How to switch to a plant based diet?
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How to switch to a plant based diet?
With this little report I want to give you some support. This is based on my personal experiences. And I think what often is missed in the switch is mental support.
When I made the transition 8 years ago, I was pretty alone with everything. The supermarkets offered really not much for vegans and my family and friends gave me a hard time too. Not all of them for sure! It was a little challenge, but my partner also turned vegan approx. 6 month later. And my mum follows a plant based diet as well today.
It took me years to archive that, haha --- but it is done.
Of course there also were negative experiences I don't want to talk about in detail.
But, I also got family and friends who turned their back on me. My advice.
It is hard for sure. But this is your life and your choice!
When people give you a hard time. Well, it is their loss. You do what you have to do. Don't compromise on your believe and morals, ok.
For nobody!
People will wake up sooner or later on their own. Because they will see how much you grow and change. And trust me, this change will be a very positive one. It simply feels good to not be a part of this cruel system anymore.
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First of all, don't think you will have not enough food! This will not be the case.
A lot of people think to switch to a plant based diet means fruits and veggies.
Of course you will have plenty of it, but there sure is more.
Pasta, rice, legumes, nuts and all the replacement products you need
to have a delicious diet.
But please note. All this replacement products should only help you to make the switch! It helped me a lot. I know how hard it is at the beginning when you stand in front of the supermarket shelf's and don't know what to get.
Today, the supermarkets have a good selection of vegan products. This will help you a lot at the beginning. But please have in mind, just because something is vegan doesn't mean, it is good for our bodies. After a while, when you learned everything you need to learn, you will see that you also start to make your own products.
This all is a learning process!
So step 2, be patient with yourself!
At the beginning this can be overwhelming. I know, tell m about it, haha.
Specially when you figure out how many products actually contain animal products.
I was pretty frustrated and angry at the beginning.
Everything I loved, contained some kind of animal product.
Be patient! And when you accidental get a product what contains milk or egg or whatever, it happens to all of us! Even today, after all this years it happens to me. Even I am really carefully reading new labels. But it happens. Specially when you go to a restaurant.
But you will learn all this and trust me, one day you will not think about it much anymore. You learn where to go, what to buy and what to say.
Step 3 - be happy and see the changes!
After a while you will see health improvements. When I cut out dairy and eggs, my digestive troubles improved a lot. Usually, I really was in trouble with diarrhoea. Half my life. Often even during breakfast I had to run to the toilet. I always said, I only need to look at my coffee with milk and I have to run. Strangely, a lactose intolerant test turned out negative. So I never actually thought about to quit on dairy products. But, when I turned vegan, I realised, what a hard time dairy gave my body.
After month I realised, I do not have diarrhoea often anymore. I was free to go everywhere without making sure before, if a toilet is present. My life really got more relaxed.
Also my senses changed. My smell and taste buts changed. Specially the smell of animal products made me feel different. Specially dairy smells really bad to me today. The same happened to my partner.
Your taste buts will have a lot of fun. Because your taste buts will turn better!
And I am sure, when you have more health troubles, you will improve as well.
Step 4 - don't be afraid!
There is nothing to be afraid of. Most people think, that included me, that a vegan diet is so restricted and boring. That the food we eat will not have much variety. But that is very untrue. I always loved to cook. And actually, since I turned vegan, we eat far more different dishes we did before. You learn so much and you get so inventive, this is just a joy to experience. JOY is a huge key here. Enjoy the ride!!!
Step 5 - Veganice!
When you prepared yourself to accept that your new diet will be so rich in variety, don't think that all you love to eat, is off the plate. NO, it isn't. Everything you love can be cooked the vegan way. It just takes time to find the correct products and how to handle them. I veganiced everything. I even make my own steaks! And even non vegans like my steaks. We have bbq and all the things we loved before. So don't you worry. Start easy. Start with a Bolognese for example. Just replace the meat with a plant based mince. Or tofu. I cook my Bolognese with tofu mince. You cook it like you always do. You will season more and do some cooking steps a bit different, but at the end, you will realise, your Bolognese without meat, is same great.
Actually, when I did that with my partners favourite meal, Chili con Carne, I cooked it vegan. And he didn't know. When he ate it, he didn't realised that there was no meat in the dish. When I took a spoon full for myself, he got kind of angry, haha. He thought I actually started to eat meat again. But I told him, there is no meat in it. I tricked him. And that made him realise,... why kill animals, when you can have it a different way.
It all is just a question of replacement!
So go ahead --- cook your favourite meals and feel the joy. I hope my recipes will help you a little bit with your transition and give you some inspiration.
HAVE FUN