Did you know that each day, a person who eats a vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq ft of forested land, and one animal’s life?
There are so many reasons to go plant based:
- To lower your risk of heart disease and type two diabetes
- Treat or reverse other current health conditions
- Keep your weight in check
- Show kindness and compassion towards other sentient beings
- To reduce the amount of bacteria, hormones, antibiotics and other toxins in our body
- Save the environment and help stop climate change
- Improve your fitness levels
- Experience better skin
- Aid digestion
- Improve your mood
- Save money
- It’s never been easier than it is today!
(Source)
Photography by @g_kenny_k
Change one thing at a time, or take the plunge
It depends on what works best for you. Some people say take the plunge and go completely vegan for 6 weeks straight. It will be hard but your body will adjust. Some people say to change out one thing at a time, which may take up to a year until you are fully comfortable and explore cooking new meals until it eventually becomes second nature.
Start with switching cows milk to almond/soy/rice/oat milk. Then start having vegetarian meals 5 days a week and whatever you please in the weekend. During the first year, I allowed one cheat meal a month to satisfy any cravings I had, which allowed me to stay on track for the rest of my meals. Although my cravings died down after that period of time had passed, I would still class myself as 90% plant-based due to my relaxed approach (which I have found suits my lifestyle perfectly).
Once you have mastered finding alternative swaps, you can look for vegan alternatives of meat and dairy products. I love making nachos using veggie mince, chilli beans and crushed tomatoes. You can add veggie sausages, tofu or ‘chicken-free’ chicken to your meals to bulk them up as well. If you are wondering what to eat for lunch if you aren’t a ‘salad’ person, try adding roasted kumara, pumpkin, quinoa, buckwheat, black beans or brown rice to make meals more wholesome and filling.
Find vegan alternatives
I used to think “what on earth would you eat for breakfast if you can’t eat eggs on toast”? But the options are endless! Try peanut butter toast with chia seeds and cinnamon, avocado toast with tomato and spinach, or a ‘breakfast bowl’ with crispy sweet tofu, potato hash and dark leafy greens!
Once you get used to fueling your body with cleaner foods, you may build a slight intolerance to your old diet, because it sort of becomes a ‘foreign substance’. Our body gets so used to artificial ingredients and processed food, it builds up an immunity to it until it’s ‘normal’ to digest. So if you revert back or even indulge in a treat, just have a small amount so it doesn’t shock your body or make you feel ill.
Choose the right substitites
Don’t think that anything not containing animal products is now ‘healthy’. Although we are incredibly lucky to have an abundance of vegan alternative foods such as pies, chicken-free chicken, sausages, mince, cheese, patties, ice-cream and other desserts; be sure to only use these items for texture and flavouring of the meals rather than an every day item.
By cutting out animal products from your diet, you need to eat larger amounts of plant-based wholefoods to reach the same nutritional value and ensure you don’t develop deficiencies. Eat the colours of the rainbow with a good mix of lean vegetables, proteins and complex carbs.
Know your ‘why’
Understand why you are making such changes to your lifestyle. If you know your reasoning for making the switch, it will really help pull you through the hard times when you feel like giving up.
Reasoning may include better health for your body, animal welfare, environmental issues, ethics/morals in general, or simply because you are interested in why everyone is suddenly raving about it.
Challenges that vegans may face are learning to cook new meals, deciding what to buy from the supermarket (now that some products are off limits), making conscious choices when dining out, acceptance and support of your new lifestyle choice from friends/family/colleagues, and being seen as ‘extreme’ from others around you.
It can be hard explaining yourself to people who question your diet, because it goes against everything we have ever been taught, and quite frankly most people find change terrifying. It’s important to be patient when you get asked questions and keep it positive.
Watch documentaries
The five resources that I most highly recommend are listed below – Click the title to take you through to the trailer video. Just watching through these again I’m already getting goosebumps!
- Forks Over Knives
- Food Matters
- What The Health (my favourite)
- Dairy Is Scary (a short 5 minute video explaining the dairy industry)
- Earthlings (an insight into what goes on behind the scenes of slaughter houses – as horrifying as it is, I believe every person in the world needs to watch this just once)
Don’t beat yourself up if you slip up
Everyone has their own way of easing into it and finding ways to sustain it long-term. Some manage go to 100% for the rest of their lives, which I respect and admire. Some people like to have a treat once a month or indulge a little more if they are dining out. Some enjoy eating eggs from hens they have raised in their backyard, as it’s not exploiting the animal in any way.
In the early days if you fall back into old habits and binge on something you shouldn’t, all you can do is start fresh the next day and get back on track. I think if we strive for reduction of animal product consumption worldwide rather than perfection, people will be a lot more willing to give it a go!
Inspire others by showing them the benefits instead of protesting or arguing
Vegan’s have given themselves a bad reputation. It can be so easy once you find out the facts, to think “how does nobody else realise this”. But remember that it was once you as well. You feel like you have just discovered the most incredible thing in the world to prevent people from dying. To aid them in having much healthier, energetic, active lifestyles. Yet people will call you extreme and crazy for stepping out of the ordinary to follow your new beliefs. Your friends and family will shut you down, say that you need meat to survive, that you need dairy products for protein and calcium, or that it’s just a fad diet and people will get over it soon enough. Trust me I used to judge people as well. I work in hospitality and when I was serving 600 people dinners and people have to be a pain and order something ‘vegetarian’, I just thought “gosh why can’t you just be a normal person and eat whats on your plate”. Now I am on the other side of the fence and I absolutely love it!
Put your new found knowledge out in a positive approachable way. Post photos of the delicious meals you cook, or better yet, invite your loved ones over for dinner to taste the food! Tell everyone about how much better you are feeling, physically and mentally. Encourage people you know to watch the documentaries so they can understand your point of view and reasoning behind it. ‘What The Health’ was my turning point for finally making the decision to do it! I had watched others before but was never able to stick with the diet for more than a few weeks. What The Health just talks about the things I am more passionate about I guess, which is why it touched my heart and was such a huge influencer.
But what should I eat?
If you decide to take it step by step, I would start by replacing one thing at a time. Instead of getting your milk from the fridge, go to the shelf instead and have a choice of almond, soy, oat, rice or cashew milk. You can make all the same things you did before, with just one simple change. I never ate nachos before because my digestive system couldn’t handle the fat in the mince. Now I can make nachos with vegetarian mince (which is amazingly so close to the real thing but WAY better), mixed in with chilli beans and tomato paste. You will also get used to using a lot of flavouring. I love chilli flakes, turmeric, rosemary, cajun, moroccan and Tuscan seasoning. Search online (pinterest is the best) for vegan recipes. As it’s becoming more and more popular, more companies are stocking the supermarkets with vegan food, giving us a wider range of options. There is also a wider range of content being distributed online by bloggers and influencers to give you ideas and inspiration.
Do your research on how to ensure your diet is nutrient dense, live with mindfulness, experiment in the kitchen, influence others in a positive way, educate others and know your WHY ♥
Comment below if you have any questions on the topic, I would love to help you take a step in the right direction, or contact me directly on Instagram!