First Step To Veganism

Changing to a vegan diet takes a lot of conviction. Vegans are very much surrounded by pressure. People make jokes, judge and do not support your movement. And once you get over the social hurdle, you need to continue to keep yourself motivated when ordering food in restaurants that do not have vegan options, or worse - the vegan options are not worth the money. Once you get over those barriers, sticking to vegan consumerism gets easier and easier. 

Food For Thought

The first place most people start with is food. In order to make life easier, it is best to have all your food organized for a week so that you have meals at the ready when you are hungry. Cooking up batches of meals is pretty tricky, but with the right frame of mind, you can see it as a ritual - taking care of the environment and your body.

Before going out and doing all your shopping, vegans need to know what they can and cannot eat and in addition, which ingredients go well together to create a tasty meal. There are so many recipes available online that in turn, provide lists of what you can purchase. There is some debate with foods such as avocados, kiwis and broccoli, but we will leave that to you to decide!

Some debated foods need bees to grow and bees are being used in an unnatural way to produce them - like honey. Make sure you educate yourself well. Remember that in the end, doing the best you can by your values is the most important. 

Grocery Shopping

Once you have the grocery list, need to the shop and your bags are filled with vegan-friendly goodies, it is time to make your meals. Select recipes that have a balance between quick and easy rather than longer, more complicated dishes. 

You will see that the amount of work needed to stick to a diet is quite a lot - especially if you work from 9 to 5 and have no one helping you.  Estimate and calculate your time properly so that you can really achieve what you expect. Otherwise, you will feel terrible if you do not meet your goals. Precook anything that you can to stay in the fridge. 

Being A Vegan Outside

You have your meals prepared or at least planned and every time eat at home, you are happy. You are sticking to your values and feel great. But you cannot stay at home all the time. You go out and meet friends at a restaurant or in their home. You find out that there are no vegan options. What do you do? 

Check the side dishes and see which ones fit the bill. The best you can do is get a lot of small food, all together as your meal and ask your waiter to bring it at the same time. Not enough choice? Get two portions of the same thing. If you are going to a friend's house, ask if they do not mind cooking vegan. Or offer to bring a vegan meal to their home instead. 

The Take Off

The hardest part is starting, but once you take off - you will be flying! There are times when you are tired of cooking and planning all your meals. Simply ask help from your friends and include them on your journey. Maybe they will also understand that this means a lot to you and will support you. It is always good to have a friend there who reminds you that even though the dish tastes better with fish - there is a vegan option available.