i'm vegan now

[Zoom]

Good luck and be extremely careful in balancing your diet. Vegans can end up with nutrient deficiencies much more quickly than vegetarians can. If you've got the time or extra cash, find a nutritionist and make out a meal plan. Be very, very conscious about how much protein and calcium you are consuming.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

Good luck.

 

[mrose_s]

yeah. thats why i read a lot on it before taking the plunge. plus my mum is a nurse and she's been making sure i get the right food into me. but i have been considerign going to a nutrionist anywya. thanks.

paige - howcome your vegan?

 

[Paige]

paige - howcome your vegan?

My childhood pony (who now belongs to my six yearold sister) lived at a cow farm. A family friend owned it and they let us keep her there for free if I let her daughter ride her twice a week. I saw baby cows being taken away from there moms and kept in a different barn at a young age because we drink milk. The mom cows went through a lot of pain being hooked up to those suction cups and were broken spirits. They were terrified of human contact and never got out of the barns except for when they were going to go get milked.

Even worse then the mother cows were the babies. The workers use to let us feed the baby cows because we enjoyed it and it gave them one less thing to do. They just wanted a mom so bad. They were kept in these tiny, tiny stalls and had poo crusted everywhere on them.

What was the worst of the worst were the bull calves. We'd go in and feed them every day and play with them because they were kept in a huge area together indoors. My favourite (who I named Smuckers) was the cutest cow I've ever met. They said I could have him if my mom would let me. My mom agreed, but the workers loaded him onto the truck to be sold for slaughter. From that day on I didn't eat meat, and over the years those cows haunted me every time I ate dairy products.

I still get teary eyed thinking of my little Smuckers.

So, the short answer to your question would be I watched cows suffer and realised if cows suffer because we eat them/ use them to make other types of food all other animals must suffer too.

 

[GlassOnion]

Just be sure you know how much it'll cost to have chickens and cow(s). You can get a tax deduction (or you can here in the states) for it but it's still expensive.

 

[Saje]

Hey mrose. Congrats. I hope it works out for you. I was a vegan for a couple years but fell off the wagon when I lived overseas. Wish I could go back but I just don't have the will anymore.

It sounds like you have a good start on your diet. It's not that tricky to get the necessary nutrients as long as you are willing to revamp your diet. You can't just eliminate you have to replace. There are lots of resources out there as you know. Let me know if you need help or ideas! I know lots of recipes and have modified any favourites to things that I would eat. I still eat vegan a lot even though I'm not. Be sure to include protein in every meal! Take digestive enzymes and beano for the transition lol.

Want my lentil loaf recipe? I think I have it on my computer somewhere.

 

[mrose_s]

sure saje, i'll take that recipe. lol. my mum is still cooking for me at the moment. she is vegetarian now and is heading toward vegan but she doesn't know if she can give up cheese easily.

Just be sure you know how much it'll cost to have chickens and cow(s). You can get a tax deduction (or you can here in the states) for it but it's still expensive.

its okay. i still live with my mum. she loves animals. we are getting chickens in the next few weeks. and she's promised me a pet jersey cow because i've always wanted one. but the cow comes after the horses... but before the goats. we're a bit animal mad i suppose

 

[GlassOnion]

You know goats can give milk too? Why not kill two birds with the one stone?

Edit: Assuming ya'll are getting the goats for mohair. Cause I know ya'll aren't getting them for the meat. Or are ya'll getting them just to have them?

 

[Tracer Tong]

I'd like to point out that DARK CHOCOLATE is vegan. I'm vegan and I eat it all the time. It's great, some of them sneak in a milk product, so just get the better stuff.

I can't begin to tell you how great it was to discover that I could eat dark chocolate. I'm vegan because of lactose intolerance, so dark chocolate is still game for me!

 

[mrose_s]

You know goats can give milk too? Why not kill two birds with the one stone?

Edit: Assuming ya'll are getting the goats for mohair. Cause I know ya'll aren't getting them for the meat. Or are ya'll getting them just to have them?

their pets. there is no way we could kill one of our animals. or send it to slaughter. we will get milking goats. my mum and my sister are mad on them. but i prefer cattle.

 

[mrose_s]

okay. thanks for that to. i'm not mad on dark chocolate. but i am a bit of a chocoholic. so i'll probably eat some none the less

 

[Dizzy]

Ooooh I once uhum, "met up" with the most divine vegan you will have ever met... *droooools*

And he cooked a vegan chocolate cake, it was blooming lovely...

There are a SQUILLION recipes on the net.

Make sure you are getting all your vits and minerals, you should be able to

 

[mrose_s]

cool. i was actually having second thoughts today when i walked down the chocolate aisle and thought "look how much i'm missing out on" and again near the sour cream, milk and the creamy pasta at the deli.

but thanks. you've all been very supportive already. and i just have to remember why i'm doing this. i have a multi vitamin, an iron tablet and a "b complex" tablet every morning to make sure that i don't miss out on what i need. plus i read the labels of nearly everything.

just today in the supermarket with mum, i relised how much easier it is not to buy so much, when usually i wouldve filled a basket with foods i wanted but didn't need. we bought 4 things, light bulbs, soy milk, soy yoghurt and cereal. it all came in under 10 dollars. i'm eating healthier and cheaper.

usually before work i would go in, maybe buy a packet of m'n'ms or a bag of chips and a bottle of coke which usually cost me about 6 or 7 dollars. well i made a deal with a mate at work that i would give up softdrink for atleast 2 weeks so i could see the difference it made. and on the same weekend i decided to give up dairy. so i went in today, actually had to think about what i would buy, i bought a bottle of juice, some almonds and some grapes and it all came to $3.85. so i had some healthy stuff to snack on at work. and you know what? i didn't even eat it all. so its still there for me tomoro. so when i could spent $15 in 2 days. i havn't even spent $4.

plus i already feel just lighter. like i'm not carrying so much bad stuff around in my system

 

[taratippy]

Well done you - have a look here for some info.

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/

 

[oc_spirit]

I wish you look as I know I personally couldn''t do it...I love meat too much LOL

Plus, since one of my dreams is to eventually own and operate a self-sustaining ranch with free-range beef cattle....ya it just wouldnt work out too well...LOL

 

[mrsgrubby]

Raising chickens especially free range really doesn't cost that much. My sister keeps chickens, and in the summer they run all over her yard and she doesn't have to feed them much at all, only in the winter time. She also gives them her compost, like the fruit rinds, stale cereal, and stuff and they eat it all, which is good.

As far as your cow, I am confused. Cows only produce milk when they have a calf. So in order to get milk from your cow you are going to have to keep breeding her, what are you going to do with all those calfs?

good luck on your quest for being vegan. I have been seriously considering becoming a vegeterian more and more lately. The idea of killing animals just hurts my heart the older I get, and the conditions of so many farms are terribly inhumane. But I do love a good steak and ribs every once in awhile, so I haven't made the leap yet, although I eat tons less than I used to.

 

[bubbatd]

To each his own .... if you believe in what you're doing , stick with it . I live off the " pyramid " .... too many dishes I enjoy . When I eat a good steak ...I try not to think of the cow .

 

[SharkyX]

You're going to need to keep an eye on all kinds of nutritional things like proteins that you'd normally get from eating eggs and what not.
Vegetarians and Vegans can have problems with protein deficiencies.

It might be an idea to talk to a nutritionist or your doctor about some of the various things you can do to counteract certain health problems that vegetarians and especially vegans can encounter after having been on these kinds of diets for years.

By being on these kinds of diets without help you can put yourself at risk of various deficiencies including Iron, Zinc, Vitamin A, B12, D(although this you can make up for by spending time in the sun!)Copper and other minerals.

You need to learn how to compensate (and not overcompensate) for the deficiencies yuo can suffer. A multivitamin is a good idea, but another thing to keep in mind is that not all multivitamins are created equally. Centrum for example, although wildly popular is not particularly effective as it has be known to not digest completely and most of the vitamins it would normally provide and flushed out of your system as waste... so that's another aspect to look at with somebody who knows these kinds of things on a professional level.

 

[GlassOnion]

As far as your cow, I am confused. Cows only produce milk when they have a calf. So in order to get milk from your cow you are going to have to keep breeding her, what are you going to do with all those calfs?

Which is why I mentioned the cost. You have to freshen the cow every year (or couple of years, I forget) with a new calf to get a continued production of milk. That and feed quality greatly affects how much a cow produces milk wise, and what quality of milk. So you're going to have to pay a bit for feed as well. Also a pregnant cow eats a lot more obviously, and won't be able to free range feed as easily so you'll have to buy feed for that too. That and the semen samples, pay a vet to artificially inseminate the cow (as studding would be much too expensive unless you just happen to know a bull owner) and then once you get the calf out, what are you going to do with it? Something tells me you're not going to want to sell it to a feedlot, or other dairy operation where they're 'mistreated'.

 

[Laurelin]

Make sure you get enough vitamins and minerals because it's harder for a vegan than a vegetarian. There's one specific thing I can't remember that is really hard to get as a vegan. Darn me for not remembering... *tries to think back to micro class* But the supplements are made from fish oil anyways...