Help for omnivores interested in Veganism
When I first started writing this, it was just meant to be a simple reply to a comment I received from someone interested in veganism (Hi Cecilia! *Waves*). But by the time I’d finished writing my answer to her question, I discovered that I’d written so much I should just turn my reply into a post! So here it is:
Hey Cecilia (and all other omnivores interested in, or intrigued by, veganism),
It’s awesome that you’re open to the idea of veganism. Seriously, it was the best decision I have made in my life! I feel so much better, physically and mentally, have so much energy all the time, and am so happy with my life 
. But anyways…
I first became a vegetarian (cold-turkey– or cold-tofu hehe) in middle school due to a love of animals, and I had no intention of going vegan. I liked my ice cream and cheese too much! For the first month of being a vegetarian, I missed meat, but you know the saying “28 days to break a habit”? I think it’s true, because after a month, meat suddenly seemed revolting to me. And once I read up on factory farming, as well as the health drawbacks to dairy, I decided that I really did want to be a vegan. One of the books that helped me realize this was John Robbins’ Diet for a New America. Plus, I started to see how odd it was that we’re the only species that drinks another species’ milk. So I gave up dairy products for Lent after being a vegetarian for one year, and I never went back.
BUT… I know that the cold-turkey method doesn’t work for everyone. So maybe you’d want to start out by designating a few days a week to be a vegetarian or vegan. Then you could add more days as it gets easier. Or you might want to start by eating one vegan meal per day. Invest in at least one really good vegan cookbook, and make up delicious meals, so that every time you feel like a non-veg food, you can have a yummy alternative to turn to.
I think it’s probably harder to give up meat than it is dairy because of all the good-tasting dairy substitutes out there. Don’t try fake meat products expecting them to taste like real meat. Instead, maybe start out with meals that are vegetarian on their own, such as pasta with marinara or peanut sauce, coconut curry, veggie stir-fries with noodles or rice, rice pilafs, soups or stews, peanut butter and banana sandwiches (or pb and j), bagels, cereal, potato dishes, bean fajitas, hummus sandwiches, pita sandwiches (try greens, chick peas, carrots, and salad dressing inside a pita), chili, etc. Here’s a link to a ton of recipes for ya. You can try foods like tempeh, but don’t treat them as a meat-substitute, rather as just another delicious and healthy food. Don’t worry about getting enough protein—as long as you get enough calories to meet your energy needs, you will be fine. In fact, many omnivores get too much protein, which can be a problem because protein leeches calcium from your bones! So not every meal has to have a protein component; besides, grains and veggies actually have some protein themselves. Plus, there are beans, nuts, nut butters, and foods like tempeh, seitan, soymilk, and tofu (crumbled up veggie burgers in stir fries are good too).
As for the dairy– a really good ice cream alternative that even my non-vegan friends and parents like is Purely Decadent ice cream, especially the cookie avalanche flavor. And if you’e wary of soy, try the coconut milk-based ice cream from the “So Delicious” company. I find Tofutti ice cream to be too sweet, but I like Tofutti Better-n-Cream Cheese. I also love Amy’s brand Bistro or California burgers (much better than Boca, I think). Soymilk can be tough, as all brands taste different. I tried three brands that I didn’t like before finding Vitasoy light original. If you don’t want to start out with soymilk, you can try ricemilk. Many people like Vanilla Rice Dream, which has a sweet taste. Oat milk, almond milk, hemp milk… there are so many “milk” choices that it’s just a matter of finding the right one (or two or three!) for you. Many brands are also fortified with nutrients, so you’ll get the same vitamins as you would from cows’ milk (such as calcium). I mostly use almond milk. Also, flavored soymilks are delicious, even to many non-vegans. Look for Silk spice latte, Vitasoy chocolate-banana, Silk coffee, etc.
If you’re in the UK or USA, Whole Foods Market is a great place to shop, filled with the aforementioned vegan products and more, such as vegan cookies, frozen waffles, and cakes. Or, if there isn’t a Whole Foods near you, just look for a health food store or a natural section of a regular grocery store.
Now—eating out. If you go to a party, you can offer to bring a main dish and/or a dessert so that you won’t feel left out when everyone else is eating cake. Most vegan cookbooks have great dessert sections (plus there are soooo many recipes online and on blogs, as I’m sure you’ve found out!). If you’re hungry while at the mall, you can opt for a smoothie (make sure you get one without yogurt) or an Auntie Anne’s pretzel (ask them to hold the butter—they hear this request all the time from fat-savvy customers). And if you’re going out to a restaurant, maybe look at the menu ahead of time, and if there isn’t a vegan option, call the restaurant—many chefs are happy for the challenge of making a customized vegan dish (sometimes they get bored of making the same thing day in and day out). Or you can always come up with your own menu item by substituting. For example, if there’s a meat-y meal that comes with a side of veggies, you know that they have veggies. So you could ask for a baked potato or pasta with veggies, or a salad hold the cheese, etc. And go here to see if there are any vegetarian restaurants in your area.
There are so many amazing vegan products/recipes available nowadays that it’s possible to satisfy almost any craving you may have! Have a hankering for pancakes? Take that, pancake craving! Need a baked-good fix? Go here. Any other craving? Just google “vegan ______” and you’ll probably be amazed by how much comes up!
I have probably given you way more info than you were expecting! Hopefully some of this is helpful! But I am always here to talk, through comments on my blog or at veggieprincess@msn.com. Good luck on your adventure . And even if you never make the switch to becoming completely vegan, cutting back on animal products at all is a great thing to do– for the animals and for your health. You are NOT any less wonderful of a person if you find it too hard to be 100% vegan, so never beat yourself up. Every little bit that you can do helps, and every little person can make a big difference in this world!
Love,
ChocolateCoveredVegan (Katie)
P.S. To other seasoned vegans—Is there anything important I’ve left out? Feel free to chime in with your own advice!
Katie, that was amazing. I will point any omni interested in veganism to this post!
I too did the switch almost cold turkey (or tofu, hehe). I actually never ate dairy or eggs much (except maybe cheese, but that was easy to give up because of its high quantity of saturated fats). For some people it’s impossible though, and transition is most definitely necessary. I think the problem is that the North American diets tend to revolve around animal protein. And I also noticed that “vegetarian” (non vegan) recipes seem so full of cheese or eggs to make up for it.
Becoming a vegan is really a huge step for some people, and I hope whoever reads this is inspired. Not because all vegans want to convert the world, but because we care and every person who decides to eat even just LESS meat, is making a huge difference. HUGE. Everyone matters. Just like every animal matters. If we’re not vegans for animal compassion, we should be for our health.
Again, this is fantastic Katie. I hope omnis everywhere read this and are inspired to give up eating animals, and think about what’s on their plate.
Very cook post-I will definitely show this to any omni friends on the fence-thanks!
haha cook=cool
That is a fantastic letter, CCV! You presented a thorough, well-thought-out case for how easy it is to become vegan. I hope a lot of people read it and make the switch! Great work!
Girl, that was a fabulous answer and an intriguing one for any omnivore I would say! You hit all the great aspects of being a vegan/vegetarian. Even if someone chooses to be a vegetarian all the vegan products are an extra incentive to become one. I know from experience. Vegan food is so yummy, and it always surprises people. Also, lots of foods we eat everyday are vegan and most people don’t even know! Your post is definitely inspiring for me. Reading it made me so happy because you also mentioned some of my favorite vegan products! Good job, and as always, I LOVE YOUR BLOG!! Thanks for the inspiration, wisdom and sharing your light.
What a great post! I’m still a newbie to veganism so thanks a lot =)
Hi Katie
Thank you so so much for your very GENEROUS advice, I even printed out your post and highlighted out all the tips n stuff!!
I think the best way for me is to go lacto-ovo first then progressing slowly to be a full VEGAN!
I’m actually really excited about this because I just love to bake, it would be funny to see my friends’ facial expressions when they realised that they just ate a tofu cake hehehehe…..*evil*
Oh btw, I’m currently a soymilk drinker, I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the taste of soymilk – much better than milk actually! However, my tastebuds doesn’t agree on the taste of soy-yogurt
Hrmm… cheese would be easy as I’m not a big fan of it!ok maybe except brie..hehe.. and as for soy ice cream – I’m yet to try one!!
Take-out/dining out with my family would be a challenge because as you know they are all “omni”..and we always order abt 3 dishes and share it around…any tips on that? Two of my brothers are almost fully carnivorous so I don’t think they would be too thrilled if it was all “vegan” dishes that they’re eating…
Last but not least, I live in Aus(Perth) so finding a ‘delicious’ vegan product could be a challenge…so any aus. vegan out there..pls HELP!!
MANY THANKS TO ALL OF YOUR GREAT ADVICE…CHEERS..LONG LIVE VEGAN!!
Katie, what a wealth of information you gave you here! Thanks for taking the time to write this out and give her (and probably many people who read your blog) such wonderful tips.
Great post! I am pretty new to being vegan, and I can totally relate to your post! I actually started out with the intention of eating vegan only one or two days a week, so I wouldn’t feel pressured. Also, that made sure I didn’t feel horrible if I “messed up” and forgot to check a label. However, the vegan foods are SO yummy and SO nutritious, (unless you are just eating newman-o’s
) that I didn’t miss any omni foods and I started eating vegan all the time, and then I was inspired to start my blog. I was so excited to share how delicious everything I was cooking was! I hope all omni’s get inspiration from your post, because you are absolutely right: even incorporating a few vegan meals into your weekly diet is a huge benefit to your health, the animals, and the environment!!
Thanks for keeping all of us inspired and drooling for more!
I too found John Robbins’ book to be very eye opening. Even though I’m already a vegan, I just want to thank you so much for putting this out there. You, along with many other vegan bloggers I follow, lead by example, and show that veganism is not only tasty, but (in my opinion), the right way to live, ethically and environmentally. I think you’re advice would be just the thing for a mind wanting to know more about our lifestyle.
I like that you don’t recommend everyone go veggie cold turkey. I actually did it gradually, as that’s what worked for me, but also know many people who just up and stopped eating meat. I think whatever works for you is best, if you are an all or none kind of person, go ‘cold tofu’ as you say, if you’re not a fan of drastic change, do it over time, with no pressure, timelines, any of that, only with the goal of eventually becoming vegan. You won’t set yourself up for failure that way.
What a great beginner’s guide Katie! You rock!
What a completely fantastic post!! So comprehensive & interesting. I’ve been asked by a few omnis (and vegetarians) in the past about the benefits of veganism & why I love it so much… I feel like my answers were “good,” but wow–this should be printed on a pamphlet & handed out to anyone at all interested–or not interested (yet).
I’ve already “converted” (well, okay–had a hand in converting) 3 people (YAY!) to veganism, but this is amazing… I should be pushy & send it out in a mass email to everyone I know. 
Very nice. And as someone who took three months to fully become lacto-ovo, and another four years to manage veganism, I appreciate the fact that you don’t take the ‘one size fits all’ approach. So many people seem to think that zero-to-vegan is the only way to go. I’d admire those who did it, but there’s no reason to make the rest of us feel lazy or weak because we don’t work that way.
Very Well Put, Katie! As you point out, with so many options available it’s no longer a struggle to be a healthy, well-fed vegan! I mean look at us – we’re all OBSESSED with delicious food!
I will join in with everyone else and say waht a great post! I think I’ll have my omni husband read this. It’s a great reference for anyone interested in becoming veg*n!
Solid advice – good job! I think the key to sticking with it is finding inspiration through books, websites, and blogs. Also, learning to cook for yourself is empowering no matter what your food preferences are – highly recommend that one.
This is a good post! I like how you suggest to try vegan food that isn’t full of meat replacer. I think if more omnivores realized that a lot of “normal” foods that they probably have every day can easily be vegan-ized, it might not be as scary.
Great advice, Katie! I like the idea about gradually eliminating meats and dairy from the diet (particularly for my omni family who have been more than willing to experiment right along with me). You might consider making this post a permanent link on your “sidebar.” Way to go!
Holy hannah banana, Batman!
Great advice, Katie! I love that you are so not condescending!
Yea for veggie advice!
It took me ten years to go vegan. I actually made the change in celebration of my 10-year vegiversary. I gave up meat at age 14 after spending a week with my Indian friend’s family and eating yummy vegetarian Indian food. I realized that if she and her family could stay away from meat, so could I.
Then 3 years ago, at age 24, I decided it was time to make the next step to veganism. Now, I can’t imagine how I ever ate cheese or drank milk!
BTW, I just found out recently that Auntie Anne’s pretzels were vegan. I’d always assumed they were not, but I asked at the mall one day. It made me so happy! Thanks for reminding me. I think I’ll go get one this weekend!
Cecilia,
Haha, if you already like soymilk, then you have the hardest part done already ;o).
Here are two vegan-friendly blogs (one is vegan, the other is mostly-vegan) that I read from people who live in Australia: http://travelingvegan.blogspot.com/
and
http://vegetationramblings.blogspot.com/
Maybe they can be more helpful in sharing places to find products!
Katie, what a wonderful and well thought out post. I went from omni to vegan, but like Romina never was into cheese and butter so it was easier for me. And then the new baking challenges were nothing but fun!
well said!!! not preachy, stating the facts . . . just great!
this is fantastic CCV!
f-a-n-t-a-s-t–i-c!
I agree with you – some people can go cold tofu (me!) while other (like my husband) needed to wein both into vegetarianism and then into veganism… best decision i ever made.
Great post Katie ! Being a new vegetarian with the desire to go fully vegan, those are great tips. I cook mostly vegan meals at home, it’s when I’m out to people’s places that I find it difficult. Thanks, you’re an inspiration!
I bow down before that post, CCV. Great info, and everything in your usual helpful, kind words.
I urge anyone interested in veganism to check out all of our blogs! I can’t tell you how many people tell me they thought we all ate like rabbits until they checked out some blogs and saw firsthand the great food we get! It IS possible to eat amazing food, feel beyond satisfied, and be ethical at the same time. It’s a blessing, not a curse!
Awesome job, this is exactly what people need to hear!
When I first read that comment by Cecilia asking for advice on your blog, I thought “Ha, you could write and entire post on that!”
And you did! and a long post, too, full of good advice. I think I would’ve liked this when I was going vegan.
Personally, I had more trouble giving up dairy (well, cheese, mostly) that meat. But then again, I was a vegetarian long before I thought about going vegan, and not eating meat has been the norm in our house for a long time. Cheese, on the other hand, is something my family has always been very fond of – so that made a difference, too. I found that the best way to stop eating cheese was going cold turkey, as well. Just stop thinking about it, as there’s (in my opinion) no good cheese substitute that actually tastes like cow’s milk cheese, and focus on other, more delicious foods!
It’s all different for every person, though, and I think you’ve handled that very well in your post. I hope people searching for advice on going will find this post through search engines – it’s bound to be helpful!
Oh, and thank you for commenting on the layout change on my blog
I’m trying to customize it a bit, but unfortunately WordPress doesn’t have many options for that. Oh well!
This is really great advice, Katie! Solid and thoughtful – nicely done
Katie,
A wonderful, very informative post! I think you present veganism in a really appealing, warm and accepting way for any omni who might be interested. And I agree with Monika, this would be a perfect post to put in the “permanent” list (sounds a bit like a tongue-twister, with all those p’s!!)
This post is such a fabulous resource! You’re such a positive influence for omnis, and this post helped me too. It linked me to your post on easy meals, which I just saw for the first time, and now I’m really excited to try a sweet potato burrito or a chik’n parmigiana sandwich. Yum!
excellent post, lots of excellent suggestions.
You are so cool for taking the time to write all of that out!! What a great voice for veganism. I’m sure many other will find it useful as well.
This was an awesome and informative post. I have a friend who is slowly making the change. When he’s ready, I’ll send him here.
For me, learning how to cook and prepare foods was integral to becoming vegan. It’s not so necessary anymore with the demand of already prepared vegan foods on the market, but cooking really gives you a plethora of choices in what to have for dinner! I’m glad you mentioned cook books in there. They are my saviour!
Katie –
email me (happyherbivore@gmail.com) I want to publish this article on another website (not my blog). I’ll give you details over email – I want your permission to repost (we’ll give you credit!)
Thank you Katie. This is very helpful and encouraging. I’ve thought about veganism, but I love my Greek yogurt so much. Maybe someday…you’ve listed some great alternatives for my dairy obsession. Thanks again!
Thank you so much katie for taking time to read my request. And oh, your very long post is indeed very helpful! I’ll take those in mind while I’m still starting out in my new “health advocy”. Keep posting
Much love, Abby
THANKS FOR THIS CCV. I also think it is really odd that we are the only species that consumes the milk of another, yet I can’t seem to give up yogurt and cheese!
I try to eat 4 out of 5 mini meals a day that are vegetarian, but it has been a slow progression. Thanks for your tips!
Thanks so much for this Katie, I have been veggie since I was 17 ( 2 years now) but for the last few months have been thinking more and more about veganism, mainly for reasons of animal cruelty but also environment and health. I have cut out eggs and now have soy milk on my cereal, to drink and in cooking but still have some troubles with milk hidden in food. I.e I thought Green and Black’s dark choc which i eat every day was dairy free but it turns out it’s not! Also I start university in October and have meals provided and am unsure as to whether there will be vegan options. Any more tips?
Wow, Katie! This was an amazing post full of great insight and practical, useful, information!
I’m so jealous.I’ve always wanted to become a vegan but it’s soooooooooo hard for me. I love cheese. ah!
I’m already underweight even though I eat a lot like you.
I’m 99 lbs and 5’4/ I’m also 16 years old. My parents are worried about my protein and meeting the proper nutrition requirements.
Do you know any vegan cookbooks that can help me out?
I’m already a vegetarian.
=) i love your blog.btw
This was just lovely, Katie. And I absolutely was beaming with proudness when you said it doesn’t matter where you are at in your lifestyle as long as we all understand that any reduction in the use of animal products helps out the animals and our health as well… Very well put!!!
*Hug*
Jes
This was so sweet Katie! =) I’m vegetarian and am quite curious about gong vegan. I think I’m going to try it little by little every day. I’ve tried some seriously amazingly DELICIOUS vegan food already!
I also love how you never once, NOT ONCE, attacked vegetarianism. Very sweet of you Katie.
Keep it coming girl ~VegGal
This is a great, very informative post. I especially appreciate the product recommendations. Thanks for posting this!!!
Hey, i really like your website.
I became a vegetarian when i turned fifteen, and i’m now sixteen, and for some reason everyone thinks i’m gonna give up or something lol. My brother says he’ll be “proud of me” if i ever eat meat again, but i have no desire to eat meat. (heck, i barely know how to cook it!) I’m also sort of a vegan. Like, i drink soymilk instead of regular, i try to order vegan dishes, and i stay away from cheese mainly because it upsets my stomach.
Continue what you’re doing with this blog. it’s really cool
Aw Tricia, thanks for such a sweet comment! And good for you for sticking up for your values! Someday, your brother will probably change his mind and be proud of you for being such a strong-willed person as to really fight for what you believe in!