Making the Transition
Some people shift into a vegan diet slowly, starting with vegan analogues — plant-based foods whose taste resembles animal products. Some people simply take out the animal products from their diet and replace them with plant foods with which they are already familiar with.
While others concentrate on experimenting with entirely new vegan foods, often from international cuisines. Thankfully, there is no shortage of vegan foods to help make the transition. In fact, most of the food we eat is vegan, without us knowing it!
Resources: Transitioning 101 |A Guide to Going Vegan | Vegan Action's Transition Tips | Recommended Reading | Vegan Starter Kit | Vegan Cooking with Love | Gabriel's Plant-based Recipes | Yhanni's Tips for a Vegan Lifestyle
Start a Garden
An even better option is to grow your own food! If you have a porch that can hold large plant containers or a front or back yard with just a little space, start a garden of your own.
Growing your own food is a healthy and cheaper way to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. Go to your nearest library or bookstore and find out what grows best in your neck of the woods and get planting!
Resources : How to Start | Beginners Guide | Vegan Fertilizer | Vegetable Gardening 101 | Tips for Gardening | Starting a Bucket Garden | Building A Garden Bed
Vegan Meal Ideas
With a little time and practice, you will develop a new routine for planning meals and cooking. We recommend getting a good cookbook and experimenting, as well as checking out the amazing recipes from the Post Punk Kitchen,Serious Eats!, andHealthy Happy Life. You could also visit our Recipes and try out some vegan recipes.
You can also check out this Vegan Action- National 7-Day Meal Plan.
In the meantime, here are some simple and healthy meal ideas to start with:
Breakfast
Avocado on whole wheat toast
Bagel with soy cream cheese
Banana bread
Breakfast burrito
Breakfast hash
Breakfast sandwiches
Cinnamon buns
Chickpea omelet
Cereal/granola with Soy/Almond/Rice/Hemp/Flax/Coconut milk
Fruit smoothie
Fruit salad - toss together all your favorite fruits like melon, apple, grapes, berries, orange, banana, and kiwi
Fruit and vegan yogurt parfait
Oatmeal - made with soymilk and fruit, maple syrup & brown sugar, or whatever your heart desires
Savory breakfast bowl
Toast with nut butter and jelly
Toast with nut butter and sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar
Tofu scramblewith veggie sausage
Vegan breakfast tacos
Vegan sun-dried tomato and asparagus quiche
Vegan pancakes/ French toast with hashbrowns
Vegan waffles topped with berries
Vegan granola bar
Vegan muffin
Wheat farina
Lunch & Dinner
- Baked potatoes and baked beans
- Bean burrito withSpanish rice
- Beans, rice and salsa tacos
- Dairy-free pizza loaded with veggies (You can top with Daiya cheese, Chicago Soydairy’s Teese, Follow Your Heart Mozzarella, Nutritional Yeast Cheese, or just veggies)
- Falafel in a pita pocket, topped with Tahini paste (Also known as tehina, it is a paste made from ground sesame seeds)
- Pasta salad with Vegan mayonaise
- Pasta with cannellini beans and marinara sauce
- Pasta with meatless meatballs
- Peanut butter & jelly sandwich
- Spicy tofu lettuce wraps
- Stir fried veggies with Tofu, Tempeh, Seitan or other mock meat
- Taco salad- with vegetarian refried beans, salsa, guacamole, vegan sour cream, and taco sauce, over a bed of corn tortilla chips and lettuce
- TLT (tempeh bacon, lettuce and tomato- with Vegenaise) and Sweet Potato Fries
- Vegan chili
- Vegan salad - add all your favorite veggies to a bed of green then top with your choice of nuts, seeds, beans, dried fruit, and add your favorite vegan dressing
- Vegetable lasagna with tofu “ricotta”
- Vegetarian hotdog, Vegetarian hot dogs wrapped in Crescent Rolls, Chopped vegetarian hot dog with vegetarian baked beans
- Veggie burger: Quinoa Burgers, Black Bean Burgers, Lentil Burgers, Soy Burgers
- Veggie lunchmeat sandwich
Snacks & Dessert
- Ants-on-a-log (Celery with peanut butter and raisins on top)
- Apple with nut butter
- Chips & Salsa, Chips & Guacamole
- Clif Bar, Luna Bar, LÄRABAR
- Crackers and soy cream cheese
- Edamame
- Fresh fruit
- Fresh veggies andnon-dairy ranch dressing
- Frozen grapes
- Hummus with carrots or Pita Chips, White Bean Dip and Pita Chips
- Kale Chips
- Nuts
- Peanut Butter & Co. “Dark Chocolate Dreams” on a banana
- Pirate’s Booty -Veggie, Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks
- Pretzels, Popcorn (top with nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavor)
- Raisins, figs, dried fruits
- Sunflower or pumpkin seeds
- Vegan jerky: Stonewall’s Jerquee, Primal Strips
- Fruit sorbet
- Soy “cheese” cake
- Soy or coconut milk ice cream
- Soy yogurt and fresh fruit
- Vegan cake
- Vegan apple pie
- Vegan cookies
- Vegan cupcakes & muffins
- Vegan rice pudding & vegan tapioca pudding