Craving meat

[annemiekeclark]

Hi folks,

I'm fairly new to this veg adventure, about 3 months in, and I have started obsessing about meat. I feel a little uncomfortable writing this on a vegan forum but I'm wondering if anyone else has worked through this. It is all I can think about for the last 3 days. Intellectually and emotionally, when I think through what that really means I am horrified but the craving still remains. My protein intake is at least 100g/day and I take a multi-vitamin. Is there something that could be missing in my diet to be causing this.

Shamefully yours,

mieke

[Zack]

Do you crave it on an empty stomach? I find that, since i've eaten meat and dairy most of my life, when I'm hungry it's the first thing into my head. I was thinking about the protein part, but 100g a day should be enough. Where is it coming from?

 

Are you craving red meat? Maybe the iron content?

[Neven]

I also some time crave for it but if conditioned myself and it goes away really quickly. I think about the horror of it, the unhealthy side, the expensive side, my word, my pride and there is nothing that would bring me back to it.

[DV]

The smell of sausage used to do that to me. I've since discovered that fake meats with sausage seasoning are just as good. Faux meats can certainly help with this. I find that seitan (especially some of the homemade recipes), Gimme Lean sausage and the vegan burgers from Trader Joe's (I forget the brand, green box) are all eerily close to meat-like and can help with those cravings.

 

It will pass!

[VeganDude]

I never have. After I stopped eating meat for a couple of weeks - about 14 years ago - I was ed by it, I never ever crave(d) it at all. Same when I stopped eating cheese and eggs etc.

I'm also really put of by the smell of meat, cheese, eggs, milk. It really smells faul to me.

Maybe I'm lucky

[Emmybear]

When I went vegetarian I never looked back..meat grosses me out but the smell still smells good when I am hungry...I know it is not the actual meat that I want it is just the seasoning and flavor of it. No one eats raw meat it is the texture and seasoning that we find appetizing.

 

SO...You probably aren't craving the actual meat..probably just the seasoning on it... get some Montreal steak seasoning or barbecue sauce or Boca chicken patties. Since you are a vegetarian you can eat flame grilled Boca burgers which taste like a real burger because they are kind of greasy. The longer you stick with it the easier it will be....13 years of not eating meat I don't miss it one bit.

 

I will probably always miss reeses' peanut butter cups... and nutella I have yet to find a vegan version that holds up . vegan cheese is pretty good though...and milk is nasty.... soy milk is way better....and eggs always kind of grossed me out.

[Lean and Green]

I wish I knew what to tell you Anne. I think it's a feeling that should pass over time hopefully. The craving for meat, for me, surprisingly went away instantaneously. I was extremely shocked at that, though I did phase it out over a course of time before I let go. I have absolutely no taste for it. I will admit, not after cardio sessions but after tremendously grueling power/strength workouts here and there the thought would come across my mind. Like, I should slam down a huge steak or something, never any other type of meat but it isn't an urge, more of a thought from my old ways....

 

I will probably always miss nutella I have yet to find a vegan version that holds up

 

hmmm. I'm with you on this one, being practically raised on the stuff in an italian household. It was packed for my lunches many a times. Man it always tasted sooo good going down but the icky sugar and milk aftertaste and crash, i can't explain but any nutella buff would understand what i'm trying to convey.

 

let me think:

 

This stuff, is just an example. I don't think it has the same consistency, it is too stiff.

Artisana Cacao Bliss

 

If I recall, this stuff is more smooth and spreadable.

Raw Chocolate Sauce

 

Sounds Interesting, obviously trying to mimick the concept. Never tried it.

Rawtella

 

Emmy, if you pick any up, let me know if it's worth getting. I have definitely had some chocolate spreads in the past that were just like nutella but I cannot recall the names of them. I'm sure it will come to me and i'll get back to you on others.

[Im Your Man]

I guess it's because you've been vegan for only 3 months. It will disappear of your mind but it may take longer.

[michaelhobson]

The smell of sausage used to do that to me. I've since discovered that fake meats with sausage seasoning are just as good. Faux meats can certainly help with this. I find that seitan (especially some of the homemade recipes), Gimme Lean sausage and the vegan burgers from Trader Joe's (I forget the brand, green box) are all eerily close to meat-like and can help with those cravings.

 

It will pass!

 

Agree 100%. First, it's completely normal to crave foods that you have eaten all your life. Those cravings can be triggered by hunger of course, or even places, people, situations, holidays, smells etc. Find a vegan version of what it is you're craving, which shouldn't be hard at all in Portland. Know that the craving will pass in time. I even went through a short period where I regularly dreamed of eating meat, kind of strange since I never really craved it when awake.

 

In the meantime, go hand out with some vegans. There are plenty on this forum that get together regularly. Social support really makes things easier. If all else fails, watch the DVD Meet Your Meat a few times, that should take care of it.

[xveganjoshx]

I eat a lot of fake meat. I really like it. It's either that, or real meat, so take your pick. It's funny, for a vegan, I eat almost no fruits or greens. I don't care for it. I listen to my body.

[Neven]

I know it is not the actual meat that I want it is just the seasoning and flavor of it. No one eats raw meat it is the texture and seasoning that we find appetizing.

Know when you said it I think I can agree with you. I have never thought about it in that way and now when you said it I think thats the exact point.

Since going vegetarian I have been couple of times in butcher's shops and their cold storages and believe me annemiekeclark there is nothing tempting/alluring in that smell.

[ChaserHUN]

Sometimes the beast inside awakens and wondering how would it taste again, but than it comes to my mind how shit I feel after eating it

[beforewisdom]

If you are craving meat it is either a nutritional deficiency at work or a psychological craving. Both can be fixed.

 

Read this free site by a vegan RD.

 

http://www.veganhealth.org

 

Use its guidelines as a checklist to make sure you are getting everything and enough of each thing. Keep a food diary for a few weeks.

 

Usually people don't enough calories, fat, or green vegetables when this happens. Make sure you eat ground flax seeds or english walnuts everyday ( you only need 5 ). Eat cabbage family vegetables everday like collard greens, kale, or broccoli twice a day.

 

 

 

For psychological cravings check out Chinese faux meats. They are simply the most realistic substitutes.

Edited May 31, 2008 by beforewisdom

[DV]

I eat a lot of fake meat. I really like it. It's either that, or real meat, so take your pick. It's funny, for a vegan, I eat almost no fruits or greens. I don't care for it. I listen to my body.

 

You slay me.

 

 

 

BeforeWisdom, your link didn't go through. And I highly suggest the ground flax seed instead of the walnuts (why eat the omega 6s when they are in so many other foods?).

[beforewisdom]

A lot of people don't want to deal with flax. Walnuts are ubiquitous and tasty.

[hsorlando]

I've never craved meat because I've never had it, but I have craved dairy products, and eggs at times. I just think of the factory farms, and the terrible conditions the animals live in and then my cravings generally go away. I usually get cravings for dairy when I am not eating very well.

[annemiekeclark]

Thanks for the support and suggestions. I devoured some of the boca chicken patties and they hit the spot. I think I was feeling deprived because I had been dieting all week and my mind was fixating on meat as the object of my deprivation when really it was calories I was needing. It didn't help that my husband was encouraging me to eat meat and using my cravings to prove that I was a meat eater at heart-nothing like a supportive home environment!

Thanks again

mieke