tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768194447362766862.post7769688495012295948..comments2023-08-24T07:48:00.752-07:00Comments on Vegan in Bellingham: Tips for New Vegans: A Post for SaraClarissa Mansfieldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15982051385939165447noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768194447362766862.post-44844879292766234482013-07-23T18:09:50.131-07:002013-07-23T18:09:50.131-07:00I've been a strict organic vegan for a year, 3...I've been a strict organic vegan for a year, 3 months, 2 weeks and 4 days :)! I've been told it's normal for many of us to obsess the first year or so about food and go through a challenging stage until it gets more familiar. I sure have! First realize that there are a lot of UNHEALTHY vegans out there, so please think about it before you jump in or you'll end up living on vegan snack foods and gaining weight and feeling puny! I also was disappointed initially by many recipes that didn't turn out, and being one who loves to cook, I decided to take a little different approach which might work for some of you. Take a recipe you already make for dinner. For example: Tacos tonight? Put all the usual stuff in them (tomatoes, olives, cabbage or lettuce) except omit the sour cream, cheese and meat. Replace these with mashed sweet potatoes, sliced avocado and some black beans and corn. I saute some onions and peppers, stir in the corn and beans and you have a nice mix to put on your shell. The mashed potatoes keeps it moist. Since my husband isn't vegan, it allows us to still eat essentially the same basic meals. Oatmeal for breakfast? Toss 2 or 3 tablespoons of chia and hemp seeds on it, fruit like blueberries or raspberries and some rice or almond milk. This way you get the protein. I carry some raw mixed nuts in my purse for emergencies. I'd like to say it is easy to convert but it wasn't for me. We are a huge minority so it helps to have a commitment to the reasons you chose to go vegan in the first place as this gets you through the adjustment period. The hardest part is eating out. I have lost interest in doing so as variety is so hard to find. We need to get more vegan chefs. because I hate to say it, conventional chefs hearts don't seem to be in it! I recently had to eat out for 4 nights on a business trip with my husband and they were told ahead of time to prepare vegan dinners for me. Guess what? Spinach salad with raspberry vinaigrette, quinoa with Portabella mushrooms and black beans all 4 nights with minimal adjustments/changes and no imagination so I felt like I was eating the same stuff every night which essentially I was! There is a huge opportunity for variety with vegan cooking, but it's going to take a long time before you find it in restaurants. So, start small, read a lot on line about vegan cooking and get familiar with all the foods you never knew existed. It really can be satisfying and you know you are doing your part in protecting animals, the environment and your health! Clarissa is right when she says you need to think about all the foods you CAN eat and are available to you. I'm still a vegan work in progress! loumurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15333590434703490311noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3768194447362766862.post-40785199820862015252013-07-21T20:44:22.304-07:002013-07-21T20:44:22.304-07:00I went vegan for a week to see what it was like. A...I went vegan for a week to see what it was like. At the end of that week I felt better than I had I felt in a long time--so I knew this was what I wanted to do. Clarissa asked me how it was and I told her it was easier yet still difficult--all at the same time. The difficulty was the disruption in my convenience foods: grabbing a muffin when I was running late and whatnot. But now? I don't even think about it. <br /><br />Do what you can. And if you need to, ease into it. This will give you time to adjust, figure out alternatives, and whatnot. I thought it was be much more difficult than it was, and in the last almost five years, I've gotten to the point where I don't even think about it anymore. Elizabethnoreply@blogger.com