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Tips on Eating a Vegan Diet

People often express how much they would love to eat a vegan diet, but they just don’t know how it would be possible to eat that way, everyday.

Does this sound like you?

I believe that making the decision to become a vegan–or even a vegetarian–is a completely personal decision. Whether the doctor has ordered you to eat a plant based diet, or your knowledge of commercial farming practices has swayed your cravings for any animal based products, we all have our reasons. So for all of us who are journeying towards the vegan lifestyle, or merely interested in finding out what it’s all about, I recommend that you take a look at two books that really changed my life:

The China Study

And

Skinny Bitch

If you’re interested in eating a vegan diet, or know someone who is, I have created a list of vegan alternatives for the animal based food products that we’ve all been accustomed to eating at one point in our lives.

Let me start by saying, every meat has an alternative. Take it from me, taco night is just as fun when you’re a vegan! Usually, a grocery store like Whole Foods, will offer almost everything you could possibly need to satisfy your cravings, in addition to satisfying your new lifestyle. For instance, instead of using hamburger meat in tacos, I use veggie protein crumbles (looks and tastes identical to hamburger meat). Think you’re gonna miss out on buffalo wings during football games this fall? Don’t worry…check in the freezer section, they’ve got alternatives for those wing cravings too! Chicken? Check. Steak? Check. Cheese? Check. You name it, there’s an alternative product!

So let’s cut to the meat of the subject! Here’s a quickie list of alternative products for those of you who are interested:

Cheese: Try Daiya cheese (cheddar and mozzerella–I SWEAR by this product!)

Milk: Soy Milk, Almond Milk, Rice Milk

Yogurt: Soy yogurt

Meat: Alternatives for all meat–check with your local grocer…try Whole Foods.

Eggs: Ener-G Egg Replacer

Boxed recipes (like cake, cookies, brownies): Alternatives for everything in the baking isle.

Chocolate: Look for dark chocolates and check ingredients–obviously, milk chocolate has…milk.

Butter: Earth Balance (I SWEAR by this product too!)

Artificial sweetener: Truvia (made from the Stevia plant)

Sour Cream/ cream cheese: The brand Tofutti makes great alternatives!

Gelatin: Animal-free gelatin alternatives–they taste exactly the same!

Ice cream: Soy ice creams, sorbets, and get this–you can even make your own delicious recipes! My boyfriend loves my vegan chocolate ice cream recipe…he said it’s like sex in his mouth–better than Coldstone!

Of course we’ve all heard that it’s a healthy way to nourish our bodies. Did you know that one vegan person can save over 100 animals a year just by sticking to their diet? A vegan lifestyle is exciting–your body will look amazing, you will feel amazing, and all while you’re doing a good thing for the animals…even if that isn’t your initial intention. Pretty cool.

And please make sure that if you’re considering a vegan lifestyle, you consult your doctor first. You will need to take a multivitamin, and you should take an additional B Vitamin (B12) supplement: I also take a Blue Green Algae supplement(at the request of my older brother) because I eat a gluten free and fairly “raw” (meaning uncooked) diet, which requires that I supplement certain amino acids to feel satiated and healthy enough for my hard workouts.

And remember, it’s about the journey–there is no failure if you’re trying. Don’t stress the mistakes!  As we become more knowledgeable about the topic, what to eat and what we like to eat, the less stressful it becomes–that’s the truth.

Good luck to all you vegan lifestyle seekers! A great big pat on the back to all you who are educating yourselves.

Hugs + kisses…and most importantly, stay happy and healthy!

XoX

Tags: animal alternatives, Emily Nolan, vegan, vegan model
Posted in Inspiration, Lifestyle, Motivation, Self Help | 5 Comments »