I am 13, and a vegan...?

Question

i have been a vegetarian for a few months, and i as of today i am a vegan. i want to be because i want the freedom to say that i love animals, and i feel that if you eat them, or eat byproducts from them, you dont have the right to.

the question is, i want to be healthy..i only eat veggies and fruit. only. is this healthy?? i eat a variety

Answer 1

allveggielinks.com

veggielinks.com

excellent sites for you that have links to all vegan things

you should also read some books about vegan wheter at your local library or you buy them :

125 best vegan recipes / Maxine Effenson Chuck & Beth Gurney.



  The complete vegan cookbook : over 200 tantalizing recipes, plus plenty of kitchen wisdom for beginners and experienced cooks / Susann Geiskopf-Hadler and Mindy Toomay



  The joy of vegan baking : the compassionate cooks' traditional treats and sinful sweets / Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.



  The Mediterranean vegan kitchen : meat-free, egg-free, dairy-free dishes from the healthiest place under the sun / Donna Klein



  The new vegan : fresh, fabulous, and fun / Janet Hudson



  The new vegan cookbook : innovative vegetarian recipes free of dairy, eggs, and cholesterol / by Lorna Sass ; photographs by Jonelle Weaver.



  Skinny ***** in the kitch : kick-*** recipes for hungry girls who want to stop cooking c**p (and start looking hot!) / by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin



  Vegan express / written and illustrated by Nava Atlas



  

The vegan gourmet : full flavor & variety with over 120 delicious recipes / Susann Geiskopf-Hadler, Mindy Toomay



  Vegan planet : 400 irresistible recipes with fantastic flavors from home and around the world / Robin Robertson



  The vegan sourcebook / by Joanne Stepaniak ; special nutrition section by Virginia Messina



  Vegan world fusion cuisine : healing recipes and timeless wisdom from our hearts to yours / [Mark Reinfeld, Bo Rinaldi and the chefs of the Blossoming Lotus, with a special foreword by Jane Goodall].



  Veganomicon : the ultimate vegan cookbook / Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero.

Answer 2

eat tempeh at make sure  you get  b-12. Protien is widely available with a vegan diet. Eat all your veggies as fresh and as possible . nutritional yeast is good for b12

Answer 3

A vegan diet is very healthy and nutritionally adequate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence according to the American Dietetic Association (I'm sure you are aware of that but just thought I'd try to appease the haters).

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

That said, like anyone else you should check that you are getting the essential nutrients you need. Veggies and fruit only are not too healthy, you also need to include grains, legumes etc (which I assume you do from your lentil comment).

The most important nutrients to watch in a vegan diet are iron, B12, and omega-3 fatty acids. Calcium and protein intake is usually not an issue in vegan diets.

Iron:

Good plant-based sources of iron are cereals, legumes (peas, beans, chickpeas, lentils etc), tofu, and collard greens.

B12:

Bacteria are responsible for producing the vitamin B12 and so plant foods don't contain B12 unless they have been contaminated. Animal products (including milk and eggs) are good sources of B12 as they come from animals which eat contaminated foods. For us vegans nutritional yeast, mushrooms, and some seaweeds are suggested to be good non-animal sources of B12, as are fermented drinks such as Kombucha. However, it has yet to be proven that these can provide sufficient B12 to modern vegans (we used to be fine as our vegetables were contaminated with the bacteria that produce it, its only thanks to modern farming methods sterilising the soil that we have to be careful!). Because of this I suggest you include foods fortified with B12 (such as yeast extracts, textured vegetable protein, breakfast cereals) and/or take the occasional supplement.

Omega-3 fatty acids:

Vegan sources of Omega-3s include flaxseeds and flaxseed oil, olive oil, walnuts, canola (rapeseed) oil, avocado.

Calcium:

Sources of well-absorbed calcium include Blackstrap molasses, calcium-fortified soy milk, calcium-set tofu, soybeans, bok choy, broccoli, collard greens, chinese cabbage, kale, mustard greens, and okra. Legumes also contain some calcium (Black-eyed peas are great).

Protein:

Beans, nuts, legumes, grains, tofu, tempeh, seitan and more are all fantastic sources of protein. Try to avoid relying on proccessed faux "meats" for your protein as these can be unhealthy.

For a full list see of foods and their protein content visit: http://www.vegparadise.com/protein.html.

As you can see there are many plant-based sources of essential vitamins and minerals - it is easy to be a healthy vegan!! Best of luck :)

EDIT: forgot about the pasta question. Fresh pasta usually contains eggs (but doesn't always, I make my own). Dried pasta is usually fine but just check the ingrediants list to make sure your favourite brand is ok.

Answer 4

Lettuce is an empty food. It does not benefit your body in any way.

Answer 5

Dietary wise it can be healthy as long as you keep up some of the things you'll be missing from your lack of meat.  I have quite a few friends who are vegan and most complain that a few weeks in they get exhausted quite easily,  a simple way to keep your diet healty when only eating fruits and veggies is to take a suppliment pill.  Things like centrum vitamins, or multi vitamins, is a great way to keep yourself healthy, and alot of companies offer animal free suppliments, just check with your local health food store as to what they suggest.  Personally I use london drugs, or places like popeyes, and gnc

Answer 6

Sure it is! Check out these books:

Krizmanic, Judy. Teen's Guide to Going Vegetarian. Puffin, 1994.

Krizmanic, Judy. The Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook. NY: Viking Press, 1999.

Pierson, Stephanie. Vegetables Rock! A Complete Guide for Teenage Vegetarians. Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1999.

Answer 7

its gonna be hard to get protien (you could eat lentils instead of red meat and eggs)

Answer 8

Mmm, yes but you need more protein , have a peanut every so offened.

Answer 9

first of all, have you talked to your parents about it?

you are too young to be doing this all by yourself.

my parents allowed me to become a vegeterian as soon as i turned 15. so far they have supported me in many ways.

i'm sure your parents will do the same.

now, do a lot of research about this important choice tha you've just made.

keep in mind its affecting everyone around you.

try Boca burgers**

they are yummie.

and so is tofu!!

-luna<3

**you could buy boca burgers at Denys

Answer 10

I love animals dearly:

Juicy steaks, succulent chicken, tender fish, versatile pork.  You are missing out on the third best love affair of your life and maybe the second best too because real men eat meat.

That's why your eyes are in the front and you have sharp K-9 teeth.  God designed you to be a predator and eat meat.

I forgot:

Cheese glorious cheese, the incredible edible egg, milk does the body good  :-)

Answer 11

You need to have protein in your diet.

Hummus & peanut butter are good sources of protein.

You can also have carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, and bread.

Answer 12

You are eating healthy foods. I agree with you we should not eat animals. Meat  is very important  for your body,but since you dont eat it you need to be really careful with yourself and eat right becasue you might get sick. Start drinking water and vitamins and also start eating more fiber.Such as wheit bread,fruits and vegetables.

Answer 13

You need whole grains, legumes and nuts as well.  Most Italian pastas do not have egg.  Read the label.

Answer 14

Pasta has eggs sometimes, but not usually.  Check the labels.  Also, just so you know, the Olive Garden doesn't have a single vegan choice (all of their pastas have eggs).  Eating fruits and vegetables only is very healthful, but make sure you also squeeze in grains, and try to make sure that you eat green leafy vegetables more than any other kind (they have iron that is hard to find otherwise).  One big concern is vitamin B12.  Without that vitamin, you can become anemic, and it is very hard to find in vegetarian food.  I recommend taking B12 supplements (or just multivitamins), or drink a pint of soy milk a day (most soy milks are fortified with the nutrients a vegan diet lacks).