Even though going vegan is a whole lot easier than some folks think, doing anything different with your lifestyle is nothing to sniff at.
We all just want to have a healthy and enjoyable lifestyle that helps us to be our best selves. That means that there should be a little research done before going vegan. We all want it to go well and have ourselves feeling our best.
Here are a bunch of articles that give great advice, tips, tricks, and hacks about making your transition and the long-haul one to be enjoyed, celebrated, and sustained. Have a great vegan journey!
1. Whole Food Vegan
Having a whole-food, plant-based diet is a healthy start to a good life, one that can be good for your body and the planet. But, for many of us, it can represent a significant change in the way we approach meals and, thus, life. After all, eating (and thinking about eating) occupies a good part of each day. we are setting the stage for success, and when that means well-balanced, affordable meals full of important nutrients and winning flavors, who doesn’t want to be in that play? Take a look at these 7 Habits for Beginning to Be a Whole Food Vegan.
2. Bad Beef
The beef industry wreaked havoc across the world even before fast food. Nevertheless, with the rise of hamburgers under heat lamps, the entire approach to beef production changed. It got dirtier, more impersonal, and even more destructive. There are tons of health consequences linked to regular red meat consumption. Despite tons of ad money and farm subsidies spent to convince the masses otherwise, eating beef is not a healthy choice, certainly not the healthiest choice. Have a look at these 10 Health Reasons You Should Not Eat Beef.
3. 30 Plants a Week
Eating so many different plants is a great thing because it helps us get the full bevy of micronutrients, antioxidants, and other healthful boosts our bodies need. Each plant has its unique collection of these, and so the more plants we consume, the more exposure to the alchemy of nutrients we need we get. While we should keep up fulfilling our fruit and veggie chart, we must realize we can get plants— whole food versions of them— into our diets in many other ways. Learn How to Eat 30 Different Plants a Week.
4. Vegan Pantry
Setting up an emergency pantry is always a good idea. If the food shortages (and toilet paper shortages) of the pandemic didn’t teach us that, who knows what will? While many folks view the emergency pantry as a haven for canned foods and weird stuff we’d normally never eat, it needn’t be that way. It can be full of healthy ingredients that make delicious meals. For us plant-based eaters, we need to think about getting all our nutritional needs met while keeping a diverse, colorful, and calorific collection of stuff on hand. Not only can the involve fresh fruits and vegetables (not just yucky canned stuff), but it can have plenty of stomach-filling ingredients to keep us energized and on form. Read on to learn all about Setting Up a Healthy Emergency Pantry for Plant-Based Eating.
5. Cruel Cheese
It inevitably happens when having a vegan discussion with someone who isn’t vegan: Yes, but I could never give up cheese. Because cheese is addictive and notionally doesn’t require slaughtering something, it seems to get a pass. People who otherwise genuinely care about the well-being of animals simply throw up their hands, bow in submission to the dairy mold, and call it a day, problem resolved. And, what about what’s going on with the animals? Well, that topic too often seems off-limits, “judgmental” of those who wish to continue eating cheese. Let’s look at answering the question- Why Is Eating Cheese Cruel to Cows?
6. Cheap Plant Power
When we think of eating on a budget, images of sad stacks of ramen noodles and cans of low-quality, typically unhealthy food, come to the fore. But what if we told you that you can actually eat incredibly healthy, pack your meals with taste, and nutrients, AND still stick to an entirely reasonable budget? Sounds pretty fantastic, doesn’t it? Well, yes it is. Opting to buy more fruits and vegetables and fewer processed meats and cheeses can not only make your wallet happy, but it is much better for your health and the health of the planet. Learn why and how Eating Plant-Based Is Cheaper — Here are 4 Hacks That Will Help You Make the Most of It.
7. Dairyless Creamy Dishes
One of the great fears of becoming a plant-based eater is that it might forever spell the end of creamy sauces. People think it’s goodbye to cheesiness, to oozing and gooey casseroles, and bagels with fat smears of cream cheese. They think life going forward will no longer be the velvety smooth existence it once was. But, those people are wrong. While there are lots of questionable vegan cheeses and milks, more processed than pleasing, it doesn’t have to be the case. There are tons of simple and delicious ways to go from plant to creamy with whole foods and healthy ingredients. Dare we say, sometimes the results are even tastier than what we’d feared losing. Here are 6 Hacks to Make Your Dishes Creamy Without Dairy.
8. Lowdown on Leather
Okay, so we’ll go ahead and assume that flaying an animal and taking its skin to make shoes and belts is a fairly obvious reason as to why leather sucks. Yes, it’s a tough, durable material that lasts. It has long been associated with the coolest of the cool, the James Deans (real) and Fanzis (fictional) of the world. But, then again, those were different times, times when gas-guzzling cars (with leather interiors no doubt) were all the rage and pot roast was an ideal of healthy eating. Leather, then, is perhaps the pot roast of the clothing world. Here are 4 More Reasons Leather Sucks for Animals, People and the Environment.
9. Around the World Vegan Style
The thing about taking one trip around the world is that it ultimately further fuels the desire for more travel. Eating your way around the world has the same outcome: You just want to try more global cuisine and sample the scrumptious dishes different cultures with different edible resources come up with. It’ll open the mind up to new experiences, enticing flavors, smells, and textures. Luckily, here at One Green Planet, it’s possible to take that second round-the-world adventure without having to wait for the bank accounts to refill. Let’s go Around the World in One Week, Vegan Style!
10. Clean Eating Vegan
By refraining from eating animal products, plant-based eaters are making a world of difference for animals and the Earth. But, just eating vegan doesn’t necessarily mean we are eating clean. Technically, even what seems a perfectly healthy breakfast — a bowl of raisin bran in almond milk, a side of toast with peanut butter, and some pulptastic orange juice — is not exactly eating clean. It’s likely the antithesis: processed, industrialized, and not at all whole food. Read on to learn Why Vegan Eating Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Clean Eating (and What to Do About It) if you want to.
11. Vegan in College
Ah, life at the big University, Freshman year, and fresh into vegan eating 101. Hopefully, you’ve had a little experience banging pots in the kitchen, choosing produce in the supermarket (or, better yet, farmer’s market), and dealing with limited options. The first year in college can put vegan eaters before the bells of dorm room microwaves and in the hands of meal-plan chefs, so it’s good to get to know the ropes before you’re up against them. Check out these 10 Things You Should Know About Being Vegan in College.
12. The Vegan Traveler
Despite what some folks might think, eating eco-ethically on your travels is not only feasible but often downright delicious in most places. Nearly everywhere we go, there are great local vegetable markets, several intriguing grains to try (it is the world’s oldest agricultural crop), and usually plenty of local dishes that are perfectly suitable. Here are a few tricks of the trade that keep you both fueled by food and fueled for adventurous eating. Check out these Tips for the Plant-based World Trekker.
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Easy Ways to Help the Planet:
- Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
- Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
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- Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!
