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Any Vegan Support groups?
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I love food and am pretty much always eating 🙂 so I thought Id make my first comment on the site (of course it would be food related :)First thing is getting rid of the headache. What do you think is the cause? Is it a detox, stress,caffeine withdrawal or migraine? There are various self massage demos on youtube for headaches. For detox (and in general) you need to flush the system so get in plenty of water. They also recommend flushing toxins by opening the pores and sweating it out, an easy way is exercise and/or a hot shower. More recommendations are getting the bowels cleared out by enema (I would try something more natural). Another suggestion is deep breathing especially’breath of fire’.
Acupuncture self massage works well and is my go to. http://youtu.be/xOTwlJbNlaI
Essential oils helpful in combating headache are lavender, peppermint and chamomile.
http://www.essentialoilexchange.com/blog/essential-oils-for-headaches/You can also try herbal teas such as chamomile, ginger, green tea. http://www.boldsky.com/health/nutrition/2012/herbal-tea-types-cure-headache-160112.html
Other home remedies : http://www.rd.com/slideshows/home-remedies-for-headaches/#slideshow=slide1
I more or less eat a high carb low fat vegan diet, somewhat in line with the raw till 4 principles and keep gluten to a minimum. I start my day with a huge fruit smoothie (for example this morning my smoothie had fresh orange juice, bananas, acai pulp, half a pineapple and raspberries). I don’t count calories and eat as much fruit and salad as I like during the day. At night I eat potatoes or rice and lentils or stirfry, vegan sushi, whatever I want really. I rarely eat processed food
(like vegan cheese and meats) and stay way from too much oils and nuts. I’m not gluten free and
make homemade breads or pizzas once a week. If you are interested in recipes you can have a look on my pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/veganvibes/recipes/) page for some food inspiration or the a nice vegan community recipe page I like https://www.pinterest.com/heidrunkarin/vegan-community/
Another resource for articles and such http://www.vegsource.com/Like ipole2 said, Dr. McDougall is great as well as Dr Colin Campbell.
For when you have to eat but really cant be bothered try this list of’3 ingredients or less’recipe
list http://www.care2.com/greenliving/16-vegan-recipes-with-3-ingredients-or-less.html
Hope this helps -
If fast food is your concern….meal prep is going to be your best friend. Hummus is my go to when I need to eat but can be bothered…I ALWAYS have a huge thing of hummus in the fridge. And quinoa…there’s tons of quinoa recipes online and endless ways to make it. it’s very calorie dense and VERY nutrient dense and lots of protein. Quinoa is seruously vegan/vegetarian lifesaver as far as nutrition goes. And this isn’t vegan….but it’s been a great jumping off point for eating well http://www.organizeyourselfskinny.com/oamc-make-ahead-and-freezer-cooking-resources-articles/
Keep in mind that not eating animal products is not what makes you healthy, eating healthy foods is. Try searching raw food recipes, the usually come up vegan by default. You’re headache may not be from “detoxing” and actually just from the fact you haven’t been eating much more than Cheerios. Fasting headaches are a very real thing, you very well could have low blood sugar (eat!) or are dehydrated. My suggestion is to shift the focus from not eating animal products to trying to see how many healthy things you can eat throughout the day, then you eat more and aren’t coming from a place of lack and it can be more engaging. like trying to solve a puzzle vs feeling like you’re trying to restrict yourself so hard. If you focus on what’s “bad” to eat, your still focusing in it and it
turns into psychological hell. And I’ve known plenty of vegans and vegetarians that eat like shit and are super unhealthy and end up developing digestive tract issues later on.As mentioned above, a blender is so crucial. Vitamix’s are amazing and all, but i use a nutribullet and it works great. $90 and there’s so much you can do with it. It’s a lifesaver
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Lucca Valentine.. Thanks 🙂 However, I should be a queen at food prep bur it only works 3 days at a time for me. Sounds crazy but I could be good at it one week then all of a sudden I suck at it. I want a roller bag because I have so many books and food to carry. My biggest problem is what do I do when I can’t food prep? That’s when I rely on Fast Food places to have the vegan meals. I use my shakes mainly for breakfast tho. I really appreciate you. 🙂 I’m looking at the sites
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While some people seem to do very well on high carb, low fat, vegan diets, it is worth noting that these diets often fail to provide what nutrition professionals generally consider to be sufficient amounts of protein. People’s protein requirements likely vary, which would explain, in part, why some people do well on such diets and others do not. If you are new to veganism, it is probably wise to begin with a diet that provides what nutritional professionals consider to be adequate levels of all macro-nutrients before trying more restrictive diets. For more information on vegan diets and nutrition I recommend the writings of Ginny Messina (http://www.theveganrd.com/). Her books and website provide easily understood information based on current nutritional science. You might also check out the writings of, Jack Norris (http://jacknorrisrd.com/), another vegan and registered dietician.
If you’re vegan, or trying to eat more vegan meals, fast food is not your friend. Freebird’s, Chipotle, and Subway are about your only option. Oh, and the bean burritos at Taco Bell are vegan if you get them without cheese. If you don’t have time for food prep things like canned beans are a life-saver. Sometimes I literally eat them out of the can, along with carrots, sugar snap peas, and whatever other veggies are handy. Is it the best meal? No, but it’s better than a lot of alternatives. You can also use frozen veggies, they keep for a long time, and you don’t have to cut them–plus they’re cheap.
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​Hi again
I made my post before I saw yours saying ” I finally ate today besides a cup of dry cheerios this morning.” So yeah in that case I completely agree with Lucca! If you are putting processed crap in your body you are going to feel like crap. And like catmoves2718 said, different people trive on different diets. Ive been a vegan for about 8 year​s ​and in that time​ have eaten : high processed vegan, high protein vegan, raw vegan and now somewhat high carb low fat (albeit it not a low protein) diet. That works for me, makes me feel energised and happy.Veganism isnt a destination, its a journey and you need to find what works for you. Listen to your body and intuition. ALL the sites mentioned in this thread by ​everyone are amazing resources, take the time and do your own research. As for vegan support…its clear that you have a ton of it here :)​ For a vegan ‘on the go’ option try making your own vegan protein bars. Here’sa recipe from Jason Wrobel http://youtu.be/1Oukli-aKns -
As Lucca Valentine and others have said above, if your goal in going vegan is improved health, you may be better off focusing on healthy eating instead of abstaining entirely from animal products. Focusing on healthy eating will likely mean increasing your consumption of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and legumes (beans), all of which are vegan. At the same time you may want to reduce your consumption of meat, dairy (especially cheese), processed food, fried food, etc..
Focusing on adding healthy food, rather than taking away large classes of foods may help you make sustainable change in your diet. Over time, the healthy foods you add will displace the unhealthy food–you just won’t want junk anymore, or you’ll want less of it, less often. You can also think of it as a food swap. Each week (or every few weeks) you can add a healthy food to your diet, and remove an unhealthy food. Either way, slower change will give you time to learn what foods work for your taste/schedule/budget without being stressful or making you feel like you don’t know what to eat.
Another option is plans like Mark Bittman’s “vegan before 6” program, where you eat only plant based foods before dinner, but can have more-or-less whatever you want for dinner. (I really wish he would have called it plant based before 6, but whatever.)
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🙂 That’s an odd name for the program. Thanks ♡
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If you think of veganism as a set of dietary restrictions and nothing more, then “vegan before 6” is a reasonable name. However, veganism has its roots in an ethical/philosophical perspective that rejects treating animals as commodities. From that perspective, I think “vegan before 6” makes about as much sense as “pacifist before 6.” That said, anything that reduces consumption of animal products ultimately reduces animal suffering, so I won’t quibble too much.
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Keep pushing. At first veganism seems daunting but can be really fun after you get the hang of it and everything is so delicious. I have been vegan 4 years and only recently found a good balance.
Everyday for breakfast I have a 5-8 organic banana smoothie with handful of organic frozen fruit, a cup or so of orange juice and the rest water. (I buy a whole box of bananas at the supermarket for a discounted price at the beginning of each month). Just mix in a blender, no fancy machine needed. Lunch usually do potato fries or ready made soups. Dinner – too much to name but usually either potatoes with something, rice with tofu or beans, vegan sushi, Indonesian roti. I will say I’m lucky that my boyfriend does all the dinner cooking and he is amazing at it and also vegan.
As for the headaches I too used to get them. Possibilities are:
– Not enough food – Eat HEALTHY but till full
– Not enough fructose. Our bodies crave it that’s why people crave sweets so much.
– Eating non organic food – as it has pesticides/GMO’s/additives.
** I would NOT recommend having non organic fruits as this caused many headaches for me when I first started making large fruit smoothies **
– Detoxing from the animal products/processed foods.As a side note: The veggie burger at BK is NOT vegan as they use eggs to hold it together, that also goes for a lot of Morning Star foods. You don’t want to put any fast food in your system. I was guilty of this before!
Hope you don’t get discouraged as the animal industry is not kind. Good on you for becoming vegan!
And my 2 cents: this was mentioned above as well but a diet that is “vegan until 6” makes no sense to me. Vegan is a lifestyle and you can’t be vegan if you eat animal products after 6. They should never have called it that. It’s really sad for vegans to see these terms. I’ve also seen “part-time vegan” – I hope people can see how horrible the animal industry is and not mock the term vegan.
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Also check out Freelee the banana girl on YouTube. She has lots of older videos that focus on what to eat. Search her channel for older videos as her newer ones are a bit different.
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Thanks again everyone. I did good this week without even knowing it. 🙂 I been on the go and had lots of fruits with me. I didn’t know that pears cut with cucumbers in the same bowl actually tasted great. It’s so many foods that I don’t eat but I’m learning to mix what I do like. Starting out is hard but its getting better. I will gradually go back to add small amounts of some meats because I noticed that when I tried to eat some this weekend, I didn’t feel right. I know some of you say to jus gradually do it so I will do that Instead of jus jumping all in at once. Thanks 🙂
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I know that I am one of the people who suggested a gradual approach, but if you don’t want meat, and eating it makes you feel ill or something, I would not recommend forcing yourself to eat it. There is no reason to eat meat if you don’t want it, and plenty of reasons not to. Do be sure to eat other high protein foods, like beans.
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Any effort is good, be it full time ot part time. The latter is called plant based, not vegan. I have a headache if I eat too much banana or almond.
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I avoid all fast food- these cheap options are devoid of nutrients. Eating vegan is so easy- just go the to grocery and buy fruits, vegetables, and nut butters. Hummus, salsa, and guacamole are everywhere. Put it in the mouth. Simple :). Veganbodybuilder.com has great info on anyone who has concerns about protein. Protein has never been an issue for me- you should see my muscles- my arms, lats, and shoulders are huge. I consume tons of fruit for carbs to keep my energy levels up. I always carry trail mixes in my purse bc as a vegan, i pretty much have to eat all the time- like a deer or horse or any other herbivore. I can’t stand clif bars, but I keep those handy for emergencies too.
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So here’s some information I thought I would pass along and hope you all find it helpful. Look up on YouTube Vegan Black Metal chef, it has some awesome videos and on google look up Post Punk Kitchen, it has some really great selections of recipes. I work for a Health food supermarket and did a little research for you guys. If I come across anything else I will pass it along!
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