So you have decided to embrace veganism, but what are the first steps? Adhering to a vegan diet (and eventually a lifestyle later on) might seem challenging and scary. Most people imagine it is all about quitting things, which is wrong. In fact, doing it by the book can be quite natural and will work wonders in the long run.
Make sure you learn how to go vegan before stopping meat and dairy products. Try to understand all the benefits of a vegan diet and come up with your own reason to do it – there are plenty of them. Find out what it takes to refresh and rejuvenate your body, but also discover new ingredients and alternatives. Try to learn how to tell if one product or another is vegan and keep in mind that many animal related products are hidden in unsuspecting products.
Research vegan shops and restaurants around you, join groups on social media and try out new recipes. Magazines will also help.
Lots of people think becoming vegan involves quitting everything at once – terrible idea. Instead, you need to incorporate the basic ingredients of a vegan lifestyle, such as beans, whole grains, seeds, tofu and others. Give up classic milk and opt for soy, coconut or almond. Add these things one at a time and replace common ingredients from your current diet. It will make the transition much smoother.
It is one thing to be a vegan to go and a different thing to go on a diet. Going on a diet is temporary, while going vegan is hopefully forever. With veganism, there is no such thing as cheating. To make it easier, identify your main reasons and motivation.
Whether it comes to health benefits, animal abuse, environmental protection or humanity, your reasons can be extremely diversified. Open your eyes and do not be afraid to learn about it – watch documentaries, even if they can be distressful or make you sad. Just because you do not see things happening, it does not mean that they do not exist.
To some, going vegan is about quitting lots of good foods. It is like quitting smoking or other harmful habits. Instead of seeing the change as a quitting movement, see it as a new beginning. In other words, you should not think about all the good foods that you are about to quit. Instead, think about all those tasty recipes that you are about to enjoy.
Plus, there are plenty of international cuisines and dishes excellent for vegans – your options are unlimited. Try not to worry about it, but get excited.
Learning how to go vegan implies planning, at least in the beginning. There are a few different ways to go vegan:
It is one thing to go vegan and another thing to learn by the book. Many newbies move on to green stuff without doing their homework, so they end up skipping lots of essential nutrients. This means they end up with deficiencies that must be treated.
Being vegan does not make you healthy, as you can find lots of vegan junk food too. Instead, you have to plan your diet to incorporate the nutrients and best vegan multivitamins your body requires. You will need some meal planning for a few weeks – just do it over a week or two, then repeat. You may actually surprise that there are many choices of food and even replacements, such as best vegan cheese,
The beginning is always harder, but once you get used to it, it will come out naturally – no more planning involved.
It is said that once you find something that works, you should just settle. Why would you keep exploring and risk it? Well, things are different when you want to go vegan. In fact, you are actually supposed to leave the food comfort zone and not only the food, some clothes and items as well, for example, consider getting best vegan handbag instead of real leather one.
You will find thousands of vegan recipes from pretty much any cuisine out there. You will also find vegan alternatives and variations of your favorites. You will be surprised by what you can prepare and if you love eating, the whole venture will be even better.
Explore new flavors, combinations and aromas. Feel free to find vegan restaurants around you too – what else could be better than getting some new ideas?
There are plenty of vegans out there and everyone knows someone who has adopted this lifestyle. But then, the world is still non vegan. If you think about it, being a vegan in a non vegan world can be quite interesting, but also intimidating.
In today's society, veganism is still a trend. Some choose to go vegan because they have a clue about the health benefits, but this is it. Despite being around since the 1940s, veganism is still an interesting concept that many fail to embrace.
There are more strands of it out there, which means you are free to design your own version based on whatever works for you – from food, nutrients and lifestyle choices to cooking preferences and cuisines.
You probably expect plenty of contradictions when learning to be vegan. Wrong! While some people will question you and ask why, you can always explain the most believable aspects, such as health benefits or animal abuse.
On another note, you might experience issues when going out to eat or attending an event. Feel free to cook your own food at home upfront, so you will not starve, to make it easier you can simply get yourself a best vegan cookbook. You can then have a salad out there and get over it – simple as it is.
In today's world, veganism asks for some preparation. Keep going even if it feels bad at times and chances are you will always find better reasons to stick to your plan than give it up.
In conclusion, learning how to go vegan is not hard, but it cannot be done without any education or planning. It might take time for veganism to become a second nature, but you will love it once it goes natural. And you will not even notice when you will start receiving interesting gifts from your supportive friends such as vegan gift baskets and other interesting treats.
