Vegans? Vegetarians?

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by candy_coated_bitch

For those of you who transitioned out of eating dairy, how did you go about it? I'm not sure I can be 100% vegan or not but I really want to cut back on my dairy intake. Mostly cheese trips me up. It's one of my all time favorite foods and it seems like all my favorite foods have cheese in it. Also, there really is no substitute for dairy in a cup of tea. Really, I've tried.

Also, I need to do veganism on the cheap, which is very difficult. People always tell you it's cheaper to cook for yourself and I scoff at that when I can buy a box of mac and cheese for 88¢ or a thing of ramen for a dollar or two. That's several meals right there for like $5 when you count milk and butter for the mac and cheese.

Buying a bunch of fresh veggies and cooking is not cheaper than how I have to eat now, so any suggestions on how to make veganism more budget friendly, let me know. I don't cook a lot know besides things out of a box so I also do not have a well stocked pantry. So a recipe is like an investment what with having to buy spices and all.

Help please! I don't feel like I can overhaul my entire diet at once but am looking more for suggestions of where to start small.

In my case, regarding milk (all dairy products), I just had to stop consuming dairy products because any diary product converts to sugar in the blood stream, almost instantaneously (at least in my case, that's how it went down). I also broke our in rashes; rashes that took a long time to heal.


I drink Coconut milk or coconut water instead of dairy.

I can't have soy products due to how soy products affect my natural hormone structures (female hormones) and how it has the potential to make my heart condition worse. So I don't use soy products, anymore. I did, in the beginning. But my blood tests revealed hormone changes, which my doctor linked to soy consumption; so I don't eat soy products anymore.

I am kind of a cross between being vegetarian and vegan in that I don't eat products produced by animals or eat animal meat -- EXCEPT -- for tuna, I do have Tuna in seasonal ways, maybe less than five or 6 times a year, and I do like to have boiled eggs, but not often. I don't like to eat any traditional animal meat.... because of I feel it's cruel, eating animals or raising animals to eat them. I just can't do it, for a number of reasons.


Not eating dairy is super important, for my own health recovery. Not eating things that convert easily to sugar in the blood stream is even harder. Giving up breads and certain types of grains, like pasta, was and is very hard on me... but I just commit to do the best I can, every day.

I think it's a hard thing to do, to look out for your own health and hope that one is making the right choices. I say just do what is best for you, CCB.

Enjoy what you can, while you can. Because that's what I do.


Stick with what works for you and hopefully you'll find some great cheese alternatives out there, that you can get once in a while.

Tonight I stopped at Trader Joe's and they had cartons of fresh Mission Figs.

I bought some. I'd share, if I wasn't out here on the west coast. You're out on the east coast, so that's a loooong ways from where I live. Do you like Mission Figs?