in need of support

da_shivsta

hey guys
i'm really struggling at the moment.
I am vegetarian and have been or a while - don't find it even the slightest bit difficult. However, i've been considering turning vegan. Have no problem with most of the dairy alternatives - I regularly buy the Oatly Milk and soya milk/soya mince/tofu is all yummy.
But, I really feel that i'm gonna struggle during the summer months at home from Uni. I go to NUIG, so during college term I'll have no worries.

At home, dad does the shopping and I go with him so picking out what I need isn't a problem. but I don't wanna put extra financial burden on him having to buy extra stuff - it's only us left in the house now the others are grown up.
My local SuperValu has some of the AlproSoya products and I can even make trips to Galway in the bus for some other stuff. but generally i think it will be a lot harder for me.

very worried though about trying to stay away from eggs - not sure I can actually do it since I pretty much live off Quorn, egg mayonaisse and fried eggs. nothing like an egg sandwich with ketchup for me.

Another problem I feel i'm gonna face is eating out - planning a couple of festivals and anyway during college term i usually get take away once a week. I can give that up if i have to, but do need to be able to eat at festivals and days out.

I genuinely feel to be honest that the dairy industry in Ireland isn't that bad, and free range hens are happy enough as I live in rural Ireland and am surrounded by all of this. I watched loads of videos posted on the different threads. I would rather stay away from milk, cheese etc, and usually do. But is it just hypocritical to keep eating eggs? Is it wrong?

Would really appreciate some advice/support/a hug. I'm really troubled about it.

sweet-rasmus

It sounds like you are indeed anxious about it. It seems to me that you perhaps shouldn't make the leap, as you depend on those foods a lot. I'm not really a festival girl, so I don't know how easy it would be to get vegan food at a festival, but I can't imagine it would be easy. (But it must be possible!)

You could just try to lessen your intake for now. Avoid dairy and/or eggs (or maybe just try to cut one lot out) at home. I think that's what I did for the first few months; oat milk on cereal and soya butter on toast etc. at home and real milk when out at a friends' house.

Egg-fee Quorn replacements aren't easy to come buy in your average supermarket. You used to be able to get an-egg veggie free mince in Tesco, but I haven't seen it at all recently (though it may still be available, I haven't looked specifically, but I do know the Tesco veggie range has decreased). You can get soya chunks in health food stores (saw some packs in holland and barret too recently) and flavour them as you choose, though I've only tried them the once. They really need to be flavoured as they are very plain.

Another thing; you say you live off Quorn, egg mayonaisse and fried eggs on occasion. It's just a matter of trying some other 'go-to' foods that you'd like to have instead. Again, gradual change is easier than all out stopping and not knowing what to eat. My 'go-to' meal tends to be pasta and sauce, or for the more desparate (middle of the night) times waffles and beans .

Financial wise Oatly can be quite expensive, though the enriched version tends to be a bit cheaper. I've found that I haven't had time to buy (and carry) home that milk much in the past few months, so I've just changed my diet to not really include milk. Soya is of course much cheaper if you are happy to buy that.

Also, vegan fake meats (with brands like Frys etc.) tend to also be more expensive than the Quorn range, and you don't seem to be able to get any vegan fake meats in supermarkets. It's all from the health food stores and rather expensive. Perhaps it's time to become more adventurous with tofu and find some recipes online .

Basically, don't rush into any big change! You eat free range egg and it is fantastic that you are finding vegetarianism easy enough. Don't put pressure on yourself. Eat less milk or eggs where you can, if you feel like it's what you want to do, or eat vegan at home, etc., and just see how you do. But don't let yourself feel judged. Do what you feel happy doing.

And of course, keep throwing your questions/thoughts at us in the forum

Absurdum

I presume you mean music festivals? The larger ones always have a good range of foods available with a few vegan options, everything from basic chips to Chinese/Thai (stir fries, spring rolls, etc.) to falafels. Failing that, revert to a liquid diet i.e. beer

NecroSteve

Seems to me you're putting too much emphasis on processed junk, as if you need it at all. Soya products, for example. Hold way back on all that crap! Base your diet on wholefoods - vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, seeds, leafy greens, seaweed, herbs, whole grains, etc. etc. etc. The more of it raw the better (except the beans, you should really cook them). Learn about sprouting, smoothies, growing your own, making your own stuff (including soya milk!). Get all that in hand and you're off to a good start. Get some recipes too, there are some amazing vegan books and websites out there. I can't think of any right now because it's 1AM and I'm half asleep, but they're not hard to find. And seeing as you're in Galway, you could go into Evergreen on Shop St. and ask Mike for vegan advice if you're stuck. Tell him Vegan Steve sent you.