Ok so I have been a vegetarian for 8 months now and am starting to think i need to head the vegan route. I am scared, I LOVE ice cream and cheese. However, I feel sooo guilty that what I eat is causeing so much pain and suffering. How did you guys make the switch?

Have you ever had coconut milk ice cream? cashew milk ice cream? hemp milk ice cream? ha I know they aren't healthy but those taste better to me than any cow's milk ice cream ever did.

I also used to love cheese.

For everyone the switch is different I think. For me, one day I was eating steak, the next day I was vegan. I didn't find the transition hard. I read Eat to Live right before I did it which helped me believe I could do it if I said "ok I'll do it for 6 weeks".

I personally don't think dairy is healthy for us to eat and I think it is a good thing to give it up.

i'm doing it slowly. every time i go grocery shopping i buy less animal products. its taking some time but im almost all vegan. the only thing i'm worried about giving up is cheese but i've been looking into all the vegan "cheeses" and there are surprisingly a lot of them!

and like nelie said there is vegan ice cream i've seen it in lots of stores where i live, plus you can always make your own.

I was doing the low-carb thing here that most everyone on this forum talks about. I was also counting calories. There was so much meat and dairy products. I wasn't really losing (or gaining) despite all my hard work. In the back of my mind was always the wonderful book I read by Peter Singer called "The Ethics of What We Eat". Even though I read this book years ago, I still remembered passages clearly. I remember him describing his experience of visiting a vegan family in the Midwest. The mother had made a wonderful, filling, lentils, vegetable, and brown rice dish. He talked about how healthy they looked, in comparison to the majority of the other people that lived in the small midwestern town. Not only were they healthier, but they were not contributing to the suffering of any animals and were also environmentally responsible.

Then, I somehow forgot Singer's lovely book in the name of Weight Loss. I started ignoring animal suffering and irreversible environmental damages in the name of weight loss. Funny thing was, I STILL wasn't losing weight! I gave up on my ethics and had nothing good to show for it. Earlier this year, I happened to see an interview with Alicia Silverstone promoting her work in "The Kind Diet". She looked beautiful and more vibrant than ever. She pointed to the fact that taking on the vegan ethical standpoint leads to better health and often leads to weight loss. Why I couldn't connect these two points in the past - I'm not sure.

So, I dove into vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and fruit smoothies. I stopped counting calories, I stopped weighing myself everyday. I started really sticking to my 4-5 times a week jogging schedule (4-5 miles). I started embracing water. I personally avoid all of the vegan cheeses and dairy (outside of soy/almond milk). Its expensive and complicated.

I cannot say I am a 100% vegan because my boyfriend sometimes cooks dinner and he loves to add cheese (and fresh cheese is VERY important in Germany). I am a vegan 95% of the time.

In my view, we live in a world where we have little to no way of expressing ourselves politically. And how much does our vote REALLY count? (I am not saying NOT to vote). Singer brought out in his book that one of the most effective ways to express our political opinion is through the dollar. In a sense, you are making a small vote every time you buy something. I try to keep this as a top priority when I shop.

I know my butt is getting tighter (from the jogging), that I have much more energy, that I am compelled towards health. My clothes are fitting better, I have more confidence. I feel now I have to eat according to my ethics and exercise to keep my body strong. If that makes me slightly heavier - then that is the natural weight of my body. I cannot say for sure, but I hope to never turn to calorie counting or scales again (obsessing over what it says).

well said bonnnie. i too have stopped calorie counting and becoming less obsessed with my weight. i still care but its not the most important thing to me. i mean there is no reason to do those things when you know what your eating is super healthy for you (if you stay away from the processed foods). i feel like i can rely on the vegan diet in a way I could never rely on any other diet.

I used to be vegan on and off, but could never really stick to it for more than a few days, then I read "The China Study" by T. Colin Campbell. Suddenly now all things animal are really unappetizing to me. I used to go vegan because I cared about the animals, after all I wouldn't eat my pets, and I think all animals should be treated with the same kindness and respect. But somehow when I look at a hotdog or a slice of pizza I don't connect it emotionally to animals. "The China Study" gave me a lot of information about the health benefits of a vegan life style. So now when I look at animals products or processed foods I connect it with me and my life and my health, and I can't easily disconnect with that.

If you want some great vegan cheeses, try the "Uncheese Cookbook" by Joanne Stepaniak, it has lots of recipes for making all sorts of different vegan cheeses.

Soy ice cream from the grocery store is pretty good. Almost every single vegan cookbook I own has several ice cream recipes included aswell. I've never made any because I don't have an ice cream maker, but they look like they'd be really good and are pretty simple to make.

Regarding ice cream. If you want to make your own, KitchenAid makes an attachment for their mixers that is an ice cream maker. If I recall correectly it costs around $50-ish. I got mine from foodnetwork's store online. And it is AMAZING! Very easy to use, clean, etc. I haven' made ice cream since last summer, and wasn't planning on it anytime soon, but someone mentioned using almond milk to make it so if I can find a recipe, I'm all over it. I'm neither vegan nor vegetarian, but the calories in regular ice cream are out of my league! No more heavy cream or vegetable based non-dairy creamer for me. Too much fat. Time to goodge for vegan ice cream recipes. Thanks, chicks!

Barb

Good comments. I went vegan, gluten-free and processed sugar (and basically all processed foods) about six months ago. But because of some nutrition issues I've decided to have a very small amount of organic, free-range dairy.

It's amazing how well you can eat with "natural" foods. Yet - even with all that I stopped losing weight about a month ago. I suspect it's portion size and need to up the exercise.

***I'm going to have to try some of the Vegan Ice Creams - especially if they have less processed ingredients!

in the 20something thread we were talking about this "ice-cream" you peel and cut up and banana then freeze it then put it in the food processor or blender and it has the texture of icecream. i added some vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, and maple syrup and refroze it after blending it. it was amazing in my opinion, i felt like i was cheating even though it wasn't bad at all!

so if your going vegan how are you doing? i'm doing pretty well, i got rid of my nonvegan food (except honey, thats going to take me longer to part with). i've also started reading Diet for a New America by John Robbins and I have been looking up a lot of stuff n the internet, mostly recipes. Just made some vegan blackberry muffins last night!! They are delicious, the bf liked them too!

As with some others, I went from being a full omnivore to a vegan. I just decided to do it and . . . you know, did it. I too was worried about cheese. I thought I would miss it, but I actually don't. Just about every flavor and texture in an omnivore meal is available to us. The more you explore the world of vegan eating, the more confident you'll feel. Good luck!

Thank you for all your replies. I have not atrted yet, I still have about 1/4 gallon of lowfat icecream I will eat before I start. I am going to the store to check out vegan cheese today. I am hoping to go vegan on Monday. What do you guys get whn you go to restaraunts?

Personally, I would not use vegan cheese for a few months if you are trying to transition. I think you may find them disappointing if you are eating regular cheese and then trying to switch to vegan cheese.

There are some good cookbooks like the uncheese cookbook, your library might have it and daiya is probably the best melty vegan cheese available.

As for restaurants, I often eat out in vegan/vegetarian restaurants When not, I look for options and most restaurants except seafood will probably have choices. I went to California Pizza Kitchen the other day and they have a guide on their website regarding what foods are vegan or can be made vegan. I like Chipotle a lot because you can easily make a nice filling vegan meal. Also if you have any ethnic restaurants in your area, often they may have vegan options. We go to an ethiopian restaurant every once in a while and middle eastern food tends to have a few options.

I guess I'm officially vegan. I tried to eat cheese again for a couple of weeks - and I felt horrible. Heh.

I went through "the change" early (I'm about to be 47 and I can't say I'm sorry I'm no longer... well... "visted") but I have Osteoporosis in my family and I'm not getting the calcium I need.

I better get back to research, find out what I can eat, tell the Dr. I can't consume the dairy (but for organic cream in coffee - that I can't/won't give up).

I guess once you feel how terrific it is to be free of processed foods (and most meat is so laden with chemicals) it's hard to not feel so good.

I just have to be less lazy and find my way to my special calcium needs.

ElizRuth - I bought coconut creamer the other day for a recipe if you are looking for a vegan alternative, there are some.

There are plenty of plant based foods that have calcium in them and animal proteins actually leech calcium from your bones.

You know - I asked my doctor about that (animal based foods leeching protein) and he said there was no better/easier way to get calcium.

When are medical schools going to begin teaching nutrition/prevention? guh...

You know - oddly - I have some coconut milk in my pantry right now. I will have to try that!

Thanks!