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 this entry! My question for you is, what is wrong with organic cage-free eggs? They have been a staple in my diet and I’m trying to learn why I should stop eating them, and also what I can replace them with. Thank you! Happy New Year!
I would enjoy reading this series Angela. I especially like inspiring stories of others. I like the way that you include whole foods into your recipes as I stay away from processed foods as much as possible.
Your passion and drive to be the best you can be is awesome and that comes through in your posts. Thank you!
I am looking forward to your cookbook.
All the best to you and your family in 2013!
Just wanted to let you know your blog has made a huge differencetransformation in my life. I wanted to transition to a vegan diet because of a heart problem and after watching Forks over Knives and reading I still was not completely able to commit because of the lackluster recipes I tried… until I discovered your blog! I am so excited to learn even more through your series because I know first-hand how this change has improved my life. I am off all heart meds and my labs are now near perfect compared to a year ago. Cannot wait for your cookbook and thank goodness for perfectionists like you!!! Keep up the wonderful job you are doing. You do make a difference and thank you so very much.
Hi Marlene, Congrats, that is tremendous news! I am so happy to be a part of your journey.
I am so glad you decided to free yourself up to share… :) Looking forward to it! Happy New Year :)
I think this is wonderful. I’m mostly vegan, I just can’t kick CHEESE! (I live in Wisconsin)
I absolutely love your blog, Lentil Loaf was a hit for my Thanksgiving. I think by just spreading the delicious vegan recipes to those who never knew vegan meatloaf could taste so good helps transform us. Thank you thank you thank you and wishes to you of a most healthy and happy new year, Angela!
I would love to add more vegan foods to my families routine. As a traditional portuguese family there are not that many vegan recipes that are passed down through family or shared through friends because it’s not part of our food culture. As a mom and wife I’m always trying to look for ways to incorporate healthier meals at home, unfortunatly I’m not always successful but I’d love to have more information. I’ll look forward to your posts!
I badly want to juice so that my family and I can start the day with an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies, but cannot afford a vitamix. Is there any alternative ways to juice??
You should try Angela’s recipes for green smoothies! All you need is a blender, I use my magic bullet which I think was only $40. You can just blend up all the veggies you want, granted some work better than others..
Thank you Angela for listening and following through on your inner “nudge”. Having gone mostly vegan in the past year, I look forward to your excellent ideas on how to maintain and thrive with this new eating adventure. And, it is an adventure. Vegetables play so well with each other. I have been amazed at how many combinations go well together by just tossing vegies and grains and spices together. Cooking has become fun again after many years of doing it the same old way. I don’t say this lightly, I used to be a cooking instructor in San Diego. Happy New Year, and thank you for your inspiration.
I think this is a great idea! My boyfriend and I have decided for our New Year’s resolution to go vegan. We’ve tried a couple of your recipes before and loved them!
I found that going vegetarian for awhile before going vegan really helped in the transition. When I’d already been forgoing meat for awhile, the meat question, normally a very big problem for people becoming vegans, became a non-issue.
As a vegan I find the most difficult thing finding substitutes for milk, cream, and cheese in recipes. Where those ingredients aren’t the main part of the recipe but are still necessary. Soy milk and other substitutes sometimes work but can make the whole recipe taste off.
Any help with that would be much appreciated. Thanks.
I am a want-to-be vegan who is successful throughout the day and when alone with my husband. The challenging times for me are holidays and, when my children are home from college on break, succumbing to their desire for their favorite meals which contain meat and cheese. Help! I need suggestions for these two situations. Also, pizza – good, New York style think crust pizza – it’s my downfall.
Wow. You have so many comments – I have no idea how you even read them all. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know you have already made a HUGE difference in my life. I have been trying to go vegan for about 4 years and only this year did I really make the switch, although of course, it was all those gradual changes. My main inspiration was your blog and your delicious recipes and your compassion for us all as well as yourself. I never comment but I read your blog every day and watched you climb up that mountain in Arizona and take the trips to Canada and move …. and post yummy chocolate chip cookie dough nut butter. SO, as 2013 opens, just a bit THANK YOU to you for already changing my life for the better. xoxo
Great idea, Angela. I have been a vegetarian for a year now. While I eat mostly vegan, I tend to eat dairy and eggs when they are in baked sweet goods. I have a huge sweet tooth and have had a love affair with sugar for as long as I can remember. I have a large mental block about cooking/making my own meals.
I love love your blog. I thInk the serIes Is an awesome Idea. Last New Years I discovered your blog and decided to go meat free for the year. I’d say it was fairly successful, besides the holidays I stayed away from meat. Now I want to take the next step with getting dairy and eggs out of my diet. In the beginning, how did you do it? Jump right in or was it a more gradual process. I love cheese so much so it is quite a temptation for me and I don’t have the best self control. Also I have struggled with being a little over weight so I am kind of scared of carbs. Which makes me hope I don’t gain more weight bc of the carbs In a vegan dIet. Thanks!!
I enjoy all your posts, the recipes and the stories and the how-tos.
I’ve been vegetarian and various stages of vegan over the past two years, discovering last summer that I have an official egg and milk allergy and that it’s the source of a great deal of the health issues I’ve had. My body feels very fragile and broken from the inside to the outside, not just muscles and weakness but a sense of a whole that is still being rebuilt. I’ve found that I feel much, much better with a strict whole-food, vegan, low-grain diet, but I’ve also found that I’m still negotiating the balances within me: if I don’t get enough of one something or another, I’ll get a crazy deep craving that makes me sick if I don’t address it. I still eat meat on occasion, but it’s a condiment now, this additive I use when my body gets very angry about its absence. I like to keep playing, though, finding a better balance.
I’ve also found your blog in particular to be a huge help in both replacing old favorites and in finding new ones. Comfort food is now vegan mac and cheese and your naughty & nice enchilada casserole. Reading this blog and other vegan websites helps me feel less alone and less frustrated when trying to sort out food: it’s a big difference to be vegan or nearly vegan because I don’t have a choice and because I make a conscious decision. Reading Oh She Glows and other blogs make me feel positive about my diet and less like it’s something I have to do but more like my body being smarter and healthier than my brain when it comes to food.
More than once I’ve cried after making a great vegan recipe; finding good food when so much sense of familiar food has been taken away is a gift I cannot express properly the meaning of. Whatever you do with the blog, I’ll continue to read. I think you’ve found a wonderful niche that both suits your personal purposes and fills needs in others you didn’t expect. In short, true art.
I too am really looking forward to this series. I’ve been vegetarian for years but would really love to be vegan…only thing holding me back is my addiction to convenience foods! I would love to know how to make cooking more convenient to fit in with my busy lifestyle. Also, how to handle social situations where eating is a focus? Thanks so much for this series!
I’m very excited about this series. I doubt I’ll ever be 100% vegan, but my diet contains fewer animal products every month. I love reading healthy substitutes for foods that I’ve eaten my entire life. Probably the best thing I’ve tried is the soaked & seasoned walnuts in place of meat on a taco salad. I can’t wait to read how you and others make substitutions for meat, dairy, etc. and how people have evolved into a more vegan lifestyle.
This is perfect timing as I complete my transition into a plant-based diet with the new year. Thank you (and everybody leaving comments) for developing this resource! I really appreciate it!
Hi -I have been actually trying to figure out how to eat vegan and gluten free and it’s such a big change that I am definitely getting overwhelmed. Some info I would like to see in your series is
Why did u choose to eat vegan? All the benefits.
What to eat for meals and snacks?
How to make sure your getting enough macronutrients -carbs, protein fat?
Getting enough calcium, b12 etc?
How to make meals easier to make?
How to get hubby on board or cook two diff meals?
How to eat when you eat out or at a friends!
Best sugar option if you eat sugar?
Pantry items?
Fridge items?
Safe cleaning products, perfumes, makeup, bath items , laundry cleaners eyc?
How to grow own veggies?
Eating organic!
Than you!!
I think this series would be a fantastic idea!
I have been vegetarian for 4 1/2 years and early in 2012 I made the decision to cut out dairy and refined sugar from my diet. I still eat eggs and honey, but the majority of my diet is plant based. Since I was a teenager I have suffered from cystic acne, depression, and anxiety. I never felt like I had the energy that I should, and I always felt like my body was broken, or missing something crucial.
The first few years of being on a meat-free diet left me feeling confused. I thought that it would be a healthier lifestyle and that I would feel better and maybe my skin would improve. But it wasn’t until last year when I really started to do some research and evaluate my diet that I realized how much white flour, white sugar, milk, cheese (my FAVORITE!), pastas, breads, sweets, ect. I was consuming, and how very little plant-based foods I was getting on a daily basis.
I finally decided that I had to cut these things out for good (which meant no cheesecake…. oh I wanted to cry!). I do not like feeling as though I have no control over what I put into my body. I had an AHA! moment when I realized- you truly ARE what you eat! The things you put into your body are what build you and keep you going.
Since cutting out milk and sugar from my diet, I have felt amazing! And I have much clearer skin! And I honestly crave healthy food now, not junk!
It has certainly taken a lot of effort though, and a lot of research. I feel most of my free time is spent looking up recipes or in the kitchen (although I have started to love this rather than dread it).
So I would definitely love to see more recipes that can be made in bulk and stored when you need a quick snack or dinner (like your veggie burgers!).
I would also love to know more about how to get enough calories into a plant-based diet. I know that most people try to limit their calories, but I have always been slightly underweight and have always struggled with gaining weight, no matter what I eat.
I am grateful to the amount of time and effort you put into what you do! I come here regularly to find inspiration and yummy recipes and I love your sense of humor and all of the great photos! Thank you!