Tips for Going Vegan

Congratulations on deciding to either go vegan or try it out!  You’ll be helping the environment, your body and the animals.

First off, you will need to start swapping out things in your fridge and your bathroom once you’re finished using them (if you’re lucky you’ll have found someone to donate them to, but it can be expensive to switch everything over all at once).

I’ve made lists that go from room to room giving you tips.

Kitchen:

• Change dairy milk for soy/almond/hemp/hazelnut/rice milk.
• Change cheese for fake cheese or learn some recipes that make it from nuts.  Cheese is actually addictive due to a morphine-like chemical that is found in it.
• Make sure to get enough beans, nuts and legumes.  Having tins of these can be handy and cheap.
• Change icecream for diary free So Good or sorbets.
• When scanning ingredients, look for the ‘Contains:’ part.  If it says milk or egg you know it’s a no go.  Scan for bolded things.  This is a handy guide for the more hidden ingredients.  Some people remember them, some use phone apps.  Me, I just try to avoid processed food.
• Don’t be afraid to try new fruits and vegetables, you may find that your taste changes and you come to appreciate more variety.
• Don’t forget about B12, it is important.
• A good resource for recipes is vegweb.com, but really Googling anything with the word vegan tacked on is handy.
• Avocadoes, tahini, hummus and oreos seem to be very popular.
• You’ll be suprised at the number of things that are ‘accidentally vegan’, like BBQ Shapes.
• Chocolate - Sweet William is an Australian brand and a few dark chocolates are also vegan (not to mention healthier).  Hot chocolate - try raw cacao or find a brand without milk solids.

Bathroom:

• Swap your shampoo, soap, hair gel, makeup, etc for cruelty free and vegan products.  ChooseCrueltyFree is a good website to start.
• Find some cruelty free cleaning products, or you can make your own using some bi-carb and vinegar.

Bedroom:

• Buy vegan condoms such as Glyde for fun in the bedroom with people with penises.
• Change any toys for fake leather such as those made by VeganErotica.

My best tip to you is, don’t give up just because people are being mean.  Your living a compassionate lifestyle can seem challenging to others.  It can be confronting and make them reassess what it is that they are doing.  Don’t be afraid to reach out to the vegan communities that are near you or on the internet.

Don’t beat yourself up if you get something wrong, everyone does and more than once.  The point is you’re trying and you will learn.  Good luck!