Vegan-curious people are everywhere these days. Once considered radical, the popularity of living and eating vegan is surging and is now heartily embraced by everyone from celebrities to your next-door neighbor. If you value the health and environmental benefits of being vegan and are thinking harder about the life of all of those farmed animals used for food production, you may want to give going vegan a try. Think it’s impossible? Not these days, and not with these tips!
1. Learn More about Being Vegan.
Whether you are exploring veganism from a health, environmental or ethical perspective, there are print, film, and online resources to fan the fire in your heart. Many people enjoy the fun and offbeat perspective that the film Vegucated offers. This guerrilla-style documentary follows three meat and cheese lovers as they try out veganism while Forks Over Knives offers an in-depth look at the way animal products impact human health and disease risk.
Looking for some good reads about the ethical why’s of veganism? Check out Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary founder Jenny Brown’s The Lucky Ones, Catskill Farm Animal Sanctuary founder Kathy Stevens’s Where the Blind Horse Sings or Dr. Melanie Joy’s fascinating Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows. All offer compelling reasons to reconsider our treatment of animals, especially those in the food production system.
A few great web resources include VegNews Magazine’s site (check out their print magazine too), recipe collector and community host VegWeb, popular blogger JL Fields of JL Goes Vegan and advocacy group Compassion Over Killing.
2. Focus on Finding New Favorite Vegan Foods.
Don’t focus on what you’re not eating; instead, as many experts suggest, try to incorporate new items into your diet. There are many wonderful cruelty-free products like artisanal cheese, plant-based milk, deli meats, roasts, yogurts and ice creams for you to explore. Start by adding these things to your menu, perhaps committing to a big salad every day with new-to-you or different plant-based products. Sub in soy milk, for example, instead of dairy creamer in your coffee; serve up some vegan cupcakes from the local bakery; or make a milkshake with a coconut-based ice cream and almond milk. Expand rather than contract.
3. Find the Flavor In Your Vegan Cuisine.
Flavoring your food is essential! No one expects you to enjoy a slab of animal protein without salt or pepper or a little pesto sauce, so don’t ignore this component as a vegan. It’s easy to elevate the flavor profiles of your plant-based proteins, whether it is through marinating (check out these 5 great marinade ideas), spicing or topping with a flavorful sauce (look for sauce ideas on vegan blogs, such as Oh She Glows).
4. Seek Support For Your New Vegan Diet.
While the amount of support you may get at home, work, or school can vary, you can enhance your vegan repertoire in a variety of ways. Online forums abound — favorites include the Vegucated Schoolhouse and the Post Punk Kitchen Forum. Videos on a variety of topics are widely available online. You can also find coaches who will work with you online, over the phone phone or in person. Many community colleges and adult schools offer plant-based cooking classes, so check your local offerings.
5. Enjoy Dining Out Vegan.
Veganism is not the end of enjoyable restaurant meals! It can be fantastic to discover new options in familiar eateries but even better to discover new restaurants. On the road? Many vegans swear by the website Happy Cow, which will locate veg-friendly restaurants near your location or destination. There is even a vegan passport! Doing a quick online search will also generally inform your restaurant choices. Ethnic cuisine is often a great choice. Remember that not every meal out was perfect before you became vegan, and not every meal out will be afterwards. However, with that said, make an effort to visit some of the top vegan restaurants at some point. You won’t be sorry.
6. Don’t Strive to Be A Perfect Vegan.
The myth of the perfect vegan is just that. While being vegan no longer involves mail ordering your soy milk powder, that doesn’t mean that everything perpetually unfolds flawlessly. Maybe that pesto on your sandwich turned out to have cheese in it, or perhaps your mom assured you that she was making vegan cookies which you later learned had eggs in them (it happens). Watch out for the folks who are out to trip you up and keep moving forward. Noted author and advocate Colleen Patrick Goudreau discusses these issues on some episodes of her well regarded podcast, thecompassionatecook.com.
7. Make Sure You’re Getting the Right Nutrients.
Pay attention to planning and maintaining a balanced diet, and adding the one nutrient you need to supplement, Vitamin B12. Read more about supplementing with The Vegan RD, Jack Norris, RD or, for kiddos, this well researched piece by blogger Bonzai Aphrodite. Both vegan and non-vegan folks should have regular check ups with their doctor.
8. Socialize With Other Vegans.
There are many ways to socialize with other vegans and relax into being able to share good food with others interested in healthy, cruelty-free cuisine. Many places have active vegan MeetUp groups. You can host or attend vegan potlucks or parties. Every year there is a Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale; see if there is one in your area or consider getting a group together to coordinate and host one. There are dozens of veg fests and events annually. If you live within a reasonable distance to a farmed animal sanctuary, their events are not only fun but vegan as well.
9. Enjoy Living Lighter.
Although the benefits of eating plant-based range from person to person, most vegans enjoy the maintenance of a healthy weight, clearer skin, higher energy and a general sense of lightness that comes from guilt-free living.
10. Appreciate Your Lighter Footprint.
Veganism encompasses a broad philosophy of avoiding animal products altogether. Be sure to check out cruelty-free shoes and accessories, cleaning products and cosmetics. You can use a handy online tool to find out which products are made and sold without harming animals.
