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How to Eat Vegan

How to Eat Vegan

Starting to vegan is both easy and hard. It’s easy to stop eating animals and animal products, including meat, fish, shellfish, dairy and eggs. It can be a challenge to shift your idea of what’s for dinner. Fortunately, we live in the golden age of plant-based diets, when eating more plants is more convenient and more delicious than ever. Get started with my guide below.

How to eat vegan

  1. Follow the steps for How to Eat Vegetarian, so you are no longer eating meat, chicken, fish, or seafood.
  2. Also stop eating eggs and dairy, including milk, butter, cheese, and yogurt. You can go further by not eating honey, too, but eggs and dairy are key.
  3. Make a list of your favorite foods that are accidentally vegan. Mine include peanut butter on toast for breakfast, PB&J sandwiches, bean burritos, red beans and rice, and vegetable stir fries. Start with these.
  4. Think about food you like that is nearly vegan. Just replacing an ingredient or two with a plant-based alternative can puts many favorite recipes into play.
  5. Explore new recipes and menus.
  6. Practice using plant-powered alternatives. For baking recipes, the most rewarding path may be to start with well-tested recipes before you start converting your old family favorites. Replacing one egg or a few tablespoons of butter is easy. Replacing more than that can be tricky.
    • For cheese, substitute something else creamy, rich, and salty, like guacamole or hummus. Alt-cheese now are melty-delicious, too. I buy Violife slices and grated cheese mixes.
    • For milk, use one of the many plant milks available. I use Joi plant-milk bases so I can make just as much as a want at a time, with no waste. I use oat milk to make hot chocolate and cashew or almond for baking and ice cream. Note that most plant milks except for soy milk are low in protein compared to cow’s milk. They are usually fortified with calcium and other nutrients.
    • For butter to spread, use a plant-based butter, tahini, or avocado. I use Miyoko’s Vegan Butter.
    • For butter in baking, use a plant-based butter, vegetable oil, or low-fat alternatives such as apple sauce or mashed sweet potatoes.
    • To scramble like eggs, use chickpea flour, tofu, or Just Eggs. Just Eggs are a game changer. The liquid version works brilliantly in quiches, casseroles, or scrambled. I cook the folded version in the toaster to have with bagels or to make an egg sandwich.
    • For eggs used to stick food together (think burgers and casseroles): use 1 tablespoon finely-ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water or other liquid.
    • For eggs whipped up like meringue: aquafaba (the liquid from canned or cooked chickpeas) is a miracle.
    • For eggs in baking, use 1/4 cup applesauce or 3 tablespoons aquafaba or 1 tablespoon finely-ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoons water.
    • For eating chocolate, look for dark chocolate without milk. Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups are better than the ones I grew up with. The Peanut Gems from Unreal Chocolate satisfy my craving for peanut M&M’s.  A few times a year, we splurge on fine chocolates from our local Escazú Chocolates or  Unicorn Chocolates.
    • For baking chocolate, bake with cocoa, cacao, or vegan chocolate chips. I use Equal Exchange chocolate chips.
    • For ice cream, I sometimes make my own using Joi cashew-milk or almond-milk bases. Also look for creamy perfection in So Delicious’s cashewmilk ice creams. My favorite is Salted Caramel Cluster and my Taster’s is Chocolate Cookies and Cream. Kind Frozen Treat bars, especially Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt & Nut, have all the yum of frozen Snicker’s Bars.
  7. Start taking vitamin B12. It’s the one nutrient humans either from animal products, from dirt, or from supplements. I choose supplements.
  8. Make sure you are getting the right balance of omega 3s to omega 6s. You don’t need to eat fish or take fish oil. Fish get omega 3s from algae and you can too.
  9. Breath easy about getting enough protein. As long as you are not living on sugar, extracted oils, and fruit, you will get enough protein. In fact, you will probably be reducing your risk of chronic disease and early death by eating a little less.

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