Switching to Vegan

Switching to Vegan - The animal friendly way to eat.

 It really is easy and do-able to make the change to vegan when you know a few principles that make any lifestyle change easier and lasting. They are principles that can be used to give up anything - in this case meat and dairy. They are principles that I have used over the past thirty years from when I first heard of them and applied them to giving up 'eating when full' . Then applied them in giving up smoking and drinking. I was already vegetarian but used them years later to evolve into a Vegan.
Okay lets start: Most folk are now all too aware of the cruelty of the meat and dairy industry and simply do not want to be part of that. Also there are many health benefits to the Vegan lifestyle. but how to make the changeover do-able and permanent? Well read on:

  • Be easy about it - allow yourself to not be 100% Vegan but aim towards it. Great if you can do it, great if you can't, it is all part of learning how to make the changeover.
  • Learn a few tasty recipes that include beans and/or lentils, spinach and/or broccoli - This takes care of the protein and iron.
  • Tune into what you fancy eating. And if you fancy meat or dairy say to yourself - Okay I can have that if I want it, but do I really want it considering my desire to be veggie / vegan?
  • Never say 'I can't have that' either to yourself and others - Simply say - 'I don't eat that. I am not that keen on it anymore thanks.' Experiment with other ways of saying 'I am vegan' that are a little less emotionally charged, such as - 'I don't eat cheese, I am not that keen on dairy anymore. I don't eat a lot of dairy, I really love the dairy-free alternatives out there. I much prefer Almond milk to dairy milk.' This way you are not making anyone 'wrong' you are simply conveying a dietary choice.
  • When a craving for meat or dairy strikes -  simply ask yourself - What feeling is this? and then Given the fact I feel this way what would I like to do now? This sorts out the many emotional reasons we crave particular foods and makes it easier to give them up for good. You may fear hurting a friend's feelings by refusing her fish dinner, or feel a 'lack of camaraderie' when you no longer share a meat platter at a restaurant. Being aware of the emotional attachment to certain foods we can easily negotiate a new way of being and eating. You can tuck into a portion of French fries while the others have the meat platter and feel empowered that you are making a choice that you know is right for you. Grandmas beef stew is not the reason you visit her - it is her company and reassuring her of that can leave it okay with her that you have made the choice to no longer eat meat. Bringing her a homemade Vegan cheesecake may help too. 
  • Check out the vegan alternatives to cheese they are awesome.
  • Check out the Vegan 'Milk' such as Almond, Soya, Oat Milk and Oat Crème, Hazelnut and Rice. these are all in sweetened and unsweetened forms and try both to help you decide the one you like. 
  • If you like cooking and baking, all the better, because the recipes you will find for both sweet and savoury dishes are amazing. Below is one of my favourites to get you started.
VEGAN CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
100 ml soya yogurt or curdled soya milk
100g sugar
50g oil
15g cocoa 
100g self raising flour
pinch salt
Half teaspoon baking powder
100g chocolate (melted)
100g Walnuts (optional)

Mix Yogurt / curdled soya milk, sugar, oil  then add flour, cocoa, baking powder and mix well.
Stir in melted chocolate and add walnuts if using.

Bake at Gas Mark 4 or 180C for 20 mins

Comments

  1. Marla Martenson20 May 2019 at 14:28

    Great post. Going vegan is easier than most people think, and the feeling of knowing you are not harming other beings is priceless!

    ReplyDelete

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