Struggling to be a vegan!

Curlyhatescurls

Hi All,
I've been vegetarian for over a year now and vegan for three months. Becoming vegetarian was very difficult for me, my family is a huge meat and seafood eating one so I was brought up eating and LOVING the taste of meat and seafood. But I gave it all up for ethical reasons and then naturally I became vegan for these same reasons. But I LOVED cheese and dairy so much:(

Basically, sometimes I feel I might snap and give it ALL up, even being a vegetarian, because I crave meat and seafood and cheese so much. I know that would be weak but sometimes I get the feeling that my OH(also a vegan) and other vegans never really liked the taste of meat as much as I did and so don't understand. I feel like I am going crazy sometimes, all I can think about is succulent meat! When will I stop craving them?? How do I stop craving them?

Sorry for the super long post!

blatantrereg

Maybe you just need to find non-meat foods you enjoy more.

Indian restaurants often have good vegetarian menus. Not sure about vegan though - they use ghee in a lot of things, which is made from butter. Might be a good way of finding non-meat food you might like a lot.

cosmic

If you're craving meat perhaps you're deficient in something. Are you eating enough fats? Or getting enough vitamin B12? Try eating an avocado a day for a couple of weeks and see if you feel any differently.

sweet-rasmus

Have you tried many meat/seafood/cheese substitutes? If so, which ones and did you like them? Perhaps aswell it would be good to find a substitute you might really enjoy

Gauge

Might be a good idea to go for some tests just to rule out any deficiencies. I'm not sure how true it is but I have heard cravings for meat can indicate deficiencies in iron, fat or B12 and these are things that can be sometimes difficult to get enough of in a vegan diet.

You say you were big into meat and dairy before- when you cut these out, did you replace them with new sources of protein and fat?

Curlyhatescurls

Thank you for all the great replys! You might be correct in the deficiency in something. I take supplements for calcium and B12 and iron but what a few of you said about fats worries me. I have replaced dairy with soya milk, that being said I don't drink much of it. I try to be good with replacing protein with beans. I don't know about the fats though, what can I eat that would have fats in it? Avocados, nuts, bananas?

The substitutes for meat, fish and cheese tend to be quite expensive, I've had a vegan pate before which was probably the nomiest thing ever, the cheeses are SO disgusting, has anyone here actually had a fake cheese that doesn't have that weird foot taste? Like a mild one? Linda McCartney's sausages are my treat, they taste like REAL sausages

blatantrereg

Nuts and seeds are high in fats. They also often contain minerals found in meat like zinc, magnesium, chromium.

sweet-rasmus

Sorry, I can't suggest any great tasting vegan cheeses! I've tried a lot and I quite like the hard cheddar Sheese one for toasted cheese sandwiches. And those 'dairy-free: cheddar' and 'dairy-free: parmesan' are quite nice on pasta (you can get them in some healthfood stores and quite often Tesco). Have you tried Nutritional Yeast flakes over some of your meals? It has a nutty/cheesy (if you could call it that) taste, which adds a bit of flavor.

I really like the Vegetarian Choice sausages too. Cheap and they do the trick. Quite different to Linda Mc Cartney and much tastier in my opinion

sarahfancy

Curlyhatescurls wrote: »

The substitutes for meat, fish and cheese tend to be quite expensive, I've had a vegan pate before which was probably the nomiest thing ever, the cheeses are SO disgusting, has anyone here actually had a fake cheese that doesn't have that weird foot taste? Like a mild one? Linda McCartney's sausages are my treat, they taste like REAL sausages

I ordered cheese from a Swiss company that has a distributor in the UK, called Vegusto. It actually tasted like cheese. Quite good and MUCH better than the Scheeze stuff you can get. Shipping was quite expensive, but the stuff freezes as well and I found a German company that ships here for much less. PM me if you want details. I guess the Swiss do know their cheese!

Thoushaltnot

Yep, I've heard of that crowd too and a member of the vegan soc asked a few of my buying group would we be up for sharing an order.
If I'm not much mistaken, they were having a tasting day in Cork today. Yup;

"Cork Vegans will host a free food tasting of the excellent Vegusto brand of vegan foods this Friday night at 6.30pm in Cork. Vegusto are quickly becoming known for their tasty and wide ranging foods, in particular their vegan cheeses.
Although they are not yet sold in stores in Ireland, they are available online. Any orders over £100 to Ireland will receive free shipping.

For more information on Vegusto see here


From Cork Vegans below:

“Free Vegan Food at the Vegusto Promotion

Open to the Public - All are invited!!
Huge selection of Vegusto branded vegan food products such as cheeses burgers, sausages, and roasts. Served with salad and bread.
Drinks available downstairs in the bar.

Friday, 13th of January, 6.30pm in the Fransiscan Well, North Mall."

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to post this before - the Vegans Ireland mailing list is well worth signing up to.

paddyandy

I've no problem at all being a vegetarian but vegan is another matter altogether .There are many items in the shops with dairy and it's a job finding items that don't .. and have taste .i gave up finally . I'm not sure i'll make another effort and cookin' is not my thing at all.

Tar.Aldarion

vegan cheese...made from cashew nuts.

http://www.re-imagined.org/2012/01/vegan-cashew-boursin-cheese.html

Dublin Vegetarian Reviewer

To make a great Parmesan substitute: Toast sesame seeds (40g) and blend with nutritional yeast (25g) and a pinch of salt. Blend until it looks like dust. Works a charm everywhere you would use Parmesan.

Recipe from "500 Vegan dishes" by Deborah Gray