We know that going vegan for the long term might seem challenging, but don’t worry. We’ve been there, so here are fourteen steps to help you transition to a healthier lifestyle with ease and grace—and to help you eat even healthier if you’re already a vegan. This guide offers tried-and-true recommendations based on what we’ve done to stay vibrantly vegan for decades and have taught others to do, as well. These steps will make it easier for you, too, to become an ageless vegan.
1. Know Your Why
2. Liberate Your Mind and Your Mouth Will Follow
3. Choose a Date and Begin
4. Find Your People
5. Know That You’re Worth It
6. Start Where You Are
7. Eat Whole Foods
8. Explore New Recipes
9. Plan Your Meals
10. Read the Label
11. Stay on Budget
12. Eat Out with Ease
13. Keep a Stash
14. Enjoy the Journey
The focus of step 1 is to get clear about why you want to go vegan. Is it for your health, the animals, the environment, social justice, spirituality, faith, or other reasons? Your why often comes as a reaction to something you’ve watched, like a documentary about factory farming or global warming. Or conversations you’ve had with a friend or family member who’s vegan. Or a book you’ve read about someone’s transition story or about how to go vegan. Or a flash of insight you have about animals while eating a piece of meat or even playing with your dog. Or it could be a personal health crisis that you or a loved one is experiencing that ultimately leads you to change the way you eat.
Whatever the reason is, be sure you’re passionate about it. Be sure you understand it and believe it. This foundation is crucial because as you begin your transition, there will be inevitable obstacles along the way. For example, the meat and dairy you used to eat will probably still look and smell good to you—especially during the first few weeks or months of your transition. And eating differently than many of your friends or people in your family, community, or culture may be emotionally and socially challenging for you in the beginning.
Being confident in why you’re going vegan will help you overcome these challenges. To help you get there, write down your reason for making the transition. Write it on sticky notes or beautiful notecards and place them on your bedroom mirror, on your refrigerator, on your kitchen counter, in your wallet, in your car, on your desk at work—you get the picture. All of these notes will remind you of your why, your intention, your purpose for going vegan. It will be inspiration and affirmation just when you need it most.
Continue to learn more about veganism and that knowledge will also help you know your why, as we’ll discuss in step 2. Just know that once you’ve truly embraced your why, you’ll be at peace with your choice.
Step 2 is to continuously learn about veganism, especially the aspect of it that you’re most passionate about. Read and watch all that you can to stay informed. And talk to vegans about what they love most about their vegan lifestyle, how they transitioned, what challenges they faced, and how they overcame them.
Supporting yourself with knowledge is key. An informal 2013 online survey of more than seven thousand vegans conducted by The Vegan Truth blog found that more than 40 percent of respondents were inspired to go vegan after watching an educational video or movie; nearly 30 percent were motivated by an article, book, or song lyric; and another 25 percent were encouraged to become vegans after a conversation with another person.
Also, as I mentioned in chapter 1, after Dick Gregory’s fateful lecture, I read everything I could find about vegetarianism and decided to go vegetarian, then vegan, as a result. I still have that same passion for learning today (even after getting a master’s degree in public health nutrition). There’s always new research being done that can help me tweak the way I eat to stay healthy. In fact, the nonprofit website NutritionFacts.org is one of my favorite sites to find out about the latest in nutrition research. I encourage you to check it out, if you haven’t already. I also urge you to identify other go-to resources that focus on your particular reason for going vegan.
Staying up on the latest vegan information will also help you answer those persistent questions from vegan-curious folks and naysayers. You can practice short, to-the-point answers to common questions like “Where do you get your protein?” with quick facts like the one mentioned in chapter 2: “Vegans get 70 percent more protein than the recommended daily allowance—just like meat-eaters do.” Or you can simply refer them to your favorite fact-based films, books, or websites to explore for themselves, just like you did.
Once you’ve decided you want to go vegan, setting a specific start date will help you make your intention a reality. It will give you a concrete goal to look forward to and work toward.
When choosing a start date, I suggest picking one that’s in the very near future, about two weeks to two months away. You don’t want to choose a date too much farther than that because you could lose your momentum and begin to doubt your decision. But you also don’t want a date that’s too close, like tomorrow or next Monday, because it may not give you enough time to prepare to make the transition—which could include restocking your kitchen (see chapter 3).
I also recommend choosing a date that doesn’t have a separate, special significance, like your birthday, an anniversary, or even New Year’s Day. Those days may bring up emotions (whether pleasant or unpleasant) that crowd out your desire to transition. And if celebration food is involved, you may be tempted to “just have a little” or overindulge in the very foods you want to avoid.
You could choose instead to transition on a national or international holiday dedicated to eating vegan foods or one that is vegan-related, like The Great American Meatout on March 20, Earth Day on April 22, World Vegetarian Day on October 1, or World Vegan Day on November 1.
Or you can make your transition date its own special day by celebrating it with a fabulous vegan meal with friends and family. You could also just pick a random date that reflects your everyday life to symbolize the normalcy with which you’ll incorporate being vegan into your lifestyle.
So however you choose to recognize it, choose a start date, mark it on your calendar, and make your goal a reality.
Now more than ever, there’s no need to start your vegan journey alone. First look to your inner circle for support: your family and closest friends. If some of them are already vegan, are going vegan, or are otherwise very supportive, that’s wonderful! Be grateful to have a built-in support system (just as my family did). It can make a world of difference.
But what if your family and friends aren’t supportive? And what if you not only want their support, but you want them to go vegan with you? Well, I encourage you to focus first on yourself and be an example. As a new vegan, of course you want your loved ones to know how healthy plant foods are; how unhealthy animal foods are; how terrible conditions are for chickens, cow, and pigs on factory farms; how harmful factory farming is for people and the planet; the inequity of our current food system; and more.
But even with all that urgency, first be an example. If your loved ones ask about veganism, then cook vegan food with them, visit vegan restaurants together, and talk, watch films, read books, and go to vegan events together. If they want to learn more for themselves and be supportive of you, that’s great. If they don’t, continue on your vegan journey and let things flow organically.
You can also seek out support by joining your local vegan Meetup group. Meetups are a great way to meet people who are newly vegan, experienced vegans, or vegan-friendly. And you’ll meet people who are interested in veganism for a variety of reasons that may be different from your own. Of if there’s no vegan Meetup in your area, consider starting one. You might be surprised at how many like-minded people you can help bring together to share in vegan activities.
And know that all your activities with other vegans don’t have to be vegan-related. In fact, one of the joys of just being in places where vegan and vegan-friendly people are in the majority is that veganism is the given, the norm. So you can just be yourself and not have veganism be the main topic of conversation.
For example, my family has been going to the annual Vegetarian Society of Washington, DC, vegan Thanksgiving gala for years. But beyond the vegan-focused keynote address, veganism is not what we chat about with our friends. It’s a completely different experience from being “the vegan” at other holiday gatherings. Worrying about the food and being peppered with questions about being vegan can put a damper on the festivities.
So that’s why it’s good to be where the vegans are if you want to be vegan. Seek out environments where being vegan is just regular, natural, a nonissue. Like your local vegan group or an online vegan community. Spend some quality time with your people. That’s how you get the support you need and make being vegan your new normal.
This is a step that I thought a lot about before adding. I didn’t want to suggest that if people don’t go vegan, then somehow they don’t have self-worth. So just to be clear, that’s not what I’m saying here at all.
What I am saying is that if you want to go vegan, but you’re letting fear of what other people might think or fear of doing something that most people you know and love aren’t doing (even after reading step 4 for help with this), I understand that this is a real concern. I know that this anxiety has kept many people from going vegan. So that’s why I’m including it in these fourteen steps. Because I want you to know that if going vegan is something that you want to do, you can do it because intrinsically you’re worth it.
Let me share a story with you. Back in 2001, I was going to graduate school at NYU for my master’s degree in public health nutrition. At that point, I had been vegan for about thirteen years. One day I was waiting for a friend at her office and started chatting with her co-worker, whom I had talked to several times before.
This particular time, we talked about my veganism. I’m not sure how the topic came up, because I don’t usually bring it up in casual conversation. But for whatever reason, we were talking about it. He was a staunch meat-eater and couldn’t understand why I’d want to be a vegan. And one of the questions he asked me was “How can you do something that no one else is doing?” And what struck me was the way he asked it, as if the fact that most people weren’t vegan automatically called into question the legitimacy of being vegan. It was the first time I can remember someone using that as a rationale.
And I remember looking at him incredulously, wondering how he could think that way. As an activist, my immediate reaction had to do with the premise of his question—that of doing something counter to society. My thought was that we’re both black, and if we’re both critical thinkers and just have plain common sense, we know that most of what we do for our own benefit, health, and happiness already runs counter to this society’s systemic white supremacy. And for black women, it runs counter to society’s systemic white supremacist patriarchy. So that alone made his question perplexing to me.
I also knew that just because most people weren’t doing something was not a reason not to do something that’s good for me. The fact that I wanted to do it was enough. I had to follow my path. And as it turned out, I got a lot of support from my family and community, for which I was thankful. I would not have experienced that if I’d waited for everyone else to go vegan first. In fact, I’d still be waiting thirty years later! And I would have missed the opportunity to help so many people live healthier lives and to help expand this vegan movement over the last three decades.
So with that said, I urge you to follow that whisper or shout from within that’s saying “I want to go vegan.” You’re worthy of listening to that voice. And you’re worthy of doing what’s healthiest for you. You don’t have to wait for most people to do it. That may or may not happen. But you can start now. You’re already worth it. And you never know how many people you’ll inspire along the way!
Starting where you are means taking a closer look at the food you’re already eating on a regular basis. First, do this exercise: write down what you typically eat Monday through Friday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It should include the meat and dairy that you may normally eat. Your list doesn’t have to be exact—just write five breakfasts, five lunches, and five dinners that you might eat in any given week.
Now see if any of the meals on your list are already vegan. For example, do you have a smoothie or cereal or oatmeal with almond milk or soy milk for breakfast? For lunch, do you have a veggie wrap or a side salad with a vinaigrette or balsamic dressing? For dinner, do you have pasta with marinara sauce? Are there any other typical meals that come to mind that might already be vegan?
Along these same lines, also remember that most, if not all, of the herbs and spices you probably season your food with are already vegan. They’re just fresh, dried, or powdered plants. The liquid seasonings you may use, like hot sauce, barbecue sauce, and soy sauce, are also typically vegan. The same is also true for the olive oil, sesame oil, or generic vegetable oil you may use. And the flour you may use is also vegan, although if it’s white flour, you’ll want to swap it out for a healthier, whole-grain flour (see step 7).
Next, look at how you can easily veganize most of the meals on your list that have meat and dairy. If you eat dairy yogurt for breakfast, you can switch to nondairy yogurt made with coconut, cashew, hemp seed, almond, or other plant-based milk. For lunch, you can swap out a beef burrito for a spicy bean burrito with guacamole and salsa, or with nondairy cheese, if you’d prefer. For dinner, instead of a chicken and veggie stir-fry, you can have a colorful vegetable stir-fry with almonds over wild rice. You’ll be surprised at how easily you can make your most familiar meals vegan.
Finally, starting where you are also applies to folks who are already vegan or vegetarian. There’s probably one thing you know you can do to up your game and take your health to the next level. If you’re a vegetarian, it may be letting go of dairy products. If you’re a vegan, it may be eating a more balanced diet that includes more dark-green leafy vegetables and whole grains. You can do the same exercise: write out a week’s worth of meals, and see where you can make healthier changes. Whatever it is for you, you can get started today.
As I mentioned in chapter 1, the central types of vegan foods are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds. From these categories, you can easily create an infinite variety of nutritious and delicious meals that meet all of your nutritional needs.
So when I talk about eating whole foods, I mean eating these foods closest to their natural, unprocessed, nutrient-rich state. For whole grains, that means black, brown, or wild rice; quinoa; oats; barley; millet; amaranth; and more. These whole grains contain an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and essential fiber.
Fiber, in particular, helps to prevent plaque from building up in your arteries, decreasing your risk for heart attack and stroke. Fiber also helps maintain a steady blood sugar level, which reduces your risk for diabetes. And fiber protects against other diseases, including obesity and cancer, as well as diverticulosis and constipation.
On the other hand, processed or refined grains, like white rice, white pasta, white bread, and bakery products made with white flour have had most of the fiber, vitamins, and minerals removed. Manufacturers then add in a few synthetic nutrients and call it “enriched,” a true oxymoron. These nutrient-deficient grains are quite harmful and can increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
So remember, just because it’s vegan, doesn’t mean it’s healthy. This also applies to processed packaged foods, especially those designed to mimic the look, texture, and taste of meat and dairy products. These are what I call bridge or transitional foods. They may help you cross over from omnivore to vegan, but they’re not a place to stay. They’re typically higher in fat, salt, and sugar. So they may be healthier than meat and dairy, but they’re not necessarily healthy.
Your best bet is to center your meals on whole foods. You’ll have an abundance of nutritious and great-tasting vegan foods available to you, as you’ll see with the whole-food recipes in this book.
In addition to eating your way through our delicious recipes, you’ll want to continuously try new recipes. This is key in the beginning, as you learn your way around new vegan foods. The fact is, once vegan foods become your new normal, you’ll probably get bored with your food from time to time, just like you did as an omnivore. So getting into the habit of exploring new recipes now will help you move through those periods more easily.
You can start by browsing vegan recipe sites once a week and bookmarking or pinning the recipes you’d like to try. These recipes will become your new favorites for inspiration at meal-planning time. You can also check out vegan cookbooks and magazines at libraries and bookstores to expand your awareness about the wide variety of vegan dishes possible. And it’ll help to make vegan meals the default in your mind when it comes to food.
Taking food preparation classes is another great way to try new recipes when you’re transitioning to vegan foods. You may need to learn a whole new set of skills. Taking classes from an expert in vegan cooking is an ideal way to shorten your learning curve while having fun and meeting new people.