Vegan beginner's guide for Veganuary

 

There are many reasons to go vegan (read here), so in case you are not vegan yet I encourage you to be a part of the 2022 Veganuary. This is a worldwide “challenge” people take, where you eat a vegan diet during the month of January. And even if you are already vegan, I bet you will find some new ideas in this article too.

 

 

What exactly is a vegan diet?

 A vegan or plant-based diet means you don’t eat animal products (meat, fish, eggs, dairy, honey), but simply plants and plant based products.

 

 

Here are a few tips for getting started…

 

Instead of meat try:

Tofu, tempeh, legumes, seitan

 

Instead of fish, try:

Mushrooms, carrot salmon, avocado sushi, artichokes

 

Instead of milk, try:

Oat milk, almond milk, soy milk, all kinds of nut milks etc. Usually next to the milk in the refrigerated isle there is a section with dairy free milk and creamers.

 

Instead of eggs, try:

Scrambled tofu, chickpea flour omelet, for baking, try flax/chia eggs, banana, apple sauce.

 

Instead of cheese, try:

Dairy free cheese (store bought), cashew cheese sauce (homemade easily), nutritional yeast, vegan cream cheese (store bought), hummus

 

Instead of dairy, try:

Margarine/olive oil, dairy free yoghurt (almond, coconut, soy, cashew etc.), coconut/avocado oil, coconut milk, coconut whipped cream

 

Instead of honey, try:

Maple, date of agave syrup

 

At least in every big grocery store there is a wide range of vegan substitutes in the refrigerated or frozen section, and also snacks and treats/sweets. Check this article to see which foods are accidentally vegan and that you are probably eating already.

 

Especially in the beginning when you don’t really want to leave out certain foods or just have no clue what to eat, try to get the things you would normally eat in vegan. On the internet and on social media there is an overwhelming amount of vegan recipes.

 

 

Here are some websites and accounts I always get my recipes from:

 http://xbeccabella.de/

 https://annelinawaller.com/

https://www.instagram.com/marisa.hofmeister/https://plantyou.com/blog/

https://www.pickuplimes.com/recipe-index

 

Here you can check out some of my own recipes.

 

Of course you can also just ask ecosia or pinterest for whatever you want to make in a vegan version… Or you simply go with the substitutes from the grocery store which is completely okay too.

 

 

How to rock Veganuary or a vegan diet in general:

• Prepare (read articles, take your time at the grocery store and maybe checkout vegan online shops)
• Focus on all the foods vegans do eat!
• Watch documentaries like Cowspiracy, The game changers, Earthlings, Knees over Knives.
• Find a partner to go vegan with you
• Veganize your favorite dishes
• Be prepared at social gatherings (make sure there will be vegan food or bring your own)
• Read my article about supplements and get a Vitamin B12 supplement
• Make sure you eat filling and tasteful meals. Trying out new recipes for the first time doesn’t always turn out amazing, but that’s normal, so try not to be hard on yourself.
• Look for product recommendations (for example on instagram, youtube, pinterest)
• Try the app Happy cow (an app for finding vegan restaurants near you)

 

Please check out this article to find out, which things are not vegan and you probably thought they were.

 

 

Food I newly discovered when I went vegan:

• Nut butters
• Temeph (fermented Tofu)
• Nutritional yeast
• Silken Tofu
• Kimchi
• Plant-based yoghurts
• Algae like Spiruina, Chlorella etc.
• Quinoa
• Tahini
• Hemp seeds
• Nicecream
• Soy protein
• All kinds of vegan substitutes