A friend just contacted me for tips as she is trying veganism for 21 days. I thought I would share with the world what I wrote her in case it may help others who are considering doing the same. I think this post will also show the abundance of food choices vegans have despite the lack of meat or dairy. Additionally, perhaps omnivores will want to add some of these foods into their diets! If you are new to my blog, look around for additional recipes in my What I'm Eating mini-series.
Ok here are some tips! Of course, try and remove as many non-vegan food items from your house as possible. Replace these with some vegan staples:
Beans: canned and dried. Canned are quick but come from cans which aren't the healthiest. Be sure to drain and rinse canned beans to reduce sodium. Dried beans must be soaked overnight (or a minimum of 4 hours) and boiled for about an hour to be ready. Dried beans are significantly cheaper than canned, and buying in bulk reduces waste and energy (lost in the recycling process).
Tofu: Most people I've talked to are scared of cooking with tofu. I was, too. The good news is you can eat it out of the container if you really wanted which means you can't screw it up, only make it better. Firm and extrafirm I find the most versatile. Drain and cut in to cubes or squish through your fingers into your pan for a scramble.
Veggies: My staple veggies are mushrooms (crimini/portobello), zucchini and yellow squash. With these three I can make countless meals. I've used them for taco/burrito/enchilada filling, stir fry, tofu scrambles, roasted.. I can always think of something if that's all I have in the fridge. I find it useful to also have onions, tomatos, avocados, and garlic on hand. Also, potatoes or sweet potatoes can be your best friend for a quick, hearty meal. Cut up into big pieces, toss in olive oil with rosemary and salt, roast, and eat with organic ketchup! Oh, I (and my omnivorous friends, too) love roasted asparagus (olive oil and salt).
Greens: still veggies, obviously, but more specific. Leafy greens have lots of protein and tons of nutrition. I still find it hard to get enough of them before they go bad in the fridge but I feel like my nutrition is lacking if I don't have them around. Kale is widely used.. I like to make Garlic and Greens soup using kale which makes it very palatable. I have the recipe for this on my blog. Spinach, I find, is easier for me to eat raw. I used to make this awesome breakfast (i really should start again) where I would grill an Amy's gardenburger (not all are vegan, check the labels!) on the George Foreman then top it with peach-mango salsa, nutritional yeast, alfalfa sprouts, and spinach. It was quick, delicious, and nutritious.
Frozen: Frozen fruits and veggies are great since they retain their nutrients and last a lot longer than the fresh versions. Frozen fruit make for great smoothies with some fortified orange juice and rice milk... I use this to take my flax oil. I also like having frozen potato wedges and hash browns (quality brands, few ingredients) on hand for quick meals. If you can find good quality frozen vegan burritos that's nice to have on hand. But really, i find myself wanting to make my own food because I know exactly what I'm getting.
Dairy alternatives: First thing's first: cheese. If you can find Daiya cheese your vegan transition will be a lot easier. Daiya is super delicious (I like the mozzarella kind) and it melts, making it easy to use anywhere you would use regular cheese. It does not taste identical to real cheese but it tastes really good, if not better in some cases. To find this cheese, you can give your local chain grocer a try. I've seen it here in recent days. Otherwise, more specialized natural markets and health food stores will probably have it. You can even pay a premium to buy it online. It's worth it. It's lasts forever in the fridge so stock up. As for milk, I tend to like Rice milk (chocolate rice milk is delectable... kiddos would love it!). Soy milk has a mild flavor but i've heard soy in that form is not the best for you.. idk i haven't researched but I stick to rice for drinking and soy for cooking. Fortunately, I weaned myself off milk a lot before I became vegan and I really still do prefer water over any other drink. Coconut milk chocolate ice cream is equally amazing as the chocolate rice milk. Sooooo good.
Grains: Ezekiel bread is so healthy and I think it tastes pretty good, too. The texture is a little thicker than your normal wheat breads but you'll get so much more out of Ezekiel. I use toasted Ezekiel bread, Vegenaise, paprika, and sliced avocado for a delicious breakfast or lunch. I find tortillas to be very handy. I can tear them up and dip them in hummus, make a quick quesadilla on the Foreman, make enchiladas or burritos... be sure to get quality brand, with as few ingredients as possible. They can put a lot of crap in there... I'm not a huge cereal eater but I do like a nice box of Nature's Path raisin bran with flax and other goodies. I keep it in the car to snack on.
Miscellaneous: Vegenaise (sub. mayonnaise), Nutritional Yeast (dry, yellow flakes that taste yummy and kind of cheesy), Bragg's Liquid Aminos (provides all of your essential amino acids and has a salty, soy-saucey taste that can be sprayed on food or poured while cooking), Amy's canned soups are a quick and filling lunch, Lara Bars are survival food as is good quality trail mix. I have to keep some survival food on me at all times because I get really low blood sugar when I'm hungry and it's bad news. I can put a Lara bar in my purse or backpack, nuts or trailmix in the car, etc. I find it easiest to sway from being vegan when i'm starving! If you crave meats, there are lots of different mock meats available to try. If you can find soy chorizo it's heaven... Gardein is a great company that does quite convincing mock meats in a variety of preparations.
Resources: vegweb.com, vegnews.com, engine2diet.com, Veganomicon, Supermarket Vegan, How It All Vegan/Garden of Vegan, my blog: ashinaz.blogspot.com, as education and motivation I encourage you to read "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer.
Hopefully this is helpful and not too overwhelming for you! I hope you will experience that going vegan is not as difficult as you thought. Indeed, I went vegan for one week as a cleanse then decided to extend it to two weeks, to the end of the month and I here I am now 11 months and going strong!
Please do not hesitate to comment with any questions about veganism, I'd love to share my experiences.
