Want to go vegan but have some concerns

Sounds delicious.  Where would you buy the ingredients, Whole Foods? Trader Joe's? I already have the oats.

I follow the Forks Over Knives Diet. The cookbook has wonderful recipies that are balanced and contain plenty of protein. There are recipes for smoothies as well. All Vegan. By the way, one of their firm beliefs is that we do not need cow milk and that is it in fact harmful for us. I would stay away from Whey protein if at all possible, it is a byproduct of milk. Good luck! 

@m1nn1e, I have also wondered about the suitability of whey protein, especially for us who are positive for hormone receptors. When a cow is producing milk I would think her body's own hormones would be at elevated levels, even if the she isn't given artificial hormones. I mean, she's just given birth to a calf, otherwise there would be no milk. I wonder how much of that hormone content goes into the whey, and of that, how much survives the process of extracting the proteins....

Great Blog:  Fatfreevegan.com  She has a ton of wonderful nutrient dense recipes, many derived from the Eat To Live diet by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.  

My Husband and I switched to a 90% plant based diet (10% reserved for going out to eat with friends, you have tolive a little, right?!) and we don't eat anything packaged at home (If it comes in a box or a bag, its a No No) not only did we lose 43 and 50 pounds, my bloodwork has never looked cleaner.  Forgive me if I sound like a spokesperson.  Having said that, I can't say enough good about this way of eating.  I reduced my migraines (Until all this stress came up with my breast) and cut my triglycerides in half.  I was straddling the Pre-diabetes line.  I think its worth checking out, but always consult with a naturopath or your physician before radically altering your diet.  Oh, and to the OP- we get most of our protein from vegetables.  Broccoli and cruciferous greens, etc... I eat kale in some form or another everyday.  We make salads with it, steam it up, soups, smoothies, and kale chips...Best of luck to you!  

Everything has some protein in it, most Americans eat far too much protein.  (Which can cause kidney problems.)  I don't ever see the need for protein powders.  Those things are so popular now because the dairy industry is trying to make money off their leftovers. Marketing, marketing, marketing has convinced everyone it's necessary.

I'd just rather get my protein from eating beans and calcium from greens.  Last night's dinner was kale and chickpeas in creamy cashew sauce, over quinoa- put me way over on protein and calcium for the day.  (I track on My Fitness Pal.)  I even still eat soy (love tofu), but you couldn't pay me to put dairy in my body again.

My total cholesterol dropped 40 points in a year when I stopped eating meat, and another 50 points when I cut out eggs and dairy.  

I have been lurking here a bit, and wanted to thank you all for some great links!

I have been vegetarian for about 12 years, but have not been able to go vegan. I can't figure out how to get enough protein without some dairy, especially Greek yogurt.  The whey protein that can be added to foods comes from animal sources, but from milk. Many protein supplements contain gelatin or other animal parts, and I cannot do that.

I have discovered that lentils can be oh so more adaptable than I ever imagined.  I make a "meat loaf" using lentils in place of ground meat and my mother's meatloaf recipe, and it turns out fantastic.  I have cooked them up as sloppy joes and chili. I make a lot of different bean salads with any variety of beans or legumes. Anything that calls for hamburger can be cooked using red kidney beans, black beans, lentils, etc. But I love to cook, so this is a creative activity for me.  I have taken my tamale loaf to church potlucks and those fried chicken/mashed potato lovers have raved about it and asked for my recipe.

I have bumped up protein when needed with dried milk, much less expensive than the supplements.  Doesn't taste all that great, but I don't like milk or dried milk anyway.  But I use it with puddings and that helps disguise the taste, and I also eat less sweets that way!

I attended a lecture by a leading researcher in soy and breast cancer.  She said that soy supplements are to be avoided, but that soy in whole foods (such as edamame and even tofu) are OK, but do so in moderation.

And I LOVE the Moosewood cookbooks!!!!

In fact, I think most things in moderation are best, and a little cheating to make your life enjoyable is OK.

Thanks again for sharing such great information!

using protein powders is partly a matter of convenience for me. I want something I can make ahead so it doesn't take me a long time to fix breakfast, and if it can be carried in the pocket in case I want a snack while out running errands or the like, even better. That's what prompted my experimentation with homemade protein bars. I've never acquired the taste for smoothies or other thick beverages--that's why I'm looking into food-bar recipes.

The other factor in this is weight control. In 2011, I weighed more than 160 lbs, which is too much for my height (5'7")-definitely overweight, if not obese. By changing my eating habits at that time, I lost between 30 and 35 pounds, and have kept most of it off ever since. My dietary plan is not one of the strict low carb ones, but does limit the amount of grains, bread, pasta etc--and frankly, I'd rather save up my daily allowance, or at least part of it, to have a cookie with dessert, than eat oatmeal or other grain-based foods for breakfast.

I'm not a vegetarian, let alone a vegan. I would like to decrease my meat consumption, but I've never figured out how to do it within the outline of the plan that has enabled me to keep that weight off all this time. Since obesity is a known risk factor for breast cancer, at this point, it's more important to me to do what I know will keep my weight in the right range than to change over to a vegetarian diet. My weight is one of only two risk factors that I have much influence over. I can't go back and have a baby and breast feed for 6 months, or change my age at menopause! The other is alcohol intake and I've never been a heavy drinker, before or after breast cancer. Other than wine in cooking (which doesn't count because the alcohol evaporates during cooking), a glass of wine with dinner when I eat at a restaurant, which only happens a few times a year, is about all--that and the brandy in and on the Christmas fruitcake.

Also, I have to admit it has always seemed a little inconsistent to me to feed meat to my pet cat, but balk at eating it myself.

B12 does not occur naturally in meat. It's only there because its added to animal feed as a dietary supplement. I take a supplement directly, I don't need an animal to eat it first.



I was B12 deficient back when I ate meat, but normal now. Why? I don't absorb B12 properly, but no one ever cares to ask you about B12 until you go vegetarian. Now I take a supplement - sublingual, which is much better absorbed - and am fine. A several-month supply costs me like $5 at Target.



The tofu I buy is Trader Joe's Organic. TJ's organic products are GMO-free. (And at $2/package, the cheapest tofu in town. Even cheaper than non-organic at other stores!)



And I do think it would help animals if they simply didn't exist in the first place. Being enslaved, tortured, and finally killed is no way to live. No one should have to die so that I can have a snack.





Yes, vegans get cancer too. Eating vegan won't "cure" cancer. But there are studies showing that vegans, as a group, have a far lower cancer risk than omnivores.

Just like individual men can get breast cancer, but as a group they have a far lower risk.

I'm excited that the Girl Scout cookies sold in my area have vegan options. Now I just need to find someone to buy them from.

Curveball, if you're just using the protein powder in bars for breakfast or occasional snacks, that's probably fine.  I know tons of people who eat whole boxes of those things every day, and that's definitely not healthy.  

I am 5'6", and weighed 163 at diagnosis, at the end of March 2012.  I was a fat vegetarian!  I'm 135 today, and am aiming to lose another 10 pounds.  (My pre-vegetarian cholesterol was over 200, I'm mid-120's now!)   I ate tons of scrambled eggs when I was going through chemo.  Partly so the doctors would stop screeching at me about protein, and partly because I knew it would turn me off them.  (It worked, the thought of a scrambled egg, which used to be one of my favorite foods, turns my stomach now.)

I'm not low-carb, but I don't have a sweet tooth - never have.  My weakness is salt - potato chips, olives, etc.  I could eat those all day.  I've always loved fruit, and if I get an odd sugar craving a piece of fruit is sweet enough to satisfy me.  

Anyone worried about their nutrient intake should set up an account at MyFitnessPal or SparkPeople, and log you meals for a while.  You can get a sense of not only the calories you're eating, but you can also track protein, fiber, calcium, sodium, etc.  (I have mine set to show calories, fat, protein, fiber, calcium, and iron.)  I've been using it off and on for a couple years, and find that when I do track it I am more mindful about what I eat.

As for cats... Cats are obligate carnivores.  Biologically, they must eat meat to be healthy.  Humans are omnivores, and can obtain proper nutrition from a wide variety of foods.  Plus, I make a choice to eat what I do, my companion animals just eat what they eat; it's not my place to force my morals on my companion animals.  (That said, my companion animals are all vegans - rabbits. :P )

I second the suggestion that everyone should watch Forks Over Knives.  

Cottontail, I agree about fitness pal, it is really useful. As for B12, you can actually get it in certain sea weeds. I used to give my kid sea weed for a snack (she liked it, weird kid) because she rarely ate meat.

Cottontail, in all fairness, the thread is about concerns people might have about veganism. It seems quite reasonable to discuss the possible downsides in that context.

Curveball, that was the problem I ran into as well. I was limiting carbs because of elevated blood sugar and too much weight. But because I had also cut most dairy, eggs and meat because I was concerned about my cholesterol going up from femara, I ended up with a net loss of calories every day, to the point that I was becoming too thin. The only solution I found was to add in some more protein, in the form of fish and chicken. Now I am at a healthy weight again, yet still able to limit carbs.

You get bacterial infections from eating meat and dairy?