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Going to try going vegan for a while - need some help

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bigtruckguy3500
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9:49p, 12/27/20
So, call me crazy, but I like experimenting and thought I'd give this a try. Just had my cholesterol numbers run, and it's pretty good, so I'd like to see what going vegan does for me.

I don't eat a lot of meat currently, but I do eat a lot of eggs and drink a decent amount of milk. Plan is to eliminate all eggs and dairy once I run out of what I have on stock now. Only animal product I'll continue to take will be whey protein that I'll likely mix with soy milk going forward.

Here's where I need help: I'm pretty busy, and work pretty long hours. Eggs have always been a good, nutiritious, quick and easy to prepare meal when I got home. When I think of vegan meals, I think of stuff that takes much longer to cook (chopping veggies, boiling/steaming, baking, pressing tofu, etc.). I don't want to just buy a freezer full of vegan microwave food, or live off PB&J either. So...

1) What kind of foods meal prep well on weekends and that'll last me through the week?
2) What should I be stocking up on during my weekly grocery trips?
3) Tips for getting enough protein from diverse sources?
4) What else do I need to know to make the transition easier?
5) And should I do an easy transition, or should I go cold turkey?

Thanks
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Milwaukees Best Light
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10:04p, 12/27/20
AG
Can a vegan eat a sea cucumber?
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Goodest Poster
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11:29a, 12/28/20
AG
I did a 3 week vegan fast. Ironically, I gained quite a bit of weight and lost a lot of muscle mass.

Protein- chickpeas...several protein shakes are vegan friendly

Hacks- "pasta" made from Chickpeas or heart of palm

Snacks- guacamole was a life saver

I think you should go cold turkey. I did. After day 3 it was pretty natural. I found that life isn't worth living without eggs, cheese, and of course-meat.
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GAC06
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In reply to bigtruckguy3500 • 11:33a, 12/28/20
AG
Vegans don't go cold turkey
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Bruce Almighty
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12:12p, 12/28/20
AG
Before I had kids, my wife and I did a semi vegan diet. All breakfasts, lunches, snacks and 3 dinners were vegan. 2 dinners were fish only and the other 2, we ate whatever we wanted. Those two whatever meals really helped with us sticking with it. If I wanted a cheeseburger, I'm going to eat a cheeseburger instead of some faux healthy version of it.

My weekday breakfasts were usually just a Kashi granola bar and some berries that I ate in the car. Oatmeal topped with fruit and nuts on the weekend. My go to lunch was charro beans topped with avocado and some corn tortillas. I made a big pot on Sunday and ate throughout the week. I didn't use bacon but used some chipotle, smoked paprika and smoked sea salt for the smoky flavor. Snacks were fruit, nuts and one small square of dark chocolate that I ate after dinner.
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Tanya 93
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1:48p, 12/28/20
Then you are not vegan if you do whey protein


But if you are serious, do not buy cheese or chicken substitutes

They suck


Learn to like the flavor and texture of beans.
Lots of high fiber foods

Avocado is your friend

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K2T2
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2:41p, 12/28/20
Being vegan, or in your case, plant-based, is super duper stupid easy nowadays.

1. Prep: What do you prep now? Prep that. If it's a protein, think of something that'll be a good sub and prep that at the beginning of the week (I like to do tempeh bacon, refried beans, 5-spice tofu or a thinly sliced seitan for sandwiches). If you eat a LOT of cheese, think about making a sub. If I know I'll be eating nachos, frito pie, migas, tacos throughout the week, I'll make some cashew queso. If you're eschewing processed foods and going whole foods plant-based, you might want to make things like sour cream/cream cheese/things like that for the week. The only veggies I prep are the ones for my partners sandwich bc he has absolutely no knife skills. I like to prep soup for lunches.

2. Weekly grocery: What do you eat now? Buy that. If it's cheese, think of alternatives. There are great vegan cheeses like Violife and Miyoko's, or you can make your own subs or just use something completely different. Cheese now seems like such a crutch as far as food creativity, anything creamy and salty and fatty will work - smashed avo/guac, a creamy/spicy mayo based sauce, you get the idea. Need butter? Country Crock plant butter sticks or Flora butter are incredible. Earth Balance is trash. I always make sure I have nutritional yeast, a **** ton of butter (I bake a lot), smoked paprika, miso, soy sauce, liquid smoke, tempeh, tofu, all of my favorite veggies, my favorite sauces, rice, pasta, pasta sauce, veg bouillon, and plant milk. Your weekly grocery list will look different because we like different things. My favorite lunches are stir fried frozen veggies with a protein + stir fry sauce + juice of a citrus fruit, or pot stickers + a whole buncha steam-fried veggies + gyoza sauce, but like...buy what you like.

3. Protein: Have you had a hard time getting enough before? If so, be concerned and track your macros. If not, and you just hear people throw the protein thing around when talking about veganism, if you're getting enough calories and not eating like a trash can, you're probably getting enough protein. Beans, lentils, seitan, plant-milk, TVP, tofu, tempeh, nuts, edamame, all of the fun processed foods, and pretty much everything else you eat, your veggies and grains, will have protein. If you're drinking a protein drink now, as an omni, you're almost 100% getting TOO much protein. Your body doesn't need that much. You can probably just ditch it, or switch it out with a vegan one if it's a habit. My favorite is Orgain, but loads of people use Vega because it was the first mass produced, well marketed vegan protein powder - it's very stevia-y to me.

4. BIG THING, esp bc someone here said they gained weight and lost muscle tone over only 3 weeks, EAT ENOUGH! You're ditching very high calorie foods like dairy, cheese, eggs, and meat, and either replacing them with a lower calorie sub, or in some cases, not bothering to replace them at all. If you're hungry, EAT! If you're hungry on a plant-based diet, it's not because of the diet, it's because you haven't shoved enough down your piehole. It's entirely possible this will involve some rethinking how you compose your plates from a protein + sides approach to a bowl/balanced plate sort of approach where you end up eating alternatives instead of cutting things out completely.

Also, there are TONS of awesome vegan meat and cheese subs. Don't be afraid of these, esp if you eat any convenience food at all. It's all processed, vegan or not. Field Roast makes great sausages, Boca makes awesome chicken patties, Gardein makes great everything, Violife, Moocho, Miyoko's are all great for cheese, Vegenaise is the gold standard for mayo, and better than regular mayo (in the eyes of many omni friends who buy it over Hellman's), Just Egg makes these awesome egg patties you just toss in a pan and throw in a sandwich. Take your brain out of the space that vegan food is all either processed crap or raw vegetable rainbow bowls. Eat food you like, just ditch the animal products.

CHECK MENUS before you go out to eat. If there isn't good ingredient info, things with no cholesterol are almost always plant-based.

5. Put a hard stop on buying anything animal-based at the store/restaurants and finish up what you have at home. Ditch the whey protein powder once you've finished it. A slow, soft transition will make it muddier about when you completely transition, and this is a health thing, so it's okay to take it seriously.
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bigtruckguy3500
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In reply to K2T2 • 8:13p, 12/28/20
Thanks, that was a very helpful post.

1. I don't really prep a ton now, other than chopping up raw veggies for the week (Like a bunch of broccoli, carrots, and zucchini) to either eat raw or throw into eggs or something. I just figured I'll need to plan ahead more since I can't just boil up some cheese filled ravioli or scramble some eggs last minute. But I suppose I can go with the Boca Burgers and other similar things last minute.

2. Nutritional yeast is something I've been looking at exploring more of. I just bought some vegan bacon seasoning that's pretty good, but it's all based on nutritional yeast with some other spices thrown in. I figure I can probably recreate a lot of it much cheaper if I bought some. And it seems like you can throw it in a lot of different things. I think I need to think more about my grocery list and what will need to be restocked weekly and what can last longer

3. I do actually have a hard time getting enough protein on workout days. My non-workout days is probably 70-80g, workout days I boost it to about 100+. Probably barely enough for my size. So for now I think I'll need to stick with the supplements, but I'll log my food and see how it goes. Perhaps buy some more soy milk.

I'm a big bean guy already. I do black bean soups so that shouldn't be a problem. And I do chickpea indian curry, so I can do that some more.

5. I think I should be able to put a hard stop on any animal based products. All it really comes down to for me is replacing eggs, milk, and occasionally some cheese. Those are really my only animal based products I frequently purchase. Unfortunately they're all calorie dense, so I'll have to figure out how to replace it all.

I've been a fan of Boca Burgers for over 15 years. But I'm still trying to figure out how to make tofu taste good. I can make it palatable, but haven't figured out how to make it good yet.


Did you notice a big price difference in grocery bill when you transitioned?

Again, thanks for the help.
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Martin Cash
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In reply to bigtruckguy3500 • 9:14p, 12/28/20
AG
bigtruckguy3500 said:
So, call me crazy, but I like experimenting and thought I'd give this a try. Just had my cholesterol numbers run, and it's pretty good, so I'd like to see what going vegan does for me.

I don't eat a lot of meat currently, but I do eat a lot of eggs and drink a decent amount of milk. Plan is to eliminate all eggs and dairy once I run out of what I have on stock now. Only animal product I'll continue to take will be whey protein that I'll likely mix with soy milk going forward.

Here's where I need help: I'm pretty busy, and work pretty long hours. Eggs have always been a good, nutiritious, quick and easy to prepare meal when I got home. When I think of vegan meals, I think of stuff that takes much longer to cook (chopping veggies, boiling/steaming, baking, pressing tofu, etc.). I don't want to just buy a freezer full of vegan microwave food, or live off PB&J either. So...

1) What kind of foods meal prep well on weekends and that'll last me through the week?
2) What should I be stocking up on during my weekly grocery trips?
3) Tips for getting enough protein from diverse sources?
4) What else do I need to know to make the transition easier?
5) And should I do an easy transition, or should I go cold turkey?

Thanks
Ok, you're crazy.
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Max Power
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7:42a, 12/29/20
AG
If you're looking to go vegan and keep up your protein I recommend Orgain protein powder. Dairy and I don't always get along so I've used their protein powder on occasion and it's pretty good. Some of the vegan protein powders can have odd tastes/textures. You can normally find it at Costco, I've only had the chocolate one, but I do recommend it.

Though I'm not vegan the advice I would give to anyone trying out a new diet is to put effort into making the food taste as good as possible. Going to be pretty tough to stick with any routine with bland food. Stir fry/asian dishes, and Indian food are going to be great places to start to find vegetable centric dishes that also taste great. I have a couple of cookbooks from Thug Kitchen, which are all vegan/vegetarian food, would be worth a look for you to start finding specific dishes that sound like a fit for your tastes, plenty of other vegan cookbooks out there that could help a person make that transition.
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K2T2
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In reply to bigtruckguy3500 • 9:40a, 12/30/20
bigtruckguy3500 said:
Thanks, that was a very helpful post.

1. I don't really prep a ton now, other than chopping up raw veggies for the week (Like a bunch of broccoli, carrots, and zucchini) to either eat raw or throw into eggs or something. I just figured I'll need to plan ahead more since I can't just boil up some cheese filled ravioli or scramble some eggs last minute. But I suppose I can go with the Boca Burgers and other similar things last minute.

2. Nutritional yeast is something I've been looking at exploring more of. I just bought some vegan bacon seasoning that's pretty good, but it's all based on nutritional yeast with some other spices thrown in. I figure I can probably recreate a lot of it much cheaper if I bought some. And it seems like you can throw it in a lot of different things. I think I need to think more about my grocery list and what will need to be restocked weekly and what can last longer

3. I do actually have a hard time getting enough protein on workout days. My non-workout days is probably 70-80g, workout days I boost it to about 100+. Probably barely enough for my size. So for now I think I'll need to stick with the supplements, but I'll log my food and see how it goes. Perhaps buy some more soy milk.

I'm a big bean guy already. I do black bean soups so that shouldn't be a problem. And I do chickpea indian curry, so I can do that some more.

5. I think I should be able to put a hard stop on any animal based products. All it really comes down to for me is replacing eggs, milk, and occasionally some cheese. Those are really my only animal based products I frequently purchase. Unfortunately they're all calorie dense, so I'll have to figure out how to replace it all.

I've been a fan of Boca Burgers for over 15 years. But I'm still trying to figure out how to make tofu taste good. I can make it palatable, but haven't figured out how to make it good yet.


Did you notice a big price difference in grocery bill when you transitioned?

Again, thanks for the help.
1. Chopping veggies is great, and you CAN just boil up some vegan cheese filled ravioli, check out brands like Kite Hill or Rising Moon, and you CAN just grab some Just Egg and scramble that up just as quick as a regular egg if convenience foods are in your budget. You can also make tofu scramble in about twice the time it takes to make a regular egg (so like...still less than 10 minutes), and it's a great use for all your veggies you already prep if you throw them in there for migas or scramble or something aaand can be prepped for the week like anything else.

2. Nutritional yeast is great. If something needs a little more of an umami/savory/cheesy/nutty/toasty flavor, it's your best friend. It's great for super quick homemade parm, scramble, making things chickeny, making things cheesy, or adding that oomph you might be missing. I've never used a bacon seasoning, but yes, you can def make a cheaper version of that sort of favor profile at home. For bacon, try a combo of soy sauce + maple syrup + liquid smoke + smoked paprika + fresh cracked black pepper. In addition to tempeh or tofu bacon, you can marinate seitan in this, roast veggies in this combo, make chex mix...I use this combo ALL the time.

3. It sounds like you have protein under control and use some eat plant-based proteins already!

5. There are great subs for all of those - milk will be the easiest to switch out, soy and pea are the closest fat/protein wise. If you don't want something totally processed, tofu scramble is awesome, and there are all sorts of other tofu-based eggy things like frittattas, quiche, that kinda stuff. Just Egg is also a super great alternative if you have deep pockets. And if you're only an occasional cheese eater, swapping out for a good vegan cheese or a homemade alternative is easy if you know the good brands. I don't eat cheese all that much anymore, not because it's bad, but bc vegan cheeses are basically empty calories for me, and if I'm eating empty calories, they're gonna be cookies.

Tofu is AWESOME. It can do anything. You can cube it and pan fry it til crispy for a stir fry, coat it in cornstarch or broken up takis and pan-fry or bake for a bowl or salad topper, I love to toss in in some sort of flavorful saucy marinade thing and braise/bake it in the oven until it's full of flavor, turn it into a scramble, a quiche, a slab for a breakfast sandwich, marinate it and turn it into feta, etc. It has a zillion different possible textures and a zillion different things it works well in. Give it salt, give it fat. There are a ton of resources online that will all basically tell you the same ways to cook tofu, but try and get your info from someone who doesn't eat meat (aka knows how to build flavors without animal fats and cheese) and is reputable (aka they prob have a book).

And yes, I did notice a difference - it's cheap to eat like this. If you're stuck on convenience foods and premium brands like Impossible, Beyond, Kite Hill, Miyoko's for every meal, it will be expensive just like any other animal-based premium/convenience foods. But if you just eat like a normal person, your grocery bill will probably go down or stay the same. There will probably be a bump up front as you switch over to some vegan staples. It's cheap AF to be vegan!

I hope this all helps your cholesterol, and in general, makes you feel better!
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K2T2
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In reply to Max Power • 9:41a, 12/30/20
Max Power said:
If you're looking to go vegan and keep up your protein I recommend Orgain protein powder. Dairy and I don't always get along so I've used their protein powder on occasion and it's pretty good. Some of the vegan protein powders can have odd tastes/textures. You can normally find it at Costco, I've only had the chocolate one, but I do recommend it.

Though I'm not vegan the advice I would give to anyone trying out a new diet is to put effort into making the food taste as good as possible. Going to be pretty tough to stick with any routine with bland food. Stir fry/asian dishes, and Indian food are going to be great places to start to find vegetable centric dishes that also taste great. I have a couple of cookbooks from Thug Kitchen, which are all vegan/vegetarian food, would be worth a look for you to start finding specific dishes that sound like a fit for your tastes, plenty of other vegan cookbooks out there that could help a person make that transition.
^ Every bit of this is really good advice.
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MichaelJ
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In reply to bigtruckguy3500 • 12:26a, 12/31/20
AG
bigtruckguy3500 said:
Thanks, that was a very helpful post.

1. I don't really prep a ton now, other than chopping up raw veggies for the week (Like a bunch of broccoli, carrots, and zucchini) to either eat raw or throw into eggs or something. I just figured I'll need to plan ahead more since I can't just boil up some cheese filled ravioli or scramble some eggs last minute. But I suppose I can go with the Boca Burgers and other similar things last minute.

2. Nutritional yeast is something I've been looking at exploring more of. I just bought some vegan bacon seasoning that's pretty good, but it's all based on nutritional yeast with some other spices thrown in. I figure I can probably recreate a lot of it much cheaper if I bought some. And it seems like you can throw it in a lot of different things. I think I need to think more about my grocery list and what will need to be restocked weekly and what can last longer

3. I do actually have a hard time getting enough protein on workout days. My non-workout days is probably 70-80g, workout days I boost it to about 100+. Probably barely enough for my size. So for now I think I'll need to stick with the supplements, but I'll log my food and see how it goes. Perhaps buy some more soy milk.

I'm a big bean guy already. I do black bean soups so that shouldn't be a problem. And I do chickpea indian curry, so I can do that some more.

5. I think I should be able to put a hard stop on any animal based products. All it really comes down to for me is replacing eggs, milk, and occasionally some cheese. Those are really my only animal based products I frequently purchase. Unfortunately they're all calorie dense, so I'll have to figure out how to replace it all.

I've been a fan of Boca Burgers for over 15 years. But I'm still trying to figure out how to make tofu taste good. I can make it palatable, but haven't figured out how to make it good yet.


Did you notice a big price difference in grocery bill when you transitioned?

Again, thanks for the help.


Vegan is pretty hard core - have you considered trying a whole30?
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fta09
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In reply to bigtruckguy3500 • 10:11a, 12/31/20
AG
Why vegan? Just to see if your numbers get better? You mention later about working out and having a tough time hitting your protein target. If by chance you are working out to become stronger or build muscle, this isn't something I would consider. Possible, yes, efficient and easy, no.
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K2T2
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In reply to fta09 • 10:31a, 12/31/20
fta09 said:
Why vegan? Just to see if your numbers get better? You mention later about working out and having a tough time hitting your protein target. If by chance you are working out to become stronger or build muscle, this isn't something I would consider. Possible, yes, efficient and easy, no.
Animal-based foods are the only ones that contain cholesterol, that's why people ditch them when their cholesterol spikes. It's also no harder to gain muscle as a vegan than as an omni, esp if you just offload your protein deficit onto a supplement like OP already is doing as an omni. Super easy as long as you're eating and doing the work to actually build muscle.
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fta09
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1:23p, 12/31/20
AG
Eating 175g of protein a day is enough of a chore as it is with whey protein powder, steak, chicken, fish, and eggs. I am eating all damn day and from some of the best protein sources available.

Now, if you aren't strength training and aiming for that much protein, I am sure a normal protein intake is easily achieved.
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Martin Cash
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4:21p, 12/31/20
AG
I can sort of understand vegetarianism.

Vegan is just lunacy.
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bigtruckguy3500
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In reply to K2T2 • 11:16p, 12/31/20
MichaelJ said:


Vegan is pretty hard core - have you considered trying a whole30?


My diet is already pretty clean. With the exception of whole milk, occasional whole wheat bread, and rarely some pasta, and my whey protein, I really don't eat much processed stuff. But it's no where close to Whole30 strict.

fta09 said:
Why vegan? Just to see if your numbers get better? You mention later about working out and having a tough time hitting your protein target. If by chance you are working out to become stronger or build muscle, this isn't something I would consider. Possible, yes, efficient and easy, no.


Yeah, just a little bit of an experiment. I figure just trying it for a month or two won't put me too far behind on improving my strength.
K2T2 said:
Animal-based foods are the only ones that contain cholesterol, that's why people ditch them when their cholesterol spikes. It's also no harder to gain muscle as a vegan than as an omni, esp if you just offload your protein deficit onto a supplement like OP already is doing as an omni. Super easy as long as you're eating and doing the work to actually build muscle.


Yeah, cholesterol is interesting. Research suggests that dietary cholesterol doesn't have a direct impact on plasma levels in the majority of people. But most of the vegans I know that also eat healthy and exercise have outstanding cholesterols. One, for example, has a total cholesterol in the 90's with an HDL in the 50's.

So, I'd like to see what happens in myself. Am I someone that's very responsive to dietary cholesterol or not? Those vegans I know, who are very athletic, including a former division I quarterback all swear by it, never intended to do it for as long as they did. Maybe I'll feel better, maybe I'll feel worse. We'll see. Just an experiment.
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The Pilot
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1:35a, 1/1/21
AG
https://elavegan.com/

Wife and I did vegetarian for the month of June. Above website was great eventhough it's vegan, we adjusted some recipes to just cover vegetarian but not vegan.
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fta09
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In reply to bigtruckguy3500 • 8:37a, 1/1/21
AG
Good luck! I agree that you always hear stories of how great people feel on a vegetarian or vegan diet. Not sure I could do it full time. I have also heard you should take it slow when and if you transition back to meat.
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nai06
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1:28a, 1/4/21
AG
Nutritional yeast is awesome! I have an air popper for popcorn and always sprinkle some nutritional yeast on it.

We go through a ton of veggies like broccoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, etc. We always toss wit avocado oil, season, and throw it into the air fryer. Fresh or frozen, its super easy and fast to get lots of good flavor.


As mentioned before, find subs for the foods you like. Block out a morning or afternoon and walk the grocery store, read labels, and find what will work for you. I really like the Banza brand pastas.

good luck to you!
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K2T2
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In reply to Martin Cash • 2:51p, 1/4/21
Martin Cash said:
I can sort of understand vegetarianism.

Vegan is just lunacy.
You have that backwards. Most people who are vegetarian don't want to eat an animal - but when they drink milk, eat cheese, or eat eggs, they're eating products that directly cause the death of the dairy cow once she's no longer producing milk in an economical way and male chicks in the hatcheries that are useless and get killed because they don't produce eggs. So veganism actually makes MORE sense from the perspective of not hurting an animal, which is the main reason most people choose either lifestyle.

But please, explain how not hurting animals as far as is practical is lunacy.
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Garrelli 5000
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7:46p, 1/4/21
AG
I'm not vegan so can only offer this - *****in Sauce, original or chipotle.

There are copycat recipes but I havent tried them yet. It is almonds, water, oil, nutritional yeast, brag amino acids, lemon, and spices.

I eat it from the tub with a spoon..

Edit - that is witchin with a B. What an asinine thing to filter...
Take the trash out staff.
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FIDO*98*
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10:38p, 1/4/21
AG
Here's a few recipes I created

Try the taco recipe. I prefer them to meat tacos at this point. The mushroom cheesesteaks are legit as well. I may try and work on some stuff for that thread soon. I made some roasted beet and maitake mushroom "muffulettas" a while back that were killer. I didn't bother with pics or a write up and now can't find maitake anywhere.

I'm not a full time Vegan, but, still 90+ percent plant based. I'm about to start another marathon training program so will probably transition back to stricty plants within the next few weeks.
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nillbors likensoaxe
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7:54a, 1/5/21
AG
Wife and I did semi-vegan (still had meat or eggs, no dairy, 2-3 meals per week) for a while late last year. About to start back up since holidays behind us. Works great, felt great, lost weight.

Go to feastingathome.com. Gourmet vegan.

My wife is a phenomenal cook and some of these recipes are some of my favorite things she has ever made. Portobello fajitas are unbelievable. Most of these recipes are a little involved. But, well worth the effort.
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bigtruckguy3500
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2:18p, 1/10/21
So, I've started the transition. Was expected to be full vegan by now, but I had more milk, eggs, and cheese ravioloi in my fridge than I thought. Have made the switch to soy milk (kinda chalky, strong beany flavor, not a fan), should finish my last 3 eggs today, and then my last bit of ravioli tomorrow.

Have increased my cooked vegetable intake (raw veggie intake is the same). Have also started eating more nuts and dried fruit (desert).

I do have some dark chocolate and dark chocolate almonds that I'm going to ration out over the next few weeks as a treat. Technically not vegan, but I'm also going to finish out my whey protein so it doesn't go bad/to waste either.

Cooked a bunch of beans, stocked up on lentils, brown rice, onions, garlic, etc. Bought a bunch of various vegan spices (vegan bacon seasoning, chickenless chicken seasoning, umami seasoning) to keep things tasty. Plan on cooking lots of bean based soups, or rice and lentil combos, for meal prep and freezing for those times when I can't cook ahead at the beginning of the week.

But I think by the end of the week I should be able to be 98% vegan. I anticipate I'll probably gain 2-3 pounds of water initially, as I go from medium carb medium fat to high carb low fat. But I'm sure I'll be eating below my daily caloric needs, so anticipate I'll gradually slim down (everyone I know that has gone vegan has slimmed out).

Will post periodic updates.

Oh yeah, and Soy Rizo. That's good stuff. Still thinking about all the ways to incorporate it. Also have a dozen frozen PB&J sandwiches in case I need to grab something for lunch.
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5:51p, 1/10/21
AG
Make ahead Vegan is a solid cookbook that sound like could be helpful for you.

FYI, Tofurkey Soyrizo is probably the best brand.
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eric76
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In reply to bigtruckguy3500 • 5:33p, 1/13/21
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bigtruckguy3500 said:
So, call me crazy, but I like experimenting and thought I'd give this a try. Just had my cholesterol numbers run, and it's pretty good, so I'd like to see what going vegan does for me.

I don't eat a lot of meat currently, but I do eat a lot of eggs and drink a decent amount of milk. Plan is to eliminate all eggs and dairy once I run out of what I have on stock now. Only animal product I'll continue to take will be whey protein that I'll likely mix with soy milk going forward.

Here's where I need help: I'm pretty busy, and work pretty long hours. Eggs have always been a good, nutiritious, quick and easy to prepare meal when I got home. When I think of vegan meals, I think of stuff that takes much longer to cook (chopping veggies, boiling/steaming, baking, pressing tofu, etc.). I don't want to just buy a freezer full of vegan microwave food, or live off PB&J either. So...

1) What kind of foods meal prep well on weekends and that'll last me through the week?
2) What should I be stocking up on during my weekly grocery trips?
3) Tips for getting enough protein from diverse sources?
4) What else do I need to know to make the transition easier?
5) And should I do an easy transition, or should I go cold turkey?

Thanks
About 30 years ago, I was having trouble digesting meats. That was especially true for beef. After talking to a Chinese woman I knew, she gave me a book written by a medical doctor who had developed a cancer and tried to deal with it by eating a macrobiotic diet. He survived for years before finally passing away from the cancer.

I never did go macrobiotic, but I did become more or less vegetarian for a couple of years. "More or less" because I wasn't trying to be vegetarian, per se, but was just eating what seemed to keep me well. I would occasionally eat a little fish but that was about it. Mostly, it was vegetarian.

One of my favorites was to make a vegetable tempura. I tried several sauces from the grocery store and finally settled on one that was based on apricots. Those were some really fine meals.

Also, I would make falafels to eat with pita bread. They were nearly as good as the vegetable tempuras.

I tried to eat rice and beans most days to get the protein building blocks that I needed.

One thing that worked well was to cook some beans overnight in a crock pot along with an onion. Then for lunch the next day I would smush up some beans (to keep them from rolling around) and put them on a whole wheat bun. Then I would put mustard on top of that, some sliced onions, and alfalfa sprouts and the top of the wheat bun to make a bean sandwich. That was really good and was about the only thing I could put mustard on -- I missed mustard more than anything else for a couple of years.

Pancakes were good, too.

Also, trips to a vegetarian Indian restaurant were good on occasion.

I don't know about vegan food, but for my change in diet what probably helped me most was the fact that I made the change overnight instead of trying to slip into it slowly.
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eric76
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In reply to Max Power • 5:38p, 1/13/21
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Max Power said:
If you're looking to go vegan and keep up your protein I recommend Orgain protein powder. Dairy and I don't always get along so I've used their protein powder on occasion and it's pretty good. Some of the vegan protein powders can have odd tastes/textures. You can normally find it at Costco, I've only had the chocolate one, but I do recommend it.

Though I'm not vegan the advice I would give to anyone trying out a new diet is to put effort into making the food taste as good as possible. Going to be pretty tough to stick with any routine with bland food. Stir fry/asian dishes, and Indian food are going to be great places to start to find vegetable centric dishes that also taste great. I have a couple of cookbooks from Thug Kitchen, which are all vegan/vegetarian food, would be worth a look for you to start finding specific dishes that sound like a fit for your tastes, plenty of other vegan cookbooks out there that could help a person make that transition.
A few months ago, I went over to a friends house for supper. Him and his wife are vegans and his wife's sister (who lives next door) isn't.

They had several different vegetable dishes, but none of them were seasoned at all. I was a bit puzzled by that.

The meal was fine, but if I had to eat it every day, I would definitely want some seasoning in it.
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eric76
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In reply to bigtruckguy3500 • 5:44p, 1/13/21
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bigtruckguy3500 said:
MichaelJ said:


Vegan is pretty hard core - have you considered trying a whole30?


My diet is already pretty clean. With the exception of whole milk, occasional whole wheat bread, and rarely some pasta, and my whey protein, I really don't eat much processed stuff. But it's no where close to Whole30 strict.

fta09 said:
Why vegan? Just to see if your numbers get better? You mention later about working out and having a tough time hitting your protein target. If by chance you are working out to become stronger or build muscle, this isn't something I would consider. Possible, yes, efficient and easy, no.


Yeah, just a little bit of an experiment. I figure just trying it for a month or two won't put me too far behind on improving my strength.
K2T2 said:
Animal-based foods are the only ones that contain cholesterol, that's why people ditch them when their cholesterol spikes. It's also no harder to gain muscle as a vegan than as an omni, esp if you just offload your protein deficit onto a supplement like OP already is doing as an omni. Super easy as long as you're eating and doing the work to actually build muscle.


Yeah, cholesterol is interesting. Research suggests that dietary cholesterol doesn't have a direct impact on plasma levels in the majority of people. But most of the vegans I know that also eat healthy and exercise have outstanding cholesterols. One, for example, has a total cholesterol in the 90's with an HDL in the 50's.

So, I'd like to see what happens in myself. Am I someone that's very responsive to dietary cholesterol or not? Those vegans I know, who are very athletic, including a former division I quarterback all swear by it, never intended to do it for as long as they did. Maybe I'll feel better, maybe I'll feel worse. We'll see. Just an experiment.
I had a blood test last week to see if I needed a different dosage of levothyroxine.

The blood test included the cholesterol. My HDL was something like 40 and my LDL was 79, but my triglycerides were 253.
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eric76
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In reply to fta09 • 5:47p, 1/13/21
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fta09 said:
Good luck! I agree that you always hear stories of how great people feel on a vegetarian or vegan diet. Not sure I could do it full time. I have also heard you should take it slow when and if you transition back to meat.
After a couple of years of a semi-vegetarian diet thirty years go, many of the meats tasted pretty odd when starting to eat them again.

Hamburgers and steaks didn't taste right at all. Sausages did, but that might have been partially due to all the mustard I was piling on after being mostly deprived of mustard (except for bean sandwiches) for the two years.
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Dr.Rumack
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3:16a, 1/16/21
Our cousins won't even eat honey...

I would advise not going that far.
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bigtruckguy3500
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In reply to eric76 • 10:45p, 1/18/21
eric76 said:
bigtruckguy3500 said:
MichaelJ said:


Vegan is pretty hard core - have you considered trying a whole30?


My diet is already pretty clean. With the exception of whole milk, occasional whole wheat bread, and rarely some pasta, and my whey protein, I really don't eat much processed stuff. But it's no where close to Whole30 strict.

fta09 said:
Why vegan? Just to see if your numbers get better? You mention later about working out and having a tough time hitting your protein target. If by chance you are working out to become stronger or build muscle, this isn't something I would consider. Possible, yes, efficient and easy, no.


Yeah, just a little bit of an experiment. I figure just trying it for a month or two won't put me too far behind on improving my strength.
K2T2 said:
Animal-based foods are the only ones that contain cholesterol, that's why people ditch them when their cholesterol spikes. It's also no harder to gain muscle as a vegan than as an omni, esp if you just offload your protein deficit onto a supplement like OP already is doing as an omni. Super easy as long as you're eating and doing the work to actually build muscle.


Yeah, cholesterol is interesting. Research suggests that dietary cholesterol doesn't have a direct impact on plasma levels in the majority of people. But most of the vegans I know that also eat healthy and exercise have outstanding cholesterols. One, for example, has a total cholesterol in the 90's with an HDL in the 50's.

So, I'd like to see what happens in myself. Am I someone that's very responsive to dietary cholesterol or not? Those vegans I know, who are very athletic, including a former division I quarterback all swear by it, never intended to do it for as long as they did. Maybe I'll feel better, maybe I'll feel worse. We'll see. Just an experiment.
I had a blood test last week to see if I needed a different dosage of levothyroxine.

The blood test included the cholesterol. My HDL was something like 40 and my LDL was 79, but my triglycerides were 253.
Do you eat a lot of processed foods? Bread, pasta, chips, sugary stuff? Wondering why your triglycerides are that high.
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Kevin83
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In reply to bigtruckguy3500 • 2:12a, 1/19/21
Don't do it my friend, your sex life we'll suffer.
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K2T2
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In reply to Kevin83 • 11:06a, 1/19/21
Kevin83 said:
Don't do it my friend, your sex life we'll suffer.
lol studies have proven meat and dairy are actually detrimental to your...performance.
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