How To Guide: Vegan For Beginners

As a new vegan, it can seem a bit overwhelming knowing where to start. So, whether you’ve chosen to adopt a vegan lifestyle for the numerous health benefits, ethical reasons, or the environment. Or simply because you don’t like meat or dairy products. We will help you get started on your plant-based lifestyle in this in-depth article on how to go vegan for beginners.

About 3 years ago I decided to change my way of living and go from a full-on meat-based diet to a balanced diet filled with plant-based foods. Everything you’ll find in this article are things I have tried and tested over the years. Advice I wish someone had told me when I first began eating whole plant foods. I hope you find this article useful on your vegan journey.

Being Vegan Doesn’t Mean Healthy!

A lot of people I have spoken with over the years can’t understand why they have put weight on while living the vegan lifestyle. A common misconception is that just because you no longer eat meat or dairy, you’re being healthy. This can be very far from the truth, especially if you’ve just swapped from a normal diet, to one filled with vegan junk food.

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The good news is, if the majority of what you are eating is fresh fruits and vegetables, you should be fine. However, if you’re starting to incorporate more of the vegan alternatives (listed below). Or filing up on vegan crisps, biscuits and bread then yes, you will put on weight. The same as you would if you weren’t vegan.

Yes, it is very possible to go the other way and start to notice weight loss. However, just with any other form of diet, you would still need to be eating in a calorie deficit to see weight loss.

Getting Started On Your Plant-Based Journey

When you first start out on your vegan journey, to ensure you’re getting all of your nutritional needs track everything you eat in an app such as MyFitness pal. This will then let you know if you need to include more protein, fatty acids, iron…etc in your diet.

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Just because you have decided to eat plant-based alternatives, it doesn’t mean you have to be a full-blown vegan right away. If taking it step-by-step, or making small changes works better for you, that’s fine. Gradually reducing your non-vegan foods might actually help you on your journey as you’re less likely to notice the animal products you’re excluding. For example, perhaps you could start by removing cow’s milk from your diet and switching to plant-based milks such as almond milk or coconut milk instead.

However, if you have decided to go 100% vegan from the start, one thing that will really help you is to remove any non-vegan products from your home. Go through the cupboards and perhaps donate anything you can no longer consume in your vegan meals.

Every Day Vegan Foods You Can Eat

Whilst clearing your cupboards of foods, here is a quick list of some of the foods you can eat while living this new lifestyle…

• Peanut Butter (100% peanuts)
• Oat Milk
• Nutritional Yeast
• Vegemite
• Soy Milk
• All Fruits
• All Vegetables
• Legumes
• Nuts & Seeds
• Leafy Greens
• Tomato Ketchup (check the label)
• Agave Nectar / Coconut Nectar / Maple Syrup
• Lindt 85% dark chocolate
• Whole Grains
• Oats

Of course, there are many other plant-based products you can eat, you will just need to check the labels to be sure as this will vary from brand to brand. There’s much to learn about adopting this animal-free lifestyle so mistakes will be made along the way, just don’t beat yourself up about it if you do go wrong.

Where To Find Vegan Foods

Of course, the best place you can find the majority of food is at the supermarket – fresh fruits and vegetables, beans…etc. However, if you are looking for anything a little more specialised, try going to your local grocery store, or health food shop. If they don’t have what you’re looking for, they should be able to point you in the right direction or give you an alternative. You never know, they might just suggest new foods you’ve never tried or heard of before.

• Wholefoods Market
• Planet Earth
• Local Organic Farm Shops (excluding the meat)
• Health Food Shops
• Pick Your Own Farms
• Supermarkets

Vegan Recipes & Cookbooks

There are so many resources available to you when it comes to searching for healthy vegan recipes. Whether you decide to buy yourself some vegan cookbooks or simply find free recipes online via Youtube, listen to plant-based podcasts, visit health food stores, or read vegan blogs.

Having a library of vegan books, ebooks, or saved blog pages will help to give you a number of invaluable resources. Great for providing meal inspiration when you’re stuck for ideas, or simply looking for something new and exciting to eat.

In no time at all, you’ll become a pro when it comes to plant-based cooking and vegan nutrition. Perhaps even making your own vegan version of a McDonald’s burger, or finding the best vegan cheese for your jacket potato. It’s really just all trial and error as you go, finding what works for you, your taste and your needs.

Once you get the hang of it, you could even try meal prepping on a rainy Sunday afternoon to prep for the week ahead. Personally, this has really helped me stay ahead of the game when it comes to having a healthy diet, high in essential nutrients and ensuring I’m getting in enough protein.

Look For Healthy Vegan Alternatives

Just because you aren’t getting your protein from meat, or your omega-3 from fish, it doesn’t mean you’ll have to go without. All the things that you could get from animal products can also be found in animal-free versions, too!

For your protein, take a look at quinoa, tofu, or soy meat alternatives. You can also find vegan omega 3 taken straight from the algae, bypassing the fish altogether. In fact, animals are merely the middlemen when it comes to protein. They get their protein from the vegetation they eat, so we can bypass that by going right to the source ourselves.

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However, If you love the texture of meat in your meals, head to the supermarket and take a look at the meat-free “meat” options. These days, there are so many brands offering vegan alternatives for plant-based eating, so you should be able to find something you love. OK, so there are some plant-based alternatives that don’t taste great, but with the majority of them, you won’t notice the difference.

Tried & Tested Vegan Alternatives We Love

Here are some vegan alternative products we love to give you an idea of what you might like…

• Violife Vegan Cheese
• Quorn ‘Ham’ Slices
• Huel Complete Vegan Protein
• Aldi Meatballs
• Tyne Vegan Chease
• Squeaky Bean ‘Chicken’ Tikka Strips
• Aldi Vegan Sausages
• Linda McCartney Sausages
• Heavenly Chocolate
• Quorn Mince
• Koro Vegan Protein Bars (5% OFF using code BECKY5)
• Oppo Vegan Ice Cream (creamier than Halo Top)
• Love Vegan Protein Bites

One product, in particular, has vegans split as to whether it is OK to eat or not – honey. A lot of vegans won’t eat honey as it is made by bees, whereas others don’t see it as an animal product. However, this seems to be a sticky point, so it’s really down to you whether you want to eat it or not. There are many other alternatives if you decide to remove it from your diet.

Don’t Think About What You’re Losing

A great piece of advice I was given on how to go vegan for beginners was to forget about the things you can’t have. Yes, you will have to give up some things – meat, dairy…etc, but try not to dwell on the things you can’t have on your healthy plant-based diet.

Instead, try to think about what you might gain from it, and the benefits of a vegan diet. Treat these things you can’t have as though they don’t exist. Yes, it’s likely you will still get cravings to begin with, however, the longer you go without, the less you’ll crave them over time.

Some of the benefits include…

• A better diet through more fruits and vegetables
• You’re helping the planet
• Your food shop is likely to be cheaper without buying meat
• Increased vitamins in your diet

Explore Local Eateries

You might have your favourite local restaurants and cafes, but it’s time to branch out a little! If you live in a reasonably sized city, then the chances are you’re going to have a few vegan eateries located nearby, If you live in a big city, then there’ll be dozens to choose from.

However, the problems start when you live in a small town or village. I live in a tiny country town in the heart of the Cotswolds (UK) where meat is at its heart, so the vegan options are little to none. In cases like this, you need to plan ahead and either look online to see what you could make vegan, or call in advance to see if there is anything they can do for you. One restaurant near me created a vegan burger meal specifically because I asked – there’s no harm in asking.

Accidental Vegan Foods

Did you know, there are actually quite a lot of food items available that are accidentally vegan – or were never designed to be vegan?

Here are just a few of the accident vegan foods you might not expect to be plant-based…

• Plain Oreos
• Haribo
• Skittles
• Bisto Gravy
• Ciabatta
• Hippeas Crisps
• Most Walkers Crisps
• Belvita Breakfast Tops
• Rowntree’s Jelly Tots
• Lotus Biscoff Biscuits & Spread
• Mr Kipling Treacle tart
• Jus Rol Pastry
• Pot Noodles

So, if you do start to crave something you could once have, check this list as you might still be able to have it! Great for having in the cupboard as a treat or for when those late-night munchies kick in.

Think Before You Travel

You can control your diet pretty easily when you’re at home, but when you’re travelling, it can become a little bit more difficult. However, you can ensure eating isn’t a chore by researching vegan-friendly restaurants, or by taking your own ready-prepared food with you.

Whether this is just some simple snacks for a car journey, or a packed lunch complete with sandwiches, fruit, snacks and maybe a little after-dinner treat.

Sign Up To A Vegan Subscription Service

One fool-proof tip on how to go vegan for beginners would be to start using a subscription service.

If to begin with, the idea of making your own vegan meals every day is too overwhelming, you could sign up for a subscription box until you get the hang of it. Whether the meals come to you ready-made, or they send you the ingredients for you to make yourself. Either way, you’ll still be learning what combinations you like, things you maybe don’t like, and flavour combinations that work – plus it’s a great way to get inspired.

Some of the vegan subscription boxes we love are…

• Vibrant Vegan
• Planty
• Eat Holy
• All Plants
• Grubby

Go Easy On Yourself

As we said above, very few people go cold turkey (wink, wink) when they decide to adopt a plant-based diet, as there will be slip-ups along the way that’s for sure. However, don’t beat yourself up about it, use it as a learning experience instead. Realise what you did ‘wrong’ and correct it for next time. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, you’re doing an amazing job already!

Check Outside The Kitchen

If you have decided to become a fully-fledged vegan, don’t forget to check the labels on items outside the kitchen as well.

For example, many beauty products, shampoos and even brands of toothpaste will have some form of animal product in them, so if you don’t want to be caught out, do check the labels on everything.

You might even want to check things like your shoes, jackets…etc as well as some of these might not be 100% vegan either.

Hopefully, you have found this article interesting and informative when it comes to learning how to go vegan for beginners. However, if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below and we will make sure to get back to you.