Going vegan

[foibles2011]

Hi all

Looking for some guidance really. I'm seriously considering changing to a vegan diet as I have an autoimmune condition and there are known benefits. However if I'm honest I'm a bit clueless on how to make the transition for two reasons;

1. I have children who I dont want to change over - I strongly feel that if they want to later they can but it should be their choice - so I'm not sure how to manage mealtimes etc
2. I honestly don't know on a meal to meal basis what I would eat - ie I hate soya milk so what do I have for breakfast I'm sure a banana would get boring everyday!

Can anyone with experience give me some tips? I want this to work. Not be some fad diet 🤣

TIA xxx

I am not vegan, but we had to adapt to vegan diet due to my ds's allergies. It's not as difficult as you think.
These are my favorite vegan website and youtube channels. And there are many more, if you look for vegan recipes.

vegevega.com/
www.youtube.com/channel/UCw0-cIprjDcIwOPlvo5U8aw

@xerochrysum thank you thats really helpful x

Firstly there's a lot of dairy free milks other than soya e.g. almond, coconut (not the type in a tin!), oat, etc. I think they all take a bit of getting used to if you're used to drinking milk.
For breakfast you can still have bread (check the ingredients though), oats, most cereals, vegan sausages, fruit, dairy free yogurt, jam, marmalade, nut butters.....
I think you need to be more creative with your cooking if you're not eating meat to ensure that you replace the protein with vegan sources. If you just drop the meat and eat carbs and veg then you'll be starving. So you need nuts, seeds, pulses, beans etc in place of the meat and add plenty of flavour to them as on their own they aren't always the tastiest!
I would build yourself up gradually e.g. drop meat first but keep eggs and dairy, then phase those out. Maybe try some of the mealbox delivery kits to help get you started?

I eat largely plant based and don't like beans much, so I sub with a lot of quinoa/brown rice and like edemame so use it a lot.

For health you want to focus more on incorporating leafy veg/fruits into your diet and try not to rely too much on vegan junk food.

To start, I highly recommend itdoesnttastelikechicken.com which is great website/blog that shows you how to turn your favorite recipes "vegan".

I use Pinterest a lot, last night made a chickpea based "meatloaf" which isn't half bad, as well as a fantastic mushroom and wild rice soup. I eat porridge with flax, berries, almond for breakfast, never bother with "milks" unless it's in a smoothie and then I drink almond or oat milk.

I also usually have a salad with a grain/tofu/falafel for lunch and then something hot for dinner. If you're working out a lot, make sure your carb intake is decent for your energy levels.

You definitely can't survive on salads alone which no matter how many different ways you make it, is going to get boring!

I'm far more interested in making plant based recipes than meat based ones.

My kids eat meat so I usually plan their dinner in advance and then prepare food separately for myself (especially if I've not tried a recipe before!)

Good luck!

I follow a vegan diet to try to lower my cancer risk of 60% due to a genetic condition.
When I did the switch, the rest of the family did not. What we do, is that I usually have a couple of raw veggies (grated carrots with parsley and a lettuce) or some cooked one (green beans or roasted zucchini) and I would have some tofu/ beans for me , and my family a steak, piece of fish , you get it.
Occasionally, we all have the same meal that is accidentally vegan, A minestrone, in which they would add some parmesan , and I would sprinkle nutritional yeast.
The benefits for me would come not only from avoiding animal protein, but also from eating large quantity and great variety of vegetables, so there is always plenty of that.
In addition, I keep in my fridge a container with quinoa, or black rice.

For breakfast, I often have a green smoothie (kale, spinach, blueberries, flaxseed) or rolled oats with flaxseeds and some dates and cinnamon. Or black bread with crushed papaya

I drink soya milk, because soya is recommended for those with a breast cancer risk. There are many brands, and many tastes.

There is a vegan board on MN and several discussions about veganuaryj. But lately it is very much fake food, ultra processed Frankenstein-food oriented, with fake sausage, fake cheese, fake whatever and if your goal is health, these ultra-processed will likely do more harm with all the additives and process,
You will find however recipes www.mumsnet.com/Talk/vegan

MY piece of advice is not to look for a vegan version of a specific taste you have in mind, but embrace the discovery of a new way of cooking.
Books I recommend are Valter Longo and Luigi Fontana for health benefits of vegetables-heavy diets, not necessary vegan but strong argument against artificial food.
Chances are there are specific recommendation for your autoimmune condition. I selected and made my diet based on Pubmed papers

@foibles2011 something very important about vitamins and supplements:
you MUST supplement with B12.
I recommend you have a blood test before you start and then every six month to check for iron, vitamin D and Omega 3 index.
When I changed to vegan diet, I did all the right thing, vegan nutrition book, even a nutrition course , a dietician revised my diet, but despite all, I became definitely deficient especially in omega 3, even if I was eating flax seeds, walnuts, chia seeds. I damaged my cognitive abilities but regained them after supplementing with EPA -DHA.

There is a big difference between a mineral content in a food and your ability to extract and use it. Also, many of the nutritional values for a food were made 50 or more years ago. The soil and agriculture has changed. An apple in your garden and an apple picked when unripe and kept to close to freezing temperature to reach supermarkets 10 months later will not have the same nutrients.

I use cronometer.com to control all my minerals and vitamins, and of course, all my macronutrients. It is free and way superior to MFP.
You need to earn a bit about food and their mineral content and the role oxalate play. Spinach is rich in calcium but their oxalate content mades it unusable for you and so on.

A vegan diet requires planning AND supplementing.
I strongly recommend blood test and

• vitamin B12
• Plant based EPA_DHA (don't rely on ALA, I was eating 800% of recommended amount and converting a big fat zero)
• zinc

-Iodine drops (unless you eat seaweed)

• vitamin D
• if taking calcium you must take it with K2 otherwise calcium goes in your arteries and not bones

Vegan can be the best to the worst diet, like any diet. It is not so much what you don't eat that matters (animals) but what you give your body and brain to function.