Planning to go vegan? Here is all you need to start

Vegan, vegan, vegan! A new trend, a new buzzword, a new hashtag! Well, it is definitely not just these, it is an altogether new way of life, a new culture and a combined conscious effort to make the world a better place to live. And, if you have decided to go the vegan way as well, you are on the right track!

Going Vegan, as fashionable as it may sound at the moment, can be a daunting task in reality as it involves a complete psychological re-alignment.  But, if you have already crossed that threshold and have decided to adopt the vegan way of life, let’s make the whole journey even more enjoyable for you.

Take one step at a time

If you take one step at a time, going vegan will become a natural progression. Since you will be embracing an all new lifestyle you need to decide your own methodology and pace. And, here are a few tried and tested ways which can help you transition into the vegan way of life with ease.

• Eliminate one animal from your diet at a time.  For instance, you can stop eating chicken and eggs to start with and then slowly, over a period of time even give up milk and meat.
• Substitute your favourites with vegan alternatives. Select a dish that you love the most and if that is not already vegan, substitute it with a vegan alternative, and you will be surprised how easy the whole transition process would become.
• Fill yourself with vegan food first before having your usual meals, this way you will have less room for other stuff and your body will also slowly learn to depend on the vegan alternatives only. For instance, you can have a heavy green smoothie before your usual breakfast or some fruits before your afternoon meal so the vegan diet is more pronounced and becomes the main energy source for the body.

Enjoy the process

With becoming vegan you have to make substantial changes to your lifestyle habits, you should thus take it slow and enjoy the process. You may want to explore various organic food options, try out new ingredients and even try out your culinary skills.

You should be consciously involved with the whole process, be committed to creating a kinder and cruelty-free world, and yet, take it easy on yourself. Eventually you will absolutely lose the taste for all kinds of animal-based food and will never ever have the heart to go back to animal-based food.

Give yourself some time

Becoming vegan may be the trend nowadays, but if you really want to follow this new lifestyle, you must exercise discretion, at least till you are sure. Too many questions and too many opinions can often be misleading, as such, instead of talking about this whole new idea and way of life, try and explore and learn all you can about it. Self-control is the pre-requisite to becoming a vegan and you can channelize your mind and body in the right direction only if you give yourself enough time and space to acclimatize to this new lifestyle.

Shop right

Shopping is an intrinsic aspect of our lifestyle, so, if you are all set to follow the vegan way of life, you need to change your shopping habits too. Thus, with everything you purchase you must not only evaluate whether it is 100% vegan, you must also try to ensure that the products are absolutely safe for the environment as well. So, when you go shopping try to stock up on loads of beans, nuts and grains which are not only cheap, but also easy to store. You can try exploring the local farmer’s markets to get fresh organically grown produce. Also, since becoming vegan is all about creating a better tomorrow, you must try to contribute in other ways. Carry your own cloth bags and canisters to the market so you can refill them, and thus avoid using any kind of packaging.

Eat right

Well, you can keep gorging on pasta and breads and still stick to your vegan diet, but that is just not going to help, as with these products, all you would be consuming is starch. You thus need to concentrate more on eating loads of fruits and veggies. Other protein rich food items like beans, tofu, seitan, quinoa and nuts should also be a part of your diet, primarily because these are rich sources of protein. Well, the list does not end here, you should keep exploring and doing your bit of research to find out new vegan food items that are rich in all the vital nutrients.

Go the ethnic way

When you decide to become vegan, you get to explore diverse food options from various parts of the world. And, with the options you have, you can always be more adventurous and try to mix and match to come up with some exotic flavours. Right from Indian curries to Mexican snacks, there are a whole lot of vegan options in different cultures, and you can try them all.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help

The vegan way of life is fairly new so it is obvious that you will not be able to get everything suited to your new lifestyle at your local stores. You must thus not hesitate to ask for help. Whether you go to a supermarket or to a local food bazaar, always ask for vegan products and to be doubly sure, read the ingredients carefully.

Stick to your decision

When you decide to become vegan, no matter how hard it may seem initially, condition yourself to stick to the decision. In fact, do not make a resolution to go vegan (resolutions are meant to be broken), rather treat it as your second nature.  And, why not? By becoming vegan aren’t you doing your bit to make the Earth a better place to live for you and us? Keep reminding yourself about the many ways in which you will be doing yourself and the  world a good thing by becoming vegan and you will never want to take a step back!