how long did it take to transition from omni to vegan?

[MamaMunchkin]

I'd love to go vegan.  Right now, we do vegan dinner 1-2x/week - rest of family is okay with that so far. 

For now, it seems overwhelming to completely switch to all vegan.  Often, it seems much simpler to cook omni meals.  I can get something ready at the last minute with very little planning ahead - while I can't do that with vegan meals yet.  With the rate I'm going now, it'll take years before we go vegan completely.

So, how did you do it?  Did you do lots of meal planning ahead when you transitioned?  How long did it take to switch completely? Any tips, advice?  

[catnip]

I'd been vegetarian for 15 years when I decided to become vegan. That was 4 years ago, and there are still days I miss the ease of ordering a pizza if I don't feel like cooking, but it's the convenience I miss more than the food.

I made the transition by slowly adding more vegan meals. I made a point to try a new vegan recipe every week, winners went into the regular rotation.

I use my crockpot to cook dried beans several times a week. It's harder for me to ignore a simmering pot of beans than a can on a shelf or a tub in the fridge, so I'm less likely to change my mind about what I planned for dinner. Leftover beans get tossed into lunch salads.

I write up a flexible meal plan every week. Tuesday nights we always have white bean and kale soup and bread. Wednesdays are a standing dinner date with another family, alternating houses. I usually make pasta or tacos, since both kids will eat them. The other nights, I try to have at least a couple quick and easy meals, one meal with planned leftovers, and one challenging and exciting multi-course gourmet dinner.

[Malva]

We went from omni to vegan pretty much overnight.

We had given up dairy a couple times in the past (made my babies scream if I ate it) so knew that aspect wasn't going to be a problem. We already ate quite a few meatless meals.   What I struggled with at first was replacing eggs.

So we looked and found new recipes for things we already ate (baked goods mostly, pancakes, muffins, etc). We learned to love scramble tofu. We experimented with new recipes. I used the library alot to borrow books before buying. The first cookbook I ended up buying was Vegan Brunch, lots of staples for us there.

Unlike Catnip, in a pinch we will order cheese-less veggie pizza. It's surprisingly satisfying and something you can normally find in any small town (that, fries and falafel sandwiches - without garlic sauce which contains eggs, seem to be the only takeout things available everywhere).

[catnip]

Originally Posted by Malva 

Unlike Catnip, in a pinch we will order cheese-less veggie pizza. It's surprisingly satisfying and something you can normally find in any small town (that, fries and falafel sandwiches - without garlic sauce which contains eggs, seem to be the only takeout things available everywhere).

The only place nearby that has a crust with no milk in it is Papa Murphy's, and they screw up our order EVERY TIME (I order half gourmet veggie, half mushroom and olive, red sauce, extra sauce, no cheese. They have now put chicken on it 4 times in a row) so I stopped going there. :)

Little Ceasar's, Mountain Mikes, Papa John's and Papa Murphy's are the chains I'm aware of with vegan crusts and sauce. Pizza Hut, Domino's and Round Table all have dairy and/or meat products in their dough and/or sauce

[TrishWSU]

Originally Posted by catnip 

Little Ceasar's, Mountain Mikes, Papa John's and Papa Murphy's are the chains I'm aware of with vegan crusts and sauce. Pizza Hut, Domino's and Round Table all have dairy and/or meat products in their dough and/or sauce

That's good to know! I love getting a veggie pizza with no cheese.
 

Ok, so since I am curious now (and really bored at work) I looked on Pizza Hut's website...how do you even put eggs, milk and SHELLFISH in pizza sauce?!
 

[MamaMunchkin]

Originally Posted by TrishWSU 

Ok, so since I am curious now (and really bored at work) I looked on Pizza Hut's website...how do you even put eggs, milk and SHELLFISH in pizza sauce?!

Sounds fishy to me ... 
 

[TrishWSU]

Yeah, I went back and looked again because that just sounded strange to me. It's actually an allergan warning that says the sauce is made with equipment that may also process those ingredients, so they're not actually in the sauce, per say.

[catnip]

When I worked at Pizza Hut 15 years ago, the basic sauce had Romano cheese in it, the garlic sauce was ranch dressing, and so it had milk and egg, the breadstick dipping sauce had beef broth, and the chunky stufffed crust sauce had chicken broth. 

[SandraMort]

I can't speak for anybody else, but I went vegan from an omni diet overnight.  Actually, it was on a dare.  Somebody told me to try being vegan (no cheating!) for a month and see how I felt.  I ended up staying vegan for four years before my dh and I compromised -- he dropped meat and I added milk and eggs back.

[Nicoleandco]

I also made the switch overnight.  I found a few meals I knew I loved- stirfry, tacos, veggie casserole- and focused just on that for a week or two.  I've been completely vegan for 6 months now and it's so easy at this point.