I have been vegan 21 years, and vegetarian since I was 11 years old.

[VeganVeteran]

Obviously the 'movement' has had a lot of attention recently.
AMA :)

Do you eat mostly home made and healthy food?

I went vegan for about 4 months last year but I found the time it took (planning and cooking to make sure my diet was nutritious) wore me out and I had to stop because I seemed to spend so much time finding and trying recipes and prepping/cooking. We do have food allergies in the house though so it felt like it added another 'issue' into the mix.

How tall are you? Do you feel that being a vegetarian /vegan affected your growth?

catnamedeaster I did until roughly a year ago, when I got rather fat so now unfortunately I low carb or 5:2 much of the time.

I am one of those people who puts weight on if they eat 'normally' and have always been that way, unfortunately!

I love cooking and once I've lost the timber I hope to introduce more of it, especially now it is so much easier to come across new ideas for recipes. I can see why with allergies too it'd be difficult. When I low-carb I tend to stick to the same few things. I suppose It'd be good to do a lot of meal-planning if you wanted to give it another shot. Always feel free to PM me for any help :)

Turquoisa I'm only 5'3. I don't suppose I have any way of knowing for certain. I am an only child so nobody to compare with! I doubt it though. Nobody in my family is very tall. My Mum's 5'2 and my Dad about 5'8-so it'd be very unlikely I'd be tall regardless.

Thanks for answering, I think you can be really strong and healthy on a vegetarian diet but I have always wandered if it affects height. I'm of Indian heritage(gujarati, hindu) and our diets are primarily vegetarian and we are tiny. I'm only 5 foot and I have noticed that Europeans whose diets are meat and dairy heavy are tall but obviously that can be attributed to our genetic heritage.

Hi, really keen to know about how you maintain healthy Iron, vitamin D and B12 levels.
I like these ways of eating but couldn’t maintain healthy levels. Lack of these nutrients can cause tiredness and depression like symptoms so I was wondering how you avoid this.

Why are you a vegetarian/vegan? What are the main motivators?

I went vegetarian about 8 years ago for environmental reasons, but the quick surge in vegetarianism/veganism over the last couple of years has me worried. If so many companies are quickly having to adapt to the demand then I fear they're being just as destructive. I find it tricky to get my head around.

Ooh super, thanks for offering to do this! My question is how to feed a family? My dd and I both feel bloated after, we think, dairy and she has flakey skin and big spots so we’d like to give it a go.
Dp and Ds turn up their nose when they get a wierd veggie stew plonked on their plates!
I feel the same as catnamedeater so much planning! I’m sure once you get into it it’s easier. Should you want to post a typical day, week…..😂

To the person who asked about height - I'm an identical twin and I was vegetarian from 12-22. She wasn't. My sister is 1.5 inches taller and one shoe size bigger than me. I'm convinced being vegetarian played a part in that.

@Turquoisa80 found your name to tag. See my post above.

Just saying hi - fellow veggie (since conception), vegan ten years. Nice to see this AMA

I’ve never eaten meat or fish and I’m 5’8” with size 8 feet - I’m muscular (gain muscle easily) and strong compared to many women. I have never been deficient in b12, iron or any other nutrient beyond vit D. I currently have slightly high iron which can only be from dietary intake. My skin is healthy and plump and my hair is glossy and grows insanely quickly. I have slightly too much padding now I am 40 tbf but I am a classic hourglass.

I would love some receipes that are lower in calories. I do find a lot of my dinners on the high cal side due to the amount of carbs 😫

The questions about growth are so dated, it's the sort of rubbish my grandad would rattle on about when I became veggie

I've been veggie since I was 11 and have raised my 2 dc as strict veggies.
Ds is 16, 6ft and still rapidly growing.
Dd is 5ft 8 and 19
Interestingly they are both a very healthy weight, unlike their cousins who have grown up eating meat!

Turquoisa80 Despite noting different heights and heritages, I have honestly never thought about that? But then East Asian people (sorry if that's the wrong term) are small too and eat meat, albeit not in as large quantities as westerners do. If I were to hazard a guess, as someone who has researched a lot about nutrition but is nowhere near expert level, I'd say so much of it is to do with a long line of genetics.
Being tall has its drawbacks too, when it comes to joints, pain, diseases of the bone, stress on our extremities etc. Not necessarily something great?

southbucksldn I've never had an issue and I have had tests due to other unrelated issues (not to do with general health per se, but random health issues that could have possibly been attributed to nutrient deficiency, quite a good few of them). I was actually told I had 'too much' B12 by one such professional. I'm definitely not depressed.
I do have tiredness- like symptoms but I've never been great at sleeping, that does run in my family. I think largely, you can have a bad diet as a meat eater or a vegan or all in between. Have you been tested and had depleted nutrient levels? I'd like to learn more about things like that, especially as I know it worries a lot of people if they want to change their eating habits/consumption.

reesewitherfork (I LOVE that username) I was a vegetarian from 11 years old because I loved animals and just realised I couldn't be that and also eat them. And then when I learned of how cruel the dairy industry is, I couldn't do that either. It wasn't easy in the late 90s, but it was doable (I was around 20). Once I learned of the environmental impact, obviously that sealed it for me too, I have always been quite conscious of the 'bigger picture'.

Nobody can change the world by themselves, but everybody can do their bit. I know what you mean, consumerism is by default destructive. But I still believe it is the path to least harm possible, given how much power humans have. Supply< demand.

cleanbedlinen12 Short of sounding like a preacher, I honestly think of the phrase 'You're not lactose intolerant, you're just not a baby cow'.
Unfortunately dairy is so normalised. But IMO it shouldn't be. It's not good for us, and of course, there are some nutrients in it, it wouldn't make bovines grow rapidly otherwise but none that cannot be obtained elsewhere.

If you post a typical week's menu with dairy I could probably help (or PM me it?), it definitely gets easier as you learn new things, I guess like anything, if something works in one dish it'll work in a similar one. I am not the biggest fan of a lot of dairy replacements but I have also learned a lot of workarounds (and they weren't a thing in the 90s)!

@Phrenologistsfinger

Just saying hi - fellow veggie (since conception), vegan ten years. Nice to see this AMA

I’ve never eaten meat or fish and I’m 5’8” with size 8 feet - I’m muscular (gain muscle easily) and strong compared to many women. I have never been deficient in b12, iron or any other nutrient beyond vit D. I currently have slightly high iron which can only be from dietary intake. My skin is healthy and plump and my hair is glossy and grows insanely quickly. I have slightly too much padding now I am 40 tbf but I am a classic hourglass.

And yes to this, the 3 of us have glossy hair, good skin etc and have never had any deficiencies!

I apologise, I have to go to work now, but I will respond to everyone else later :)

Same here but from a younger age, so I don't have any questions. But good to see someone similar!

Is it difficult to low carb as a vegan? What's a typical breakfast, lunch and dinner for you?

Thanks vegan veteran id actually forgotten that. It’s a really good saying. Like you, I don’t fancy the bought alt. milks - some seem to have all sorts in. I have deliciously Ella book so will go and try her oat milk. I won’t bore you with our meal plan ( I’d be embarrassed!) but if you don’t mind a few workaround tips..
I’m guessing make oat or almond milk ( which seems insanely expensive)
I’m also wondering about gluten, as me and dd feel bloated. Also couldn’t eat wheat when pregnant. She also has very dry flaky skin and enormous spots. All this talk of glossy hair is very interesting 🧐

@Turquoisa80

Thanks for answering, I think you can be really strong and healthy on a vegetarian diet but I have always wandered if it affects height. I'm of Indian heritage(gujarati, hindu) and our diets are primarily vegetarian and we are tiny. I'm only 5 foot and I have noticed that Europeans whose diets are meat and dairy heavy are tall but obviously that can be attributed to our genetic heritage.

I don't think it does. My best mate was a vegetarian since childhood and she's 5'8. I ate meat and am 5'3. Asian people are generally shorter populations anyway regardless of diet.

I've been vegetarian for 45 years, vegan for the last 32.
It's certainly a lot easier than it was, and is so mainstream now, you won't struggle to eat well.

I am back-sorry today has been manic!

phrenoologistsfinger hello! I am envious that you have been a lifelong vegetarian :) I so wish I had been.

You sound like you're a shining example, too :)

I am pretty strong and healthy looking, I put on weight last summer but that was definitely just from eating too much good food and drinking too much booze :)

I am not as good an example of you though-I have very good skin but my hair is fine and thin. It always has been, and has been made worse by teenage/twenties me dying, bleaching, hair extension-ing....

alrightFella what kind of recipes would you like? I agree it is very easy to find carb-heavy recipes as a vegan. I make the dreaded (by Mumsnet) massive salads a lot when I am trying to lose, with seeds, faux chicken pieces, oil, olive, avocado, or try using celariac 'chips' instead of potato ones. Surprisingly nice! If you're just wanting lowER carbs, nourish/'buddah' bowls, falafal and salad,roast chickpeas and roast veg in a lower calorie sauce,noodle salads, curries/chillis and jacket potato (depending on how lower on carbs you're going obviously!)

I also make broccoli and pea fritters quite often, they're lower in calorie if you don't fry them and don't eat the whole lot of them like I do

I love coconut and chickpea curries personally, and I often forgo the rice and have cauli or celariac mash. I LOVE carbs, but I don't want to look like a human crossed with a doughnut.

crosbystillsandmash It's not one I've been asked before! I've been told I must be very unhealthy etc etc and my Dad wasn't happy when I first announced I wasn't eating meat any longer, I had a few lectures but I don't remember anything about height. Good to know you're all healthy!

cherrysthename hello :) I don't know anyone else vegan in real life, and only have one or two vegetarian acquaintences.

Aerielview Yes It's difficult! But it seems to work and I am not someone who carries extra weight well so for now it has to be done :(
As above, I make lots of huge salads and add olives/avocado/seeds/faux meats/oil/dressings. I make 'shepherds' pie with vegan mince and cauli mash. Celariac chips and low-carb sauces, It's boring and I hate it,this thread is actually making me really miss real food now .

I have never been someone who 'does' breakfast so I'll just have coffee, but the rest of my food is a variation of the above while low carbing.

When NOT low carbing I love wraps, hummus and crackers, veggie burgers, chillis, curries, roast veg pizzas, burritos, fajitas, and anything greek :)

cleanbedlinen please let us know how that goes, I'd love to try making my own. And you're welcome. I hope you and your DD both find a workaround and feel better soon, too.

maireas I surrender the 'veteran' title I gave myself. :) that's amazing.

You will also remember the days when going out to eat meant jacket potato and beans or nothing! So glad the movement has taken off :)

I do remember that, @VeganVeteran!!
Also travelling back in the day was interesting, especially in the former Soviet Union!
Even in Germany and France it was hard to get vegetarian and vegan food.
You get resourceful
Keep up the good work!

I've been vegan for 36 years and veggie for 48. Even tasting anything not vegan becomes almost like a carnivore eating a human, I think.....unthinkable. I wish I could be as disciplined in other areas of my life, sigh.

If you were in a life or death situation would you not just eat whatever you could get your hands on? Don't you think that vegans is pure Western indulgence?

I can’t help but be reminded of the classic joke about vegans… said with affection from a veggie/aspiring vegan.