Going Vegan is one of the best lifestyle choices anyone can ever make.
Just by changing a few simple habits ,
we have the power to transform our health while saving the animals
and the planet.
But how do you do Vegan?
The first step is to educate yourself.
There is a great deal of confusion and misinformation around about a Vegan lifestyle,
so it's important to do some research from reliable sources.
You can research these in any order, but
here's the best order I found for learning about Veganism:
Firstly watch Gary Yourofsky's ” Best speech ever”
for a general introduction to Veganism.
Then watch ”Earthlings” or the ”Farm to Fridge” video for information
about the meat, dairy and egg industries.
The watch ”Forks Over Knives” and ”Uprooting the leading causes of death” for
information on health.
And then watch ”Cowspiracy” for information about
the environmental impacts of animal agriculture.
And for anything else you're unsure about,
check out the sites adaptt.org
or Bite Size Vegan.
The second step is to just stop eating animal products.
Get rid of the meat, dairy and eggs
and eat plant based foods.
It's a lot simpler than people try to make it.
There's a Vegan alternative for just about anything.
For milk or yogurts you can have soymilks, soy yogurts
there's almond milk, hemp milk, coconut milk,
oat milk.
There's vanilla soymilk, chocolate coconut milk,
chocolate almond milk
And most of them taste better than
cow's milk anyway.
There are load of great Vegan ice creams and sorbets, but I recommend
just freezing over ripe bananas and blending 'em up
and then you can add flavourings of your choice
For cheese there are loads of Vegan cheeses around. Not all of 'em are
very nice, but brands like Daiya, Tofutti and Violife are
definitely worth trying.
Alternatively you can use nutritional yeast which has a nice cheesy,
nutty flavour and then mix it with something like avocados or hummus.
There are plenty of Vegan butters, Vegan chocolates and
most dark chocolate is automatically Vegan anyway.
To replace eggs, you can try tofu scrambles and mix it with
something like avocado.
There are loads of Vegan mayos and recipes for them.
And for baking there are loads of Vegan egg replacers.
There are more and more Vegan meats coming out and you could also just use
beans or lentils in place of the meat,
But none of these foods are really essential for making
tasty, healthy food.
Focus on just eating the whole plant foods like fruit, vegetables, potatoes,
corn, pasta, rice, beans and greens and you'll get everything you need.
And don't go Vegan for the sole purpose of losing weight. The main reason, why
people fail at a plant based is because they start
with an orthorexic mindset and put on unnecessary restrictions
on themselves, try to be extremely healthy and
then end up not eating enough and then feeling really bad as a result.
Don't feel guilty for eating some Vegan junkfood.
You can experiment with starch solution, raw and rawtil4 diets when
you become familiar with living Vegan.
Prioritise the animals first, make it sustainable and then the rest will fall into place.
Look up some Vegan recipes on Youtube channels or websites and just find some
that work for you. There are tons of Vegan ”What I eat in a day” videos on Youtube
for some inspiration, but here's some Vegan meal ideas that I recommend:
For breakfast you can have cereal with a dairy free milk with
added fruit and a juice or a smoothie. You can have
oatmeal with added fruit and you can just have fruit
you know, whole or in a smoothie.
For lunch you can have wraps, sandwiches and pittas with lots of veggies and
salad and a sauce like sweet chili sauce,
ketchup or hummus. You can have like
pasta, potato, rice or couscous salads with some kind of vegetable sauce dressing and salad.
For dinner you can have curries, chilies, pasta bakes, potato bakes,
stir- frys with noodles and my favourite snacks can include things like
fruit or like a Vegan bar, like a Cliff bar, Trek bar,
Nakd bar or Frank bar. There are loads tho choose from.
The meat, dairy and egg industries are 98 % of the problem,
but you'll still need to consider your clothing, toiletries and entertainment
because sadly we live in a world where it's considered normal to
exploit animals for these things.
Don't panic about clothing and animal tested products you
already own.
The damage has already been done once you bought it.
Just make sure the next time you buy something
look for a cruelty free alternative.
And just live Vegan.
Don't worry about making mistakes, you'll learn along the way
No one's perfect.
Ask questions when you're unsure about something,
always keep and open mind and just be willing to accept new information.
For unlimited support for where ever you are in the world,
join some Vegan Facebook groups and you'll find
a range of answers and opinions for when you're feeling
confused or need some support for when faced with pressure
from others around you.
There are plenty of activists online that are happy to give you as much help
and reassurance as you need, so just ask.
And the last step is to get active.
You don't have to go out protesting everyday, but
the Vegan community needs more activists.
You'll soon find out that once you know the truth about everything, you'll have an urge to do more.
Make people tasty Vegan food, make videos,
share leaflets, just talk to people.
It really doesn't matter what you do, just be a voice for the voiceless.
Share the truth unequivocally and the ripples you will
make will change the world.
Just do what you can with what you have and do it now.
A lot of people get caught up in the victim mindset
making excuses and pretending to transition for
sometimes even years rather than just taking action.
The animals don't have time for people to take babysteps.
The only ones who should take babysteps are the male chicks that are immediately
ground up alive in the egg industry.
Or the baby calves in the dairy industry that are stolen from their
mothers and put in tiny crates for veal.
Anyone can go Vegan overnight, so
take the first step, check out the links in the description
And be Vegan.
Subtitles by the Amara.org community