How to Go Vegan

A vegan is a very strict vegetarian who does not choose to eat or use any animal products at all, from dairy and eggs to leather, wool and honey. While this is a major departure from common eating habits, it is actually pretty easy once you get used to it. There are a few tricks that can make the transition much easier, though.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Start reading labels. Get a list of all animal ingredients, and look for them on the label when you go shopping. There are hidden animal products in an amazing variety of foods, so this will probably be depressing at first. You will probably start to gravitate toward natural foods, because if the ingredients list is short and simple it is much easier to figure out whether any of it comes from an animal or not. This might go without saying, but do a kitchen purge and get rid of any non-vegan foods so you won't be tempted by them later.

2. Learn to cook. Your ready-made options will be much more limited (at least unless you're prepared to pay a lot), so cooking from scratch will greatly increase your menu options. Reading recipes will also help you figure out which types of foods generally contain animal ingredients.

3. Try vegan substitutes. There are all kinds of fake animal foods available, from ice cream and cheese to sausage, mock meats, and burgers. Some vegans don't care for these products much and prefer to stick to foods that taste like plants, but others enjoy them from time to time and find them especially helpful in making the transition to a vegan diet. If you are interested in substituting, shop around. Often there are several brands that vary widely in quality for each product.

4. Learn to modify recipes. Most non-vegan recipes can be made vegan by substituting some of the products discussed above, or using simple tricks like replacing eggs with cornstarch and water in baked goods. Most introductory vegan cookbooks explain these tricks.

5. Beat cravings by discovering some tasty vegan treats and keeping them on hand for a while. While these foods may not be the healthiest ever, they will probably help you manage your cravings for non-vegan foods until they lessen significantly.

6. Branch out. Explore the wonderful variety of vegan food that is available. If you've never really focussed on eating plant foods, now is the time to really experiment with different vegetables, grains and legumes. Plus, try some foods from different areas. Many countries have long standing traditions of excellent vegetarian and vegan cooking, which you might have never had reason to investigate before.

7. Read up on nutrition. While it's totally possible to have a healthy vegan diet, you need to be more aware of several nutrients like calcium, zinc and iron. In particular you may need to start taking a vitamin B12 supplement occasionally.

Tips & Warnings

• While some vegans think that sugar isn't vegan because it is often refined using animal bone, this is really only the case with white cane sugar. Avoid this problem by buying white sugar made from beets, or natural unrefined cane sugar.
• While ignoring B12 for a while probably won't hurt you, long term vegans definitely need to think about it. If you don't eat B12 fortified products or certain fermented foods, you will definitely need a supplement.

[ninbroken52]

on 2/23/2008 Very informative and very realistic.

Thank you!