Ten Tips to Help You Go Vegan
By Heather Moore
Over the summer, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) updated its position paper in support of vegetarianism. The ADA has long stated that appropriately-planned vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate for individuals at every stage of the life-cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, but its new paper focuses more on bone health, vegetarian nutrition, and disease prevention.
According to the ADA, a plant-based diet can provide the recommended amounts of protein, n-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, iodine, calcium, and vitamins D and B-12, as well as other essential nutrients, and can help prevent—and treat—many health problems, including cancer, ischemic heart disease, hypertension, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Better yet, the ADA predicts that the number of vegetarians in the United States will increase steadily over the next decade. The vegetarian food market has been growing by leaps and bounds since 2000 and will likely continue to grow. An April 2008 survey conducted by Harris Interactive Service Bureau indicated that a whopping 11.9 million people are “definitely interested” in following a vegetarian diet in the future!
If you’re one of the many people who are thinking about going vegan, or at least vegetarian, the following tips should help start you on your way to a healthier, kinder, greener life:
1. Remember Mom’s Advice—Eat Your Veggies: For optimal health, eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and all the nutritious foods that can be made from them. Inexpensive, cholesterol-free vegan staples, like beans, lentils, leafy greens and other veggies, rice, pasta, peanut butter, and tofu, can be used to make tasty dishes like seven-bean soup, vegetable risotto, potato croquettes, grilled portobello mushrooms, vegetable curry, and spicy tomato ziti. For vegan recipes, see www.VegCooking.com.
2. Opt For Alternatives: Eat veggie burgers rather than hamburgers, bean chili instead of beef chili, soy sausage over pork sausage, and chickpeas, not chicken. Mock meats from Boca, Morningstar, Worthington, and other vegetarian companies can be used to make “beef” stews, “chicken” fajitas, and tuna “fish” sandwiches. Just remember to eat your fill of fruits and veggies too!
3. Do A Diet Inventory: Think about the foods you already eat that can easily be “veganized.” For example, make pasta with marinara sauce, pour soy milk in your cereal or oatmeal, leave the cheese off of bean burritos (or use soy cheese), and use Ener-g egg replacer instead of eggs when preparing pancake and waffles.
4. Read the Ingredients: Some of the packaged foods you already buy are likely vegan—even if they aren’t "marketed" that way. Foods like Cheerios, unfrosted Pop Tarts, Bisquick, Lipton Spanish Rice, Aunt Jemima Whole Wheat Pancake/Waffle Mix, Nature Valley Crunchy Granola Bars, Raisin Bran, Shredded Wheat, and Ritz Whole Wheat Crackers "just happen to be" vegan. (That doesn’t mean they’re automatically healthy though—check the labels for nutritional information too.) For a longer list, see www.GoVeg.com.
5. Don’t Make It Difficult: It’s easy to be green! When you’re first starting out, you may feel more comfortable sticking to familiar foods like veggie burgers, pasta primavera, and chili non carné. If you’re short on time for lunch, whip together a hummus wrap with leafy green lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, sprouts, and shredded carrots, or toss together a four bean and corn salad with an Italian or vinaigrette dressing. When you want to try more innovative meals that both adults and children will enjoy, see www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com.
6. Widen Your Horizons: Try vegan ethnic foods. Most Indian, Ethiopian, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and Middle Eastern restaurants offer a variety of vegan options. Don’t be afraid to try new things—foods like tofu, tempeh, and seitan may not be familiar to you now, but soon you may be wondering how you ever lived without them.
7. Support Veg-Friendly Restaurants: Many of your favorite restaurants, including popular chain restaurants like Johnny Rockets, P.F. Chang’s, and Moe’s, likely offer at least one vegan option. And many places are adding more vegetarian items as demand grows, so be sure to request more meatless meals. For a list of vegetarian-friendly restaurants, see www.VegDining.com or www.HappyCow.net.
8. Find Fellow Vegetarians: Vegetarianism is mainstream and you’re sure to find an ally in practically any crowd. But if you need a steady “support group,” join a local vegetarian society, attend vegetarian potlucks or conferences, or simply chat online with other vegetarians and vegans at sites like www.VegSource.com.
9. Mingle With Meat-Eaters Too: Most everyone is interested in going meatless, at least for one day a week, so your influence can help others develop healthier, kinder habits too. Just stand true to your beliefs if, at first, your friends and family members seem less than supportive of your “new lifestyle.” If you’re getting together with old friends or going to a family gathering, bring a vegan dish, such as saucy meatless meatballs, spinach artichoke dip, vegan green bean bake, or tasty chocolate tofu pie, for them to share. They’ll invariably ask for the recipe, so bring that too.
10. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth: Even the healthiest vegans don’t just eat kale, apples, brown rice, and beans all the time. You can still indulge your chocolate cravings every once in a while! Snack on vegan goodies like Newman’s Own cookies, Goldberg Peanut Chews, or extra-special vegan treats from Pangea, Allison’s Gourmet, and other shops on www.PETAMall.com. Instead of ice cream, try frozen desserts from Tofutti, So Delicious, and Soy Dream, available in most well-stocked supermarkets and health food stores. For a more wholesome snack, try Silk vanilla soy yogurt with sliced bananas and crumbled cinnamon graham crackers (preferably whole wheat ones). And of course, dried fruit mixed with nuts and Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips is a tasty and nutritious snack option.
If you need more motivation and advice, sign up for the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine’s free Vegan Kickstart program. For three weeks, you get tips, recipe, news from health professionals, and encouragement from other participants in the program. In no time, you’ll be telling everyone how easy it is to be green!
-Heather Moore
Heather Moore is a freelance writer. She frequently writes on vegetarian living, disease prevention, and animal welfare and environmental issues. To visit her web site click here.
To read how Elaine Sloan beat breast cancer by going vegan click here!