Carry on Beautiful!

I spent literally years considering and wanting to go vegan without actually doing it because it just seemed like such a huge and difficult decision. Now that I’ve been vegan for almost ten months though, I can confidently say that its no where near as difficult as I thought it would be and I really love being vegan, so I wanted to share some small differences you can make to help you get on the path to veganism or even just to make a few small steps in the direction!

First, I really advise stocking up on fake meats. I think we can all agree that the main reason being vegan seems so difficult is because meat is delicious. How can we possibly live without cheese burgers and sausages and bacon?! The answer is, we don’t. There are loads of amazing alternatives about now and lots of them aren’t any more expensive than real meat. Tesco even has their own brand of ‘chicken’ pieces, nuggets, ‘mince’, ‘burgers’ and more that are really inexpensive and delicious.

Fake cheese is also really great and pretty easily obtainable now. The Violife block is my personal favourite and even my best friend and boyfriend who are not vegan will happily eat it with me. Tesco again has their own brand of vegan ‘cheese’ which is really nice and around the same price as normal cheese.

When trying any of these types of products though, definitely go into it with an open mind! If you’re taking a bite expecting it to taste exactly like a sausage or burger you’re used to, you’ll be sorely disappointed. They’re all (in my opinion) really yummy but they’re definitely alternatives and not copies.

Try different kinds of plant based milks before writing them off and going back to dairy. I love soy and hazelnut milk but can’t stand hemp or coconut, and if they had been the only ones I’d tried I would have definitely gone running back to cows milk for my morning cuppa! You can also try getting the sweetened versions for your cereal, though I don’t love them in my tea I’m not a fan of unsweetened soy milk for cereal!

Figuring out at what pace approaching veganism is best for you will also be super helpful. For me, I just switched over night and loved it but for you a slower transition might work better. Watching documentaries and reading up facts about the meat and dairy industry can help to cement your resolve to not eat the products produced from that too and there are lots you can watch for free on youtube now!

Joining vegan groups on Facebook can be great too. Some are way too filled with drama for my tastes but others are super supportive and lovely, constantly sharing recipes and tips and tricks that are super useful.

Along with Facebook, other social medias like instagram can be great for finding support and help! Google is your friend too, anytime I’m craving something typically not vegan I just google the thing with ‘vegan’ after it, such as ‘Lasagne vegan’ and I’ve not yet not found a vegan alternative thats just as yummy!

Going vegan gave me the chance to have fun with my food while spending less money, losing weight, feeling better about myself and actually putting action into the morals I’ve developed over the years. I put a lot of effort into not being the ‘preachy vegan’ so I’m never going to say that everyone should go vegan, but I will say everyone could go vegan. It might take some time and you might find it difficult, and right now might just not be the right time for you to make the change, but if its something you want to do you will be able to.

Do you have anything to add to this? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!