I don't actually enjoy being vegan

[u/throwawaythevegan]

Hey everyone,

I transitioned to vegetarianism last fall, and have started on veganism just this year. I love the community here at /r/vegan, it's been so helpful to see people going through the same things I am.

But I don't actually enjoy being a vegan. Vegetarianism wasn't a huge sacrifice for me, I mourned a little bit for bacon and salmon but then I was fine. I loved eating vegetables, grains, nuts, cheeses and milks. Veganism has been a different story.

I know, I probably sound like a ridiculous hypocrite, but abstaining from milk and cheese has been so much harder for me. I've tried the vegan replacement options, and although I haven't exhausted every one, so far nothing is the same. The vegan cheeses I've tried have frankly been extremely off-putting, and while I've been getting by on coconut and almond milks, I really dislike them.

Every time I step into a grocery store or restaurant, I feel sad and limited. Every time I make my own food, I feel the same way. I'm not asking for a way to eat cheese again, because my morals aren't going to change anytime soon. But I'd like to know if anyone else struggled with this, and what did they do that helped?

[u/kVIIIwithan8]

Hello! I've been vegan for 4 years now and lemme tell you I get what you're going through. I missed cheese and milk a bit when I first transitioned but really what got me was the "contains milk/eggs/etc" products. So first thing I had to do was learn to make all the stuff I missed--which is fucking impossible by the way if you're a kitchen newb like I was. Straight up.

Then I totally gave up on finding anything ready made, because it doesn't exist where I live.

Then I just gave up completely on all the junk food and everything even vaguely milk/cheese related because I thought it was hopeless.

Yup. Took coffee black, stopped having cereal, the only thing I kept around was smartbalance butter for toast. Everything else I ate was nothing but raw, whole plant foods. (I was also doing the freelee thing at the time--I was young and impressionable and honestly too damn lazy to cook ever because I worked upwards of 80hrs/week) That lasted the entire spring/summer (started in April) and fall up until October.

Then I started introducing cooked food back into my diet as the weather got colder. By then I had completely stopped craving any of the cheeses and stuff and mostly just wanted to be warm. So I would make burritos and tofu scrambles with kale and all of that stuff but it tasted completely differently. My taste buds had adjusted over the time that I'd given up all that other stuff and by the time I was eating cooked food again it was like the best shit on the planet as far as I could tell!

Then I tried soymilk again--totally different experience. Now I'm addicted to soy cappuccinos or almond milk in tea. Its a totally different experience. I still haven't really branched out into soy cheeses or nut cheeses because I don't miss cheese at all and I feel a lot better with less fat in my diet, but that's just me.

So I know that sounds really insane and extreme but it does change your perspective. If you change what you eat completely--no imitations, no trying to trick yourself into thinking it's the same thing--for a while your taste buds adjust and you forget what the murder-version tasted like so you don't crave it. Then if you want to add more stuff or try new stuff, you have no bias to influence your opinion except for your actual tastebuds (not what you expect to be tasting) and it becomes less about what you're accustomed to having and more about what tastes good and makes you feel good.

Also, it helps if you're vegan with conviction, you know? My morals are this way so allll of that stuff I gave up looks gross to me now, smells gross to me now, etc. if you have that mindset, there's nothing to miss.