It’s funny once you enter the world of living life “animal-free” how quickly you forget how few people know about veganism. Two years ago I couldn’t have told you the definition. But now all of that has changed. I’ve got to admit, at times its still SUPER intimidating. I honestly don’t know how people just go cold turkey and live 100% totally vegan the rest of their lives. We, sadly, use animal products in almost everything! It wasn’t until a couple of months into my research that I started to find out about the clothing, shoes, beauty products, and on and on and on that contain animal products! It’s unexpected and completely overwhelming- and that’s an understatement.
The most important rule to keep in mind is that we’re human! We make mistakes! We are not perfect! And expecting to live a life free of animal products from day one without slipping is an IMPOSSIBLE task! Repeat it with me kids! “IMPOSSIBLE!” If you go in with this mind set you will burn out and end up doing more damage than good. If you truly want to make an impact with your health and our food industry maintaining a vegan lifestyle over an extended period of time is key.
A very successful (and healthy) nutritionist told me that he eats one unhealthy item per day. Eating vegan is like going on a diet. Don’t crash diet and make yourself crazy. You’ll buckle and probably end up binging on animal flesh (I hope that sounds as nasty as it is). If you need that slice of cheese pizza on Friday- eat it! In the US we are emotionally addicted to food. It is a source of love, comfort, and sharing. Food is important. Don’t underestimate its power on your emotions. Going vegan will take you out of your element from time to time and I personally love to stuff those yucky emotions down with some delish comfort food.
So how do you do it? The first thing you need to do is read The Kind Diet- do it! It's whimsical and fun, plus there are some great recipes to get you started. (Disclaimer: there are also some weird difficult ones- don't be discouraged or turned off by these.) Most importantly Alicia talks about “flirting” with being a vegan/vegetarian. Do it at your own pace. Being a vegan requires shopping differently, eating differently, cooking differently, planning differently. It requires change <-- SCARY! It’s not difficult just different. Remember that. Quote it. Put it up in lights. Just make sure you focus on that little KNOWLEDGE GERNADE! (not quite a bomb) Just know it’s going to take time to re-teach yourself how to cook and eat. After all- we’ve all been eating the way the FDA has told us to for decades now.
True story- walking into Whole Foods, Rollin’ Oats and even Greenwise was pretty anxiety provoking. This lifestyle is for hippies right? What do I know about that? And what the heck are these ingredients? *Insert Snookie WAHHHH* Well the truth is- a lot more than you think! Most of what you eat can be vegan/vegetarian if you just take the meat off the plate. So here’s my first BIG piece of advice
***KISS***
KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID
I spent a lot of money and a lot of stress at those stores trying to figure out the right way to eat healthy. I got all these crazy vegan recipes and completely flipped out trying to make 4 course meals from tofu and 18 ingredients I had never heard of. Um. . . why? I never cooked like that when I was using meat and dairy! Why do we suddenly feel this need to cook like we were trained at Le Cordon Bleu in London? Best recipe I ever read wasn’t really a recipe. It’s called a bowl- extremely creative.
The Bowl
Get a bowl.
Put a layer of a grain/carb/base on the bottom (rice, potato, noodles, whatever)
Put a layer of veggies on top (steamed, grilled, any variety you want)
Make an awesome sauce and dump as much as you want on top
DONE!
See!! Not scary! Not hard! Not expensive! Not gross! I make different versions of the bowl at least once a week. You can do Mexican, Asian, American. You can use all the same prepped veggies and the same base three nights in a row and just change your sauce. Get CrAzY!! Woohoo!
And- for a very simple, yet very very important rule- DO NOT REPLACE YOUR MEAT WITH CARBS!!! This is such an easy trap to fall into, and it’s best if you are aware of this from the beginning. Being vegan has two parts- a love for animals and a love for health. You are not doing anyone any favors by eating the same diet you were before and only removing certain parts (meat, dairy). You MUST supplement. The best way to do this is greens! Make sure you are getting in a variety of veggies and I would recommend that you start taking a multivitamin ASAP! (I am not a doctor- do what is best for you and if you need a medical opinion get one from a professional- ‘cause sweetie I’m not one!)
So to KISS this article (Vegan cheesey comment count: 1) here’s a little summary of a few ways to make the transition a bit easier.
-Change may be scary and different. It doesn’t have to be hard!
-Don’t go cold turkey and deprive yourself- maintenance is key.
-Read The Kind Diet.
-KISS
-Everyone feels lost in the beginning- trust me you’re not. You know more than you think!
-Don’t remove- replace! Just not with carbs!
I like think of the picture below as a metaphor for going vegan. You're the one with the rocket on your back. Those scared little guys on the left of you are meat eaters. And the rocket? That rocket is my blog- shooting you into a life where animals are super happy and we all have 6 packs.
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