Tips to help people stay vegan?

[Trinity]

I'm often hearing people say that it's difficult to stay vegan 24/7 (especially when meeting up with family & friends) and wondered if we could gather together a list of tips to help people stay vegan. Maybe someone gave you advice that helped at some point? Any thoughts? Or ideas? What tips would you give to a budding new vegan who wanted to stay on track?

First thing I'd recommend is finding a local group (or joining an online group like this one of course ) for mutual support and inspiration. I think it can make the world of difference when people connect with others who are on the same path.

Any other thoughts?

 

[ledboots]

Learn to cook vegan. It's really pretty easy, and when you get quick with a knife, takes no time at all. There are so many good vegan recipes online and in the many fantastic cookbooks out there.

 

[KLS52]

Plan ahead whenever you can. This is huge for me, whether it be a week's worth of meals (and snacks!) or planning if you find yourself needing to eat while away from home, even if its just a day trip to a mall.

 

[Moll Flanders]

^^^ I agree, especially with the support part, talking to vegans online and meeting with them helped me so much at first. You can pick up tips on where to buy vegan shoes and new vegan food products to make things easier as it can seem overwhelming at the start.

1. Try new vegan foods to keep your diet interesting.

2. Work out what meals or products are vegan in mainstream restaurants and supermarkets. They usually have most dietary information online now so you can know in advance what you can eat if you have to have a family or work meal out.

3. Visit vegan restaurants/ vegan fayres if you are lucky enough to get to them.

4. Also keep some vegan junk food in the house if you have a weakness for junk food. It's harder to beat a craving for milk chocolate if you only have brown rice and lentils at home.

 

[Trinity]

4. Also keep some vegan junk food in the house if you have a weakness for junk food. It's harder to beat a craving for milk chocolate if you only have brown rice and lentils at home.

That's an easy one to over look but could be really invaluable.

 

[Trinity]

Be prepared, especially when you go out for the day or go on a trip and might be tempted by tasty non-vegan treats.
So, bring some tasty filling vegan snacks in case you can't find anything whilst you are out.

 

[Trinity]

Plan ahead whenever you can. This is huge for me, whether it be a week's worth of meals (and snacks!) or planning if you find yourself needing to eat while away from home, even if its just a day trip to a mall.

Just seen your comment after I posted mine along the same lines - being prepared is a biggie!

 

[thefadedone]

Visit www.happycow.net when planning on traveling.

Watch Earthlings, Meat Your Meat, and other videos to help you stay on track if you are starting to crave meat or dairy. I seriously don't understand how anyone can continue eating animals after watching all the graphic videos out there.

 

[Blobbenstein]

Make sure you get enough lysine. An essential amino acid, ie your body can't manufacture it, so you have to ingest it. It's not in wheat, or rice, bread, pasta etc, but it is in beans....without it, you might crave meat, eggs and dairy, as those foods do contain lysine.
I think you need about 2grams of the stuff each day. I take a couple of pills each day, amongst other pills.....and of course there's also B12, that has to be ingested.

 

[SummerRain]

I think the main things are:

1. Understand nutrition, and think about it every now and again. Not all the time, but often enough to spot if you're diet is lacking in an area before you get any problems. Make sure you know where things like B12, selenium, iodine and vitamin D come from. It's easy to do everything right in the beginning and then forget. But vegan diets do take some planning, and being healthy is important

2. Keep things interesting. Buy new foods, go to new shops, go to vegan fayres, order from new online stores, make new recipes, buy a new recipe book, follow a new recipe blog, go to vegan groups... keep finding out about new stuff and keep your diet and purchases interesting. It's easy to get stuck in a rut of eating the same food, buying the same products, etc, for everybody - but if you're vegan then it's easy to blame it on veganism being restrictive. So keep things interesting, and you wont feel like you're missing out.

 

[Pirate]

Join VV

I do think having other like-minded people to talk to and ask questions to is a massive help. It's Veggieboard's fault I went vegan in the first place haha.

 

[peacefulveglady]

following this thread, i need some ideas for the future.

 

[spottygiraffe]

Make your food really interesting by experimenting with texture. It is so important. I love mixing raw food with cooked, such as a huge bowl of bean chilli topped with sour 'cream' (soy yoghurt mixed with lime), crunchy lettuce and chunks of tomato, red onion and avocado. Seeds and nuts are great for adding crunch to sweet and savoury dishes. Get enjoyment out of trying foods that you've never had before and looking for new recipes. Don't be afraid of fats -the right use of good oils can really help with the mouth-feel of vegan foods. Instead of having Parmesan on top of my pasta I now add more olive oil to the sauce instead and it's delicious. I agree about having treats in the cupboard to help with cravings and a good tip I was given to stave off chocolate cravings is to eat dates with avocado. The dates give the sweet hit and the avocado adds the fat that feels good in our mouths.

 

[Amy SF]

Keep photos of food animals (cows, pigs, chickens, fish, etc.) posted on your fridge, bulletin board, kitchen door, everywhere you look in your home, and next to those, pictures of companion animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, goldfish, parrots, etc. as a reminder that while some people pick and choose which animals they eat and which they don't eat, you don't eat any of them. This tip is good for vegetarians as well as vegans.

 

[Wolfie]

Make sure you get enough lysine. An essential amino acid, ie your body can't manufacture it, so you have to ingest it. It's not in wheat, or rice, bread, pasta etc, but it is in beans....without it, you might crave meat, eggs and dairy, as those foods do contain lysine.
I think you need about 2grams of the stuff each day. I take a couple of pills each day, amongst other pills.....and of course there's also B12, that has to be ingested.

You beat me to it. I can't believe how much different I feel since I learned about lysine.

Also, Taco Bell can be a savior if you're out and about or on a road trip. It's not the best food on the planet by any means but they are found nearly everywhere and it's so easy to veganize meals there. I'd have starved without it several years back when traveling through the South, where nearly everything came with bacon or bacon grease. Or so it seemed anyway. It was hard to find vegan food anywhere but Taco Bell.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I love mixing raw food with cooked, such as a huge bowl of bean chilli topped with sour 'cream' (soy yoghurt mixed with lime), crunchy lettuce and chunks of tomato, red onion and avocado.

That sounds gorgeous.

 

[PTree15]

Great advice here!
I have one regarding events such as weddings, work functions, etc. Speak UP! At my niece's wedding, which was catered, she made sure to ask me what I'd like. When the caterer suggested portobella mushrooms, I politely declined (I think everyone thinks every vegan loves mushrooms, lol). After some thoughtful back-and-forth emails, we came up with eggplant stuffed with roasted veggies! It was AWESOME! The sides were already vegan, so I was in luck (roasted new potatoes and steamed string beans). Trust me, people want to make sure you enjoy yourself on their special day. I can't tell you how much I appreciated it. Also, make sure to thank whoever made the meal. I told the server to PLEASE let the boss know how awesome my meal was. Now granted, my niece is family, so family can be (not always) more accommodating, but really, it does not hurt to ask.

There is no need to have to settle for crappy iceberg lettuce (it does have its place in wraps, lol) or a baked potato.

If asking or planning ahead isn't viable for you, make sure you eat something delicious beforehand so that you won't be starving and tempted to eat non-vegan fare. If I know I have no shot at controlling what will be served (rare, but it does happen), I will eat hummus and veggies or crackers, a Clif Builder bar (I'm addicted to these things and they have 20 g of protein, so they are quite filling), or a mega smoothie with bananas, chocolate and peanut butter and almond milk. Also, bring snacks with you. I always have a protein bar or something on hand. They are lifesavers!

 

[spottygiraffe]

New
spottygiraffe said:
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I love mixing raw food with cooked, such as a huge bowl of bean chilli topped with sour 'cream' (soy yoghurt mixed with lime), crunchy lettuce and chunks of tomato, red onion and avocado.Click to expand...
That sounds gorgeous.

I forgot the jalapeno peppers too!

This is a great thread -have really enjoyed reading everyone's tips.

 

[Trinity]

Happy Cow asked me to write a blog post for their site and after feeling inspired by this thread and wrote an article called
"12 Tips to help you stay vegan Here":
http://www.happycow.net/blog/12-tips-to-help-you-stay-vegan/

 

[Clueless Git]

Happy Cow asked me to write a blog post for their site and after feeling inspired by this thread and wrote an article called
"12 Tips to help you stay vegan Here":
http://www.happycow.net/blog/12-tips-to-help-you-stay-vegan/

That was a most excellent piece of work there, Trinity. Kudos!

My personal #13 would have been "always have something that looks like a gun handle sticking out of your belt".