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New Vegan, but getting discouraged

I am new to this and find eating well and making sure I am getting all the nutrients I need to be overwhelming. It has only been a week since I started taking WHFO and I enjoy the smoothies but I find the other two meals difficult, If you have any suggestions I would love to know how to overcome this

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Permalink Reply by Jacque Wise on April 19, 2011 at 11:27am

As Frances said...get a cookbook!!! When I started...I tried one new recipe a week. Now i have no problems figuring it out. It is just tough at first. You can do it.

Best Vegan Cookbooks:

Vegemicon (this has multiple chef's vegan recipes so good you won't care about meat!) (The pot pie recipe makes my husband think he should be vegan)

ANY book by Sarah Kramer

The BABYCAKES (New York vegan/gluten free bakery) cookbook has the best recipes for healthy baked goods.

Best Websites:

Besides vega of course:

fatfreevegan.com- she has some of the best "kid friendly" recipes I have ever tasted.

foodgawker.com-Lots of different sources, blogs, recipe sites...great source!!!

Hope this helps! Good Luck

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Permalink Reply by Linda on April 19, 2011 at 4:08pm

Thank you Frances, I am going out and picking up some kale and will try that recipe and let you know how it turns out this weekend. Thank you for the link it's great :)
Frances said:

You can find several kale chip recipes online. I've been meaning to try the one near the bottom of this blog post. (I haven't made it yet, so if you do, please tell us how they come out.)

http://girlonraw.com/2011/03/green-smoothie-is-back-guest-post-the-...

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Permalink Reply by Linda on April 19, 2011 at 4:11pm

Wow, thank you Jacque for the support and the names of cookbooks you would recommend and the links. I am sure this will help, everyone has been so nice and helpful on this site. I really appreciate everyone's support and recommendations, this is a great site :)

Jacque Wise said:

As Frances said...get a cookbook!!! When I started...I tried one new recipe a week. Now i have no problems figuring it out. It is just tough at first. You can do it.

Best Vegan Cookbooks:

Vegemicon (this has multiple chef's vegan recipes so good you won't care about meat!) (The pot pie recipe makes my husband think he should be vegan)

ANY book by Sarah Kramer

The BABYCAKES (New York vegan/gluten free bakery) cookbook has the best recipes for healthy baked goods.

Best Websites:

Besides vega of course:

fatfreevegan.com- she has some of the best "kid friendly" recipes I have ever tasted.

foodgawker.com-Lots of different sources, blogs, recipe sites...great source!!!

Hope this helps! Good Luck

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Permalink Reply by Amanda Tran on April 20, 2011 at 4:05pm

Hi Linda!

Cookbooks will be your best friend! The Kind Diet is what made me go from vegetarian to vegan so I LOVE that book! anything by isa chandra! in fact get them all (go to amazon for the best deals) and yes baby cakes in very good for desserts. The kindlife.com is a great website and I just started a vegan website called IamVeganlicious.com so check it out! I post reviews on recipes, restaurants and products. I created it to share what I have learned being vegan for people who are new to the vegan life style. Just remember it will take you A LOT of research in the beginning but after a couple months you will get the hang of it =) Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to email me and Amanda@IamVeganlicious.com

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Permalink Reply by Linda on April 20, 2011 at 5:12pm

Hi Amanda,

Thank you so much for your help and advice I will check out the websites and also take a look at those books. Wow I think I am going to be buying a lot of books :) I love books though, no one will go with me to a bookstore anymore because I could spend hours there :) Thanks again Amanda :)

Amanda Tran said:

Hi Linda!

Cookbooks will be your best friend! The Kind Diet is what made me go from vegetarian to vegan so I LOVE that book! anything by isa chandra! in fact get them all (go to amazon for the best deals) and yes baby cakes in very good for desserts. The kindlife.com is a great website and I just started a vegan website called IamVeganlicious.com so check it out! I post reviews on recipes, restaurants and products. I created it to share what I have learned being vegan for people who are new to the vegan life style. Just remember it will take you A LOT of research in the beginning but after a couple months you will get the hang of it =) Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to email me and Amanda@IamVeganlicious.com

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Permalink Reply by Julie on April 21, 2011 at 4:04pm

Kale chips. My favorite! Rinse, dry very well, remove thick stems, toss in a small amount of olive oil (not too much or they get too soggy) bake them in oven at 350 F for about 20-30 min. until crunchy, remove and add salt.

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Permalink Reply by Julie on April 21, 2011 at 4:09pm

Kale chips are my fav! rinse kale, dry very well, cut off thick stems, drizzle and toss in small amt of olive oil, bake 350F for 20-30 min. until crisp. Salt as soon as you pull them out of the oven. (tip, don't use too much oil or they will be too soggy and not crisp, and make sure they are fairly dry. ie use salad spinner).

I find a lot of my vegan recipes on line. I also get Vegatarian Times Mag. and convert a lot of them to vegan.

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Permalink Reply by Linda on April 22, 2011 at 7:50am

Hi Julie, Thanks for your recipe, I plan on making the chips this weekend now I have 2 recipes to try :) I am excited to try them. I put my oil in a spray bottle now and find it works well, I find I have a little more control.

Thanks again for the recipe I appreciate the thought. :)

Julie said:

Kale chips are my fav! rinse kale, dry very well, cut off thick stems, drizzle and toss in small amt of olive oil, bake 350F for 20-30 min. until crisp. Salt as soon as you pull them out of the oven. (tip, don't use too much oil or they will be too soggy and not crisp, and make sure they are fairly dry. ie use salad spinner).

I find a lot of my vegan recipes on line. I also get Vegatarian Times Mag. and convert a lot of them to vegan.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Collins on April 24, 2011 at 11:33am

I've been working out (strength) training for several months now and recently (2-weeks ago) switched to a plant-based diet and use Vega Health optimizer as a supplement. I have noticed that my strength is not what it was before. For example, I was deadlifting 285 lbs 12 reps now I can only do 255 8 reps. Single arm dumbell military press is down from 45 10-reps to 35- 8 reps. While I am leaner ( I am 5'11" 182 lbs down from 187 lbs) and feel better, I am a little discouraged by my strength loss. Does anyone have any idea what may be the problem? Also, how much protein does one need (grams/lbs body weight) assuming that you are lean and not overweight.

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Robert Mason on April 24, 2011 at 1:42pm

Linda,

Brendan gives a great piece of advice in his book to those who are new to veganism, or new to the Thrive diet: EASE INTO IT. There's no need to jump into the deep end right away. Just replace a few meals a week with some Thrive recipes or WFHO smoothies, and track your progress. The week after that, go a little further than you did the first week. And so on.

Before you know it, it will all have become habit to you. That's how I went vegetarian 20 years ago, then vegan 5 years ago, and am now going Thrive.

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Permalink Reply by Linda on April 24, 2011 at 2:27pm

Robert,

Thank you for your message. I wish I had known that a bit earlier, it would probably would have been a bit easier on me. I am now over the worst of it. I am getting used to it the new way of life and eating habits, and I am now quite enjoying it. I feel so much better and much more energenic now thanks to the WFHO and products. Thanks again!

Robert Mason said:

Linda,

Brendan gives a great piece of advice in his book to those who are new to veganism, or new to the Thrive diet: EASE INTO IT. There's no need to jump into the deep end right away. Just replace a few meals a week with some Thrive recipes or WFHO smoothies, and track your progress. The week after that, go a little further than you did the first week. And so on.

Before you know it, it will all have become habit to you. That's how I went vegetarian 20 years ago, then vegan 5 years ago, and am now going Thrive.

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Permalink Reply by Cathy Sykora on April 24, 2011 at 2:57pm

I think it becomes easy when you make sure you have protein, fat and good carbs in each meal. If you just get a few favorite meals for days when you don't want to be creative...it helps. Salads are easy. I have 2 shakes a day...following the same formula...protein - fat and good carbs. I also make protein bars on Sunday for the whole week...that is good for about 2 meals a day. I can't get 6 meals a day because I get to full or run out of time: ) I have a goal of trying a new recipe each week.