Vegetarian to Vegan!? I need help ditching cheese.?

Question

I consider myself a strict vegetarian. I don't eat any meat, gelatin, lard etc. no eggs. i don't drink milk or eat yogurt. i don't buy leather, i only purchase items that don't test on animals or use animal ingredients. My only problem is...cheese & sour cream. I use alternates for milk, butter, yogurt, ice cream. I just can't help using real cheese and sour cream. I do buy organic / free range cheese and sour cream products from my health store but i really just want to be completely vegan. I just hate the taste of the vegan alternatives. Any Advice? Also, when eating out as a vegan.. what do you do? I eat out A LOT.

Answer 1

Are you a vegan for ethical reasons?  If so, then perhaps watching some animal exploitation videos from PETA will help.  I recently watched 30 Days, a show produced by Supersize Me producer Morgan Spurlock.  They showed the way the baby cows, which are a natural byproduct of milk production, were dragged out by their back legs and tails and dumped into the veal truck.  It was so sad to watch those terrified babies being treated that way.  As the animal rights activist on camera said, "Those are babies.  If those were puppies, those people would be in jail."

Do you approve of veal?  The dairy industry makes the veal industry not only possible, but necessary.

Finally, most cheese is not vegetarian.  It contains rennet, which usually comes from the stomach linings of cows, especially baby cows.

Does this help?  It sure helped me.  And I love cheese and hate every tofu alternative.  I have just learned to live without it.  I learned to live without cigarettes.  That was much harder.

Answer 2

Make it a final goal for yourself to get rid of the cheese when your completely ready. Try taking it day by day.

My number one advice is to just go slow with it. Cutting it out cold turkey you are most likely just setting yourself up for failure.

Just start taking breaks from eatting it little by little. Try one or two days without it. Next try a week. Then depending how you feel go further. If you ever are to mess up forgive yourself and try again.  Eventually by doing this your body will start to let go of the cravings the less you eat it. But gradually.

I know it can be hard... I don't like  the alternatives either! Good luck!

Answer 3

It sounds like you're just two steps away from being vegan. Good for you! Thankfully, there are good-tasting vegan versions of cheese and sour cream.

Cheese:

Follow Your Heart  -- http://imearthkind.com/

Teese -- http://teesecheese.com/

Sour Cream:m

Tofutti Sour Supreme -- http://www.tofutti.com/ss.shtml

Teese is only available online and at certain restaurants. You can find the others at health food stores like Whole Foods.

When eating out, I usually go to ethnic restaurants like Mexican, Indian, Middle Eastern, etc. At Mexican places I get quesadillas or burritos loaded with veggies & beans, and I ask them to hold the cheese and sour cream. I also like going to Italian restaurants and ordering pizza with no cheese and extra sauce & veggies.

Even sit-down restaurant chains have vegan options these days. Vegan options at restaurant chains are listed here: http://www.vegcooking.com/ChainRestauran...

Fast food guide:

http://www.vegcooking.com/VegFastFood.as...

You can also find veg-friendly restaurants in your state here: http://www.vegguide.org/region/2

http://www.vegcooking.com/restaurantGuid...

Good luck!

EDIT:

I'm sorry, I missed the part where you said you don't like the alternatives. I'm very picky and think most vegan cheeses are disgusting... so maybe you'd like the ones I've suggested. Also, make sure you melt them as they don't taste good plain.

Answer 4

One possibility is to learn to ruminate. Once you master the art of digesting cellulose, you will be fine.

Answer 5

if you have a Kroger or JayC store near you try "Shred-Mate" Brand cheese. its immitaion cheese..i accidentally bought it once and i didnt even notice a difference :)

Subway's Veggie delite on the Italian bread w/no sauce, cheese etc are vegan

The sauce and thin crust pizza at pizza hut are vegan...so order cheesless and load up on veggies :)

I found this a while ago, but forgot about it till now, its very helpful..lists vegan foods at the grocery, and fast food!

http://www.peta2.com/STUFF/s-recipe.asp

ALL "bath and body works" products are never tested on animals, and its SUPER affordable :) http://www.bathandbodyworks.com

Answer 6

I don't have an answer for you, because I am in the exact same position. I don't buy cheese or other milk products (maybe some cheese subsitutes that contain casein or whey, they're hard to avoid), but I just can't say no to cheese pizza. Sometimes it's hard enough finding a vegetarian dish when you go out to eat, finding something vegan seems almost impossible. Although, I'm sure many places would be willing to alter some dishes to make them vegan. My advice would be to get some good vegan cookbooks and cook at home.

Answer 7

I'm not very big on food, so it was never a problem for me to stop eating anything at all, and I don't eat out much, so I can't personally help you, but if you're interested, there's a great podcast you can find on iTunes called VeganFreaks. They cuss a lot but they're really funny, entertaining and resourceful. I recall them dicussing cheese once, and they talk about eating out more than once. I'd suggest it to any vegan or pre-vegan =)

I added their podcast website to the source list, but you can just search for VeganFreaks Radio in iTunes store - and if you're not familiar with podcasts, they're free =)

Answer 8

You're like me, I loveee cheese. But I found this really good vegetarian cheese. I forget what's it's called but just try different ones from your local grocery store until you find a good one that you like.

Answer 9

omg i read like half ur story and im my mind i was thinking FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEK

then i read ur added details n was like wow geeze i take that back

Answer 10

Humans have canines for a reason. Vegetarian diets are counter evolutionary and hazardous to developing children. MEAT!