You can also approach trying new recipes like planning a trip around the world through vegan food. This is something I still love doing today. Most traditional foods from cultures around the world are primarily plant-based, so this can be an enjoyable, educational, and ongoing experience. What your own traditional and cultural foods are will, of course, determine what’s new to you, which could include Ethiopian, Indian, Mexican, Italian, Thai, Soul, Southern, and more. You’ll find several recipes from these cuisines in this book.
Planning your meals in advance can be an essential practice to help you gain confidence and relieve anxiety about what to eat each day. In the early stages of your vegan transition, you’re more likely to rely on recipes from the Internet and cookbooks for meal ideas, as we talked about in step 8. But as you gain experience, you’ll be more comfortable with pulling ingredients from the fridge and pantry to create meals without recipes.
Meal planning can also help you eat healthier because it can lead to cooking more meals at home, where you’re in control of ingredients and portion sizes. Meal planning can also help you save money because you’ll be more inclined to shop for what you planned for and less likely to buy on impulse.
To get started with planning your meals, you’ll probably find it easiest to plan meals one week at a time. Keep in mind your schedule for the week and which days and evenings are extra busy so you can make quick and easy meals on those days or batch cook ahead of time on the weekends. For batch cooking, you can make a big pot of grains or soup on a Sunday, then freeze them in airtight containers for lunches and dinners during the week. You can also take one day to wash and dry greens, then store some in your salad spinner in the refrigerator so they’re ready for salads, wraps, and sautés whenever you want them. And you can freeze some of the greens, in addition to freezing fruits like bananas and berries, so they’re ready for morning smoothies.
Also, to keep your meal plan as simple as possible, choose meals with similar ingredients so you can make multiple dishes with them. For example, tempeh can be used for a veggie stir-fry on Monday and a panini on Wednesday. And black beans can be used for tacos on Tuesday and black bean soup on Thursday.
You can also streamline your meal plan by focusing on meals for dinner and just making extra for lunch the next day. That can save you time, energy, and stress around what to eat for lunch and dinner each day. For breakfast, you can keep it simple with a smoothie and overnight oats, breakfast pudding, or granola with nondairy milk.
Once you’ve done your meal plan for the week, create a grocery shopping list and consider keeping it on your phone. Then go out and get those ingredients! Most people tend to make one big grocery shopping trip on the weekend to one or more stores. If that’s you, continue doing that as a new vegan. Just keep in mind that you may need to go to a new store or farmers’ market that has more vegan ingredients.
One final tip, keep your weekly meal plan where it’s visible, like the fridge, wall, or nook area in the kitchen. That way, you’ll spark anticipation for all the healthy and delicious food you’ll be enjoying during the week.
As you transition to vegan foods, it’s vital to know how to read food labels to spot hidden animal products in packaged foods that you might otherwise expect to be vegan. For example, some brands of veggie burgers contain dairy products. So if the label doesn’t clearly state that the product is vegan, your best bet is to do a quick scan of the ingredients list. Here are five of the most common hidden animal ingredients to avoid.
NATURAL FLAVORS. These are additives that give a food product its flavor. In general, the Food and Drug Administration allows companies to hide ingredients under the term “natural flavors” as a way to protect their secret recipe. The concern here is that natural flavors could be animal-derived or plant-derived. Unless the product explicitly states that it’s vegan, you have no way of knowing if the natural flavors are vegan, unless you ask the company directly.
WHEY. This is a watery substance derived from the fat and protein in milk during the cheese-making process. Whey is often found in foods that you might expect to be vegan, like certain brands of soy cheese and rice cheese. So read the ingredients list carefully or look for “vegan” on the label of nondairy cheeses. Whey can also be found in dry mixes, bakery products, ice cream, and other processed foods.
CASEIN. This is a milk protein that’s also found in otherwise nondairy cheeses, as well as in ice cream, bakery products, cereals, breakfast bars, and granola.
CARMINE. This is a red dye in food products that comes from the bodies of dried female insects called cochineals. Carmine is found in juices and other drinks, fruit fillings, yogurt, ice cream, and other dairy products.
GELATIN. This is an animal protein from pigs or cows that’s used as a thickening agent in foods like puddings, juice, frozen desserts, and the capsules used for vitamin supplements and pills.
For more information on hidden animal ingredients in vegan food products, check out the “Vegetarian Journal Guide to Food Ingredients” from the Vegetarian Resource Group, which can be found at VRG.org.
If this feels a bit overwhelming, keep in mind that the explosion of new vegan foods found on supermarket shelves around the country are usually labeled as vegan. But in cases where they aren’t clearly labeled and you’re unsure, just check the ingredients list. And even better, eat more foods that don’t come in packages or that do have simple ingredients you easily recognize as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.
The secret to eating vegan and healthy on the cheap is to get your staple ingredients from the bulk bins at the grocery store. This includes basics, such as whole grains, dried beans, nuts, seeds, and herbs and spices. It can also include common ingredients like dried fruits and vegetables, almond butter and other nut butters, sweeteners, and oils. Not only do you save money, but you also have control over the amount of food you purchase, so you can buy as little or as much as you need. And you won’t be purchasing and later disposing of unnecessary food packaging.
On the other hand, the more processed and packaged vegan foods are, the more expensive they tend to be. For example, vegan versions of burgers, hot dogs, deli meats, chicken, cheese, and ice cream can cost as much or more than the animal versions.
Buying fresh, local food at farmers’ markets and through community-supported agriculture (CSA) can also save you money. Of course, growing your own food, particularly fruits, vegetables, and herbs—whether in your backyard, balcony, windowsill, community garden, or elsewhere—can save you the most money, be healthier for you, and taste better.
When you do shop at the grocery store, it’s best to buy fresh fruits and vegetables in season, when they’re more abundant and prices tend to be lower as a result. Frozen fruit and vegetables can be affordable and healthy options as well, especially if they help you eat more produce throughout the year.
And what about spending money on organic fruits and vegetables? To help answer that question, check out the Environmental Working Group (EWG.org) for its free “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce.” Each year, the EWG analyzes data from the US Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration on the amount of pesticide residue found in the nation’s fresh produce supply. Based on this data, the guide ranks about fifty of the most popular fresh fruits and vegetables according to how much or how little pesticide residue they contain after being washed and, in some cases, peeled.
Most conventional produce is sprayed with pesticides, including fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides, and there are proven health risks associated with these toxic chemicals for farm workers and consumers. As a consumer, the EWG guide essentially lets you know which fruits and vegetables you can safely buy organic and nonorganic. That helps you stay healthy and save money.
And finally, remember that the money you spend on healthy food now can add years to your life and life to your years.
It’s easier than ever to keep your meals vegan and healthy when you eat out. Your first choice can be eating at vegan restaurants. There are more than six hundred all-vegan restaurants in the United States. In fact, there’s at least one in every state. To find vegan (and vegetarian) restaurants in your area, check out HappyCow.net or VegDining.com or do an online search for local vegan restaurants.
Next, try what I refer to as world cuisine restaurants, where a large part of the menu is plant-based. It can be easy to find restaurants featuring cuisines from countries in Africa, Asia, North and South America, and Europe that are already vegan or can easily be made vegan.
More nonvegan restaurants are also offering vegan options to meet the ever-increasing demand. In fact, according to a 2016 Vegetarian Resource Group poll, more than one-third of the US population always or sometimes eats meatless meals when eating out. So when eating out, be sure to check out the online menu for vegan meals in advance. If you have any questions about how the dish is prepared, like whether the vegetables are sautéed in butter or oil, or whether any meat or dairy is used in the broth, sauce, or cream, just call the restaurant and ask.
If you can’t check out the menu or call in advance, ask the waiters for their recommendations. You might be surprised to find there are unlabeled vegan options on the menu. Or the restaurant may have some vegan dishes not on the menu that they often make for vegan patrons who request them.
When you know your options, your choices for eating out as a vegan can be unlimited, so you can enjoy eating out just as much or more than you ever did.
This is an aspect of going vegan that people don’t often think about, but it’s one that will help you maintain your new lifestyle in any situation. Keeping a stash means being prepared with your favorite healthy vegan snacks during those times when there’s no other food available or when you’re not sure if the food is vegan. Or when there is vegan food, but it’s not as healthy as what you might normally eat. You’ll encounter many situations like these, including receptions, meetings, concerts and shows, visits with family and friends, long commutes, waiting at the doctor’s office or the DMV—you get the picture.
Whether the activity is planned or unexpected, keeping a stash will keep you prepared. It can also make your experience more enjoyable because you’ll feel more relaxed, instead of worried about what you’re going to eat. Even after thirty years as a vegan, I still keep a stash on hand, and it’s a practice that’s served me well over the years.
So what exactly should be in your stash? You want to keep it healthy, so that can include fruit, nuts, healthy food bars, air-popped popcorn, baked chips, whole-grain crackers, homemade whole-grain muffins, a PB&J sandwich on whole-grain bread, and much more. You want foods that don’t need to be refrigerated or can be safely eaten within two hours of being taken out of the fridge. Check out “Snacks and Bites” in part 2 for more recipe ideas. And you’ll want to keep your stash in your purse, bag, backpack, car, desk, refrigerator at work, or other convenient and accessible place.
Be sure to keep your stash replenished when you run low. You may also want to include a stash section on your grocery shopping list as a reminder to keep it stocked.
Keeping a stash can also help you save money and stay healthy because you’re less likely to buy an overpriced, not-so-healthy snack on your way to or from an event or during an intermission. You’re also less likely to overindulge once you do eat a full meal. So always keep a stash of your healthy favorites on hand and relax.
The last step is to enjoy your journey to becoming a vegan, with all of its joys and challenges. Once you begin, if you’re inclined to want to rush through the transition process, try slowing down and being present. Experience it. Notice what it feels like. Notice what emotions come up for you. Journal about them. Exercise, meditate, laugh, reread the guidance in these fourteen steps, and lean on your support community to help you manage the inevitable stress that comes with changing the way you eat.
And if you slip up, be easy with yourself. Just start again the next day. Remember that as you go through the transition process, consistency is what matters. Every step you take makes a difference, every vegan meal counts. So take it one day at a time.
And also remember that with every vegan meal you eat, your taste buds will change for the better. Studies show that our taste buds physically change within just a few weeks of eating healthier foods. The more low-fat, low-sugar, and low-salt foods we eat, the better they taste. Our taste buds actually become more sensitive to and less wanting of higher doses of fat, salt, and sugar if we’re reintroduced to them. So the longer you eat healthier, plant-based foods, the more you’ll want to eat them.
And once you fully transition from an omnivore to a vegan, the next phase of your journey begins—that of actually being vegan. And as time passes, you’ll find that being vegan gets easier and easier, to the point that it becomes your new normal. It becomes effortless and second nature. And you’ll come to know that being vegan is a path, not a destination. It’s part of the foundation of a healthy life that allows you to pursue your purpose and passions with greater ease and joy.
So celebrate yourself. Revel in your decision to go vegan. You are making one of the most life-changing and life-affirming decisions you can ever make. You’ll look back at yourself years from now with deep gratitude and you’ll be your own source of inspiration.