I've been a vegetarian since I was 13, I want to be a vegan but Im weak

But I can't make the change to veganism. I love BOCA and although they make vegan foods, they are twice as expensive as vegetarian foods. Technically speaking, Im an ovilactarian. I would like to make the switch to veganism and I feel that I should. I just can't though. Any ideas for help?

I've tried several times and it has just not worked for me. I decided to be compassionate with myself and stopping beating myself up for not being able to make the change. I opted for the Buddhist middle way.

Th compromise I have made with myself is that I use no animal products at home (soy milk/cheese) and eat dairy or eggs in baked goods when I am out.

Maybe one day I can finally make the leap, but for now, it works. :)

Thanks :) It might alleviate some of the guilt I feel.

I think that these are the best places to get recipes, if they will give them out.

I think the soy burgers,etc. that they have in the store are raunchy, and I can't stand them. The thing about it is, Americans don't know how to cook with herbs and spices, so our food is bland as hell, and take the female body product out of it and what to we have for flavor? Nothing.

But Indian and Asian cooking is delicious to me, no wonder they generally have less meat and dairy in their dishes because they really know how to flavor stuff. I grew up on fishsticks and hotdogs, and I think for alot of americans our palate is meat and grease and butter and salt and pepper, I know mine is.

But when I worked in health food stores I was around so many people that really knew how to use these spices and herbs to make meals that tasted like delicacies without animal products. It really is an art, and I am lazy and untalented when it comes to cooking, I'm embarassed at the way my meals turn out. Right now I am trying to convert to as many raw foods as I can, but if I were interested in veg. foods I would look at health food store delis instead of the big mass produced foods

It was difficult at first and required a lot of work/sacrifice, but once I got used to it, not a problem. It gets easier with time.

I do however have serious pizza-craving issues, but they are finally starting to make some halfway decent vegan cheese substitutes nowadays, so I'm holding out for that. But you can always get the rice and soy cheeses made with milk protein, the dairy content is very minimal and I find these cheeses to be very nearly identical to authentic, dairy cheese.

Go at your own pace and give up what you're comfortable giving up, take it a step at a time, reduce your dairy/egg intake gradually until you're really close and then just give a try for a period and see how it works.

...Be sure to order a vegan pizza from Panhandle Pizza.

You won't be disappointed.

give up dairy products, I love cheese and ice cream too much. :-(

Ultimately, that's what will drive you. For me, it's very, very easy. I don't even think about, nor miss, the things that I no longer eat.

But hey, you know, any meal without a carcass, or any time someone tries to NOT eat meat, eggs, cheese or whatever is a good step forward.

Eggs are indirectly in so many things, it is hard to keep track of. Thanks for the info all. :hi:

are sent to slaughter when they stop producing, just like regular ones. I don't know why I thought they died of natural causes and then they buried them and had a little funeral and a few flowers on the grave, but I did.

But I do think they are happier.

I don't know if I could go full on vegan - but the idealist in me really likes the idea. So what I've done recently is to order 5 highly rated vegan cookbooks from amazon. I'm not "planning" on going completely vegan (no pressure!) but I AM going to start incorporating more vegan meals into my week.

Long before I actually went vegetarian I started eating more and more like one, so when I actually made the switch it wasn't difficult at ALL.

I figure maybe it will work the same way with going vegan - once I get accustomed to eating vegan meals and more educated and comfortable with how to eat vegan the switch may come naturally. If it doesn't, I still have the benefit of cutting my dairy/egg consumption in half or better.

Going slow like that and easing into the idea and learning *what* to eat seems to work best for me before actually taking the full plunge.

I was a longtime vegetarian and always liked the idea of being vegan but I was a hardcore dairy addict and it seemed like it would be impossible. Then one day I woke up and I knew I never wanted to put what I knew to be torture products into my body again, much less, support the industries that profit off of torture. Every time you buy a product, you're telling the producer to make more of the same and I can't do that. I didn't even have to try - I was just ready.

I would just suggest looking at sites like http://www.milksucks.com and then think about what you're really buying... think of the pus, think of the torture... :)

Tips: Don't be hard on yourself and never say "can't"!

Good luck!

:hi:

I'd go vegan. I really don't care about milk at all, in fact, I hate the taste. But it's cheese that I haven't found a good vegan substitute for.

and I probably wouldn't like it. Milk no matter how fresh always smells spoiled to me. Going vegan becomes easier day by day. It is a transition period. I remember thinking how hard it would be. It wasn't. I did have to relearn how to cook alot of things, but it is easy now. Experiment and you'll see how easy it can really be.

I believe that the welfare of other species is benefitted if I refuse to eat them.

On the other hand, I have found that guilt is a very destructive emotion. Thus, I promised that I would try to limit the animal products that I eat, but in a pickle you do what you have to do. I don't believe that there is a vegan God that is going to strike me down.

For a long time, this meant that if I was in a restaurant and didn't know whether or not the pasta dish had cheese in it, then I just ate it. At home, I was almost completely vegan.

Out of necessity (long story...), I now eat more dairy and eggs. I try my best to reduce the harm that my eating them does, but I am not perfect and I refuse to beat myself up over it.