A Vegan Beginners Guide

Recently, a few people have asked me about the process of going vegan. Questions about what my family eats are always the first thing they want to know, and the biggest concern about transitioning to a plant-based diet. Being a vegetarian prior to committing to veganism made me more knowledgeable about products on the market like Gardein, Daiya, and nut milks, but we have also learned a lot more over this past year and a half than what we came into this journey knowing. So I started compiling a beginners guide type list for people transitioning or diving right in to veganism. My family has moved away from using a lot of processed foods, but many people find them helpful when just starting out. My “Vegan Staples” section makes up the majority of our meals now. Also, I have only included products my family has tried and enjoyed, but there are many more available. I hope you will find this helpful!

Documentaries:

Vegucated

Forks Over Knives

Plant Pure Nation

Cookbooks:

The Plant Pure Nation Cookbook

Forks Over Knives Family Cookbook

Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook

The Happy Herbivore

Oh She Glows

Vegan Staples:

Vegetables

Fruits

Beans: Black, pinto, kidney, cannellini, lentils, garbanzo

Pasta: Gluten free and whole gran

Grains: Brown Rice, Quinoa, faro, bulgur, millet

Nuts & Seeds

Ground flax seeds (Rich in fiber and omega-3’s you can mix it in smoothies, oatmeal, soup, and sauce, among other things.)

Seitan (wheat gluten meat that is high in protein. WestSoy is my favorite brand)

Tofu (I only buy organic)

Tempeh (smoked tempeh is great for BLT’s)

Oatmeal

Vegetable Broth

Salad dressings: Annie’s Goddess (my favorite), raspberry balsamic, balsamic

Nutritional Yeast

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

All Purpose Flour

Organic Cane Sugar (if you are not buying organic, check to make sure the sugar is vegan)

Agave Nectar

Natural Peanut Butter

Organic Jelly/Jam

Easy Dairy Swaps:

Butter: Earth Balance (It comes in tubs and sticks. I use the soy free kind)

Milk: SoDelicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk (There are a tone of different ones on the market, but this one bakes well, has a good consistency, and a mild flavor.) http://sodeliciousdairyfree.com

Chocolate Milk: Almond Breeze Chocolate Milk

Sour Cream: Tofutti brand sour cream http://www.tofutti.com

Cream Cheese: Tofutti Brand

Mozzarella Cheese: Miyoko’s Kitchen VegMozz

Ricotta Cheese: Tofutti Brand and Kite Hill

Mayo: Vegenaise (I do the soy free one) https://followyourheart.com/products/original-3/

Yogurt: Stoney field farms soy yogurt and SoDelicious coconut milk yogurt

Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry’s Non-dairy flavors; SoDelicious Coconut Milk flavors and ice cream bars

Coffee Creamer: SoDelicious French vanilla or Hazelnut creamers

Meat Swaps:

Gardein https://gardein.com (the goddess of all vegan meats)

Crispy Tenders chick’n strips

Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick’n

Crispy Chick’n Sliders

Golden Fishless Fillet

Mini Crabless Cakes

Sunneen https://www.sunneen.com/products (can be hard to find, but many natural food stores carry them)

Chicken Salad

Tuna Salad

Turkey Salad

Bocca

Vegan Burger

Field Roast http://fieldroast.com (All soy free. They are grain based.)

Apple Maple Breakfast Sausage

Celebration Roast with Traditional Bread Stuffing and Gravy

Classic Meatloaf

Italian Style Sausage Links (spicy)

Lightlife https://lightlife.com

Smart dogs

Tempeh

Lunch “meat”: Bologna, ham, turkey peperoni (bologna is my favorite)

Smart ground: Mexican (great for tacos) and regular (great in chili)

Sophie’s Kitchen http://sophieskitchen.com

Crab Cakes

Scallops

Coconut shrimp

Soups:

Amy’s Kitchen Soups https://www.amys.com

Black bean, lentil, minestrone, tomato, Tuscan beans and rice, split pea, no-chicken noodle

Pacific Organic http://www.pacificfoods.com/food/soups.aspx

Butternut squash, roasted red pepper, cashew carrot ginger,

Imagine Foods https://www.imaginefoods.com/en/products/#creamy-soups

Potato leek, garden broccoli, harvest corn, butternut squash, tomato, red bliss potato

Frozen Meals:

Amy’s Kitchen (yummy frozen single meals. Acme is usually way overpriced, but everywhere else is pretty reasonable. Target carries them! If the meal is vegan, it will say so in parentheses in the ingredient list like this: Ingredients: (Vegan).)

Bean and rice burrito, tofu scramble breakfast wrap, pad thai, black bean tamale verde, breakfast scramble, black bean and vegetable enchilada, brown rice and vegetable bowl, Asian stir-fry

Meals I Make:

Stir-fry: Frozen vegetable stir-fry mix, or cut fresh vegetables like broccoli, onion, peppers, and carrots, seitan or tofu, brown rice, stir-fry sauce (Wegman’s has a great organic one)

Tacos/burritos: black and/or pinto beans, brown rice or quinoa, avocado and/or guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, adobo seasoning, hard or soft tortilla shells

Pasta: add Gardein meatballs or Lightlife ground beef; Whole Foods has vegan ravioli that are vegetable based, Kite Hill is a brand that makes vegan ravioli that are nut based; SoyBoy is a brand that are tofu based

Chili: 3 bean (black, kidney, pinto) put over brown rice or quinoa and add avocado slices for a creamier taste

Grilled avocado and tomato sandwiches. Make just like a grilled cheese, but spread the avocado on your bread instead of cheese. Add oregano on avocado for added flavor.

BLT: Smoked tempeh, Vegenaise, tomato, lettuce

Tofu scramble: Crumble up tofu to make a scrambled egg type breakfast. Add veggies like onions, peppers, spinach, and mushrooms. Add turmeric, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast for taste.

Bagel with avocado and tomato: Spread avocado on a toasted bagel and top with tomato and oregano

Pizza: Store bought crust, red or pesto sauce, and Miyoko’s Kitchen VegMozz

Polenta with marinara sauce, spinach, mushrooms, basil, oregano, and garlic

PB & J (They do make a vegan fluff that s rice based and amazing: Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme Marshmallow Fluff)

Vegetable sushi: nori, avocado, and cucumber rolls

Salad: Spring Mix, tomato, cucumber, shredded carrots, avocado, Gardein crispy tenders lentils, Annie’s goddess dressing. Lentils, garbanzo beans, and black beans are also great additions to salads.

Snacks:

Hummus and crackers, veggies, or pita

Guacamole or salsa with tortilla chips

Trail Mix

Luna bars (most are vegan)

Lara bars

Cascadian Farms and Nature’s Path granola bars (Most are vegan)

Apples and peanut or almond butter

Pizza bagel with marinara and Miyoko’s Kitchen VegMozz

Fruit

Cereal with coconut milk

Smoothies

Vegan ice cream

There are so many options out there for vegan friendly food. Experiment with new recipes and foods, look in your area for local restaurants that are vegan or have vegan options, join a local vegan meet-up group, and find support from friends, family, or on-line. Try not to depend to heavily on processed foods, but don’t feel guilty about using them, especially if you’re transitioning and finding it challenging. Don’t get hung up on eating certain foods at specific times of the day, there is nothing wrong with having a veggie burger for breakfast and a tofu scramble for dinner. Go to your local library and check out some vegan cookbooks, and know that you can find just about any of your old favorite foods veganized in a recipe on-line. But most of all, know that you are doing the best thing for your health, your planet, and for the animals by going vegan.

What else would you add to this list?

Love, Laughter & Light,

Julia