please read..im a little lost.

[new2vegan]

so today i had some yummy lays potato chips...but really waned some dip so i looked thru some of my stuff and had some left over creamy ranch i read the ingrid. and it all seemed ok..then my husband told me there is whey in it..and i read it better and it says 2% whey concentrate...then i went to this site and it said that the creamy ranch is vegan safe...im soo confused and feel really quilty...im really new to this vegan lifestyle and ive been trying and actually doing very well...just a lil lost on some things plz help me on the dip...:(

[burl]

Not vegan. If it says on the package there is whey then there is whey. Also check and see if there is any cholesterol. It may not be listed because of the small serving size but that's always a good indicator if a food is vegan or not.
Also, as a vegan it is hard to trust any packaged foods. I always suggest and recommend that people of any diet stick with non-processed foods. Fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, beans, and nuts. For vegans this assures that it's animal free and healthy as well.

[Est]

Hi new2vegan :)

Please don't worry or beat yourself up about it - everyone makes mistakes now and then!

My top tip is to always trust the ingredients list more than a "vegan" label, as the ingredients list is going to be more accurate.

Check the ingredients prior to buying/eating something, and any time you're not sure about something just check it out first, either by asking on a site like this, by Googling, or by emailing the manufacturer. You'll start to build up a good knowledge of the foods that you like and which are suitable for a vegan.

You're doing very well, and every thing you get right is a bonus for the animals. But mistakes will happen so just treat them as a learning curve and move on. Gradually you'll become more confident and make fewer mistakes, I promise! :)

[harpy]

Yes, don't get discouraged, as Est says this sort of thing is bound to happen, unless you can eat nothing but unprocessed foods, which as Burl says is probably ideal but which most of us don't manage the whole time.

After a while you wil have identified things that are vegan that you can keep buying, although manufacturers have a sneaky habit of changing ingredients from time to time so accidents can still happen unfortunately.

Keep up the good work!

[Gorilla]

hello,

don't feel too bad - i'm sure many of us made these kind of mistakes when we were new to veganism too. on which site did you read about the dressing? the website may have been wrong or out of date, as Harpy says manufacturers can change ingredients occasionally.

even if you think something's vegan it's best to familiarise yourself with the types of animal ingredients used in foods and check the labels as much as possible, it'll become second nature after a while!

good luck x

[gutts]

so today i had some yummy lays potato chips...but really waned some dip so i looked thru some of my stuff and had some left over creamy ranch i read the ingrid. and it all seemed ok..then my husband told me there is whey in it..and i read it better and it says 2% whey concentrate...then i went to this site and it said that the creamy ranch is vegan safe...im soo confused and feel really quilty...im really new to this vegan lifestyle and ive been trying and actually doing very well...just a lil lost on some things plz help me on the dip...:(
Congratulations on making the switch to Veganism. I hope you're not finding it too hard. There are a number of websites you can use to research which products are probably Vegan. However, bear in mind that information can be out of date and manufacturers can change their ingredients without notice.

The best thing to do is simply check the ingredients. If you're not sure what a particular ingredient is then simply look it up online. If you think something is probably Vegan, but you can't be completely sure, then use your own judgement to decide what you want to do. Cutting down on processed foods in general is a good way of attaining better health and results in less time spent researching what's suitable. There's tons of great sites out there providing simple recipes for quick Vegan snacks (as well as full meals).

Above all, there's no need to feel guilty about what you eat when you're doing your best. Veganism isn't a religion, there's no Veggie-deity to answer to about the little slip-ups that we inevitably make. Just continue making the effort as you obviously are, and enjoy life. :cool:

gutts