The Veg Post: How to Make Going Veg a No-Brainer

Welcome Vegan Consultant Readers!

Thanks for reading my interview with Kelly, and welcome to my blog! In my interview, I advised those considering a vegan lifestyle to choose a set of core recipes to help the transition. Here are some more thoughts on that:

To many ears, “going vegan” sounds difficult and limiting.

“How do you stay the course?” people wonder.

To this question, many will tell you about animal rights, climate change, and your health. Given the facts, how can we not be vegan? And, I agree with all of this.

But, you may still be thinking, "How do I give up brie cheese and chocolate chip cookies? Practically, in my day-to-day life, it’s too hard to be vegan."

To you, I offer the secret to making it easy.

The secret to staying vegan:

The key to becoming – and staying – vegan is eating well.

Eat delicious and satisfying things. Eat so that you don’t feel like you’re missing out. And suddenly, being

vegan isn’t really a challenge anymore.

What not to do:

There are thousands of vegan recipes, weekly menus, and monthly planning guides available on the internet. That fact is overwhelming. And, they’re not all good. And, how are you supposed to get good at vegan cooking if you’re making something new every night?

There are also a whole host of meat and cheese substitutes available at the grocery store. Some of these products taste really good – for example, I love Daiya cheese and Field Roast sausages. However, these are still processed foods that don’t really allow you to explore how flavorful, simple, satisfying, and tangibly nourishing vegan food can be.

Choosing what to eat:

So, don’t waste lots of time prowling the internet for a month’s worth of different vegan recipes.

And, don’t just plug in processed substitutes for your meat and dairy products.

Think about what you like to eat – do you like having a Mexican dish or pasta every week? Then, find a great vegan recipe that fulfills each category for you. Pick 5 – 10 solid recipes, and make these in a repetitive cycle.

Choose a select number of dishes, make them over and over again, and get really good at cooking them. As you master your core set of recipes, branch out and try new things. If you do this, you’ll be turning out high-quality dishes that you love to eat. And, by loving what you eat, transitioning to veganism will become easy.

A five-recipe vegan sampler:

Here are five dishes that I like to make on a regular basis. They are varied, fulfilling, consistently delicious – and they use simple, easy-to-access ingredients.

Black Bean and Yam Burritos, the kitchn

Broccoli and Cheddar Soup, 101 Cookbooks

(Use Earth Balance brand butter, and Daiya brand cheddar cheese.)

Tomato Basil Pasta, Vegan Yum Yum