Craving cheese and chicken

[Organic Vegan Girl]

Hello there,
Well, I have recently committed to being vegan after years of back and forth. Feels good. I love shopping for fruits and veggies and am very aware of the many health benefits, as well as environmental... but I tend to go for food when I am stressed or tired or sad and earlier I was really wanting cheese and chicken. The craving has mostly passed, so even though I got on here hoping for support I am mostly satisfied with the nuts, chips and dried apricots I just ate. Glad to be where I am in life and glad for the existence of this forum. We all need to talk to people who understand.

 

[amberfunk]

I still get cravings too. Mine are mostly for fried chicken and I haven't found a really great substitute for it yet. For the cheese I can recommend chao slices, follow your heart slices or daiya chunks. They are the best for getting the cheese craving down for me at least. You can also try gardein or beyond meat for their veggie chicken.

 

[poivron]

I'm approaching my fifth-year anniversary of veganism, and I'm pleased to say that I no longer have cravings. At some point, I simply stopped seeing animals and what comes out of them as food. So hang in there. It does get easier.

The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak has a lot of cheesy vegan recipes. I've made the grilled cheese, and it was pretty good. I sometimes make homemade popcorn (popped in olive oil) and sprinkle salt and nutritional yeast on top. It's really good but is not a health food, so it might help quiet the cravings.

I have to say, though, that what you ate to stop the cravings suggests that you may not be getting enough calories. If you're unintentionally starving yourself, or otherwise not getting all the nutrients you need, it will be really hard to stick with veganism. Try having cooked oatmeal for breakfast (with ground flax seed, walnuts, and blueberries to make it super-healthy), and beans every day. Also try eating high-fat foods like avocados, and drink chocolate soymilk. (There are other things you can do to increase the calories, fat, and fiber that you're eating, but this is all I can think of right now.)

 

[Organic Vegan Girl]

Thanks guys.

 

[Forest Nymph]

If you crave cheese eat hummus, avocado, learn to make a nooch sauce or buy vegan cheese. For chicken try tempeh or Tofurky. I don't really like animal products anymore, like they gross me out and smell bad to me. But craving protein, fat or calories can definitely be addressed with other foods. My local burrito shop has enchiladas made with tofu and guac, sometimes combining vegan cheese with vegan mayo on a sandwich or avocado with nutritional yeast is good. Peanut butter is also good with things.

Nuts and dried fruit actually are good for simple calorie deficit so good job.