Great way to start the thread, since the single biggest misconception about vegans is that they don't get enough protein.

All protein comes from plants. Protein from animals means you are getting it second hand.

There is a very small percentage of people in the world who suffer from protein deficiency (less than 3%), and the majority of those people have a calorie deficiency.

A balanced healthy diet does not need to include animal products. Nothing "extreme" about it.

Generally speaking, those parents aren't too smart (I refrained from calling them idiots). If their children have malnutrition and have suffered from starvation it means that the children are not getting enough of the high density calories on the vegan diet, which is very important considering how small children's stomachs are. Meat has a very high caloric density compared to most vegetables and fruits, so care needs to be taken to feed them the higher caloric density foods like nuts, seeds, avocados, quinoa, beans, coconut milk etc.

There are tons of examples of children raised vegan without issue. I agree though, it will take a little more effort on the parents part to make sure that their children are getting the right nutrition and calories, but it really isn't that hard.

Have to admit, I've missed your posts.

Haven't been around for about 10 months. Just meant I missed your posts from a combination of both of us being away.

Thanks for the reco on Vinh Loi. Will keep that one in mind.

Those are the idiots who give vegans a bad reputation. I hate that crap. Huge turnoff, and it actually has the opposite effect of getting someone curious about a vegan diet.

When I did my research on my digestive issues I was disappointed that I came to the conclusion that I would need to go full vegan instead of vegetarian, because I'd have to give up cheese. I read about most new vegans struggling to give up their cheese. I can't remember offhand what ingredient is in cheese (casein?), but it is very addictive, and is the reason that it is so hard to give up.

My biggest surprise so far has been how little I have missed cheese! Didn't see that coming. I haven't drank milk for decades, so that was no big deal, but man, it is astonishing how many processed foods have milk in it! That has been the hardest thing to get used to...things that you think are vegan aren't, because they have freaking milk in them. Government subsidies have made milk cheap, and they have a strong lobby behind them.

I tried my first vegan pizza from The Blaze that Rarehero was talking about. Pretty good! But to be honest, I think I would have enjoyed it just as much without the vegan cheese as I did with it.

We ate a lot of steak and chicken, so our grocery bills have gone down as well. Things like Avocados, the Beyond Meat Burger, and things like certain nuts (Brazil, Macadamia) can bring the price of the vegan bill up a bit though.

Could not agree more. Meat is not good for digestion either, but dairy can really play havoc with the gut. I think 60% of the worlds population is lactose intolerant. That says a lot.

The importance of cows milk:

I have to say that I have been very pleasantly surprised. At least so far..

Awesome, they have one at The Market Place in Irvine, which is near my office. Will check it out!

Eggs are literally a chickens period!

I have to say that I am really impressed with this thread so far. Even the posts from people who are not vegan and say that they won't go vegan have been civil and balanced. And this is definitely a topic that can cause heated arguments and name calling. So maybe Pinside isn't so bad after all?

As said earlier, sunshine. If you don't have that, then supplement. Lots of meat eaters are deficient in Vitamin D too.

As for calcium: broccoli, bok choy, collard greens, soy, kale, mustard greens, okra etc.

I couldn't agree more on the antibiotic thing. I had a very similar experience about 4 years ago: my Doctor gave me antibiotics because I was complaining of stomach issues/pain. Without doing any kind of testing, she simply threw antibiotics at me. Bam! Good bacteria in my gut was completely wiped out. Result? Full blown C. Diff. (clostridium difficile). C. Diff. is the number 1 cause of death in hospitals (it's highly contagious). It was the most sick that I have ever been in my life by far. It got pretty serious, as the drugs they were using to restore my good bacteria was not working initially, but it finally kicked in.

Since this happened, I have educated myself on antibiotics and the harm that they can cause. It's significant. I will never use antibiotics again unless it is a clear cut case where you know that they are required. For example, my best friend got the tip of his finger cut off in his cars fan blade. His doctor prescribed him antibiotics. My friend told the doctor he didn't need the antibiotics because he would not be using them. His doctor argued that he needed them to prevent infection. My friend told him that he simply planned on watching it and keeping the wound clean! If his wound did get infected, *then* he would take the antibiotics. I think that is the right approach. He had zero problems.

Thanks for the heads up on Veggie Grill Greg. It was awesome. The Beyond Meat burger is as close to meat as anything I’ve tasted. And the vegan cheese they use is excellent!

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I've actually had the Impossible Burger at Red Robin, and to be honest, I much prefer the Beyond Meat burger that I had today. We have them at home too, and agree with you on the smell. Several times my oldest daughter has come home from school in the afternoon and said "you cooked a Beyond Meat burger didn't you!" Luckily I love the smell.

Yep. Not claiming that it’s health food. Just a healthier option than the real thing with cheese. I don’t plan on eating them more than a couple times a week.

It’s the whole food/plants that should make up the majority of a vegan diet. Ie, stay away from the processed stuff as much as possible

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All I can say as that I think it's pretty cool that you, as a non-vegan, went to Veggie Grill based on this thread and that you were not appalled at the taste of the beyond meat burger!

AND, you plan on going back!

I do agree about the price. Unfortunately I have noticed that the vegan restaurants are not cheap.

Chipotle's is good too, because you can get their Sofritas (soy meat substitute) at no extra cost. The flavor of their soy is pretty darn good in my opinion, and soy can be a challenge in terms of getting it to soak in the marinade/seasoning.

I get the fajita veggies on top of the sofritas! But yes, you can order without sofritas, and if you order with no "protein" at all, did you know that you get to add the guacamole for free? Pretty cool.

Sodium has always been an issue with the meat substitutes unfortunately. Which is why they should all be used sparingly, and the *whole food* plant based diet is the key.

Yeah, I *never* order the tortilla. That thing is freaking huge.

Sweet, they have one in Tustin! Another option I can try near my office.

I can see that you are going to cost me a lot of money in the next couple of weeks as I try these places out. The jackfruit is particularly interesting since I have not tried it yet and it has been highly recommended.

Bummer. But you saved me money because I was going to give Halo Top a try.

The Ben & Jerry's Caramel Almond Brittle is still the best vegan ice cream I have tasted by far, but it's loaded with sugar and I feel like crap after eating too much of it.

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I'll be honest, those pics would have grossed me out even when I did eat meat.

Yes! It is one of the (ahem) biggest advantages to going vegan. Noticeable difference for sure. James Cameron is coming out with a movie about a vegan diet. He has said that men could stop taking Viagra by simply going plant based.

48 hours seems pretty quick to notice such a change though. Congrats.

Pretty sure nobody is asking you to.

Well you are really going out on a limb to say that people shouldn't do something just because other people are doing it.

You are right, you didn't say that nobody should do something just because others do it. You simply said that *you* wouldn't do something just because others are doing it. My bad.

Thanks for your valuable and insightful contribution to the thread.

Sadly (or is it?) I had to give up coffee nearly 2 years ago now because of stomach issues.

My wife still drinks coffee and she loves this stuff:
https://www.ripplefoods.com/original-half-and-half/

I have gone to Blaze several times now after being vegan. They have vegan cheese, but I much prefer their pizza's without any cheese at all. I have to say that I am really surprised by how good a pizza can still be without any cheese. Whoda thunk it?

Baby Arugula FTW!

You mean Gaff does.

Millennials don't talk about sex.

Your point was that Millennials don't talk about sex by saying that they were talking about sex?