{Catching up? See the Introduction, Part 1: Making the transition (this post), Part 2: Replacing Dairy Milk, Part 3: Homemade Oat Milk, Part 4: Homemade Almond Milk, Part 5: Ten Tips for eating out as a vegan}
After seeing your comments and emails pour in on Monday and Tuesday, I’m so thankful I took the plunge with my new Vegan How To series. What a great way to kick off 2013. We’re already starting conversations about important topics. While I can’t promise to have answers to all your questions, I can share my experiences with you and encourage you to do the same. There are many things we can learn from each other so let’s talk, share, and get inspired!
Today’s topic is about making the transition to a vegan diet. What I’ve written below is what has worked for me, so take this with a grain of salt – everyone’s experience will be different (and I’d love you to share yours below!). It’s also worth repeating that I’m not a nutrition/health professional and my opinions/experiences should not be substituted for medical advice. Always consult your doc before making any diet/lifestyle changes.
How I made the transition to a vegan diet (in a somewhat condensed nutshell, but not really because I’m chatty):
1. Slow and Steady
I’ve never been the type of person who rushes into anything. Eric and I dated for 8 years before we got hitched. I’m turning 30 this year and I don’t feel close to being ready for motherhood. It took me a year to finally start this how-to series. You get the point. It doesn’t help that Eric is the exact. same. way. We can barely decide what laundry detergent to buy let alone make major life decisions. On the bright side, the decisions I do make are often long-lasting and my transition to a vegan diet was no different. I was in recovery for an eating disorder and looking to make some positive changes to my diet. After all, I had lived off of processed, fat-free, artificially-sweetened diet foods for years and I knew it was taking a toll on my health. I suffered from IBS and other digestive issues, so per my doc’s suggestions I experimented with reducing my consumption of meat and dairy to see if it would make a difference. When I started to shift away from all that dairy I was eating, I felt better, my skin started to clear up, and many of my digestive issues decreased. I was never a huge meat eater to begin with, so that part wasn’t as difficult for me, although it was still a challenge. Overtime, I really had no reason to go back to my old diet, even though giving up certain foods like cheese proved to be very difficult (more on this in a future post). When I’m asked what worked for me, I always say baby steps. Yes, it’s a cliché, but small changes really add up over time!
This isn’t to say that going cold-turkey won’t work for you – many people go cold-turkey with diet/lifestyle changes and are successful with it. That just wasn’t my approach. I think it comes down to your personality and what you think will work best for you.
2. Stock your pantry
A well-stocked pantry is one of the keys to success, especially in the beginning. We need options and fuel! And by options and fuel, I don’t mean the dry lettuce and tomato salads that restaurants often try to entice me with. How about fresh produce, legumes, herbs/spices, quinoa, rolled oats, edamame, and almond milk to name a few. I wrote a post a while ago called “My Vegan Pantry“, listing the most common foods I have stocked in my cupboards from dried beans to vinegar and everything in between. I do need to update the post, but I still hope it’s helpful for you. Keep in mind that some of the items are my baking ingredients and not what I would consider “necessities” by any means.
When I first made the transition I stocked my fridge with mock meat and dairy products like Tofurkey slices, vegan sour cream, and TVP crumbles. Yes, if you go back in time on my blog, you might come across the odd Tofurkey sandwich! The truth is, I had no idea how to eat a fulfilling, vibrant, and healthy diet on my own without these substitution foods. I wasn’t wrong for eating them, I just didn’t have all of the knowledge I needed at the time. I didn’t feel great eating these products, or at least, I didn’t feel as great as I did without them. Eventually, I discovered how to thrive on a vegan diet without relying on them, but I do recognize they were helpful for me in the early stages.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that a big bowl of lentils and tomato sauce was much more satisfying than mock deli meat from a box. Once I made this connection, it got easier and easier.
3. Be your own teacher
If you think that I grew up learning to cook and bake, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Four years ago, I had no idea how to cook dry lentils or so much as roast a batch of root vegetables. I could barely dice an onion for the life of me! This meant I had to teach myself how to prepare almost all of the foods I now enjoy. I did a lot of reading, Googling, watching cooking shows, devouring cookbooks, and searching You Tube for how-to videos. Little did I know, this girl who used to survive on diet foods would soon find a passion in food and cooking like never before. So can you.
Along the same lines, it’s good to research the nutritional aspects of a vegan diet. There are many books out there now with this information to help guide you. I also recommend checking out Forks Over Knives for an inspirational documentary on the benefits of a plant-based diet.
4. Focus on what you add, not take away
As I mentioned in my first post, I eventually learned that a vegan diet is really about what I add and not what I take away. The more I focused on all the new foods I was trying, I really didn’t feel like I was missing out at all. My diet used to be so limited and boring, lacking in colourful produce, and inspiration. I was pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of foods I can eat on a plant-based diet. If you are feeling stuck in a rut, challenge yourself to try one new food a week and pick a recipe to make with it. There are so many recipes and tutorials available online that make cooking new foods a breeze. Or better yet, start a food blog to document your new journey! Having accountability online is a great motivator and you get to meet other like-minded friends.
5. Don’t expect perfection
I have slipped up on my vegan diet just like many of you have. Guess what? We are human! My advice is to focus on all the amazing choices you’ve made to date instead of that time when you slipped up. No matter what kind of diet you eat, every time you chose plants over animals you are making a difference. For me, this journey has been easier and easier as the years go by. The cravings I once had are much, much less. Instead of craving the old foods, I now crave the new foods that I eat. It’s amazing how the taste buds can adapt when you give them a chance.
6. Get support
Find friends who want to take this journey with you. I didn’t know any vegans until I met many friends online through reading other blogs and going to meet ups. It’s important to have a support system. Join clubs, recipe groups, meet ups, and attend conferences. I’m going to my first vegan conference (Vida Vegan Con) in May and I’m so excited to meet new friends in this community.
7. Pack food
When I leave the house for long periods of time, I always pack snacks or meals with me. Whether it’s an afternoon out or a few days at the in laws, I plan ahead and bring food. You can always find a couple energy bars in the bottom of my purse on any given day! Most days I don’t need them, but I feel great knowing I have a healthy snack on me in case the hunger monster strikes.
Well, I could go on and on, but since this is already quite wordy I will pass it over to you!
What’s your approach when making a change – slow and steady or cold-turkey?
How did you make the transition to a vegan or vegetarian diet? What strategies worked for you?
Have you read any books or watched any movies that helped you with the transition?
Are you making changes to your diet right now? What are you doing to make the transition easier?
For Part 2, see Replacing Dairy Milk
My vegan journey started cold turkey when I realised that my health had gotten so bad (extremely obese with high blood pressure in my early 20’s) that if I didn’t do something I would probably not see 30. I started with Eat to Live and that was five very happy and content vegan years ago! My blood pressure is now normal, I’ve lost almost 60kg and I’m about to run my first marathon.
I’m so thankful to you and your blog for teaching me how to cook with all of the new and exciting ingredients I’d never even heard of in my meat eating days. I’ve always loved to cook but these days it’s even better :) And now with this new series you are doing you will be helping even more people make this amazing change to their life! You are truly inspirational Angela!
Thank you again.
– Kristin
I love that your journey to this path was a slow, conscious, and deliberate one rather than just trying the latest and next greatest thing and bouncing around from this to that and back to something else per your 1. in that you don’t rush into things. I have to say on some things I DO rush into and make uber-snap decisions. Sometimes that works out for me, sometimes no so much. LOL
Can’t wait to see how this series unfolds!
I feel like I’m reading my own story! I suffered from so many digestive issues, recovering from about 10 years worth of anorexia, bulimia and binge eating at different times. Turning vegan helped me fall back in love with food again, introduce balance and variety and get over my fear of gaining weight. Thanks for sharing your story, such an inspiration!
Angela, I love this series! I went vegan when my dad decided to a year ago, and I will NEVER look back. I am glad you wrote honestly and openly about the slip ups and process it takes, but I can notice such a difference when I don’t eat the way I would like to (after I just ate a handful of jellybeans, whoops). You are such an inspiration to me and I love showing others that eating vegan is not “weird” or “hippie” and can be much easier than people think. Keep doing what you’re doing girl!
The above comment is from me! I logged on to Stephen’s computer!!! :)
When I went vegetarian I tried to do it slowly, but it just didn’t work. I wanted to see if I could do it before announcing to anyone that I was doing it. (Even to my then boyfriend, now husband!) It was hard not having any sort of accountability, especially when going out to eat. Since no one knew I was trying to go vegetarian, it was much easier just to order chicken. In fact, if I tried not ordering a meat product I would get weird questions about it.
Thankfully, Lent came around and I was able to tell all of my family and friends that I was giving up meat for it. Within a few weeks most had figured out that I wasn’t going to be eating meat again after Easter. It gave me a great way to ease everyone into the transition I was making. Plus, I finally had some accountability!
Looking forward to this series!!
I used the same “excuse” almost a year ago… gave up meat for Lent and have no intentions of going back. I’ve been avoiding dairy & eggs over this past year, as well. Maybe this Lent I will see how I do going vegan all the way.
Looking forward to this series, too : )
I am SO glad you started this how to series! My husband and I went vegan last Summer, cold turkey (I’d been vegetarian for ~5 yrs but my husband ate meat daily), after watching Forks over Knives. It’s been challenging and thrilling and educational, and we both committed to keep it up in 2013. We have been leaning on some substitution foods that I’d like to move away from, so I’m really looking forward to following along on your how-to guide and really being smart about eating rather than relying on some “lazy” vegan foods. I’m also turning 30 this year and look forward to being a healthy, happy (and hot, why not? :)) vegan!!
I’m more cold turkey but then I often fall off the wagon because I was too hasty in my decisions. I am trying to learn to take more time to decide things and make changes in my life.
Angela: Thank you for your time and efforts spent sharing with us all. I am so glad to have come across your page during my journey. It has helped me to know that I am not alone in my struggles, that I am only human and that I can successfully meet the challenges that lay ahead. I have decided to change my eating because of health issues/inherited illnesses and nutritional deficiencies. I am hoping to make a difference in my health before it is too late. Here is where I am at in my journey.
In the past I have always approached things “Cold-Turkey” but too, fell “off the wagon” a short time later then became discouraged at my efforts. This time, I am making my changes slowly. Not in any particular or orderly fashion. But just increasing my fruit and veggie intake making them 80 percent my diet. Increasing my legume consumption to a daily intake and decreasing both my dairy and meat consumption. I used to over eat meat proteins since I have always contended with “low-blood sugar” issues. Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman made sense and convinced me to change this.
Now I am fine without meat though on occasion I still allow myself to eat it. I know eventually, I will become full vegan. I changed my milk years ago to rice and/or almond. Real butter and Cheese is the hardest thing for me to give up completely right now. Butter because I just love the flavor and question the ingredients in the alternatives. I have tried several replacements for cheese (including Dyia) and just can’t seem to enjoy them. I can taste the nutritional yeast too much and don’t care for the flavor. My next venture is to find a homemade recipe that might just satisfy as a cheesy replacement.
I have yet more reading to do, as I am still on my learning curve and loving it!
Angela I’m so happy you decided to do this series. I think it will be great for me!
I began venturing into vegan foods after I picked up “The Kind Diet”. This was a couple of years ago when I was living with my mom. We actually ended up loving it! Once we stopped thinking in terms of restriction, it became a lot of fun. We tried tons of new foods, and my digestive issues were getting better without the OTC drugs I’d been on for a long time (also – a huge shout out to unfiltered apple cider vinegar for that one!).
Unfortunately I fell off the vegan wagon and haven’t found the encouragement to get back on. Part of it was moving out of my mom’s house, and the other part was laziness (boo). But now I’m ready to try again, and my roommate/partner of 2 years is super encouraging! I think this series of yours is exactly what I need – I’ll be stocking my pantry this week :)
Thank you so much for this series! I went completely vegan about 4 months ago, and I feel great! I was vegetarian for most of my life, but because of pressure from my friends and family, I did go back to eating meat for a few months about a year ago. I felt terrible, so I cut out meat again (except fish) and then finally decided to go completely vegan. I made the transition from pescetarian to vegan overnight, and it was really easy. Fish really creeped me out to begin with, so that was easy to give up. I never liked cheese or eggs very much, and with all the great milk substitutes available, I never felt like I was missing anything. Baking has been a little bit of a challenge, but I’ m still learning! Your blog has been a great help and inspiration to me, and I don’t know what I’d do without your recipes! Thank you for everything.
I’m so excited for this series and I’m not even vegan, just know that things have to be tweaked here and there and you’ve always given great tips/recipes. So just more awesome from you, missy! Thanks, I’m sure it’s a time consuming but rewarding series to put together!
I’m a firm believer that nothing worthwhile comes easily (or quickly!) – love this post. Also, I mayyyy need to go out and get a bunch of mason jars and make my pantry goodies look as lovely as yours.
I love you!
I woke up yesterday thinking how can i transition myself and my family to wheat and dairy free and low and behold you have come up w a transition to vegan which is very inspiring to me…I grew up vegetarian but lost my way when I moved out of the house. But I have always been interested in healthy choices so I am on your site everyday checking out what you have to offer and find myself making vegetarian meals almost evry night. I just want to be one of the thousands of people who praise you for your hard work and generosity sharing with others what is important to you.
I write this as I sip a green monster and my kids are asking me for more…I think they love u too!
Hi! I transitioned to become a vegetarian in February 2012 and a fully blown vegan in April 2013. I had a brief transition period during those three months. I removed the majority of animal products except for dairy in ice cream and fish for sushi. After my body started to cleanse itself eating fish started to become very heavy and unappealing so I dropped that hot. I held on to ice cream the longest, but when I found scrumptious vegan ice creams and banana soft serve there was no looking back.
I transitioned to a vegan diet for ethical reasons. I always had those PETA and Mercy for Animals handed out to me at college. I would glance at it, but then throw it away because it disturbed me too much….but I chose to ignore the truth. Until that day in February I read a few pamphlets front to back and cried. At that moment I became a vegetarian and three months later a vegan. I
I absolutely love everything about living a vegan diet. I am now more of the change that I want to see in the world. A huge part of my healthy transition is due to this wonderful, funny, informative and delicious blog. Thank you for everything Angela!!!!
Fork Over Knives definitely did it for me. I had NO IDEA how much eating animal products was affecting the environment, animals and my health. I am an all-or-nothing person so I went cold turkey! I felt a little sick the first week and I am pretty sure it was a dairy withdrawal, yuck. I was a vegetarian in high school and college, so I always knew I could eliminate meat again pretty easily. It was an easy and fun transition for me because I absolutely love cooking and saw this as a new culinary adventure. Luckily having been a vegetarian previously, I was already a tofu and bean lover!
As for eating, I ironically didn’t buy any fake meats and cheeses, although it would have probably made it easier on me in the beginning! I think because I had just read The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook which really encouraged me to eat whole, unprocessed foods. It’s an amazing and resourceful book to learn about different foods and their benefits.
I couldn’t agree more!! I love the new series, and I especially love all your recipes.
I went vegetarian 2 years ago, and made the vegan plunge a year ago. Going vegetarian wasn’t a problem, but just like you said, cheese was hard to give up! It took me almost three months to completely give up cheese, but I feel great now. I think what helped me most complete the change was having someone to talk to. Most people, when they learned I was vegan, would give me empty stares and say “Why? So you don’t even eat fish?” My sister went vegan before me, so we helped each other out, discovered new recipes, new produce, and great restaurants to eat out at. I think it’s also important to know why you are making the change. If you don’t have a reason you believe in, you won’t stick to it!
Thank you so much for this blog. You are truly an inspiration!
Hi Angela – thanks for sharing. I decided to go vegan about 6 months ago and although I struggled a bit at first, I am confident in my ‘vegan ways’ now. I have always loved to cook and bake so I didn’t see vegan food as a challenge per say, just a new type of cooking. Unlike many new vegans I love to spend time in the kitchen and I enjoy taking the extra time to prepare delicious plant based meals. It is definitely more time consuming to prepare healthy meals, but it is so so worth it!
When I went vegan I went cold turkey – with a few cheats. I told myself that if I went full vegan during the week I could indulge in a non-vegan ‘treat’ on the weekend. For the first two weeks I would have cream in my coffee on weekend mornings, and a square of milk chocolate here and there, but I soon realized I didn’t need those things anymore. I slowly added less cream and soon I could drink the coffee black. I now enjoy dark organic vegan chocolate way more than I remember milk chocolate tasting. Vegan is not a diet, it is a lifestyle and it takes time for your body to get used to it. I wanted to say thank you to you as well – your blog helped me get through the really tough times when I wanted to go back to cheese and chicken breasts. Your stories, recipes, and guides are very helpful and are a great resource for new/old vegans!
I remember reading your “Vegan Pantry” post and printing it out and filling up my own pantry. Like you said, I adjusted it to my own taste, but it really DID help. It still does. I’m having a hard time transitioning to vegan but your blog helps motivate me because everything you are describing here, I can relate to.
Thanks for creating the series!!
I’m so glad to hear the list has been helpful for you! And yes the best part is that you can adjust it to your own needs. :)
I’ll have to check that post out!
I’m kind of feeling my way blindly through the transition right now, so the past few weeks I’ve been obsessively reading your blog. I also love Alicia Silverstone’s Kind Life site. The two of you have single-handledly given me the information I need to make healthy vegan decisions.
The first time I went vegan I hadn’t ever heard of your site, but I based it a lot on Alicia’s book and recipes. The problem was, the food was too time-consuming to make and I was used to eating “convenience foods.” I’ve been vegetarian for quite a while (2ish years now? since midway through college) but I was a vegetarian the same way I was an omnivore, and the same way that I, initially, was a vegan: eating convenient, highly-processed, unsatisfying foods that left me feeling sluggish and drained.
This time around I’ve embraced the Green Monster (I have it for breakfast every morning!) and oatmeal is even slightly more palatable with your peanut butter-applesauce recipe, so I’ve been making myself eat that some. I got a rice cooker with a steamer inside it, and for dinner a lot of nights I’ve been having rice, steamed kale, and a bit of a canned Indian food sauce (I’m trying to use it up since it’s one of the remaining non-vegan things in my pantry) for dinner every night. Those GMs are really magical. I just have the Classic GM, no tweaks on it yet, with peanut butter. I’m going to make your homemade oat milk recipe tonight and try using that in future – getting the health benefits of fresh oats without having to actually *eat* the oats will be a huge plus, and I really like oat milk.
Anywho! This novel-length comment was just to say: Thank you for this post, for your Green Monsters, for your oatmeal recipe, and for your frank discussion of where you struggled. It’s extremely helpful and motivating. And I will definitely be checking out the vegan pantry post!!
I’ll echo the 30 and not ready for babies sentiment! Respecting your own timeline is a very good thing! I’m loving this new series as I re-evaluate my eating habits. I was vegan for about 9 months but also in the depths of an eating disorder – it was all about restriction. Now, with a healthier mindset about food and what I want to put in my body, I’ve been revisiting a truly plant-based, whole food way of eating. This will be a great tool as I figure out what works best for my body. Thank you, as always, for your insight!
I’m loving this series already! I’ve been challenging myself to cut out meat and dairy. I think one of the biggest helps for me is NOT pressuring myself to be perfect. If I find out there was a trace amount of cheese in the food I just ate, I coach myself not to freak out and then just move on. Expecting perfection equals frustration and giving up for me. So far with the challenge, so good!