Want to go vegan but have some concerns

http://animalrights.about.com/od/animalsusedforfood/f/AntibioticsrGBH.htm

Read this scary report - it will make you want to go vegan---

Claire, I think the acid thing is over-hyped. As you say, the body balances itself. However, it may be a good idea to not over-stress the balancing mechanism. In other words, it is probably a good idea to avoid very acid-promoting foods. From he little I browsed, I had the impression that many of the acid-promoting foods are foods that are not the greatest anyway.

I can't give up dairy, but I try to limit it, and I try to stick to organic, goat etc and stay away from commercially produced cow dairy. But I don't go nuts over it.

My main effort is to eat lots and lots of veggies and stick to a low-glycemic diet for the most part. I eat very little processed/white starch these days.

I also try to get in some onions and cabbages daily.

I cut back on alcohol to under 3 drinks a week.

I avoid soy and red meat.

I take D, magnesium and calcium daily. I take a baby aspirin every other day. Sometimes I take some vitamin C as well.

I was told to forgo soy after being diagnosed so I have (am still allowed soy sauce or smaller quantity things).  I second and third whoever it was that brought up Seitan.  I discovered it while I was going through treatment and I absolutely love it and could kick myself for ever spending so much money on soymeat substitutes when I can make them at home, and tastier.  Whoever said it was a pain to make yourself, I disagree.  If you can make a banana bread, you can make seitan.  I make my own seitan sausages, bacon, chicken cutlets, sandwich "meats" you name it.  There are SO many great recipes out there.   Obviously not an option if you have gluten issues though.

I am a vegetarian, so I still eat some cheese and such, but I can also highly recommend Daiya as a vegan non-soy cheese substitute.  They just recently came out with wedges in addition to the shreds they make, all are really good and melt great. 

One of my favorite kitchen gadgets nowadays is my crock pot, both for making some of my seitan recipes, but also making my own beans for freezing. 

Chemical That was me who said seitan was a pain to make.  I'm at the stage in life where I am just plain sick and tired of cooking.  To prove my point, I've only watched my husband make it, and have no interest in doing it myself!  I'm glad that you have been making and enjoying seitan!!  

Claire: That's my problem too!  I fill up on bread and peanut butter (healthy, but 6 slices a day!) And I find myself buying a lot of crackers too. I have a spare tire now, which I never had before and blame it partly on my 6 months on Aromasin, but have to be honest - it is all the carbs. I'm trying to eat more veggies and only 2 slices of bread a day----

I guess I'm what is known as a "fat" vegan.

Oh, almost forget. Since I broke my arm 2 months ago I have been eating a lot of store-bought oatmeal cookies. I got so addicted to the sugar and felt super tired if I didn't eat them. Hm--I know a fracture makes you tired--but this was ridiculous. I ate cookies all thru the day! I have now promised myself, as of 2 days ago, no more cookies. I can't eat just one so no more ----If this keeps up I need to go for therapy (besides the arm therapy I'm already getting)

Lots of great input here.  I am a 25 year vegetarian, at times, vegan.  There are arguments for and against just about every diet, for me, I truly believe it is my duty to live as vegetarian/vegan as possible in a world of 7 billion and dwindling resources.

I get protein from hemp protein, legumes, sprouted breads, and yes, some dairy.  I think it's possible to get 40 - 60 grams of protein a day on a vegan diet, there is protein in vegetables and grains, too.  Like quinoa.  I'm skeptical of diets suggesting more than 60 grams a day is necessary.  General guidelines indicate around 45 is just fine.

Unprocessed soy is supposed to be fine.

LtotheK, agree on the alkaline/acid thing. It first became fashionable, that I noticed anyway, back in the 80s and was supposed to be for good health generally but also weight loss.

I like Michael Pollan. Living in Greece does make it a lot easier to cook from basic stuff, since we tend to have decent vegetables year round, but even my mother in Denmark manages to cook great food from cabbages and root vegetables. 

Claire, it's interesting:  my friend is now doing this Paleo business.  Anything that restrictive is a fad diet, in my book (and anything promoting mass quantities of bacon 3x a day pretty unethical in our 7 billion world).  But more importantly, my oncologist once said to me treats are good for the soul. The occasional chips won't get you, enjoy!  And congratulations on being such an inspiration with your health.

From what I understand, the issue with the acid/alkaline issue is, it's not as simple as acid in, acid in body.  I think certain foods cause inflammation, like sugar.  So does over exercising.  I've found in life that most of the things mamma told you are pretty on point.  You don't need a lot of folks to like you, you need a few at your side when the going gets tough.  And moderation is usually a good bet.  Though I'm a passionate animal rights activist, I consider my "extreme" in this area to be a bit of moderation for the bacon drenched rest of the world.

LtotheK, agree about all things in moderation and to do what mamma said. I saw a doc explain that the kind of stress that is bad in a cancer context is, for example, the stress your body goes through when you don't eat a regular meal times. It is not the occasional bout of getting POed in traffic or having a big work project due.

Lovujja, yes, a lot of the "acid" foods are also inflammatory. If there is a reason to avoid them, it is probably the latter. There are many other good reasons besides to avoid white starch, sugars, dairy fat and meat.

In general, Pollan's quote about "mostly plants" remains for me the simplest and truest advice. If you eat a huge pile of veggies with a little protein and perhaps a little added starch (other than what is already in the veggies) for most of your meals, you will feel full without consuming a huge amount of calories and you will be quite likely to cover your vitamin and mineral requirements and you will get plenty of fibre, which like mamma always said, is extremely important.

Especially when I was in active treatment, I became very aware of making sure that my meals "counted" nutritionally. Instead of thinking in strict categories, I try to look for food that offers the most nutrition per calorie. Instead of a brownie made from a nasty box mix, I will stew some fresh fruit and make an oat/walnut crumble topping for it and have that for a sweet. It is a sweet and full of calories, but it has far more fibre and nutrition than the box brownie. Or I will have some very dark chocolate with loads of hazelnuts or almonds in it. For a crunchy snack I have wholewheat and barley rusks (Cretan specialty) with a little fresh goat cheese and pepper  for a "dip." You can also dip them in olive paste, or low-fat Greek yogurt with herbs.

I squelch a sweet tooth with a square of bitter dark chocolate..LOVE IT!! Also, now this is going to sound gross if you havent tried it....google up a recipe for avocado chocolate pudding. My kids have no idea what they are eating and love it. Its just blending up soft avocado with dark cocoa and vanilla pretty much. Looks and tastes like the real thing!!!

I eat peanut butter and graham crackers when I get a sweet tooth.  Not the best, but not the worst either.  I've also been eating Lara bars which are basically dates and nuts.

Jumping in a little late here, but here are some vegan / plant-based / mostly plant-based recipe resources you might enjoy.  You'll see soy recipes there, but there are good ones that don't use it. 

Happy Herbivore: http://happyherbivore.com

Vegan YumYum: http://veganyumyum.com/

The PostPunk Kitchen: http://www.theppk.com/blog/

Part Time Health Nut: http://parttimehealthnut.com/

Happy cooking! 

Four days without cookies for me!  I am tempted every day and today one of my dogs is very sick - I told myself I can't leave her to buy cookies.  So I got out the veggies and a potato and the craving stopped (at least for today) I turn to sweets when I'm stressed, nervous, sad, etc.