New Vegan needs guidance

[Pooky1515]

Hi all. I am new here so first let me intro myself. I am married, have a nine week old daughter and a kindergarten teacher (though currently stay at home mom for as long as the savings last). I have been vegetarian for about a year but as soon as my daughter was born I realized I wanted to become vegan.

While I have read almost everything that I could get my hands on about veganism (and this site is a godsend by the way) and I have several cookbooks, my time both to cook and shop is very limited. I am having a very difficult time finding enough to eat. It didn't seem this hard when I became vegetarian.I'm sure everyone here faces the same challenges with time but you all make it sound so effortless. I was wondering if you guys can give me some tips and strategies on how you make it work for you such as eating out, what you feed your family and yourself, household cleaners, personal care products etc.

My husband and extended family are very concerned about this direction I have decided to take my life and the life of my daughter in and the added pressure from them isn't making this transition easier. Any help would be appreciated.

[Teejay]

It isn't easy at first, especially as (I find) I have to do a lot of cooking from scratch -- vegetarianism is still hard, but there are so many more ready-made products than for vegans!

However, you can try: double or triple-cooking and freezing the extra, if you have freezer space. You can also look for Amy's products -- they are a bit expensive to eat every day but they are fantastic meals and snacks and in my area you can get them in the Kroger health freezer section.

We eat a lot of pasta-based and rice-based dishes, which increases bulk. I mean in terms of feeling you are getting enough to eat.

One way to feel very well-fed is to make sure you are getting good protein. (I know meat-eaters always think we don't get enough protein, and it's true it's hard to find ready-made stuff that isn't expensive -- but there are ways and means!)

The best tip I can think of in this regard is seitan . It's wheat protein and very easy to make at home. You don't need to buy the commercial mixes or ready-mades (although they are very good). You can get a large bag of the gluten flour for about 5 or 6 dollars -- sounds a lot, but you get several meals out of it. My family just adores it. I don't know if you have ever eaten Chinese-style/Buddhist imitation meats in a restaurant, but that's what that is made from. However, you can make it into almost anything. My family especially loves the "unturkey roast" style of making it, and I find if I make it once, we get about three days' eating out of it. I always feel that I have eaten really substantially after a seitan meal.

Also, check out some of the great online vegan stores -- you can purchase by telephone from them if you don't like using the web for that -- and they will also in some cases send out print catalogs. There is Pangea (www.veganstore.com), VeganEssentials (www.veganessentials.com) and A Different Daisy whose URL I'm not sure of but it's easy to find with a search engine. If you can't easily get vegan groceries in your area you will find some great stuff there. I absolutely rely on Pangea and Vegan Essentials.

Sorry this is so wordy but I really want you to feel supported. It does get easier, it's just a matter of knowing what's out there and where to go.

We don't eat out much so I can't help on that one. Asian-style eateries seem to be most supportive of vegans, apart from veg*n restaurants themselves. I believe there is also a vegan/vegetarian guide to fast-food places which may come from the Vegetarian Resource Group if I remember correctly.

This site itself -- I mean VegFamily -- is full of info like this, too.

But most of all I would recommend: try making some seitan, try freezing extra meals when you cook, and have a look at the online stores for ideas. They have lots of dry grocery stuff that can be made up into meals.

[blas]

bulk dry TVP -use in chili soup spagetti etc
make a bunch and freeze in recycled little hummous size containers--
meals in minutes for home or on the go

also the time taken can be a wholsome and rewarding experience ESPECIALLY if the whole family joins in/helps out

very educational and informative and u can be creative and have different variations

i don't eat out much but i now know of 5+ vegan restaruants in seattle and 2 in columbus oh

making your own food is definately more affordable and more rewarding and u always know whats in it and the source of the ingredients

co ops, health food stores, and natural food sections at grocery stores and also asian markets offer a nearly never ending supply of options and ideas

now i am hungry from writing all that
hope that was semi helpful

[Pooky1515]

Thanks you guys for the great suggestions. I guess I just need to realize anything worth doing is going to take some effort and I need to make this a priority, for me and my daughter.

[Blinky]

If we ever eat out, we go to Fazolis and get the spaghetti with marinara and we order dry bread sticks which they give to us for free. We bring our own little container of margarine and garlic powder. They say their noodles are egg-free.

A good way to make sure you are eating enough vegetables and saving yourself time is to cut up a bunch of your favorite veggies (carrots, celery, cabbage, onion, and green pepper, ect..) and store them in a compartmentalized container in the fridge. (keep the onions separate) This makes it so easy to just grab some veggies for a snack, make a veggie stir-fry, or throw them into whatever other recipe you are making. I know that before I did this, sometimes I would just opt on not making whatever is was that I wanted to make because I didn' t feel like spending the time cutting up veggies. Now I just reach for my container in the fridge.

I was just thinking yesterday how it would be nice to have a big freezer for the purpose of making extra when I cook to save for later.

I hope this helps!

[5xblessed]

Just a few more ideas. I also keep cut up veggies. I eat some with hummus almost every afternoon. I also find dried fruit bits and nuts are a great take along or evening snack. I like to go for bulk so I feel really full. Pasta, rice, beans are staples. You can make them about 1000 different ways. Try some web surfing. There are lots of recipe sites with vegan ( or easily made vegan) recipes. I have found with my kids ( I know yours is young but this might be true for you too), that some "burger" or "hot dog" type analogs go a long way toward making them feel "normal". We don't eat out too often but Italian and chinese are often easy to manipulate. I hope this helps. Hang in there!
Lisa