Philosophical Vegan Forum

Today it will be almost a month that i have become a purist Vegan and i would like to share my experience for what may be of use or interest to others. I would like to point out that i went straight from a 14 month high-protein diet ( mostly pure fish & meat ) to a Vegan diet overnight. Did not pass ' Go ' and did not collect £200 as in ' Monopoly Game jargon ' Basically from a Vulture to a Rabbit in one shot. So since my memories are still fresh and since the struggle is still not over it is an ideal time to make note of my observations.

First of all i must admit that Hunger is the feeling that has associated itself most with Veganism so far. The first week i did not know what to eat. I was already reduced to minimalist food habits due to my high protein diet and now i needed something to replace the meats with something Vegan. So for a start Carbohydrates was the first easy option ( bread ) that i had not enjoyed for a longtime due to the diet. So lots of bread and since no more convenient meat and cheese cuts to go along i ended up eating jam and jelly. Again i am speaking about a non-gradual transition event and i was trying to survive with what was readily available from my pre-Vegan days. And of course lots of Bananas! Bananas because easy to eat and to calm hunger with. Of course the freezer was full of the delicious vegan Kebabs that i was constantly working to improve but i was keeping that for Lunch only and maybe dinner as well, but in the meantime there was breakfast and snack time Also delicious as they are it is not possible to eat them everyday for almost 15 months.

So when i went shopping i tried to stock up on replacement items and was at a total loss. Here i was in one of the biggest hyper-markets and could not find suitable prepared foods. Something like replacement cheese or a salty sandwich spread to replace cold cuts or or.. I spent 5 minutes trying to find Vegan 'butter' and read all of the stickers on different margarine spreads and they all would end up with some sort of milk powder or milk cream somewhere before the end of the list of ingredients. I wish it would have been in the beginning Believe it or not i did not find any. To summarize i make note of the extreme difficulty in finding ready prepared foods that cater to a Vegan population in mainstream stores and i am in Paris, FRANCE ( reputed to be the world capital for fashion and lifestyle ) and the year is 2017. So Bravo! to all Vegans everywhere as the sacrifice they have chosen to make is not at all an easy one.

I wish to also make note of feeling hungry almost all of the time. The first 2 weeks i would awake after 3 hours of sleep at night and go have a bite and return to bed. Knowing that i had eaten before going to bed as well because as i said i was always feeling hungry. One because the lack of appetizing food options made me barely eat enough to stop my hunger and also because my previous period of dieting had reduced food to a non-issue in my system. After some additional research i noted that another reason was the fact that meat is a very slow substance to digest. As such it gives a sensation of satiation for a much longer period than vegetables. So eating less and eating foods that digest rapidly created a constant feeling of hunger.

All of those observations have re-enforced my personal commitment to dedicate as much of my culinary abilities to finding convenient food solutions as an amateur and a professional. It is vital to my mind that if we wish to make our community retain new comers and to grow in a stable manner we need to work on finding solutions. We live in a fast paced consumer society and we are so used to convenient solutions that even-though it is healthier to cook and prepare foods it is not well integrated into our lifestyle. Add to that the lack of solutions in ready to eat places and restaurants ,which is a topic that i will revisit often, because it truly is an issue and because it fits into my professional activity.

Please share any personal comments and or suggestions on how to remedy the vegan food supply issue on a personal level. What type of easy to prepare foods is it good to have at home or to carry along? How to avoid the excess of calories in relying on nuts and dried fruits? Which food items satiate for a longer period?

Life Loving Thanks to all,

Veggie burritos are usually what I eat when I want a quick and healthy snack. http://www.vegkitchen.com/recipes/basic-bean-burritos/
Dal is super easy too. http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/indian-dal

Make sure you always have beans, greens and nuts in your house. Try to find whole-grain pasta too. And don't worry about eating too much. It's harder to put on weight on a vegan diet.

You may also want to read this. The 7 habits of Happy, Healthy Vegans. http://www.theveganrd.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/7-Habits-slides-Portland-Maine-2016.pdf

Thanks Darl.

Are you sure about the weight gain? It is a lot of carbs i am consuming. Though what is interesting is that eating carbs normally makes me tired for some reason. Or to phrase this better the high protein diet raised my metabolism and increased my vitality. Switching to carbs has not slowed my metabolism apparently.

Thanks for the recipes and will surely try the burritos. Also house is stocked with dry fruits and nuts as well but again high fat in the nuts and high sugar in the dried fruits.

Are you sure about the weight gain?

Well, statistically, vegans and vegetarian tend to be thinner, especially if they are on a whole-food plant-based diet ( and vegan kebabs, of course).

It is a lot of carbs i am consuming. Though what is interesting is that eating carbs normally makes me tired for some reason. Or to phrase this better the high protein diet raised my metabolism and increased my vitality. Switching to carbs has not slowed my metabolism apparently.

Carbs are fine. Just try to avoid refined sugars and processed food if you can. You can eat whole grains (e.g. Oats, pasta, brown rice) and fresh fruit instead.

Thanks for the recipes and will surely try the burritos. Also house is stocked with dry fruits and nuts as well but again high fat in the nuts and high sugar in the dried fruits.

Don't worry. Nuts and seeds are a very healthy source of fat and minerals, especially flax seeds. Dried fruits are great too, since they are packed with antioxidants. Try to choose organic dried fruit though (in order to avoid sulfites).

-Actually it's getting me working on other wheat meat varieties such as burgers. It is mainly because i work out and i need high protein source low fat and calorie food. Veganism removed all meats, fish and protein shakes and so i am a little stranded.

-For the beans i am going to 2 personal favorites, mashed fava beans and hummus ( chickpeas ), another easy recipe is to mix a bag of frozen mixed vegetables with 2 cups of white beans. They help hearty snacks and hot meals.

-Nuts ( cashews mostly ) and fruits ( dried apricots ) to cover for the rest of the time.

-I am getting there slowly but surely

Thanks so much for all the help

There are vegan protein powders too

Congratulations on one month!

Protein is definitely the thing most related to satiation. It stays with you longer, which is why it's so great that you're working on the vegan kebabs. I agree you have a very important mission in this, it's vital to the world.
It really helps people stay vegan to have a convenient protein source.

About not eating them every meal, I can understand that:
To mix it up with protein sources, I would suggest trying out new kinds of beans (lentils are higher in protein compared to chickpeas IIRC), and also nuts aren't such a bad guy (which are high in good fats and substantial protein too, but cashews are not the best, I favor walnuts which have the most good fats).
It seems you're only eating a couple kinds of beans now, right?

Have you tried roasted chickpeas? You can cook them until they're crunchy with some salt and spice, and it's a great on the go snack.

Also, a really good trick to increasing protein is to avoid too many low protein foods and replace them with medium protein foods.
For example, rice or bananas are kind of low protein. The same with dried fruit (which you're right to avoid eating too much of, it won't keep you full for long).
Potatoes and berries are more medium protein. Oats are a great option which are pretty high in protein.
Blackberries are actually pretty high in protein too.

Small changes across many foods can add a lot of protein across your diet.

Butter can be replaced with coconut oil, but I would recommend replacing it with something more nutritious like a nut butter (such as almond butter or peanut butter) which has more protein too.

DarlBundren wrote: ↑Fri Apr 07, 2017 5:05 pm

VGnizm wrote: ↑Wed Apr 05, 2017 1:36 pm Thanks for the recipes and will surely try the burritos. Also house is stocked with dry fruits and nuts as well but again high fat in the nuts and high sugar in the dried fruits.

Don't worry. Nuts and seeds are a very healthy source of fat and minerals, especially flax seeds. Dried fruits are great too, since they are packed with antioxidants. Try to choose organic dried fruit though (in order to avoid sulfites).

I would avoid too much dried fruit in general. It doesn't have the protein nuts have, and due to the lack of water it's very easy to overeat on them and get too much sugar.

They are of course much better than candy, but the main thing that makes fruit as filling as it is is the water content. Take that away, and you have a calorie bomb without much to make up for it.

-Thanks a million for the much needed advice.

-Actually i put my vegan one month to the scale and i have gained a net 3kg over the month. I must be fair and admit that during this month i took my Veganism as an excuse to catch up on bread, french fries, jam and jelly and basically all of the foods i had been avoiding since over 1 year. Kind of felt that protecting sentience would protect me from weight gain

-I am wiser now and working on a suitable diet that can give me the best of both worlds. I thank all for their continued suggestions on how to have a healthy Vegan high-protein diet and i will also post any discoveries as well.

VGnizm wrote: ↑Mon Apr 10, 2017 12:19 am Kind of felt that protecting sentience would protect me from weight gain

Whether villain or hero, sugar doesn't discriminate. Jam does us all in when we step on the scale.

There are some good low carb vegan bread options on the market in North America, which use extra gluten flour, fiber, and even soy protein to reduce the carbs. Maybe there are similar ones there, or you might be able to make one?

One wrap I've seen is called "flat out".

- Well at least sugar is strictly objective and fair. Maybe not good for weight loss but at least good for the mind