You probably have seen one of your favorite celebrities going vegan in the news. “[Insert celebrity name here] goes vegan?!” It’s everywhere. In case you aren’t familiar, a vegan is someone who doesn’t consume or use animal products. For other fellow vegans, this is awesome! I’m not going to sit here and tell you to go watch a bunch of extremely sad videos of what happens on dairy farms, male chicks, etc. (you can if you would like to), but I am going to tell you how easy it is to go vegan. A common misconception a lot of people have is how time-consuming it is. For starters, there is no right or wrong way to go vegan. I personally transitioned from being a vegetarian for five years. Some people go vegan cold turkey, it’s about whatever will be easiest for you.
You don’t have to know how to cook a full course vegan meal, but you should be motivated and willing to spend the time learning what you need to know. On the topic of cooking, let’s chit chat about food. Food is a big part of veganism, however not the only part. I think a lot of people get turned off by having to cook. “What do I cook?” “What about substitutions?” Don’t stress too much about this! I think I spent more time stressing than I did eating when I was transitioning. My advice is to make sure you have a few staple items. I try to keep oil (any kind you like) on hand, non-dairy milk, beans, rice, greens, a variety of vegetables, onion, potatoes, tomatoes (if you like them, if not, no worries), flour, your favorite marinara sauce, protein sources (tofu, seitan, beans, etc), seeds (I like chia), and fruit.
Remember, these are just what I like to make sure I always have on hand. I’ve found that as you grow and learn new things, meals, and what works you start to learn what items you use most. I also recommend using recipes, lots of recipes. I’ve bought cookbooks and still don’t use them, so Google is your friend. Some tricky things to keep in mind when it comes to food are the hidden ingredients. You will start to recognize animal ingredients after a while. Don’t feel bad for having to take your time reading the ingredient lists. If you need to Google an ingredient, do it! A few common ones are rennet, gelatin, and lecithin (unless it specifically states it is soy derived). Again, you will learn as you go on.
I stated earlier that veganism entails more than just the food. What worked best for me was working on my food consumption, and then I started to switch to vegan products. You can find many lists online for vegan household and beauty products, clothing, etc. your other favorite things. It can get kind of tricky, so I personally recommend working on one thing at a time. There’s no rush, I promise. Enjoy the experience, never stop learning, and take your time.
Oh, and don’t feel ashamed to Google things. Seriously, there are so many resources online to help you, use them!