HI so im new here and i was wonderin if any vegan chicks would like to help me or maybe we could make a little vegan group on here
so i have been vegetarian for about 4 years now and i would like to make the switch in veganism. mostly to save the animals
So i was wondering is just how do i start. I drink almound milk but i eat alot of cheese :P and iw as wondering if there are ay cheese replacers or something like that and i dont eat alot of eggs. does anyone hav any good infomationtive websites on being vegan it would be very helpfull
thank you
-Kashametallic

I always went to Raley's or local health food stores, or Whole Foods, for my vegan treats. There is vegan everything : cheese, icecream, milks. Lots of stuff I didn't like the vegan cheese very much but I loved nutritional yeast which has a cheesy-nutty taste and you can make foods like really yummy macaroni and cheese!

Oh and vegweb.com is a really great website for vegan recipes! I always check it out for new stuff, or if you're craving something but want to make it vegan that website really helps

I too went vegan for the animals. That makes it easier. Whenever you want something that is dairy based in anyway, think of the exploitation of the egg and dairy industry and if you truly care about the animals, that will do it. (I don't mean for it to sound as harsh as it is written here) I went vegan from one day to the next, from being vegetarian, and never looked back. Not once.

I was at Farm Sanctuary this last weekend and they had rescued chickens from a "free range" operation. Apparently anyone can call themselves free range. There is no standard. These chickens had leg bands put on them as tiny chicks. The leg bands were not changed as they grew and they ended up causing severe wounds. Some of the chickens had permanent pronounced limps from the damage. Shows how much "free range" cares about the chickens.

I wish there were more vegans on this board. For me, being an overweight vegan is an extra isolation.

Vegweb is a great site. There are many vegan blogs too. This is one of my favorites.

http://www.myvegancookbook.com/blog/

Oh dear, I just noticed the latest entry is a brownie.

A lot of people use nutritional yeast as a substitute for cheese in some capacities. That or vegan cheese that you can buy at health food stores, depending on where you live

I think if you eat vegan cheese it will be disappointing to you. The good thing is there are substitutes that can provide you taste/flavor without needing cheese. Avocado is a popular substitute especially in sandwiches. There are Kale & potato enchiladas in Veganomicon which are so good that you won't miss cheese.

Vegan with a Vengeance was my first vegan cookbook long before even becoming vegan was a thought on my mind. I think it is a great starter cookbook but you can also check your library for other cookbooks.

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com is one of my favorite website with lots of good recipes on it.

So what do you eat cheese with? Maybe we can give you ideas on what to eat instead of cheese.

I've never been a picky eater. I'm grateful to have never gone hungry and to have always had enough to eat. Even when I was making very little money, no matter how simple my meal.

As far as vegan cheeses go, I don't mind them at all. Especially melted, I think they are pretty good. Loaded with fat of coarse. I find now that I'm vegan over 5 years that I eat much less processed vegan foods. They, like veggie dogs, are an occasional treat. Not a common part of my meals.

I'm going to look up that kale and potato recipe. Already have to cookbook.

I love eating vegan...and if you make big pots of curries/stews/soups etc you can freeze the excess in containers. Voila, ready meals on hand for lazy days...and you know everything that has gone into them! It's much cheaper making things in bulk too!

Vegan cheese is pretty rank IMO, I find it randomly makes the roof of my mouth hurt (?!?!?! Weird !?!?!)

I think that getting a good recipe for a tomatoey base sauce helps a lot and can be used in a variety of recipes, from pizza topping through to pasta recipes and a great base for chilli's and enchilada's etc. You will soon forget about cheese! Experiment with chopped or sieved tomatoes, a splash of red wine, some garlic and herbs....again, make and freeze the sauce. Fab for veggie bolognese!!!

PM me if you would like any particular recipes!

I gave up finding a good vegan cheese. I've learned to enjoy food without adding cheese! :-) You can, too! Or maybe you'll like the vegan cheeses.

Great job making the decision to go vegan, it's a great way to eat and live.

I have a blog that has some information about vegan eating- kindlifeofleah(dot)blogspot(dot)com

Hi aussienerd

Congratulations on making the switch to a healthier and more compassionate lifestyle

This is a great place to start, it is a downloadable PDF of a veggie starter kit and has some really good information. http://www.mercyforanimals.org/VSK.pdf

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me!!!

2 BIG thumbs up

Get yourself some fab vegan cookbooks, and learn The Way of the Tofu (though you can cope fine without it, it's just rather useful). You may like The Uncheese Cookbook if you're missing cheese. I went from being a big cheese-eater to being happily vegan, although I can do a nifty Béchamel sauce (though not since I started dieting!) and often have a tub of fake parmesan I've made up from that book in the fridge. It can help to focus on cuisines which are already low on dairy. I have a very nice Japanese vegan cookbook, for instance.

Y ea i was just thinking that its gonna be hard to knock the cheese off. Big cheese eater sorry cows. But what i was thinking was to knock off everything but cheese then gradually knock it off and test smoe vegan cheese then try to knock that off.
I have been looking through all the links you gave me very helpfull thank youuuu

I like to make tofu ricotta instead of using pre-made vegan cheeses.... crumble up some tofu with basil, salt pepper and a little olive oil. Wonderful for pizzas!

I bought vegan cooking for dummies which is a great book. Another great help to me was checkinf out vegan blogs on blogger and found great easy recipes there.