need help with cravings

[yum]

Hi ,

i'm struggling with being vegan the last couple of days. When i was vegan last time this happened when suddenly it became difficult to not want to eat milk choc and cheese. I've been vegan since May (so nearly a year!) and the last couple of days i've been craving a cadburys flake:(

Does any one else go through these blips?

As i say i've been vegan for a nearly a year so am aware of the animal cruelty and health issues, enviroment etc. But it's just been this week of feeling that it's really tough. I don't want to give up being vegan ...

please help :(

[RubyDuby]

I definitely have weak moments, but they pass. It helps to force yourself to look at pictures of factory farmed animals and stuff like that. Also just try to find a substitute for the craving. I dont know what a flake is, but could it be substituted?

[hullabaloo]

I do have moments when I crave chocolate. My usual response is to bake a vegan chocolate cake! :o

[cobweb]

i'll probably be bollocked for saying this (:rolleyes:), but this has happened to me in the past (not any more but i can remember it happening). i got totally fixated on eating some milk chocolate - so in the end i did it, then felt horribly sick afterwards knowing what i had eaten. it tasted really weird and it was the last time i ate it, that's for sure! ;).

if you ate something like this you'd probably feel hideous afterwards. just remind yourself that you have the choice - you are 'allowed' to eat what you like but you choose not to because of the way non-vegan foods are produced and their unappetising ingredients.

maybe you're just having a little rebellion. i get them sometimes even now, after many years - i don't feel like eating non-vegan stuff anymore but sometimes i just go into my shell and don't feel like thionking about veganism and everything that it encompasses. then the feeling lifts and i feel happy and excited once again to be part of such a progressive and fantastic movement! :).

yum, make yourself something really gorgeous to eat, it'll feel better soon.x

[yum]

Thanks for your responses.

I think i'm also really missing the freedom you get when your veggie when you can walk ino a shop and don't have to read every label. I went out for a meal on sunday which is also restricting. I'm losing the willpower i usually have. I'm aware of the issues and still eat vegan. I don't want to not be vegan i suppose i'm just fed up with being a vegan in a non-vegan world :(


I definitely have weak moments, but they pass. It helps to force yourself to look at pictures of factory farmed animals and stuff like that. Also just try to find a substitute for the craving. I dont know what a flake is, but could it be substituted?

i don't like dark chocolate i find it too bitter.


i'll probably be bollocked for saying this (:rolleyes:), but this has happened to me in the past (not any more but i can remember it happening). i got totally fixated on eating some milk chocolate - so in the end i did it, then felt horribly sick afterwards knowing what i had eaten. it tasted really weird and it was the last time i ate it, that's for sure! ;).

if you ate something like this you'd probably feel hideous afterwards. just remind yourself that you have the choice - you are 'allowed' to eat what you like but you choose not to because of the way non-vegan foods are produced and their unappetising ingredients.

maybe you're just having a little rebellion. i get them sometimes even now, after many years - i don't feel like eating non-vegan stuff anymore but sometimes i just go into my shell and don't feel like thionking about veganism and everything that it encompasses. then the feeling lifts and i feel happy and excited once again to be part of such a progressive and fantastic movement! :).

yum, make yourself something really gorgeous to eat, it'll feel better soon.x


Thanks cobweb for telling me your experiences. I don't want to eat dairy chocolate because i don't know if that will become a slippery slop downhill from here on!

Maybe i'll go and bake some cakes ;)

x

[Korn]

Hi Yum,
if you have cravings for animal products, you should maybe make sure you get the kind of nutrients you often got from animal products before you became a vegan - this could be calcium, protein, B12... I believe that cravings often come from old habitual links between certain kind of food and certain nutrients - but they could also be just... cravings.

I occasionally had cravings for milk chocolate some years ago, but that stopped when I found a dark chocolate I liked (I wasn't a big fan of dark chocolate before). I guess we just have to 'reprogram' ourselves...

[cobweb]

btw yum have you tried the rice milk chocolate from veganstore, it's really nice?

[yum]

Hi Yum,
if you have cravings for animal products, you should maybe make sure you get the kind of nutrients you often got from animal products before you became a vegan - this could be calcium, protein, B12... I believe that cravings often come from old habitual links between certain kind of food and certain nutrients - but they could also be just... cravings.

I occasionally had cravings for milk chocolate some years ago, but that stopped when I found a dark chocolate I liked (I wasn't a big fan of dark chocolate before). I guess we just have to 'reprogram' ourselves...

Thanks Korn. What is the dark chocolate you like? So maybe i need some more calcium.... That is an interesting theory you have. Maybe i need to make more of an effort with my diet. I'm drinking alpro soya chocolate milk shake at the moment which is doing the trick.

x

[yum]

btw yum have you tried the rice milk chocolate from veganstore, it's really nice?

no. Mmmmmmmmm sounds good though. I like creamy chocolate not bitter dark stuff :o YUCK


x

[cobweb]

well you must get some, it's the rice milk couveture, i think you can get it from viva! and/or animal aid, too, it's very sweet.

[harpy]

Plamil also have a milk-type chocolate, called Expressions I think. It's not as sweet as the Organica one which could be a good or a bad thing depending on your tooth :D

I know what you mean about a non-vegan world though - it sometimes makes me feel like some kind of alien that's just landed. Still, it's not our fault everyone else is benighted ;)

[sponge]

Hang in there yum. It gets easier. I have occasionally cravings, mainly for the old rich ice cream I used to eat nearly everyday. I did realize the other day that my tastes have changed and cravings have significantly diminished.
Also, what RubyDuby said about looking at pictures...whatever it takes, do. I keep animal rights videos on my ipod 'just in case I need a reminder' of why I'm vegan. I haven't needed to watch them, but they're there.

No "bollocking" here cobweb. I think vegans should support each other, not tear down. We're all human and there shouldn't be shame in admitting that.

[sponge]

One more thing about the chocolate, that I'm going to try. Perhaps melting some vegan white chocolate (available in some stores and online vegan stores) with vegan dark chocolate might make it less bitter and more like milk chocolate.

[VeganDaze]

Hey yum, places like Tesco often have a 'milk' style choccie bar in the 'free from' area.
I would recommend trying Green and blacks Maya Gold (if you haven't before). It is dark choc, but orange flavoured and people I know have ended up liking dark choc after trying that one! It is seeeeeeeriously yummy :)

I found a really easy choc brownie recently - if you can be bothered to bake PM me and I'll send it over.

good luck and vegan love x

[Maisiepaisie]

Yum have you tried the dairy free chocolate buttons they have in the free from aisle in Tesco and Asda? They taste like milk chocolate and I love that I can just pick them up with my grocery shopping instead of having to order online. I can't stand dark chocolate either.

[Roxy]

(((HUGS))) to Yum. I agree with the suggestion to try the rice milk chocolate. We get rice milk chocolate here in Canada (although I think it might be a different brand to what you get in the UK). It's a great substitute to dairy milk.

As far as losing willpower.....I recently watched the documentary "Earthlings". It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to watch in my life - however, it definately helped me reaffirm and strengthen my vegan beliefs.

[yum]

Thanks so much for all of your replies:) cheered me up.

Cobweb i can't find the rice milk couveture on animal aid, veganstore or viva- please could you post me a link if you have one. Thanks x




I know what you mean about a non-vegan world though - it sometimes makes me feel like some kind of alien that's just landed. Still, it's not our fault everyone else is benighted ;)

it's been a weird few days, which feels lke a test of my vegan lifestyle. We went out for a meal, i got a milk choc easter egg which i gave to my other half, at work i get offered cheese, choc etc ( i wor at a children's nursery) and then there was a birthday cake and tomorrow i have a work meal out. Yikes! I have planed ahead for tomorrow though by checking the menu frst for vegan food.


Hang in there yum. It gets easier. I have occasionally cravings, mainly for the old rich ice cream I used to eat nearly everyday. I did realize the other day that my tastes have changed and cravings have significantly diminished.



So there is hope :) Maybe after a longer period of time of being vegan this won't hap;pen. Last time i was vegan i was doing very well and then gave in to my cravings for chocolate and my wanting to live 'normally' ( this was in my first year at uni and i'm now in my thrid year).


Hey yum, places like Tesco often have a 'milk' style choccie bar in the 'free from' area.
I would recommend trying Green and blacks Maya Gold (if you haven't before). It is dark choc, but orange flavoured and people I know have ended up liking dark choc after trying that one! It is seeeeeeeriously yummy

I found a really easy choc brownie recently - if you can be bothered to bake PM me and I'll send it over.

good luck and vegan love x


Thanks vegandaze. I have tried the mayagold- its nicer than some of the chocs i've had. I quite like the green and blacks cherry one :D


Yum have you tried the dairy free chocolate

Yes they are not to bad either. I like to melt them on baked bananas with lemon juice....YUM! :p

[JC]

I have to agree with vegandaze, maya gold is seriously good, despite being classed as dark chocolate. i think it's because it's only 55% cocoa. the mint g&b is good too, and the hot chocolate, mmmm. and have you tried the plamil alternatives to milk chocolate you can buy from holland and barrett? i love them cause i can't stand the yucky dark stuff!
as for cheese cravings, have you tried redwood nacho style cheese? it reminds me of the mexican cheeses we used to have at christmas. by far the most realistic i've ever tried (with the exception of tofutti, but don't get me started on that :rolleyes:). although i don't know if thats because my tastes have changed. the other day i used a pizza cutter that i didn't realise had been used to cut a cheese pizza too, and i knew as soon as i tasted my pizza that it had been contaminated with real cheese. the taste was vile, and i washed my mouth out with the nearest water i could find (which just happened to be soapy dish water :(). and despite having previously craved cheese, the taste was repulsive. so maybe it is true that you're just craving what you 'can't have'. i'm sure if you did try what you crave, you wouldn't like it; it would probably make you feel sick and you'd without doubt feel incredibly guilty! find an alternative that suits you, it'll see you through the cravings :)

[harpy]

You can see the couverture thingie on this page, yum:

http://www.animalaidshop.org.uk/chocbars.htm

Third row, second from the left. As has been pointed out, Waitrose sometimes have them too.

[yum]

Thanks for the hug Roxy (((HUGS))) Roxy back. Maybe i should watch some vids then. Hmmmmmmmm makes me feel upset when i watch them so i usually don't. :(

Jc: I love the g&b mint..yummy :p. I tend to not eat vegan cheese as i've not really found one i've lliked much. Maybe nacho style cheese would be nice melted on nachos? Sorry to hear about the soapy dish water:o did kinda make me laugh ;) I think you are right that if i did eat milk choclate it would taste weird, i'd feel guilty and be upset with myself. I won't eat dairy- i've tried too hard to live this lifestyle because of what i believe in.

Once again- thanks so much for everyone's support

xxx

[Roxy]

Oooo From that webpage and I have been lucky enough to try everything on the 1st row, plus the Spirit of Marakesh chocolate. All of those things were AWESOME. The choc coconut bar kind of reminded me of those Bounty bars I used to love as a teenager. Not quite as sickly sweet though.

[VeganDaze]

it's been a weird few days, which feels lke a test of my vegan lifestyle. We went out for a meal, i got a milk choc easter egg which i gave to my other half, at work i get offered cheese, choc etc ( i wor at a children's nursery) and then there was a birthday cake and tomorrow i have a work meal out. Yikes! I have planed ahead for tomorrow though by checking the menu frst for vegan food.

I think that if you can find ways to get through these more difficult times, it will eventually get easier and easier.

The first easter I was vegan I got some totally random stuff - either non-vegan, or a bag of fruit (my grandma being helpful :D) but now I am 5-year vegan and I got 2 suitable eggs, plus other choccies, and my mum let me cook the family meal, so everyone ate vegan!! I still get non-vegan pressies occasionally but once your close friends and relos understand and are used to it you will have a (nearly) problem-free life.

i hope this is helpful and not just boastful ;) I really think you can make a good go of it xx

[yum]

Waitrose sometimes have them too.

Thanks Harpy. I'll also have a look in waitrose as that would be extremely convineant as i live 5 mins walk away :D

Thanks VeganDaze. It's brill that you've been vegan for 5 years and that you got dairy-free eggs :p. As you say..i just have to keep going and that i need to stop having such negative thoughts like eating dairy and giving up, which i have thought about for a brief moment. Despite the wierdness ofthe last couple of days i've not given in.

x

[harpy]

Thanks Harpy. I'll also have a look in waitrose as that would be extremely convineant as i live 5 mins walk away :D

Actually on reflection I haven't seen it in there for quite a while :o so don't get your hopes up too much although I suppose 5 mins is not too far to go on the offchance...Animal Aid etc may be a better bet though.

I agree with the people who say it gets better as your friends and relations acclimatise and stop buying you unsuitable stuff and taking you to unsuitable places. In fact you may find they will make it "easy" for you by saying things like "You can't have that, it's got milk in it" :D

[sponge]

.....I recently watched the documentary "Earthlings". It's one of the hardest things I've ever had to watch in my life - however, it definately helped me reaffirm and strengthen my vegan beliefs.

I have that movie bookmarked but am too afraid to watch it. Heard it's pretty graphic and difficult to see. However, it I ever need "reaffirming"...