How to get started – 7 easy tips to go Vegan

1. Planning!

The absolute quickest way to fall off the wagon is not planning. It’s important to think about your first day’s meals and buy plant milk for your breakfast and coffee or tea, some dairy-free butter for toast or sandwiches, and something tasty for your dinner.

Here are some quick ideas to get you started.

Breakfast

  • Toast – with vegan butter, peanut butter, yeast extract, jam, hummus, avocado, sliced tomato or dairy-free cheese
  • Oatmeal – with your choice of plant milk. Add seeds, nuts and fruits
  • Breakfast cereals – with dairy-free milk or yoghurt. Add seeds, nuts and fruit
  • Full English – vegan sausages and bacon, scrambled tofu, hash browns, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and baked beans
  • Tea, coffee and fruit juice

 

2. Discover vegan foods

There are so many everyday foods that just happen to be vegan, so open up your cupboard and take a look.

Common vegan foods include pasta, rice, peanut butter and Marmite, most breads, tinned tomatoes, chickpeas and kidney beans, jam and marmalade, coconut milk, curry pastes, tomato puree, baked beans, many crisps, crackers and biscuits, herbs and spices, many gravy granules, tea, coffee and fruit juice.

There is a good chance that a lot of the foods you already eat are vegan!

3. Try to Veganise your favourite dishes

Again, there is no need to adopt a whole new eating regime. You just need to learn a few simple vegan cooking hacks to ‘veganise’ what you already eat.

4. Ease yourself in

There’s no right or wrong way to go vegan and small, steady steps have an impact over time. Instead of trying to go vegan overnight, start with one meal at a time, or even one day at a time. For this to be a sustainable change, you need to do whatever works for you.

5. Replace what you won’t miss first

We get it: some things are harder to replace than others, say cheese and chocolate 😊.

Today there are so many vegan alternatives to try, so explore them in your own time and you’ll soon find your perfect match and you just might be surprised.

6. Learn the basics of nutrition

When you’re not sure how to go vegan, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is not knowing your nutritional needs.

Although there are many health benefits of eating a plant-based diet, it’s also important to remember that just because something is vegan doesn’t make it healthy. Vegan junk food is still junk food!

When transitioning to a vegan lifestyle, do some research to ensure you are getting everything you need to thrive.

Protein, vitamin B12, Omega fatty acids, iron and iodine are among the most common concerns, but broadly speaking, eating a variety of protein sources, legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables should be enough.

A great resource is Dr Greger’s Nutritional facts https://nutritionfacts.org/daily-dozen/

Check out his free downloadable Daily Dozen Infographic.

7. Understand your ‘why’

When motivation is running low it helps to remember why you wanted to make this change in the first place.

Best of all, have fun and enjoy. You never know, it might open up a whole new world of recipes and ingredients and rekindle your love of great food.

For more resources check out www.veganuary.com