veganism: also does trader joes have good vegan options?|||EATING VEGAN In starting the transition to a vegan diet, there are a few different strategies. Some people shift into a vegan diet slowly, starting with vegan 'analogues'鈥?plant-based foods whose taste resembles animal products. Others simply take out the animal products from their diet and replace them with plant foods with which they're already familiar. Still others concentrate on experimenting with entirely new vegan foods, often from international cuisines. Thankfully, there is no shortage of vegan foods to help make the transition. In fact, most of the food we eat is vegan, without us knowing it! http://www.vegansociety.com I personally found a big difference going from vegetarian to vegan, it was surprising what foods I could no longer eat! But on saying that, I soon found certain shops which a huge variety of lovely vegan food! I think it is easier to do a slow transition, gradually cutting out eggs,milk, cheese. Make sure you find a store that sells alternatives to dairy products, you may find you will have to cook from fresh a bit more often, but use the vegan websites to find recipes and print them off so you have them handy. Also make sure you are getting B12, either through supplements or its in soya milk and soya spread. good luck with your transfer! :)|||trader joe's and whole foods have a nice selection of vegan options. check out happycow.net to see if there are any vegetarian/vegan restuarants in your area (lots of vegetarian places cater to vegan choices also). i prefer the vanilla soymilk to the plain, and a lot of the soy yogurts and ice creams (especially soy delicious) are good. i never became a big fan of the soy/rice cheese, but it is very good on a vegan boca burger or shredded on a salad - but i found it hard to make a pizza or something like that with it. if you enjoy smoothies, silken tofu with be your new best friend. here is a PETA page with a bunch of vegan foods - http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/ good luck!!!|||Trader Joe's has good vegan options, yes, but rarely labels them as vegan. For the transition: start slow. Make sure you really want it. First, as a vegan, you have to be a lot more diligent. Knowing if a thing contains meat is fairly simple, but animal byproducts can be everywhere. Unless something is explicity labeled as vegan, read ingredients before purchase. Second, now you can't get protein from eggs and dairy, so you really need to find alternatives. Soymilk and tofu tend to be popular. Have lots of cashews, almonds, peanuts, etc. (Peanuts aren't actually nuts, but they have protein anyway.)|||Well for the trader Joe's thing I'm not quite sure, but I can say that I'm in the same boat as you. :) But for the help I would suggest going to a nutritionist cause a nutritionist would definitely tell you what all you need in order of becoming vegan. You could also check out libraries and other sources they will have vegan cook books and what not. I hope I helped. Well in the overall good luck!|||I'm not familiar with Trader Joe's... but here's a list of popular vegan non-dairy products and faux meats: http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp My favorites are: Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread So Delicious Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert WholeSoy Creamy Cultured Soy Yogurt Tofutti鈥擝etter Than Cream Cheese Follow Your Heart鈥擵egan Gourmet Cheese Alternative Silk Plus Omega-3 DHA Soymilk Nate鈥檚 Meatless Meatballs Lightlife鈥擲mart Bacon Gardenburger Meatless Riblets Gardenburger Flame Grilled Chik鈥檔 Tofurky Deli Slices Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chik鈥檔 Strips Also, see http://www.tryveg.com/ for lots of vegan food ideas. Good luck!|||I transfered from vegetarian to vegan 6 months ago check out this website www.milksucks.com it's mainly about your health! check out what gross things milk has!! www.vegsociety.com is good =) Go Veggies! good luck!|||I know a good vegan website!http://www.vegansociety.com/html/ Check out delicious dairy free alternatives! I love soya milk on my breakfast cereal in the morning. ^_^|||idk, but try soymilk (silk) its so good it taste better than real milk!! try soy yogurts and cheeses <======== very good!|||I am vegan and get most of my vegan alternatives at Trader Joe's. Here are some things you can get there: -dairy alternative: try the soymilk (recommended), rice milk, or almond milk varieties to see what you like best -yogurt alternative: try the soy yogurts with fruit (raspberry, strawberry and peach varieties) -ice cream alternative: try the new mini Trader Joe soy ice cream sandwiches, soy ice cream pints, or Sharon's sorbets (coconut, lemon, passionfruit-- these are soy-free) -tofu: try the regular tofu, high-protein tofu blocks, or baked tofu (savory, Teriaki, or Thai varieties)-- these go great in stirfrys or in veggie wraps -mock meats: try the Morningstar grillers vegan (hamburger alternative), soy hot dogs, or new 'chicken-less' vegan strips to add to salads or stirfrys -sauces: most of the Trader Joe's hummus is vegan (check the label, as a few have dairy), the tahini sauce is vegan (which goes great with steamed veggies and brown rice, or on pita bread wraps), salsa is vegan, and most of the marinara sauces that TJ's have are vegan (just check to make sure they don't have cheese) -bars: try the Lunabars, or Larabars that TJ's have. I think most of the Clif bars are also vegan (just check the ingredient list to be certain) -breads: most breads are vegan (though a few types have dairy or eggs). Try the Ezekial bread or the Trader Joe's sprouted grain breads (which are healthy and vegan). Most of the whole wheat tortillas that TJ's carries are vegan too. (Just avoid the Indian naan bread, as I think remember some varieties having dairy and eggs.) -baked goods: Try the Trader Joe's vegan chocolate chip cookies; they are delicious! (I think they may have walnuts though, so hope you aren't allergic to that) -chocolate: if you like dark chocolate, try the Trader Joe's organic dark chocolate bar with raisins and pecans. That's nice. Or the semi-sweet pound bars with almonds (or plain) do not contain dairy, and are vegan (though they share equipment with other goods containing dairy, though that may not matter to you). -cheese: vegan cheese is the only thing I have not yet found at Trader Joe's, though anyone can correct me if I am mistaken. (So I end up going to Whole Foods/Wild Oats to buy vegan parmesan, or Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet blocks of cheese in cheddar or mozzerella-- they don't taste good plain, but do taste quite decent when they are melted). Here are some other general tips to help you make the transition: -Try to make simple replacements, substituting dairy products for vegan alternatives (such as those listed above). -Even if things taste a bit strange in the beginning, just remember that people are working on making better and better vegan products, so within a few years the variety of vegan products will continue to grow and even taste better than they do already (though some vegan products are even better tasting than the dairy versions!) So don't get discouraged. -When eating out, here are some ideas: -Check your local listings to see if there are any vegan restaurants in your area, as they will have tons of tasty options -Pizza: just get a veggie pizza with no cheese (or if you make pizza at home then you can just put some veggies and soy pepperoni, and shredded Follow Your Heart vegan mozzerella on the pizza crust-- and it tastes good) -Mexican: just get vegetarian bean burritos or tacos with no cheese. If you like enchilada sauce, just ask them not to put any cheese in it -Chinese/Thai- you have tons of options here for getting tofu or vegetable stirfrys (just make sure they don't put any fish sauce in the entrees), if you get soup, make sure it doesn't have eggs or seafood or chicken broth (or see if they can make the broth with water instead) -Italian- there are plenty of pasta options with marinara or arribiata sauce, just ask them not to put cheese; you can also get salads with no cheese, and ask for oil and vinegar (to avoid dairy/egg-based dressings) -Middle Eastern/Persian- there are many vegan friendly restaurants here, where you can get falafel wraps with hummus or tahini, or vegetables with rice and hummus -Indian: there are a variety of bean and vegetable dishes here, just ask them to make sure there is no cream or dairy in the dishes (as they love to put dairy in their foods). Also avoid the naan which often has dairy and eggs, and get wheat 'roti' or 'chappati' instead. Anyways, hope this helps! Good luck!|||is veganism legal? try a steak and onions first before you decide.