Vegan Italians?

[Vegabond]

Hey guys, nice place to hang out, so much info...anyhoo I was wondering if there are any Italian Veganites out there and if so how goes things with la famiglia. I've been a vegan for about 6 months, and being Italian, with all of the traditional meals, get togethers and what not I was wondering if anyone, and truth be told you don't have to be Italian to chime in, is having any issues. Personally, I haven't had too many issues to speak of. I get asked and I simply state that I no longer eat the things they are eating. I don't really label myself...My wife's family is cool with it. My wife and kids don't really say much, perhaps they even like it since there is more for them. Now I haven't been back home to see my family yet, and I know they can be a handful, but I can't be bothered since I haven't regretted the change whatsoever. Also, I was wondering, for those of you have a wife and kids who aren't vegan, how is that going...does it get in the way? Are you trying to convert? Should the family pet go vegan?

[RubyDuby]

I feel for you.

I have a couple of friends who are Italian and they make a huge deal about food and how all family traditions strongly involve the dinner table. It's the main reason they give as to why going vegan wouldn't work for them. One is vegetarian and she gets a lot of grief. The other has been vegetarian on and off, but won't stick.

good for you for not letting that stop you.

[Vegabond]

I feel for you.

I have a couple of friends who are Italian and they make a huge deal about food and how all family traditions strongly involve the dinner table. It's the main reason they give as to why going vegan wouldn't work for them. One is vegetarian and she gets a lot of grief. The other has been vegetarian on and off, but won't stick.

good for you for not letting that stop you.

I get a lot of grief form my coworkers as well, you know how men can get when one of their coworkers gives up manly things

[mariana]

I'm a quarter Italian but that's the only side of my family I really see and they are pretty traditional. I haven't seen them since I've gone vegan and to be honest I'm kind of dreading it (it's one of the reasons I didn't go to my cousin's graduation party even though everyone was pushing me to go). Well, I've seen my grandparents and aunt and uncle but not my extended family. My grandfather went vegan for awhile last year for his diabetes...my mom's cousins (not sure what they are..my second cousins? I call them all aunt and uncle though lol) were convinced he was going to die or something and one of them who's a colorectal surgeon convinced my grandpa to give up veganism (total BS since he doesn't know a thing about nutrition). They all thought it was just the worst idea ever. So I'm dreading telling them I'm vegan now. I probably won't see them for a year though as I'm studying abroad all of next year in London, so I'm hoping by the time I get back I'll have figured out a way to tell them without them freaking out too much.

My grandparents and aunt and uncle know now, though. My grandparents didn't take it all that well--now my grandfather keeps trying to convince me egg white is vegan (even though when he was vegan he didn't eat it!) and my grandmother just keeps asking me if I'm sure I don't want ice cream. My parents are vegetarian and I've been vegetarian my whole life and as far as I can remember my family's always been really good about it, but my mom says at first they weren't very happy. Now they're really accomodating and try to make most of the side dishes vegetarian and my mom always makes lasagna, which everyone loves. Sadly most of the vegetarian food they make has cheese in it so I probably won't be able to eat much of the stuff at family gatherings--however, I plan to make lots of good vegan food for the first family gathering I go to!

Anyway, sorry this is so long! My point is that while I don't expect my family to take the news very well, I think they will come around to the idea eventually, considering how well they've warmed up to the vegetarianism thing. I really hope your family takes it well--please let me know how you tell them and what their reactions are and if you have any pointers for handling Italian families. And remember to bring some yummy vegan food for them to try! I suggest dessert. Btw which part of Italy is your family from? Mine's from Tuscany--so they're all beaneaters already anyhow.

[Vegabond]

I'm a quarter Italian but that's the only side of my family I really see and they are pretty traditional. I haven't seen them since I've gone vegan and to be honest I'm kind of dreading it (it's one of the reasons I didn't go to my cousin's graduation party even though everyone was pushing me to go). Well, I've seen my grandparents and aunt and uncle but not my extended family. My grandfather went vegan for awhile last year for his diabetes...my mom's cousins (not sure what they are..my second cousins? I call them all aunt and uncle though lol) were convinced he was going to die or something and one of them who's a colorectal surgeon convinced my grandpa to give up veganism (total BS since he doesn't know a thing about nutrition). They all thought it was just the worst idea ever. So I'm dreading telling them I'm vegan now. I probably won't see them for a year though as I'm studying abroad all of next year in London, so I'm hoping by the time I get back I'll have figured out a way to tell them without them freaking out too much.

My grandparents and aunt and uncle know now, though. My grandparents didn't take it all that well--now my grandfather keeps trying to convince me egg white is vegan (even though when he was vegan he didn't eat it!) and my grandmother just keeps asking me if I'm sure I don't want ice cream. My parents are vegetarian and I've been vegetarian my whole life and as far as I can remember my family's always been really good about it, but my mom says at first they weren't very happy. Now they're really accomodating and try to make most of the side dishes vegetarian and my mom always makes lasagna, which everyone loves. Sadly most of the vegetarian food they make has cheese in it so I probably won't be able to eat much of the stuff at family gatherings--however, I plan to make lots of good vegan food for the first family gathering I go to!

Anyway, sorry this is so long! My point is that while I don't expect my family to take the news very well, I think they will come around to the idea eventually, considering how well they've warmed up to the vegetarianism thing. I really hope your family takes it well--please let me know how you tell them and what their reactions are and if you have any pointers for handling Italian families. And remember to bring some yummy vegan food for them to try! I suggest dessert. Btw which part of Italy is your family from? Mine's from Tuscany--so they're all beaneaters already anyhow.

Hey Marianna, I'm Sicilian(well my mom is) and my wife is from Abruzza...wow sounds as though things may be a bit tougher for you. My wife's family have been great. My mother-in-law will cook whole wheat pasta, with a plain tomatoe sauce, beans, red peppers, salad and a few other veggie delights which is great...hey when I got home tonight my wife made a wonderful vegan Greek salad (what a surprise).
As far as my upcoming trip back home, I don't expect my mother to be accomodating at all. Trust me, when I gave up pork (like 10 years ago) she still tried to force it on me (Italians)

I hope things work out for you, it's enough work becoming a vegan as it is, finding the right foods and all. Dealing with negativity is something we do not need!

[mariana]

Hey Marianna, I'm Sicilian(well my mom is) and my wife is from Abruzza...wow sounds as though things may be a bit tougher for you. My wife's family have been great. My mother-in-law will cook whole wheat pasta, with a plain tomatoe sauce, beans, red peppers, salad and a few other veggie delights which is great...hey when I got home tonight my wife made a wonderful vegan Greek salad (what a surprise).
As far as my upcoming trip back home, I don't expect my mother to be accomodating at all. Trust me, when I gave up pork (like 10 years ago) she still tried to force it on me (Italians)

I hope things work out for you, it's enough work becoming a vegan as it is, finding the right foods and all. Dealing with negativity is something we do not need!

Thanks! Luckily(?) I don't see my extended family all that often, maybe only 4 times a year. As for my grandparents, I see them every couple of weeks...so I'm really hoping they'll warm up the idea a bit more. My parents have been great about it though (well, since they are vegetarian, they kind of have to be, right?) and they're eating mostly vegan now since I'm home for the summer.

Wow, sounds like your wife's family is really accomodating--that's great! Lol @ your mom trying to give you pork (sucks though that she tried to force it on you). When my parents first went vegetarian my dad's family tried to sneak meat into their food! Yuck... So I'm just glad I don't have to deal with that (we never see his side of the family). Good luck on your trip back home--hope your mom doesn't try to force non-vegan food on you! We didn't get to Sicily but I loved Italy when my family traveled there a few years ago...I'd love to go back again.

[Vegabond]

Thanks! Luckily(?) I don't see my extended family all that often, maybe only 4 times a year. As for my grandparents, I see them every couple of weeks...so I'm really hoping they'll warm up the idea a bit more. My parents have been great about it though (well, since they are vegetarian, they kind of have to be, right?) and they're eating mostly vegan now since I'm home for the summer.

Wow, sounds like your wife's family is really accomodating--that's great! Lol @ your mom trying to give you pork (sucks though that she tried to force it on you). When my parents first went vegetarian my dad's family tried to sneak meat into their food! Yuck... So I'm just glad I don't have to deal with that (we never see his side of the family). Good luck on your trip back home--hope your mom doesn't try to force non-vegan food on you! We didn't get to Sicily but I loved Italy when my family traveled there a few years ago...I'd love to go back again.

I haven't been to Italy since I was like 5
Well this morning, there's a huge Employee appreciation breakfast that the City of Ottawa is putting on, but I told them I will not be attending. I really don't feel like being surrounded by all that unhealthy, wrongful breakfast food...besides what am I supposed to do, sit there and stare at the ceiling???

[mariana]

I haven't been to Italy since I was like 5
Well this morning, there's a huge Employee appreciation breakfast that the City of Ottawa is putting on, but I told them I will not be attending. I really don't feel like being surrounded by all that unhealthy, wrongful breakfast food...besides what am I supposed to do, sit there and stare at the ceiling???

Wow, that's a long time! Well I'm sure your visit will be exciting and interesting then. Are you just planning on visiting Sicily/family or are you going elsewhere in Italy? Yeah, I understand--I've been passing up appreciation dinners and the like because I knew they'd only have pizza. I'm worried I'm going to become totally antisocial though! It would be different if they provided me with food, I guess, so I could actually eat and not just sit there awkwardly, lol.

[Vegabond]

Wow, that's a long time! Well I'm sure your visit will be exciting and interesting then. Are you just planning on visiting Sicily/family or are you going elsewhere in Italy? Yeah, I understand--I've been passing up appreciation dinners and the like because I knew they'd only have pizza. I'm worried I'm going to become totally antisocial though! It would be different if they provided me with food, I guess, so I could actually eat and not just sit there awkwardly, lol.

Sorry for the misunderstanding, back home means up north to Timmins

Let's hope and pray that people start catering to us for a change

[mariana]

Sorry for the misunderstanding, back home means up north to Timmins

Let's hope and pray that people start catering to us for a change

Ah, I see...no problem! Have a good trip to Timmins, then, and hopefully your family will be understanding. Well if you get a chance you should take a trip to Italy...I really, really enjoyed our trip (but I enjoy traveling almost anywhere). When I was in Italy I was vegetarian, not vegan yet...I had quite a few options as a vegetarian so that was nice, and it seems like it wouldn't be too hard to get vegan food (though I've heard otherwise).
Yeah, it would be great if people would start catering to us...or at least make dishes that are already vegetarian vegan...it bugs me in restaurants when it would be so easy to veganize their vegetarian dishes and yet they don't...why not cater to both vegetarians and vegans at once? Anyway... I have a feeling that won't happen soon, but it will someday, since veganism's becoming more and more common. My parents said when they first went vegetarian about 30 years ago, it was difficult to find vegetarian food in restaurants and it was hard to even find a store that sold tofu! So I have hope for the future.

[Vegabond]

Ah, I see...no problem! Have a good trip to Timmins, then, and hopefully your family will be understanding. Well if you get a chance you should take a trip to Italy...I really, really enjoyed our trip (but I enjoy traveling almost anywhere). When I was in Italy I was vegetarian, not vegan yet...I had quite a few options as a vegetarian so that was nice, and it seems like it wouldn't be too hard to get vegan food (though I've heard otherwise).
Yeah, it would be great if people would start catering to us...or at least make dishes that are already vegetarian vegan...it bugs me in restaurants when it would be so easy to veganize their vegetarian dishes and yet they don't...why not cater to both vegetarians and vegans at once? Anyway... I have a feeling that won't happen soon, but it will someday, since veganism's becoming more and more common. My parents said when they first went vegetarian about 30 years ago, it was difficult to find vegetarian food in restaurants and it was hard to even find a store that sold tofu! So I have hope for the future.

Yeah honestly i don't think I can handle traveling to another country so early in my conversion...as it is I have other issues with cleanliness(other people's that is), so adding to that the "unknowns" even in salads would freak me out. There are a few local vegan/vegetarian restaurants, although more vegetarian, that I still haven't visited yet...maybe I should give them a shot!

[mariana]

Yeah, I definitely understand. I love traveling and will hopefully be traveling a lot this fall/next spring but I am hoping to mostly eat at veg*n restaurants if at all possible because I know how difficult it is to ensure food is vegan, and I know it will be even harder in another language! I am planning on buying a Vegan Passport and carrying it with me, so hopefully that will help.

[Vegabond]

Yeah, I definitely understand. I love traveling and will hopefully be traveling a lot this fall/next spring but I am hoping to mostly eat at veg*n restaurants if at all possible because I know how difficult it is to ensure food is vegan, and I know it will be even harder in another language! I am planning on buying a Vegan Passport and carrying it with me, so hopefully that will help.

For a sec I thought you were joking, but wow what a cool book!

[mariana]

For a sec I thought you were joking, but wow what a cool book!

Lol. I heard about the book on here I think....looks really useful.

[Vegabond]

Lol. I heard about the book on here I think....looks really useful.

There's so much that we need to concern ourselves when it comes to being a vegan, that I am starting to feel overwhelmed.

[JC]

Hey, i'm not italian or anything, but in august i'm going to be living in purugia for a month to do a language course. i'm really worried that i'll be living on fruit and vegetables for a month. does soya milk even exist in italy?! i'm going with a friend from my class who keeps saying we can go out for pizzas all the time, i haven't the heart to tell him he'll have to go on his own. i guess i could just ask for it 'senza il formaggio', but i'm scared that there'll be milk in the base or something. even pasta is usually made from egg over there, right?

[Hemlock]

There's so much that we need to concern ourselves when it comes to being a vegan, that I am starting to feel overwhelmed.

Hi Vegabond, I'm half Italian, my father came from Naples. I don't know hin and I've never been to Italy neither do I speak Italian but somehow I feel Italian. I'm a fair haired Italian like he was.

Don't feel overwhelmed just take it one day at a time We've found the vegan diet to be really easy and no more eating rubbish like spam or timmed meats, or food laden with cholesterol.

The local pizzeria always gets very stressed when we ask for pizza without cheese though, they cannot comprehend how anyone can eat pizza without half a ton of cheese on top

[Vegabond]

Hi Vegabond, I'm half Italian, my father came from Naples. I don't know hin and I've never been to Italy neither do I speak Italian but somehow I feel Italian. I'm a fair haired Italian like he was.

Don't feel overwhelmed just take it one day at a time We've found the vegan diet to be really easy and no more eating rubbish like spam or timmed meats, or food laden with cholesterol.

The local pizzeria always gets very stressed when we ask for pizza without cheese though, they cannot comprehend how anyone can eat pizza without half a ton of cheese on top

Well I've got no real issues with the food, it's everything else, this whole perception that being a vegan is an all or nothing way of life as some have put it.

JC
Hey, i'm not italian or anything, but in august i'm going to be living in purugia for a month to do a language course. i'm really worried that i'll be living on fruit and vegetables for a month. does soya milk even exist in italy?! i'm going with a friend from my class who keeps saying we can go out for pizzas all the time, i haven't the heart to tell him he'll have to go on his own. i guess i could just ask for it 'senza il formaggio', but i'm scared that there'll be milk in the base or something. even pasta is usually made from egg over there, right?

Sounds like you need mariana's book:
http://store.foodfightgrocery.com/veganpassport.html

[mariana]

There's so much that we need to concern ourselves when it comes to being a vegan, that I am starting to feel overwhelmed.

Hope you begin to feel less overwhelmed as time goes on. I don't know who says it's "all or nothing," but I personally think you have to decide for yourself how far you want to take veganism (obviously you can't call yourself vegan if you eat eggs or cheese, but I mean some people won't eat refined sugar while others will), and you can only do as much as you're capable of. For me, just taking things one step at a time and having a good vegan dessert makes me feel less overwhelmed and reminds me that although sometimes it all seems overwhelming, being vegan isn't so hard...and knowing we don't need to give up cupcakes or brownies makes me happy. Hopefully after awhile you'll feel less overwhelmed too--maybe you just need awhile to get acclimated to the vegan lifestyle.

Hey, i'm not italian or anything, but in august i'm going to be living in purugia for a month to do a language course. i'm really worried that i'll be living on fruit and vegetables for a month. does soya milk even exist in italy?! i'm going with a friend from my class who keeps saying we can go out for pizzas all the time, i haven't the heart to tell him he'll have to go on his own. i guess i could just ask for it 'senza il formaggio', but i'm scared that there'll be milk in the base or something. even pasta is usually made from egg over there, right?

I bet you'll have a great time. When I was in Italy I was still lacto-ovo, but I do recall not all the pizza has cheese on it; in fact, they often have at least one kind without cheese. However, I don't know if there would be milk in the base or not (although I'm thinking probably not since they might not add as many additives like whey to their dough). I would suggest getting a Vegan Passport (Vegabond linked to it).

Will you have access to a kitchen while you're there? If you're in a hotel room, will you have a coffee pot? You can heat up soup in coffee pots. I've also been considering other possibilities for hotel room coffee pots lately...do you think it would be possible to make couscous in one? I'm not sure, but you could try. I don't know about the prevalence of soymilk, but if you could find a health food store at least they'd probably have it. Oh, and you'll have to double check, but I've heard sorbet-style (usually the fruit flavor) gelato is usually vegan...and it's really delicious, too! Good luck, and have fun!

[JC]

thank you mariana, that's really useful! i'm going to be staying in some student accommodation, so hopefully there'll be cooking stuff there!

[mariana]

No problem, JC--have fun! I'm sure you'll have a great time and hopefully food won't turn out to be to big of an issue.

[Rosa McLachlan]

hey,

just thought i'd put my 2 pence worth in! almost every time i go to italy i have found no problems with eating, particularly in southern parts, and we even found soya ice cream in pisa!(and i think it's fairly widespread). i think that because there is a culture of homecooking in italy it's not difficult to find a beautiful pasta dish or a lovely pizza (and if they look at you strangely or question it say it's for religious reasons-they'll respect the strong belief)

i think it's best not too worry, i have many italian friends and although they tease me and don't understand my choices, they respect my passion and opinionated stance!

have a brilliant time and don't fret about the food! even if you have to spend the whole time eating ciabatta and roasted pepper pasta it's no bad thing!

xxx

[flying plum]

with regards to the soya milk, i never had any problem in spain, and i haven't found it hard in zagreb either (and i really thought i would here!).

here, it tends to be about double the price of back home for a litre of UHT alpro, but i just use it more sparingly. make porridge with half water, etc etc.

so...if i can find it in the balkans, i'm sure you could find it in purugia...especially with such a large student population!

have fun

amanda

[jonnie falafel]

There's soya ice-cream in the north too. I found it in Lucca this summer. I was travelling in Tuscany & Umbria in September and had little bother getting vegan food.. the only mistake was when my Ceci con rosmarino e olio can with a great hunk of butter melting in the middle. They sorted it out for me.

Tell you something though... I longed for a change of menu. Enquiring about Indian or Thai restaurants I was directed to Rome! I was in Cortona at the time.