Things to watch out for in a vegan diet.?

Question

I've been a rather ignorant vegan for a while now, & I'm wondering if there are foods that I should watch out for that have dairy or eggs where I wouldn't expect. and vice versa foods that are suprisingly vegan like oreos.

Answer 1

A few common ingredients found in lots of "seemingly" vegan food.... to look out for include:

-Gelatin (including marshmallows)

-Casein (calcium caseinate) (Found in soy

cheese sometimes....)

-Rennet (Also found even in soy cheese sometimes....)

-Whey (a dairy product found in lots of things... breads, margarine...)

**Also look out for:

-Mayonnaise…most contain egg

-Pasta…. Some contain egg

**Canned Goods and Non-Perishables

-Soup base / stock / bouillon: meat or fish fat, meat or poultry broth

-Worcestershire sauce: anchovies

-Lard: solid animal fat

-Caesar salad / dressing: anchovies, possibly bacon

-Refried beans: lard

-Beans in tomato sauce: pork

-Amino L-cysteine: derived from animal hair or feathers

- Omega-3 enriched bread: may contain fish

**Candy, Desserts and Confectionary:

-Hard / chewy candies like Skittles or Starburst brands: gelatin

-Jell-o or gelatin desserts: gelatin

-White sugar: major brands still filter using animal bone char

-Pie crusts: store-bought and some homemade contain lard and/or butter

**Produce

-Apples, candy apples: shiny read coating made from beetles (carmine)

-Caesar salad (pre-packaged): anchovies, possibly bacon

**Refrigerated Products:

-Frozen hash brown potatoes: some contain lard

-DHA-enriched products (for example; milk, orange juice, margarine, cheese, bread but not omega-3 eggs): gelatin

-Cheese: rennet (scraped from the stomachs of baby cows)

-Margarine: gelatin, whey powder

-Soy cheese: most contain casein (a milk protein) to help them melt

**Beverages

not all beers and wines are made using animal products, but those that do, do not list this on the label. No animal ingredients are present in the final product (beer, wine) but some are filtered with animal products like isinglass.

-Bloody Mary cocktail: anchovies (in Worcestershire sauce)

-Bloody Caesar cocktails: clam juice and anchovies (in Worcestershire sauce)

**Other

-Medications: anything listed as a "gel-cap" contains gelatin

-Medications: red colouring in capsules may contain carmine

-“Natural colour”; “Natural flavour”: may be animal- derived (such as beef broth) or vegetable-derived. This does not have to be specified on the label.

**Non-Food Items:

For many, vegetarianism and veganism extend beyond food to clothing and lifestyle. Many do not use:

-Leather, fur: animal skin, pelt

-Down bedding/comforters and pillows: duck or goose feathers

-Soap: most contain animal fat (sodium tallowate)

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

bread, crackers, and cereals often have milk in them. life cereal is vegan and has b-vitamins in it, although it does have sugar.  and so are club crackers with their "buttery" taste.  i think it's peta that has a "surprisingly vegan" list of foods or something, but i looked it up and can't find it anywhere.

edit:

the person below me posted it

Answer 3

The easiest thing, if you're avoiding all animal products (including things that may be animal derived like mono and diglycerides) is to avoid processed, packaged foods.  Stick to whole foods and cook.

Surprisingly vegan things:

http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/

Answer 4

Stay away from processed foods when ever you can, since most of them have some milk or eggs. in them. Always read the ingrednets list.