mamajag Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 DH and I have been talking about doing something about our weight for years. We don't eat a lot of veggies right now aside from the obligatory vegetables to make our kids eat them. We don't really know what to do with most of them. DH came home with the book Forks Over Knives and the companion cookbook after talking to a coworker who made the switch and lost I think 60 pounds in 6 months. I'm not against it, but I'm overwhelmed and don't know where/how to start. I'm not a fantastic cook, but I can follow a recipe. A friend recommended the weekly menu from the Happy Herbivore, so I got it this week and the supermarket list has stuff I have no idea of what it even is. :001_huh: Ten cups of spinach plus 40 oz of frozen? I might have eaten that much in the last 2 years. :blush: DH and I aren't good at little changes. It's just how we are. Is there a Vegan for dummies book out there, or a switcher's guide like I bought when I left Windows for Mac? I'd love to cook more for the family and get out of the processed food. I just need a nudge (or ten) in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Unless you are convinced that vegan will be healthy for you, you could also consider "Nourishing Traditions". This book teaches preparation methods and does not restrict food choices to only vegan or mainly protein. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajag Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 Right now I'm pretty open. DH is really interested in the Forks over Knives books since eating with the coworker and enjoying the food. They are staying at a hotel 2 weeks out of 3 and this guy is cooking on a hot plate in his hotel room and apparently it's really good. It's hard to get DH interested in bettering his health so I'm sort of going along for the ride as my attempts haven't been very successful. We eat way, way too much meat and it's to the point where it just isn't healthy at all. Stopping altogether may be the only thing at this point...at least for a while just to detox from it. I'm over 100 pounds overweight and looking to change that. The biggest problem is I'm simply not very experienced with cooking vegetables. I know steaming and cooking with butter and that's about it. DH is more experienced as a cook but the southern ways of frying or piling on the butter is what he learned. We don't want our kids to be so limited, and they really like veggies and beans and things other than meat so we'd really like them to experience some new things, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne in CA Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 I have vegan coworkers who have made huge improvements in their health since becoming vegan. I think you probably just need to start with research on the internet and checking out the necessary reading. 100 lb is a lot to lose, but I lost 80 fifteen years ago and kept it off. I also had to start reading labels and figuring out a new way of cooking. It can be done. It is overwhelming to be in the grocery store extra long at first, but you will learn.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butterflymommy Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 I recommend donna klein's books, "The supermarket vegan" probably being the best for you. No fancy ingredients and the recipes are easy, some are semi-homemade. Not to start a debate but I am 90% vegan, try to eat as much of that raw as possible, I do have about 10% of my calories coming from animal foods like poultry, butter and yogurt. I'm also pretty much sugar-free except for some maple syrup in salad dressings. Also read "Eat to Live." The main rules can be read here: http://fatfreevegan.com/blog/2010/01/01/eat-to-live-6-week-plan/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heart_Mom Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 We eat vegan/plant-based and LOVE it!!! My husband's cholesterol dropped 100 points and he lost 20 lbs. without even trying with this way of eating. Check out these books: Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease (great info AND great recipes!). PM me if you would like more info. There are some great cookbooks that are easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyLady Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 As someone who's been vegan for over 5 years and a vegetarian for over 15 I would suggest baby steps. If you change your diet drastically, whether it be vegan or something different, if it overwhelms you, you won't stick with it. In order to be vegan you really have to have a passion for it, whether it be for ethical reasons or health reasons. Sounds to me like you just want to get healthier, which is great! I still recommend baby steps, though. Try one or two new meals a week. Cut back on the processed foods immediately. Replace snacks with fruits and veggies. Eat a big salad (not loaded with dressing) before your meals to fill you up. Going vegan can have amazing results providing your don't turn to faux meats and pastas and salads. If you're on Facebook I can recommend a few very good support groups. It's important to have support when you're changing your diet, no matter how you choose to eat. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 My husband recommends that you start with Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. :D Seriously, though, we are vegan and have been for years. We are not what I call "weird food" vegans. We don't eat seaweed and hemp seeds. We just eat regular stuff without the animal products. My advice would be to become familiar with vegan stand-ins in the recipes you already use. For example, if you like bean burritos ... you just make sure you use lard-free beans and no dairy. You can, if you want, use expensive substitutes like dairy-free sour cream and vegan cheese, but you can also just use avocado instead. We bulk up our burritos by adding rice. You can make a great vegan lasagna with a nutritional yeast sauce (I know that sounds like a weirdy food, but any healthfood store will carry it, AND it is a great source of vitamin B-12 if you buy Red Star brand). We make stir fries and spaghetti and lentil soup and veggie burgers and mac-n-"veese" made with a nutritional yeast cheese sauce ... you'll encounter a learning curve (ours was about 6 months) and then you will be comfortable. We went vegan in one day, but we were already vegetarian and didn't use much dairy because of an allergic kid. I'd recommend you start with three vegan meals a week and work your way up. I don't use cookbooks, as I find them restrictive. What I do instead is google for "vegan [whatever] recipe," and I tend to combine several recipes based on what we have in the house. I refuse to buy expensive, weirdy vegan foods or fakey substitutes. You can also just google for a regular recipe and replace the animal-based ingredients with vegan ones (this is easier as you become more familiar with things). My vegan standbys are: almond milk, nutritional yeast, and tofu. We steer clear of heavily processed vegan meat substitutes. Feel free to ask if you have more questions or want more ideas! Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 I am not vegan, but I feel so much better when I restrict the animal protein in my diet. I have more energy, feel lighter and just plain feel better. :) I eat lots of beans, rice and nuts and quinoa for added protein. I also use a chocolate vegan meal replacement shake that has complete protein in it plus probiotics. Also, I have found that a little cheese (even though cheese isn't vegan) sprinkled on veggies and beans helps me eat more veggies and beans :) It doesn't take much cheese to really help the various veggies be a little more palatable (did I spell that right? lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristin0713 Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Forks Over Knives and Nourishing Traditions have completely different philosophies. Just and FYI. If you want to try vegan or vegetarian, how about trying it one or two nights a week? My brother and SIL started this way. Then they did a one-month vegetarian challenge. Now they eat vegetarian all the time at home, but they are flexible at family gatherings and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Marmalade Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 A great cookbook for learning the basics about cooking vegetables in a way that is delicious is Mark Bittman's How To Cook Everything Vegetarian. I bought it when it first came out, and it literally changed the way I cook veggies. It's a no-frills recipe book, many of the recipes require short ingredient lists, and I have yet to find a dud inside. So many of the recipes have variations too. For example, he gives you a very simple recipe for baked beans, and then follows that with variations to give you a Mexican flavored baked black bean, or French flavored white beans, or Creole style red beans. It's seriously the best cookbook I've ever bought. Bittman writes so that the simplest of cooks can follow along, and yet the experience cooks will enjoy the delicious flavors he's managed to put together. It is vegetarian, and not vegan, but many of the recipes simply call for an addition of butter and/or cheese or something like that, and he does indicate how to change a recipe up to be vegan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Have you seen the Forks Over Knives video? I watched it on Netflix. His son has a book out called the Engine 2 Diet that uses this approach. Here is the website that offers a month long challenge with meal plans: http://engine2diet.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajag Posted November 11, 2012 Author Share Posted November 11, 2012 I keep losing my posts. :glare: I am watching Forks Over Knives on Netflix right now. Wow. Just wow. I really want to try this now. DH and I have a significant amount of weight to lose, and I am on medications that make it even more difficult. Weight Watchers worked before DS was born. They changed their program, though, and it does not work for me any more. Nutrisystem worked, but the processed food gave me migraines. One thing I know is that slow changes do not work for my family. We have more success picking a date and going straight for whatever. I am thinking rather than jumping in to start getting the pantry stocked and begin sometime in December or maybe the new year. We may try recipes here and there. I have a lot of reading ahead of me. Thanks for the many resources to explore! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiopianFood Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I keep losing my posts. :glare: I am watching Forks Over Knives on Netflix right now. Wow. Just wow. I really want to try this now. DH and I have a significant amount of weight to lose, and I am on medications that make it even more difficult. Weight Watchers worked before DS was born. They changed their program, though, and it does not work for me any more. Nutrisystem worked, but the processed food gave me migraines. One thing I know is that slow changes do not work for my family. We have more success picking a date and going straight for whatever. I am thinking rather than jumping in to start getting the pantry stocked and begin sometime in December or maybe the new year. We may try recipes here and there. I have a lot of reading ahead of me. Thanks for the many resources to explore! :) You, and the OP, should read Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, Eat to live. It is very inspirational, and he bases his claims on over 2000 studies of various health issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiopianFood Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Feel free to ask if you have more questions or want more ideas! Tara I've actually been looking for good nutritional yeast recipes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyLady Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I've actually been looking for good nutritional yeast recipes! You can stick nutritional yeast in a bunch of different dishes (I add it to anything with a red sauce or something I add "cheese" to like grilled cheese, burritos, etc), but here's a good recipe using nutritional yeast. Now, for whatever reason, I've found that using Planters canned cashews works best for this (I tried both raw and roasted bulk cashews and it turned out differently) so that's what I'd recommend. http://www.cok.net/lit/recipes/soups.php#cbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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