Plant Based Transition
I know it seems like it’s the “trend to jump on” right now, but I like a lot of people have been trying a lot more vegan food, and it’s delicious! Now I know why so many people are turning to a plant based diet.
I have my own reasons for wanting to try it, namely to lose some weight and be healthier, but by no means do I want to call myself “vegan”. I want to do my bit for the environment, and for my health, but I don’t want the guilt of slipping up. I love to travel, I love trying new foods, and experiencing different cultures. From a purely selfish aspect, I want to be free to have my favourite local burger if I want to, or to try steaks in Argentina, or fish dishes in Portugal. Which is precisely why I prefer to say I am transitioning to a “mostly plant based diet”.
I asked several of my vegan friends in the past how they did it, most of them said they just “went vegan”. Now, I don’t know about anyone reading this, but that seems an impossible task to me. If I decide to cut something out of my diet, you can bet it’s all I’ll think about day in, day out until I cave and devour a mountain of cheese, chocolate, or whatever it is I decided to cut out.
One friend told me she started by first cutting out one food group, then another, then another. Honestly it seems a much more achievable approach, however I’m still stuck with the same dilemma as I already explained - NO WILLPOWER.
So I decided to make my own approach, one that’s manageable for me, and that I can even get my very carnivorous boyfriend to buy into a little bit. I decided to simply start introducing more vegan meals into my diet.
I was recommended the Thug Kitchen recipe books, and it has been a total game changer! There is such a huge variety of meals, snacks and even drinks in there. You can find the one I have and others in the series here.
I’ve also been trying different substitutes for my favourite foods, Yves Veggie nuggets being a stand out winner for me - even the boyfriend eats them out of choice! Sheese vegan cheese is also a firm favourite, and the Daiya chocolate cheesecake and vegan ranch dressing are both to die for.
I’ve also been using a few blogs and other things to find recipes:
I have my own reasons for wanting to try it, namely to lose some weight and be healthier, but by no means do I want to call myself “vegan”. I want to do my bit for the environment, and for my health, but I don’t want the guilt of slipping up. I love to travel, I love trying new foods, and experiencing different cultures. From a purely selfish aspect, I want to be free to have my favourite local burger if I want to, or to try steaks in Argentina, or fish dishes in Portugal. Which is precisely why I prefer to say I am transitioning to a “mostly plant based diet”.
I asked several of my vegan friends in the past how they did it, most of them said they just “went vegan”. Now, I don’t know about anyone reading this, but that seems an impossible task to me. If I decide to cut something out of my diet, you can bet it’s all I’ll think about day in, day out until I cave and devour a mountain of cheese, chocolate, or whatever it is I decided to cut out.
One friend told me she started by first cutting out one food group, then another, then another. Honestly it seems a much more achievable approach, however I’m still stuck with the same dilemma as I already explained - NO WILLPOWER.
So I decided to make my own approach, one that’s manageable for me, and that I can even get my very carnivorous boyfriend to buy into a little bit. I decided to simply start introducing more vegan meals into my diet.
I was recommended the Thug Kitchen recipe books, and it has been a total game changer! There is such a huge variety of meals, snacks and even drinks in there. You can find the one I have and others in the series here.
I’ve also been trying different substitutes for my favourite foods, Yves Veggie nuggets being a stand out winner for me - even the boyfriend eats them out of choice! Sheese vegan cheese is also a firm favourite, and the Daiya chocolate cheesecake and vegan ranch dressing are both to die for.
I’ve also been using a few blogs and other things to find recipes:
- Cooking on a bootstrap - https://cookingonabootstrap.com
- Love & Lemons - https://www.loveandlemons.com/
- Deliciously Ella - https://deliciouslyella.com/recipes/
I know a lot of people will say it’s not enough and I should just go full vegan, but this suits me just fine. I eat vegan food for dinner probably 50% of the time now, and I fully expect that number to increase, but it makes me feel good to eat my favourite “soul foods” and not feel guilty. And that’s enough for me.
Lauren xo
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