As the year draws to a close, I’ve been thinking a lot about this space and what I can do in the new year to challenge myself (and hopefully you) in new ways. It probably doesn’t come across this way on the blog, but I often struggle with questions like – What am I doing to make a difference? What can I do to help people and animals? Am I growing on a personal level? Lately, these questions have gone mostly unanswered. Don’t get me wrong, I love sharing my recipes with you (and I know it makes a positive difference based on your feedback – thank you), so I have no plans to stop recipe development. It’s something I enjoy immensely more days than not. But there are other things I could be doing and I’ve felt this pull at my heart strings a lot in recent months. With only weeks to go until my cookbook manuscript is due, I’m feeling worn out and I’m sure this a big reason for the rut I feel like I’m stuck in. The good thing about a rut is that it usually prompts a change for the better (with time). Discomfort prompts motion.
In spirit of change, I’m starting a series on veganism this year – simple posts that can make the transition to a plant-based diet easier. I’m really excited about this. To be honest, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for over a year now, but I tend to suffer from the mindset that if I can’t do it exactly right or if I don’t know all the answers, then I shouldn’t do it at all. Well, this is a rather silly way to go through life, don’t you think? The truth is, I’m the only one holding myself back. I want to share whatever it is that I can offer and trust that it will be helpful for some of you. Even if you have no desire of going vegan or if you are already a vegan yourself, I still hope that this series will be inspiring and peak some curiosity about things you may want to know more about.
Here are some examples of questions I receive every week:
What can I replace yogurt with?
What’s a substitute for sour cream?
I have no idea what to do. Do you have a vegan 101 Series I can read through to get started?
What do you eat each day?
How do I get protein?
What the bleep is a flax egg????
What do I do if I have a craving for an old food?
Why do you soak beans and nuts? Will my husband fart less if I soak his nuts? (Yes someone wrote this once…I almost spit out my drink.)
I want to start TODAY…help me!
It occurred to me that it would be more helpful if I posted my experiences on the blog, rather than simply via email. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past few years, it’s that a vegan diet isn’t about what you take away; it’s really about what you add in. I didn’t know this for a long time. For every food that I decided to forgo, I eventually added at least a handful of new, vibrant foods in its place. But first, I had to learn what it is I could add into my diet. This wasn’t easy for me in the beginning and I suspect it’s not for many. Three and a half years into it, I’m still very much learning.
To make this series a success, it’s important for me to have your feedback and input. I’d love to know some of the questions you are struggling with right now or perhaps things you struggled with in the past but triumphed over. Everyone loves a good success story, myself included. [Side note: I’m considering the return of reader success stories, perhaps in a Q & A format – would you enjoy this feature again on OSG?]
For those of you who are making some changes to your diet in 2013, I hope you’ll find this series timely and helpful in your journey. More on all of this very soon.
For more in this series, see:
Part 1: How To Make The Transition
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
I wish you a happy, fun, and safe New Year’s surrounded by the people you love! Happy New Year to you all. Thank you for reading Oh She Glows and bringing me into your home each week. I bid farewell to 2012 filled with gratitude.
Love the new ideas Angela! I have been following your blog for about a year now and find it a great inspiration when trying to cook vegan meals for my fiancé and I. I will be getting married in about 6 months and am looking into becoming vegan to kick start my year and goals for the wedding. I have been vegetarian for 4 years now and can go vegan for a short time but never stick to it but I’m looking forward to the new blogs to keep me focused!
Oh my goodness…so excited for your book! You continue to be an inspiration for me! Keep up the amazing work:)
I am struggling to stay vegan:( I have 3 meat eaters to cook for a small budget and no time!! living in the suburbs of michigan doesnt help ! Its difficult to find groceries and impossible to eat out/:
I am so happy you are starting this series! Changing our eating habits from eating whatever to vegan is, I find, extremely challenging. Some questions would be how to get the daily recommended portions or protein, calcium, etc. But all these questions I’m sure I can google. My main question is twofold, how do I deal with the cravings for tartar, seafood and mostly cheese, and, how do I get the spouse and stepchildren on board as much as I can.
I think this will be a wonderful series! My husband and I watched the documentary Forks Over Knives a few months ago and decided to try a vegan diet. I really enjoy it because my story is almost exactly the same as yours–fluctuating weight and battling eating disorders. I’m still very new to this way of eating, and I have not been 100% faithful. I do feel better, though so I want to commit to it. My husband loses weight easily; since September, he has already lost over 10 pounds no matter how much protein I put into him. A couple of the books other readers have mentioned sound helpful. Any other suggestions?
Also, I used to just take a cheap, generic multivitamin, but I’ve been reading up on everything from vitamins to supplements to probiotics. I’m slightly overwhelmed and would love to hear anything you recommend for a 22-year-old female.
Your blog has been immensely helpful to me. I cannot even explain how grateful I am for your recipes because I honestly didn’t think I’d stag committed to the diet at all. When I started eating vegan, I had very little knowledge of how to change my cooking. Thanks to you, the recipes I’ve tried out are so good that even my Southern meat and potatoes family enjoys them.
I am extremely excited about this series! I don’t eat a lot of meat currently, and definitely feel better when I eat less; however, I am an extremely active person (I teach group exercise for a livivng), and am always worried that I would have a hard time correctly nourishing my body if I was vegan. I am so excited to learn more!
I’m sure the series will be great – given the enthusiasm and energy you bring to the blog. While I don’t necessarily want to be vegan, I greatly enjoy your recipes, regularly eat a vegetarian lunch and a meat free dinner at least once a week. I look forward to what you have in store for us, your loyal readers in 2013.
Oh Angela, you make it look so easy and amazing! But as a novice vegan, I am beginning to feel that unless I dedicate alot of time and money into cooking, I will be destined to eat canned beans and stewed veges in a tomato-based sauce for the rest of my life :(
At the moment I am feeling the immense loss of the food groups I have eliminated from my diet, rather than the exhileration that comes with eating whole, clean food. I’m bingeing on ‘bad’ vegan food beacause I’m not satisfied with the food I’m preparing. I was quite vocal about my conversion to veganism, so am really looking forward to your how-to series to turn me around from ‘gosh, what have I done…?’ to ‘OMG, look what I have done!!’
Great idea! I’ve been vegan for a little while now but feel like I still have a lot to learn. One thing I have am curious is about is hownyou handle being married to a non-vegan and whether you ever have to fight the urge to push him toward veganism. My husband is very supportive of me and eats my vegan meals most nights. I don’t like to get preachy at all toward people who eat meat, but occasionally find myself wanting to be with my husband. Mostly because he knows all the reasons I eating animal products and yet seems completely unphased. He watched Vegucated with me recently and seemed moderately affected by it but then went out and got a huge chicken burrito the next day. It was very challenging for me to not ask how the heck he could eat that right after seeing that movie.
Have you ever had to deal with such feelings?
Love the blog – a nice balance of healthy recipes and positive/healthy living advice. My questions:
1. I am mostly vegan but also am trying to limit my consumption of processed foods. Any suggestions for the healthiest dairy substitutes (the long list of ingredients on non-dairy margarine is what got me thinking about this topic).
2. Meal planning – day to day.
3. Meal ideas for entertaining – after 17 years of vegetarianism/veganism, I still struggle with coming up with a veg menu that is satisfying to all my guests.
Oh, I will be so happy to read your new posts, Angela! I’ve been following your blog for about 6 months now and love your recipes. I don’t plan to go vegan per se, but I do want to greatly increase the volume of veggies and fruits I eat and focus on eating more wholesome foods overall. I love to try new foods and will eat pretty much anything, but sometimes meal planning for others who don’t share my food philosophy/palette is very frustrating! This last week we had house guests and I was trying to cater to 4 adults: myself, 1 vegan, 1 diabetic who needs to limit meat/dairy/sugar and has a long list of veggies he hates, and my husband whose motto is “It isn’t a meal without meat” and has an even longer list of veggies he won’t eat. Oh, and I also have a 3 and 6 year old to feed. I was about ready to pull my hair out and tell everyone to go make their own PB&J’s! :)
I think that this will be a great series. Although I’ve already made the transition, my ways are very extreme and unconventional. To have a kind and compassionate resource (in addition to Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Life) shall be lovely; and if what you produce is good, I shall refer vegan wannabes to it. Happy New Year, Angela!
Great idea for a series!
My husband and I eat mainly vegetarian at home, and hubs was recently diagnosed as lactose intolerant – so I’ve become more and more interested in vegan eats. My biggest challenge to switching over entirely has to do with meals outside the home – it’s hard to be at a family function for dinner and only have veggie sides as our options. I can’t imagine any meal consisting only of steamed brocolli and potatoes. Are there super-quick protein additions we could be thinking about?
Hi Ange, My daughter is an Ange too, actually she is Andrea but it often gets shortened to Ange. I am you not typical blog reader, I am about your mothers age (my daughter is a couple years younger than you). I stumbled on your blog researching vegan lifestyles and recipes. My spouse and I after being die hard meat eaters our entire lives turned vegan(gasp) a mere 6 months ago. What brought about this big change? Well a friend had been pushing Forks over Knives at us for a couple months and we finally watched it. I then proceeded to watch Food Inc ( in 15-20 minute blocks because I was so appalled and kept tearing up). Since this literally life changing experience we will be forever vegan. We ocassionally eat some fish or dairy due to the fact we travel a lot and my husband eats out on business but at home and about 95% of the time no animal products are consumed by us. I have to say it was harder and yet easier than I expected. I am a “home chef” complete with over 100 cookbooks ( was 200 but I de-cluttered and donated to goodwill)and a gourmet kitchen with every convenience known. Cooking has been my hobby for many years. I was a bit worried how this new lifestyle would affect one of my favourite pastimes (as well as the eating part). I can safely say that we eat fabulous flavourful and more varied meals than ever. We do not miss eating “flesh” and animal secretions in the least. I have lost about 14 pounds and feel fabulous. With the new year upon us I am going to try to lose another 30ish pounds and re-incorporate exercise into my regular routine. I have been a semi-regular exerciser most of my life but a post half-marathon injury about 5 years ago curtailed my running and since then I exercise in spurts. I want to get fit and fabulous by my 55th birthday next year.I have never had an eating disorder other than a great love of food and over eating, I have struggled with weight gain most of my adult life and now I am “older” it is even harder. Anyhow , as I said I stumbled on your fabulous and inspiring blog and I am a lurker who decided to come out of the closet so to speak. I have spent the last several days reading your blog from the beginning. Can’t wait for your cookbook. Luv Sketchie!!!!!! Keep up the great job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Christine
I love this idea. You have a way of relating info that is easy to understand, inspiring and Your honesty and ability to be vulnerable allows others (at least me) to feel inspired by you and what you write – and not threatened or feeling like “I could never do that”. Of course, your recipes and photography are incredible!
I would love to read success stories.
The main thing I wonder with veganism – is it truly healthier for everyone? I have read some books, watched documentaries etc.Mostly it makes sense and I believe is the best diet for me, but some people’s health suffers if they cut out all animal products (even very well informed, health minded people). I would never try to convince someone to eat any particular way, but just wonder about this question in general.
Another question – with a vegan diet, I feel like I eat more fat (though it is healthy fat mostly) – but this is a difficult transition for someone who was sucked into the ‘fat free’ fad. Some suggestions for coping with that would be great too.
Thanks for your time and effort on this blog Angela!
I love this idea!! I decided to go vegan for 30 days in September and loved it. I did find it hard to maintain my veganism when I was out with friends or at someone else’s home though and after the 30 days I chose to make an effort to continue making vegan choices but not be too hard on myself when it wasn’t as possible. But I’d love to get more into it again and I think your posts will be of huge help! Here are just a few questions I would love to know the answers to:
What are your thoughts on nutritional yeast? I try to avoid anything that’s processed so I haven’t started using it and use ground cashews for most cheesy things instead. I’d love to know what you think.
Also, is there a good vegan yogourt out there? I’ve only been able to find one brand so far and it really wasn’t very good.
Also, I think readers’ success stores would be a lot of fun. Can’t wait to read your new posts!!
I agree with many of the other comments about the social aspect often being the hardest part. There can be a lot of judgement, especially from family members, and there is also the “ok, everyone wants to meet at ______ restaurant, what the heck am I going to eat??” I am fortunate in that I live in Los Angeles, where there is a plethora of vegan restaurants and options, and we also have top quality produce available year round, but I wonder what vegans in other parts of the country do!
I wanted to comment also about gluten intolerance that so many people struggle with. I’ve read that in San Francisco, many bakers are experimenting with locally grown varieties of heirloom wheat that western farmers are starting to grow. Apparently there are literally hundreds of varieties with a wide range of texture, color and scents and it seems that they don’t trigger the same allergic reaction as the commercially available, bleached AP flours that most of us are used to. So, it may not be the wheat itself, but rather the way it’s processed. Sunset Magazine had a great article on it (hope for people who love bread but thought they were gluten intolerant!): http://www.sunset.com/food-wine/techniques/new-wheat-flour-varieties-00418000079165/
Hi Angela – I went vegan for about 6 months last year but since I work pretty hectic hours I didn’t have the time to commit to researching recipes and really finding ones I enjoyed eating that didn’t leave me feeling deprived. I have loved every single one of your recipes, my husband agrees that if I had found this site I would have enjoyed veganism a lot more! I would suggest maybe putting together a list of recommended recipes/shopping list for people who want to give it a shot. Also, I found I ate a lot more carbs on a vegan diet and actually ended up gaining weight, what are your suggestions to avoid that?
HI Nikki
The Starch Solution teaches that it’s great to eat carbs – but unprocessed carbs and without added fat. That would mean bake your potatoes and don’t eat french fries, as an example. Try cutting out the fat and seeing what happens.
Fran
I love this idea! Your recipes are so fantastic, most recently made your roasted tomato and coconut soup… my meat-eating (funny title!) is ooooobsessed with it!! And I am too ;) They make veganism a no-brainer I think! I am mostly vegan my default.. I’m allergic to dairy, meat usually makes me nauseas, and eggs make me sick to my stomach/gross me out majorly (always have, since I was a kid.. the concept/texture). I’ll eat fish or chicken out or at family dinners, sometimes, I’d love more tips on all things vegan such as eating out and more basic recipes, because I just kinda wing it, since it happened somewhat organically. I know you’ve discussed it before here, but info about living with a partner who wants meat would be great to hear too. Your blog is awesome Angela, and I’m totally looking forward to this series!
ETA meat-eating **boyfriend**
HI. Thanks for this Angela!
I’ve been 99% vegan for about 10 months. This high fiber diet is great for my constitution, but not pleasant for people around me. I thought my system would get used to it after a while, but no.
any suggestions you can offer would be most welcome!!!
Thanks!