Top 5 Tips For Transitioning to a Vegan Diet

ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ᴠᴇɢᴀɴᴜᴀʀʏ!

I always get messages for tips on going vegan (which I LOVE!).❤️ This time of year it seems to be more of the topic on everyone’s minds and I’m always happy to help. Now I’m a very all or nothing type of person. So for me when I went vegan I didn’t transition I just went all in. I got rid of everything that wasn’t vegan and dived in head first. When I’m asked for tips I find I’m always referring back to these five things. So with Veganuary in full swing and my inbox piling up with questions I’ve listed them below👇🏻🍃

𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟓 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐕𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐭

1️⃣ There are a lot of dishes that are either naturally vegan or can easily be “Veganized” as I like to say. For example a simple pasta with marinara is traditionally vegan. Chili can be vegan if you leave out the meat. So look at the recipes you’re already used to eating that can still remain “go to” meals for you in a pinch. I found that I could make EVERYTHING that I loved as long as I tweaked a few things here and there. So now look at the dishes you make that you love and swap out what isn’t vegan. An example would be Stew like subbing mushrooms for the beef and vegetable broth for beef broth. Mushrooms are a great sub for meat if you want to stay away from processed vegan meats. Earth Balance and coconut oil make great vegan subs for butter when baking and cooking. You don’t have to flip your life entirely upside down to eat vegan.

2️⃣ Follow Vegan accounts on social media. Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook are loaded with great tips and info. It’s a great way to get inspired and to learn about brands you may be unfamiliar with.

3️⃣ Dairy alternatives are endless these days, however that can be overwhelming for some. I love using Planet Oat plain oatmilk when cooking. Especially when making mashed potatoes. For smoothies, cereal and drinking straight I prefer unsweetened almond milk, more specifically the Blue Diamond brand. I find the Silk brand has a funny aftertaste. As mentioned earlier I like to use Earth Balance brand for a vegan butter substitute. I don’t like a lot of cheese alternatives, but I think that’s mainly contributed to the fact that I don’t enjoy a lot of processed foods. I have found two brands that I do like. I like to use Good Planet when making sandwiches. When melting on a vegan burger I prefer CHAO by field roast company. For yogurt I like So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt. Kite Hill makes a delicious whipped cream cheese and Tofutti makes a great sour cream alternative. 

4️⃣ When subbing eggs it’s really dependent on what you’re making. To replace eggs in a breakfast scramble I use tofu. When baking I use bananas, peanut butter, chia seeds, flax meal or applesauce. 

5️⃣ If you’re going to be using meat alternatives here are my favorites. Pretty much anything that Gardein makes. My favorites being the crispy tenders, meatless balls and fishless filets. For burgers it’s 100% the beyond burger. Both brands made delicious and Non-GMO.

Those are my go-to tips when I’m asked on how to transition to a vegan diet. I hope you find them helpful! ✌🏻🌱

XO, Kathleen