Forums: September 2011 Kickstart Forum: My first time EVER!
Created on: 09/05/11 12:46 AM Views: 677 Replies: 4
KansasPerson Joined: 09/05/11 Posts: 2	My first time EVER! Posted Monday, September 5, 2011 at 12:46 AM Hello all! One of my co-workers challenged me to try Kickstart and see how it made me feel, and I am rising to the challenge! I am not a meat-at-every-meal person, or even a meat-every-day person, but I have never tried to give it up entirely, much less giving up all animal products. I am pretty excited to give it a try, though! I'm going to be hewing pretty close to the meal plan and recipes, since I've never done this before and I'm unfamiliar with several of the ingredients (you don't even want to know how long it took me to find tahini in the store!). I do like to cook -- oddly, I find it relaxes me after I get home -- but I am NOT used to cooking breakfast on workday mornings. Usually I just have a bowl of cold cereal, if that. But I'm going to get up a little bit earlier and also try some time-saving things like making a whole lot of oatmeal in advance. My husband is not on board for this. He's very supportive of me, but he's just not ready to give up meat at this time. We figured we can probably continue to live in harmony for 21 days even though one of us is forgoing animal products... he can eat what I'm preparing, and if he feels the need for meat, he can cook some up and add it to his plate. I'm curious to know how your non-vegan friends and family reacted when you did your first Kickstart. At first I didn't want to tell anyone, because then I'd really have to do it! But then I realized that accountability could be a good thing. However, I haven't told my extended family about it, except for one vegetarian sister, who was great with some helpful advice. I've noticed in the past that sometimes when you make a big change (even a temporary one), people come down on you with all kinds of reasons why it isn't a good idea. Sometimes I think this is because they feel like THEY should also be making some sort of change in their lives (even though I'm totally not saying that to them) and they feel threatened and/or challenged. Anyway, glad to meet you all -- I'm looking forward to this adventure!!
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BlondRenee Joined: 02/28/10 Location: California Posts: 97	RE: My first time EVER! Posted Monday, September 5, 2011 at 1:04 AM Welcome to your first Kickstart. I think it will be wise to follow the plan. Then when you get more familiar with vegan food and have more Kickstarts under your belt so to speak you can maybe free style it. If you like to cook then this will be fun for you to learn new ways to cook and be healthy while you are doing it. I was a vegetarian for many decades before I went vegan. I am now gluten free and vegan. When I met my husband I told him I was vegetarian, he was ok with it. He said he didn't eat much meat. He got used to eating the Morningstar and Boca product. They are fake meat, chicken, etc. There is all kinds of fake meats in grocery stores. I ate them until I discovered they have gluten in them. So now I eat a lot of beans, tofu. I have discovered a fake hamburger patty I love. I would make us chili and he would make tamales with the Morningstar fake beef.In fact the other day he asked me to make him some chili. It is still too hot to do that but I will make him some.I just to figure out how to taste it without getting glutened. But that is another story. My hubby will eat meat when we go out and that is his choice. He doesn't say too much anymore about what I eat. I am blessed to have a sweet understanding hubby. If I can help in anyway I would be glad to. The staff here is amazing. Might I suggest finding vegan websites that have some recipes. Good luck.
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JamieR Joined: 01/01/10 Location: Mendocino Coast, Northern California Posts: 116	RE: My first time EVER! Posted Monday, September 5, 2011 at 3:16 AM Welcome to the Kickstart! How great that you already like to cook! When I initially made the switch to veganism--even though I considered myself a good cook--I still had a lot to learn about the proper care, handling, and cooking of the myriad of vegetables, grains, and beans that are the staples of the vegan diet. But that was a fun thing to do...cooking has always interested me. If you like cold cereal in the morning...I'll suggest my favorite vegan breakfast: cold, SOAKED oatmeal. That's right; I don't cook it! I just put some oatmeal in a bowl, cover generously with whatever alternate "milk" I have on hand, and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning, I just add cut up fruit and a date for natural sweetness. Quick and easy...takes less than a minute before bedtime. You can really mix it up by the kinds of fruit you choose to put in. I had nectarine-date oatmeal last week...and it tasted just like leftover nectarine crisp! You can also mix up your grains; your local health food store might have a variety of rolled grains; I was able to pick up rolled triticale, rolled spelt, rolled kamut, etc. They all work great! I did my first Kickstart in January 2010. Interestingly, at that time, not a single one of my family or friends had anything to say about it. I was having some real health issues, and I think pretty much everyone understood that I needed to try something really different to see if I could make a true change for the better. Funny, though, lately family/friends HAVE been asking the standard questions (i.e., where do you get your protein?). Now that I am nearly 2 years vegan, they are curious. I think you hit the nail on the head that some people challenge you because on some level THEY might want to make a change OR they feel you are in some way judging them for their choices. Enjoy the vegan journey! September Kickstart Goals: Walk/bike daily, keep up with forum, 100% low-fat vegan experimenting with maximizing FLAVOR! www
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Bugsmom Joined: 09/13/10 Posts: 2072	RE: My first time EVER! Posted Monday, September 5, 2011 at 8:49 AM JamieR wrote: Welcome to the Kickstart! How great that you already like to cook! When I initially made the switch to veganism--even though I considered myself a good cook--I still had a lot to learn about the proper care, handling, and cooking of the myriad of vegetables, grains, and beans that are the staples of the vegan diet. But that was a fun thing to do...cooking has always interested me. One of the parts of the Veganomicon cookbook that we LOVE is the section on "how to cook..." (grains, beans, etc) That is really helpful when dealing with new things - the kickstart recipes were a good start on new things and taken together we've got a whole new range of grains, beans, lentils (we'd never had lentils before). Now, our pantry shelves (open shelving in the kitchen) are often a topic of discussion with guests because one whole shelf is dedicated to various grains, beans, lentils, etc. Way more than most people ever see - the typical kitchen has white flour, a few cans of beans, and some sort of rice. We've got 4 kinds of beans, 2 kinds of lentils, brown rice, quinoa, and probably other stuff I'm forgetting off hand. Quote: If you like cold cereal in the morning...I'll suggest my favorite vegan breakfast: cold, SOAKED oatmeal. That's right; I don't cook it! I just put some oatmeal in a bowl, cover generously with whatever alternate "milk" I have on hand, and place in the fridge overnight. In the morning, I just add cut up fruit and a date for natural sweetness. Quick and easy...takes less than a minute before bedtime. You can really mix it up by the kinds of fruit you choose to put in. I had nectarine-date oatmeal last week...and it tasted just like leftover nectarine crisp! You can also mix up your grains; your local health food store might have a variety of rolled grains; I was able to pick up rolled triticale, rolled spelt, rolled kamut, etc. They all work great! Depending on preferences, you can also add the dried fruit at night and let it plump up overnight in the liquid as well. Diced apple, raisin, and cinnamon is a favorite autumn treat for oatmeal topping. Quote: I did my first Kickstart in January 2010. Interestingly, at that time, not a single one of my family or friends had anything to say about it. I was having some real health issues, and I think pretty much everyone understood that I needed to try something really different to see if I could make a true change for the better. Funny, though, lately family/friends HAVE been asking the standard questions (i.e., where do you get your protein?). Now that I am nearly 2 years vegan, they are curious. We've usually said "plant based" which elicits less 'reaction' and more questions. There's more curiousity because they haven't heard that phrase near as much as "vegan" most likely. That gives us space to address questions without any preconceptions on anyone's part.[/quote] One thing that I think makes things interesting is that they see our sprouting up 13 yr old son and know that by and large he eats plant based meals (he's free to eat as he chooses when we're not at home and we will purchase non-vegan foods when we grocery shop, like cheese, if he requests them but not by default). Obviously, he's getting enough protein and such to be growing by leaps and bounds and have the energy he has. He's all lean muscle and bone. And, too, most folks can see the results of our journey from omnivore (SAD) to vegan by just looking at us (me and hubby). We got here by way of the DASH plan (hubby's dr suggested that before meds for his hypertension) and gradually went to vegetarian and now vegan. In the process, some 5 or 6 years now, hubby has lost somewhere above 80 lbs (the standard dr's scale didn't register - he had to be weighed at his sleep doctor's office where they have a bariatric scale) and I've lost over 40 lbs. (just went out and bought a whole pile of new pants and tops! Went from a size 22/24 to a size 16/18 - the 16 fit but a bit snug and likely to shrink in the wash). I wore a pair of the new not-baggy/saggy jeans and a men's medium (instead of 2X) t shirt yesterday and hubby couldn't keep his hands off! This kickstart I'm really going to focus again on keeping the fat content lower. And, not succumbing to yummy vegan treats (cupcakes, brownies, cookies!) - my guys love the baked goods, homemade, whole wheat, etc. but still way too much fat and sugar for my best interest. So, we'll have to find compromises somehow so I can avoid giving in to the temptation to 'just have one - it IS vegan after all' - yeah but it's "junk food vegan" and I need to not go there. --Deb R
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Dilska Joined: 09/01/11 Posts: 11	RE: My first time EVER! Posted Monday, September 5, 2011 at 9:14 AM Quote: I've noticed in the past that sometimes when you make a big change (even a temporary one), people come down on you with all kinds of reasons why it isn't a good idea. Sometimes I think this is because they feel like THEY should also be making some sort of change in their lives (even though I'm totally not saying that to them) and they feel threatened and/or challenged. You hit that nail right on the head!!! So, my advice is to stay strong in the face of nay-sayers, knowing you are doing what is best for you, lead by example, and have compassion for yourself and others and the challenges that following a healthier life can have, the many roadblocks that the our pasts have set up for us. My answer to those who question (and I don't bother trying to figure out if they really care or are trying to justify their own issues!) is that I have never felt better in my life; physically, mentally & spiritually, than I have since following a plant-based diet. If they want specifics, I tell them about how I am no longer on thyroid or hypertension or anti-depressant medications (after 10+ years of them), all due to the way I am eating: food as medicine! When they ask if it is "hard", I tell them truthfully, that at first it was, but in the long run way easier than downing all those pills every day, and no bad side effects, only good ones! As for your husband... I think you are taking the right approach there. My husband and I decided to become Vegetarian first, together, but I had been reducing the meat content in our families diet for about two years before we got to that point. He had never been too happy with that, and had claimed he would NEVER eat tofu! Now, he loves tofu more than I do!!! So, you just never know what may happen... Again- lead by example, remain compassionate to others struggles, and good luck to you! Tina Marie
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