Posted 5/14/2012 8:44 AM (GMT -5)
I actually did not notice this board is not having a messaging feature. I will try to write an answer here. I asked as I know an answer would not be quick and easy.
B12 AND OTHER SUPPLEMENTS
I am myself a vegan, and I have a few words of caution. There are so many myths and fanatic persons among the vegans. One myth you will hear many times is that you do not need to take B12 supplements. This is only true for a few tribes. A doctor I know, gave a lecture about this topic. He said that those tribes have longer intestine than our, and thus they are able to produce their own B12. At another unrelated lecture, I learned about a research on chicken. If they were fed on vegan food, they would develop longer intestines, than if they got fed with some meat also. The interesting thing was that also when those chicken grew up and made chicken themselves, the meat the parent had ate, had additionally shortened the intestine in the next generation. With many generations of humans eating meat, we are not able anymore to get our B12. I know many vegans that have been doing wrong and in need of B12 injections because of this.
Depending on were you live, D-vitamin might also be needed. Even meat eaters needs D-vitamin supplements in countries in north.
Omega-3 supplements might be needed, depending on how much Omega-6 you eat. My advice is to avoid adding oils to your food rich in Omega-6. As you probably know, there are 3 different Omega-3 fats. The body can convert from one kind to another, but if you have much omega-6, this will not be the case. Use flax-seed oil and Olive oil/coconut oil as they do not have much omega-6. There are even vegan supplements with all 3 omega-3 fats. I am often mixing in a bit of ground flax-seeds in salads.
BOOKS:
First (if it is allowed on this forum) a book recommendation: http://www.tentalents.net/
It will help a lot to know what food to eat and buy. With 1000 recipes, you have a lot to pick from. When I got the book myself, I got surprised it was given out by the Adventists. I am just telling this so you do not feel like you get tricked to get any religious book, as there is some religious topics among the 1000 recipes. Also, the recipes themselves might be a bit tasteless in the beginning if you are used to spices as Adventists do not recommend hot spices. Anyway, if you have money to buy a book, you can google a bit about this one to form your own opinion. This book will also teach you how to make yourself substitutes for cheese and many other things.
Another book that I have been buying is this one: http://www.vegansuccess.com/ . I have not yet received it, but from the reviews I have found, it looks like a good one. This one will use spices (which actually my doctor did not recommend me to use).
You can be a vegan in a healthy way or in a totally unhealthy way. Becoming vegan requires some effort from you as you need to learn from the beginning again how to eat. As you probably has been growing up among meat eaters, you have the knowledge how to eat meat food and get most nutrition. Now you need to learn over.
PROTEINS:
A vegan gets easily all proteins as proteins are in all most all plants. The best sources are nuts, seeds/grains and beans. Soy and quinoa havve all the amino acids you need. Most beans miss one or two. Thus it is good to eat regularly both seeds/grains and beans as they complement each other. Nuts are also a terrific source of proteins. Beans can give some gas/bloating unless prepared right. To not get much gas, soak big quantities of beans in 1-2 water, rinse and boil until soft. Then freeze down in your freezer for the summer. The ready made ones in the stores are not properly soaked over night. You can easily make some spread from beans by blending them with some onion/garlic, olive oil and salt... and whatever more you want there. They are also tasty in salads, can be used for vegan "steaks" etc.
If I am in hurry and I want a vegan protein meal, I quickly make a salad with lettuce and whatever more I have (tomatoes, parsley, cucumber etc) and I eat almonds together with it. Soaked almonds are better digested.
Begin slowly your changes as big changes needs some changes in your intestine flora.
Remember, you do not need to eat all amino acids in one meal, not even necessary in the same day as they are stored in the body. Eat with big variation and you will not have lacks of any amino acid in your body.
SO WHAT TO EAT?
Eat all beans, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, salads your stomach is just handling. With UC, there might be some things your stomach will get upset on. Eat plenty of salads, if your stomach just allows. Green leaves and seeds are good calcium sources. Much of the things, that require some boiling can be frozen down for later use. My mother often made big batches of lentil or bean "steaks" at once and froze down them.
What I am eating regularly is:
* seeds like flax seeds, sesame, pumpkin etc
* grains like buckwheat, oat, sometimes some rye, rice etc.
* nuts. At this moment, almonds are one of my big protein sources. Usually I eat them with a salad
* legumes made like "steaks", spreads etc. They are also very tasty in salads.
* All kind of root fruits like sweet potato, potato, beet root, celery etc.
* Fruits. I am having each day one meal with just fruits or berries.
* Green leaves. I try to eat some lettuce to all other meals than the fruit meal.
Myself, I am trying to avoid mixing nuts and soy with starchy vegetables. This gives less gas.
Since I begun eating like this, I have started to have sausages coming out again, and feeling that I have more energy.
A good book might really help as most non-vegans do not have the knowledge on how to make alternatives to meat....