I’m not someone who pushes their beliefs or habits onto other people, for the record I think that kind of stuff is just hopelessly boring. I also have no interest in becoming a food blogger, but when I posted and tweeted about our split kitchen the one big question I got back was definitely: “….thanks for the vague bullet points but seriously, HOW do you manage?!” and in posting about my vegan challenge there have been a lot more questions.

So for those people who would like a little more information, I’ve decided to line up all of my rabbits beside all of my hats to lay it out: if you want to try being vegan or vegetarian for a little while, this is what I (someone who is not at all qualified to give any advice on this or any other topic- but that’s what makes this fun, am I right?) would recommend:

Know Yourself

If you like creamy foods and you’re going to be going vegan, find creamy foods (caramelized onions, wilted spinach, avocado) that can replace them. If you’re going to try out being vegetarian and think you might miss the flavour of meat then find recipes that aren’t short of interesting new spices. If you love baking, plan to bake every week (side note: vegan baking is SO LOW FAT you need to try it, it’s stupid good) so you don’t feel deprived.

Identifying what might cause you to slip up and planning to meet those needs is a great way to make sure this is a fun challenge, not a way to feel guilty for a month or so. Once you figure this out you’ll know what to look for in recipes and will have a much easier time with the whole endeavour.

Find some recipes you can be excited about

Before you start changing how you eat, look around the world you’re stepping into. There is so much good food out there! These are some great resources I would recommend, just bookmark & print off (or turn the corners on) anything that you find appetizing:

Recipe Blogs

Where you already search – Vegetarian cooking is mainstream these days and sources that you might already visit for recipes will all have vegetarian recipes to offer. Try Martha Stewart, Smitten Kitchen, Epicurious, Food Blog Search, All Recipes or anywhere else you look for recipes by searching “vegan” or “vegetarian”. You’ll be surprised.

The Gluttonous Vegan Loves YOU – This is my favourite. A carefully and beautifully put together blog featuring a weekly recipe and a vegan for a week challenge where the author meal plans for you. A very rare find, written by a passionate and caring twenty something. If you like food in general you should read this blog, her work is creative and wonderful. It will get you thinking. {link}

Vegan Yum Yum – Before it was a cookbook, it was a blog and a beautiful one at that! Back after a little break you can peek into the wonderful recipes before you buy the book. And if you like the blog, you’ll want the book. I could just cuddle mine it’s so good.

Cookbooks

The Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas – This is my favourite. It has nutritional information for everything, meal planning suggestions and tips for getting picky eaters (children or partners…) to go for veggies. {link}

Vegan Yum Yum – Incredibly simple recipes, we got this as a gift and it was the first cookbook that Mister has ever gone through and wanted to work from. A testament to how amazingly tasty and simple the recipes are!

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World – Cupcakes that are good for you!! Another book that I’ve been cooking from for years after receiving it as a gift. Creative and tasty offerings that are pretty guilt free {link}

Take a step back

If you flip through these sites and just don’t see anything you like? This isn’t for you. There is no shame in that! Nothing is right for everyone & this is no different.

Plan a week

1. Take a look at all the recipes you’ve flagged as being tasty and identify gaps. Here are some good questions to ask:

Will this give me enough protein? This is kind of the only hope you have of feeling full. Check your recipes for these ingredients, they’re what you want, I promise. Something as simple as adding chick peas to your side salad can make a big difference. If you skip this, you’ll be tired all the time and eventually your doctor will send you for blood work and force you to eat chickens. Take care of yourself or else, okay?

What kind of colours are on my plate? This is a great fast check to make sure you’re getting a range of vitamins and nutrients, and you can find a list of colours you should look for (+ explanations) here.

2. Eliminate anything with elaborate, crazy ingredients unless you are a generally crazy and elaborate person. This is a big change! Try a scary recipe here and there, but you don’t need to raise the stakes to an unreasonable level. Simple, fast food is what you’ll need during the week and either the vegan or vegetarian cookbooks I’ve listed above are your best bets for this. If you don’t want to commit you can always see if they’re at your local library.

3. Make a meal plan!

If you don’t currently meal plan, this easy weekly meal planning method is very similar to how I’ve been doing mine lately. It breaks new recipes down to the ingredients you’ll need to buy at the grocery store and makes sure you don’t go home hungry. Don’t forget snacks! Popcorn is vegetarian and popsicles are vegan. *taps nose*

Don’t be a hero

I don’t know about you, but unless someone else was doing all of my cooking I doubt I could pay anyone to care about what I eat. So since we’re not trying to prove anything to anyone? Just take it slow. To go vegan for a month I took a solid two weeks to ease into the change, and if you eat any meat at all I would work in steps: start having a filling vegetarian breakfast (fruit shakes are easy!) and once that’s second nature add in vegetarian lunches. Once you have a rhythm add dinners in for half the week, and then into being fully veggie over a period of weeks. If you feel ambitious, repeat with vegan substitutes.

The reality is that this is a lifestyle change, you have to re-learn how to read menus, labels and recipes. Vegetarians? Kiss your caesar salads good bye (anchovy paste!) and vegans? Milk solids are hiding in the most unsuspecting snacks. These aren’t slight changes and rushing it might be more dramatic but it will also set you up for frustration and even worse- hunger.

I hope this helped, but I’m winded!
I think that puppy pictures and Mix CD’s are in order next week.

Have a good weekend Sparrows, and stay dry out there!
Is it monsoon season where you live too?