegansociety.com/resources/recipes/quick-and-easy
veganlifestyleassoc.com/recipes (just tick 'time saving' and 'convenient)

Lastly depending on where you live in the UK there are plenty of guides (there are other kinds of guides too) to vegan friendly restaurants etc.. The Happy Cow is one good website.

But other than going somewhere specifically vegan friendly, you need to learn the tricks of the trade. For instance start asking your local pizzerias if they make their pizza dough with dairy. If not you can order a pizza marinara, that's a pizza without cheese, and any topping of your choice - even if it is not on the menu they should know what a pizza marinara is if it is an Italian business. Pizza Express even now offers a vegan pizza option. If you have an oriental restaurant near to you they often have plenty tofu options etc. you just need to learn which noodles are made from rice, and not egg. Then there are plenty of Mexican restaurants available - just ask for the veggie option without sour cream or cheese. As for Indian restaurants, check which veggie dishes are not made with ghee but with vegetable oil and avoid creamy dishes like korma. If there is a sushi restaurant the vegetarian options are almost always vegan. More and more places are stocking soy milk for coffee. Le Pain Quotidien even has a separate vegan menu and, generally, chain stores have allergy advice online which you can check beforehand. As you gradually spend more time as a vegan, you learn about good places via word-of-mouth too and you can become surprised by what you may learn. There are other threads here about eating-out too.

 
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