I have only been a vegan for several months and have had no problem abstaining from meat, dairy, cheese etc. My question for the experianced vegans is how did you handle all the minor things? For example, going out to resterants? Or what about memorizing all the many obscure ingrediants found in food that come from animals? How long did it take for you to become fluent in sorting vegan from non-vegan? Generally I am just looking for any information or tips that could help me. Thank you!
Good questions, and they are in many of our discussions. While waiting for good answers, please search our other threads.
I'm not a vegan - just a vegetarian with a TON of allergies. But that means I DO have to be super careful about things like eating out. In my experience, it's been easiest to research a restaurant before heading out the door. Use the internet to find out absolutely everything - cooking practices, ingredient lists, anything & everything you could want to know. A few times I've gone to a new place without checking first, and often even the manager on site can't answer my questions because they're just not trained in allergies (and hidden ingredients - which is why this is pertinent to veganism) so DEFINITELY plan ahead. I keep a "cheat sheet" in my handbag of the few dishes that are safe for me at a small number of restaurants. That way if someone suggests going out, I know what (and where) I CAN eat instead of having to head home alone. For things like "potluck" dinners with friends... yeah, because my allergies are SO extreme I've only found one truly safe way to get around that. I picked up a really cute Bento lunchbox, and I bring my own meal to eat alongside everyone else. It's not the same and people do ask tons of questions - but it beats the alternatives! Good luck! I've considered going vegan a few times, but with as quickly as I seem to be developing new allergies/sensitivities I can't justify giving up even MORE foods by choice!
Well, I started being vegan at 13, and I found it took me about a year to get really good at it. It might actually take longer, since I had 2 years of being vegetarian before that to prepare me, but it might also be shorter, since my 13-year-old's willpower wasn't very strong.
