Guest guest Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Hi all, I'm new to the list and I need help/advice. I've been a vegetarian for about 14 years and in the past year or so have tried going vegan several times. I don't eat eggs, don't drink milk, don't eat what I call the " white stuff " (ranch, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, etc. etc.) but I cannot break free from cheese on pizza, mexican food, whatever it may be. I truly believe that being fed cow's milk and products thereof from the time we are toddlers harms our bodies and in a way we become almost dependant upon those food products. How do I become the vegan I want to be in a home and a world that does not want me to be. Any advice/suggestions are appreciated. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Neal Barnard of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine www.pcrm.org; www.nealbarnard.org/ has a book out: Breaking the Food Seduction. He explains how cheese has ingredients that are literally physically addictive. That's why you're having such a hard time. There's a recipe book called The Uncheese Cookbook that has a lot of vegan substitutes. I like tofu combined with veganaise. You can make a pizza-cheese substitute with cashews. Good luck! -Amy - Christine Knetchel Tuesday, March 08, 2005 12:19 AM Need help going " completely " vegan Hi all, I'm new to the list and I need help/advice. I've been a vegetarian for about 14 years and in the past year or so have tried going vegan several times. I don't eat eggs, don't drink milk, don't eat what I call the " white stuff " (ranch, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, etc. etc.) but I cannot break free from cheese on pizza, mexican food, whatever it may be. I truly believe that being fed cow's milk and products thereof from the time we are toddlers harms our bodies and in a way we become almost dependant upon those food products. How do I become the vegan I want to be in a home and a world that does not want me to be. Any advice/suggestions are appreciated. Thank you. Post message: Subscribe: - Un: - List owner: -owner Shortcut URL to this page: /community/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Hi Christine; I relate to what you were saying about the difficulty in giving up cheese. It was a major tough one for me too. It took me YEARS to lose the cravings. Apparently, it is the MOST common difficulty. Dr. Neal Barnard of The Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine did a research project on that. He talks about it in a very interesting streaming video that's available to view for free on vegsource.com. He says that it was the one consistent craving for all the people who went vegan in his projecct. Apparently, it's because cow's milk is high in a protein called casein. In our stomachs, it binds with digestive acid to form a morphin-like substance called casomorphin. It does have narcotic effects, so giving it up is really like giving up a drug. It's a LOT milder than the refined morphin one might get in hospital or whatever, but it functions similarly. So, I guess one just has to do whatever works to help you get through the withdrawal. I think simply knowing what you are up against helps. It's validating, don't you think?... to know that it is a very real difficulty and that your feelings about it have a physiological basis. Having support from others who can encourage you may help. It CAN be done though. :-) Glad you wrote! Deborah Hi all, I'm new to the list and I need help/advice. I've been a vegetarian for about 14 years and in the past year or so have tried going vegan several times. I don't eat eggs, don't drink milk, don't eat what I call the " white stuff " (ranch, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, etc. etc.) but I cannot break free from cheese on pizza, mexican food, whatever it may be. I truly believe that being fed cow's milk and products thereof from the time we are toddlers harms our bodies and in a way we become almost dependant upon those food products. How do I become the vegan I want to be in a home and a world that does not want me to be. Any advice/suggestions are appreciated. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 On Tue, 8 Mar 2005, Deborah Pageau wrote: > I relate to what you were saying about the difficulty in giving up > cheese. It was a major tough one for me too. It took me YEARS to lose > the cravings. Apparently, it is the MOST common difficulty. That is interesting. When I was growing up in a typical non-veg family, I never particularly liked cheese. I remember having some conflicts with my mother over my disinclination to eat cheese in just about any form (except on macaroni). When I went vegan, I never missed or had any cravings for cheese or any other animal products. It's only since discovering Tofutti pizza that I've started liking some of the non-dairy cheeses. (I just ate a slice of Tofutti pizza for dinner tonight, in fact.) For the longest time I could only find Tofutti cheese on frozen pizza; I was really glad when they finally started selling the cheese in slices. Now I use it to make my own pizzas using whole wheat pitas, and I make vegan macaroni & cheese with it, and occasionally I melt a slice on a potato or over a pasta & veggie mix. I never liked dairy cheese this much! :-) Jim Sinclair jisincla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Hi Christine! I too know what you mean about the difficulty of " giving up " cheese. I wavered between vegetarianism and veganism for awhile. Finding out all the disgusting facts about cheese helps though. Like, did you know that cheese has rennet in it? (Rennet is the stomach lining taken from calves to help the curdeling process of the cheese). Which means cheese has cow stomach...kinda gross eh? If you just want the taste though, there are some nice vegan cheese options (just watch out- some put casien in them!). Also, for " cheese spreads " and cream cheese, if you don't want to buy them you can make them! Take care! , " Christine Knetchel " <redcattail> wrote: > > Hi all, I'm new to the list and I need help/advice. I've been a > vegetarian for about 14 years and in the past year or so have tried > going vegan several times. I don't eat eggs, don't drink milk, don't > eat what I call the " white stuff " (ranch, cream cheese, cottage > cheese, sour cream, etc. etc.) but I cannot break free from cheese > on pizza, mexican food, whatever it may be. I truly believe that > being fed cow's milk and products thereof from the time we are > toddlers harms our bodies and in a way we become almost dependant > upon those food products. How do I become the vegan I want to be in > a home and a world that does not want me to be. Any > advice/suggestions are appreciated. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 I still crave cheese every now and then, and I haven't found a good cheese substitute that I like. What works really well for me is to ADD new flavors to old favorites. I find that if I try to just leave off the cheese on something I used to have cheese on, it's disappointing to me. But if I introduce a new twist on the dish when I leave off the cheese, it's very enjoyable. For example, we used to make a lot of burritos with refried beans, lettuce, tomato, onions, salsa, and cheese or tacos with veggie meat instead of the beans. When I started leaving off the cheese on these dishes, I tried adding rice, guacamole, or even corn niblets (strange I know, but I love corn!). I find that any of these additions are enough to have me not miss the cheese. When we make homemade pizza, I love to have roasted garlic, red onions, sundried tomatoes, and fresh basil on it! These items add so much flavor - it's great! Note: I found it's really best if I drizzle a little olive oil (and sometimes even balsamic vinegar) on the finished product after right before I serve it. For me, This makes up for the missing fat content of the cheese so it doesn't seem so dry. One last tip from me - By far the biggest thing that makes it easy for me to stay vegan is when I stay exposed to the reasons behind it. Nobody I know enjoys watching graphic footage or reading about awful cruelty, but just staying on the mailing list for PETA helped me go vegan after being lacto-ovo vegetarian for ten years. A great movie that uplifted and motivated me without being too heavlily bogged down in the negative images was Peacable Kingdom by Tribe of the Heart. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it getting a copy! Here's a link: http://tribeofheart.org/ I hope this helps! Best Regards, Kelly Kelly Palmatier Compassionate Kids www.compassionatekids.com (770) 467-0050 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Thanks everyone, for your support and insight. I was starting to think that I'm just a weak person but I've gone four days without ANY dairy Keep your fingers crossed for me. I have to imagine that I will feel so much better when all that " ick " is out of my system. I also purchase that film last night. Thanks again, Christine Kelly Palmatier <kelly wrote: I still crave cheese every now and then, and I haven't found a good cheese substitute that I like. What works really well for me is to ADD new flavors to old favorites. I find that if I try to just leave off the cheese on something I used to have cheese on, it's disappointing to me. But if I introduce a new twist on the dish when I leave off the cheese, it's very enjoyable. For example, we used to make a lot of burritos with refried beans, lettuce, tomato, onions, salsa, and cheese or tacos with veggie meat instead of the beans. When I started leaving off the cheese on these dishes, I tried adding rice, guacamole, or even corn niblets (strange I know, but I love corn!). I find that any of these additions are enough to have me not miss the cheese. When we make homemade pizza, I love to have roasted garlic, red onions, sundried tomatoes, and fresh basil on it! These items add so much flavor - it's great! Note: I found it's really best if I drizzle a little olive oil (and sometimes even balsamic vinegar) on the finished product after right before I serve it. For me, This makes up for the missing fat content of the cheese so it doesn't seem so dry. One last tip from me - By far the biggest thing that makes it easy for me to stay vegan is when I stay exposed to the reasons behind it. Nobody I know enjoys watching graphic footage or reading about awful cruelty, but just staying on the mailing list for PETA helped me go vegan after being lacto-ovo vegetarian for ten years. A great movie that uplifted and motivated me without being too heavlily bogged down in the negative images was Peacable Kingdom by Tribe of the Heart. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it getting a copy! Here's a link: http://tribeofheart.org/ I hope this helps! Best Regards, Kelly Kelly Palmatier Compassionate Kids www.compassionatekids.com (770) 467-0050 Post message: Subscribe: - Un: - List owner: -owner Shortcut URL to this page: /community/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Way to go Christine! I think it helps to eat lots of green, leafy veggies like kale, broccoli, romane lettuce, etc. Compared calorie to calorie, they are actually RICHER sources of calcium than dairy products. Making sure to include good sources of calcium like that also helps by putting to rest any fears you (or your loved ones) may have about you getting enough calcium. Green leafies are so good for us from other points of view too. It does get easier! I think the first 10 days is the hardest when giving up any addictive substance. Deborah Thanks everyone, for your support and insight. I was starting to think that I'm just a weak person but I've gone four days without ANY dairy Keep your fingers crossed for me. I have to imagine that I will feel so much better when all that " ick " is out of my system. I also purchase that film last night. Thanks again, Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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