Thinking of going vegan (again) any suggestions from other vegans?

[Mordacain]

Basically I have pretty fiendish digestive tract / stomach issues (IBS + hietal hernia was all that was diagnosed at the time). While I've been to the doctor in the past I've never really been able to correct these issues.

A friend of mine also has chronic (not sure if there is any other kind) IBS and his doctor suggested he tried veganism. He did and it worked to great affect. On his recommendation I tried it myself for a couple of months and it worked great (after a couple of weeks of acclimation) however I couldn't keep up with due to moving and major time constraints where I could not cook. So that brings me to my question.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to have a (at least mostly) vegan diet with minimal time in the kitchen? While I can sometimes spare loner periods of time, I'm usually restrained to about 15 minutes prep + cooking time most days. I've used a lot of recipes from VegWeb (VegWeb.com - Vegan Recipes and Cooking Tips) to pretty good success, but there is not much quick & dirty in there.

It is a major life change and any inspirational stories are appreciated as well.

[Mr Violence]

Personally, I could never be vegetarian or vegan, but I do have friends that are and they cook up some tasty, tasty stuff.

Stir fries are always really easy and quick. Just go find a premade sauce you like and get veggies and maybe some tofu. Make a huge stir fry and keep it in the fridge and eat it for a couple days.

Quesadillas are super quick, too. Just pile in whatever veggies you want, maybe some cheese (I know, not vegan.), fry it in a pan on both sides and you're good to go.

Any kind of vegan pasta is easy, too, as long as you have time to boil some water. Sprinkle some spices on it or just your favorite sauce. Hey, mix it in with the stir fry!

I found this, too: 14 Quick Vegetarian Recipes for the Hopeless Cook | WebEcoist

It has a handful of good ideas. I'm definitely trying a PB & banana sammich.


Also, something else, you could always ease your way into eating less meat. I mean, if you're only doing it for health reasons, you could try to find a healthy balance. Maybe cut out fatty meats. I've been eating way more fish and my IBS is noticeably better. Try eating less dairy, too. A lot of times, IBS can be attributed to that. Try to narrow down the cause of your IBS, then maybe you'll have an easier time with meals.

Hope I helped at least a little!

[Randy]

Ive been thinking about going Sagan.

[jeremyb]

I had IBS issues for years and it stopped after a long course of doxycycline I was on for a recurrent sinus infection. Turns out theres some bug which causes similar symptoms and is killed by doxy, only found this out when talking to another doctor years later and mentioned what had happened, wish I could remember what it was called!

[jeremyb]

ScienceDirect - International Journal for Parasitology : Irritable bowel syndrome: A review on the role of intestinal protozoa and the importance of their detection and diagnosis

[stryker1800]

Originally Posted by Mr Violence

I'm definitely trying a PB & banana sammich.

I'm certainly not a vegan, nor do I intend to give up meat of any sort, but PB & banana is one of the greatest combinations ever!

To the OP good luck getting the IBS under control I have what seems to be lactose intolerance but it comes and goes so it may be something else entirely.

[Xaios]

Don't get caught by the Vegan Police.

[Manticore]

did you say you were thinking of being gay?

[Adam Of Angels]

Originally Posted by Manticore

did you say you were thinking of being gay?

I know this is a joke, but implying that the exclusion of meat from one's diet is somehow feminine is actually retarded.

Good luck, OP - just learn as much as you can and you'll feel awesome about actually going Vegan. Done properly, it's one of the healthiest lifestyle choices you can make.

[Mr Violence]

Originally Posted by Adam Of Angels

I know this is a joke, but implying that the exclusion of meat from one's diet is somehow feminine is actually retarded.

I think it's more that eating meat is up there with other "manly" things like lifting weights, driving fast cars, shooting guns, playing metal, etc. You said it yourself, it's a joke. No need to get upset. Also, using "retarded" can be just as offensive as using "gay".

That being said, I'm not offended by any of it. Be whatever you want to be. Call me gay and retarded, I don't care.

[Xaios]

Never go full retard.



Yeah... guess I'm not really helping.

[Adam Of Angels]

Originally Posted by Mr Violence

I think it's more that eating meat is up there with other "manly" things like lifting weights, driving fast cars, shooting guns, playing metal, etc. You said it yourself, it's a joke. No need to get upset. Also, using "retarded" can be just as offensive as using "gay".

That being said, I'm not offended by any of it. Be whatever you want to be. Call me gay and retarded, I don't care.

"Retarded" doesn't have anything to do with anything offensive.. Or at least I don't mean it that way.

[ry_z]

Vegan #2347 reporting in.

I've been vegan since November 2009, and was vegetarian for maybe six or seven months before that.

Vegan Dad is a good blog for some quick recipes.

Originally Posted by Mr Violence

Stir fries are always really easy and quick. Just go find a premade sauce you like and get veggies and maybe some tofu. Make a huge stir fry and keep it in the fridge and eat it for a couple days.

What, like this?





Stir fries are definitely quick and easy. Tempeh has become a staple of mine, too, though some people just don't get along with its flavor. Just chop it up quickly, and it makes a great substitute for ground meat.

[highlordmugfug]

Vegan since september of 2008 here:

Stir fries are easy to make, tasty, and incredibly versatile, just add whatever you want.
Some stuff I've made lately:


Peanut oil, chili pepper, teriyaki sauce, stir fry sauce, soy sauce, green bell peppers, orange bell peppers, onions, garlic, cubed tofu.



Chili beans, black beans, pinto beans, 2 1/2 onions, ton of sliced portabella mushrooms, 3 cans of hot rotel, 1 can of corn, petite diced canned tomatoes, and chili ready canned tomatoes.

The dessert here is just frozen blueberries with creme of coconut over top of them.

Cubed tofu, half an onion, cut up baby portabella mushrooms, some ginger (I just used a peeler :p), teriyaki sauce, soy sauce.

Curry pan cooked potatoes and Trader Joe's fried rice with soy sauce and stir fry sauce



Sliced portobello caps, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, sea salt, black pepper.

All on toast.

This was supposed to have basil and cilantro, but alas it was not to be. (next time, I'm thinking basil, cilantro, onions, spinach with it. Yum.)


All of these pics (and most of the "captions") are just from an album I have on facebook that I'm using to show off my get-better-at-cooking-adventure!


NOTE: I don't think that the way that I personally cook would be good for your IBS (lots and lots and lots of fats (olive oil, coconut milk/creme, peanut oil, tons of spicy ). But as for simple and quick recipes, it's basically all that I make. I'll post some recipes/meal ideas tomorrow. I have to get to bed soon, and I'm tired and want to make sure I don't forget anything.

Some easy, yummy, and healthy ideas I can think of right now are:

-Chili, also super versatile, tastes better the second, third, and fourth days, and you can add in as many veggies and protein sources as you want! Chili takes a long time to cook, but it's mostly set and forget other than stirring every half hour or so and adding more spices if you want.

-Peanut butter and jelly or PB and bananas or whatever other fruit you want to add.

-Smoothies are quick to make, some soy milk, some juice, peanut butter, frozen fruits, all sorts of other stuff you can add in there.

-Pasta, pasta, pasta. Buy premade sauces, cook noodles, cook the sauce in a pan and add whatever chopped up vegetables and things you want (peppers, onions, mushrooms, tofu, seitan, tempeh, textured soy protein, meatless meatballs, fresh basil or other herbs, spinach, whatever you want). Then stick it in the fridge, and eat off of it for the rest of the week.

-Lots of fresh fruits, they're a great snack, they're good for you, etc.

-Any kind of granola or cereal with almond, hemp, soy, or whatever other kind of moo-juice substitute with some frozen fruit or fresh sliced bananas is yummy and filling.

-Hummus, some kind of greens, red onions, dressing or sauce, tomatoes, walnuts and whatever else in a wrap is quick to throw together and, to follow the theme, tasty and healthy. And portable to boot.




As for inspiration: since I've started eating vegan, body odor is essentially a nonissue, when I wasn't vegan if I was exercising and got really sweaty then it was like strong strong strong oniony BO awfulness, like most everyone, now even if I sweat a ton there isn't much odor at all.

I used to have absolutely terrible seasonal allergies, and that's pretty much disappeared since I started eating vegan as well. I'm pretty sure most of that is mainly the benefit of avoiding dairy.

TMI ALERT: Bowel movements are easier and more regular without a ton of
meat and with a lot of fiber of your diet.


Since I've become vegan, I've been a lot more interested in cooking and I'm still working on cooking more, if you get more into cooking, you'll get better at it, and be able to do more quicker and easier.

Wow, so much for waiting till tomorrow. I'll be back tomorrow to help more if I can.

And I can second Vegandad being a great blog, I found it through Ry_z

[ry_z]

Originally Posted by highlordmugfug

-Smoothies are quick to make, some soy milk, some juice, peanut butter, frozen fruits, all sorts of other stuff you can add in there.

What's this you say?





This (with variations in the fruit) has become my breakfast most days.

[signalgrey]

have you tried taking Probiotics, they have changed my life.

are you going Vegan or Vegetarian? cause veganism can be really pricey since you cant always eat premade stuff.

[Chickenhawk]

sorry.


Seriously, though, my mom adopted a vegan diet a while back. Well, I should call it a pseudo-vegan diet, since she would cheat a meal every couple weeks. She was having some intestinal issues, and they cleared right up

I've been considering cutting back on my carnivore-ism. I don't think I have the will power to do it, honestly.

But anybody that can keep a vagan lifestyle, without being a whimpy, whiney, holier-than-thou douche nozzle gets a .... TON of respect from me.



And Ry, that ....ing smoothie looks AMAZING. Might have to make one this morning...if only I had anything in the house >_>

[WickedSymphony]

This thread almost turned me vegan until I got to the picture of the baconator.

[Adam Of Angels]

Originally Posted by WickedSymphony

This thread almost turned me vegan until I got to the picture of the baconator.

And you realized that there was way too much sodium and fat on it to leave it behind?

[HighGain510]

Fair warning, this post may contain TMI for some folks as I discuss GI tract experience as well as bowel items :

Interesting topic here as I've been thinking about making some pretty radical changes to my diet as well. I've had Crohn's Disease (in the IBD family) for 9 years and ultimately led to having my entire large intestine and rectum removed 2 months ago. Right now I'm dealing with a temporary ileostomy before I go in for the reversal surgery to reconnect everything internally and it's given me some rather interesting insight into my diet. Since everything is literally just going stomach -> small intestine -> ostomy bag I am seeing exactly how what I eat goes through and comes out from my GI tract and how QUICKLY as well.

I've noticed when I eat fried stuff or items cooked with too much grease (even olive oil, despite it being healthy) that everything is literally just liquid. Same thing goes for dairy products such as milk or cheese, if I enjoy those items everything comes out as thin liquid (essentially water + enzymes etc.) at a rather alarming rate. With the surgery I had you lose a LOT of water since the colon isn't there to absorb it and form your BMs on the way out so stuff like this actually becomes rather important! I've noticed stuff like chicken and beef exiting looking very similar, albeit sometimes smaller than ingested, to how it went in! I haven't been able to test much with veggies yet as the majority are on the "Do Not Eat!" list since they can cause blockages with the ostomy but I fully intend on seeing how things change after I have the reversal surgery as I think the right way to go, as painful as it will be , is to remove or limit the amount of dairy and meat products from my diet as I can and replace them with other forms of protein. I'll be keeping tabs on this thread for ideas on what I can try post-surgery, I'm pretty bummed as I typically love to eat stuff like nuts and beans for protein and they are on the list of things I can't eat with the ostomy. Looking at all the pictures of chili and whatnot in here is making me jealous!

[WickedSymphony]

Originally Posted by Adam Of Angels

And you realized that there was way too much sodium and fat on it to leave it behind?

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, fat and sodium.

[Revan132]

Originally Posted by Xaios

Don't get caught by the Vegan Police.

No vegan diet...NO VEGAN POWERS!

[shadowsea]

Originally Posted by Randy

Ive been thinking about going Sagan.

caral sagan reference ftw

[highlordmugfug]

So Mordacain...

Any updates or good recipes you've found or tried?

[ddtonfire]

So you're a vegetarian? That's cool, I'm a humanitarian.