What foods to eat?

[Remi]

Hi everyone,

I've decided to go vegan for health reasons, and I was hoping I could get some ideas on what you eat as a vegan? I'm a student so it can't be really expensive >.< also I'm trying to put on some weight which I already know is possible as a vegan.

Meat: I'm not fussed over it, I often have tofu, vegan alternative or Quorn.
Dairy: I'm intolerant so that is already off my list
Eggs: This I think will be the biggest struggle for me, I have eggs quite often, what could I replace them with? At the moment I am eating my parent's chicken's eggs but when I move back to Southampton for University I'll have to cut those out.
Other stuff: For example honey, what things should I watch out for?


I've grown up with a vegetarian step-mum so I can cook some vegetarian dishes, but I think I will struggle with packed lunches, filling snacks and quick meals to wizz up.

Thank you for reading

 

[Damo]

Hey Remi.

Happy you're thinking about becoming vegan though it may be a little hard to jump into the deep end, I originally started as a vegetarian and when I knew I was ready I transitioned to vegan.

I've never had Quorn before though I believe most if now all contains egg?

Honestly... I don't know a substitute for eggs I've never really liked them though I'm sure someone here will be able to help... Another is milk/dairy I found a bag of potato crisps that contained milk that surprised me, literally blew my mind so I guess keep an eye on the label on the back.

Things that contain honey are pretty obvious though if you're not sure you can always check the ingredients.

I do my best to eat anything that came from the ground naturally I'm not a huge fan of processed foods though they are there for when I can't be bothered to lift a finger to make my own food. If you're looking to put on weight... You could always go crazy with the carbs?

Don't forget about B12, you need it regardless though it's harder to obtain on a vegan diet so give this a read.

 

[Remi]

Thanks ^^

 

[Damo]

No problem

 

[Remi]

Just thought I'd update my progress, I've been eating Vegan for 3 weeks now with no major problems.

I'm lucky to not crave animal products, I love freelee's approach (high carb vegan) and it's been going great, here are the main meals I eat:

Breakfast: Cereal or Porridge with mashed banana and raspberries/cherries with almond milk.

Lunch: Nut Burgers, Pasta with some sort of sauce I've made for the week, Sweet Potato, Curried vegetables.

Dinner: Dahl Masala/BBQ Bean mix with rice/potato/pasta or Spaghetti Bolognese.

Snacks: Vegan protein bars, Soy protein shake, Salted crisps, Tomato Salad (a big quick one usually), Chestnut jam on bread, Chai seed drink.

With most of my meals I'll have some fresh veggies as well like spinach and tomato.

I've also been taking Holland & Barrett's Vegan multivitamin and mineral which has B12 in it as well as some other stuff a vegan diet may be lacking, sort of like a safeguard for me. My favourite meal is just the Bean mix which I just mix baked beans with 3 other types of beans (i.e. kidney beans) with vegetables, spice and some BBQ sauce which has a good amount of protein and calories.

I've never been a big fan of meat so the only meat replacement I use in mince meat made from soy. I've discovered a tonnes of new foods such as quinoa and chai seeds. I'll keep experimenting and discovering new foods as I go.