How to be a Vegan

How to be a Vegan (or Vegetarian)

The headlines about meat-eating emphasise that rearing animals for food is a major contributor to climate change, but you don’t have to look far to understand that animal welfare and personal health are also significant motivators for the increased adoption of more plant-based diets. It was recently reported that, over the last decade, the UK’s meat consumption dropped by 17%. That’s a great start, but although we know why we should consider this new way of eating, the how seems to have less attention, so let’s look at some simple changes that we can all adopt.

Cooking from scratch

The easiest option is to eat pretty much as you always did, but to use meat-free alternatives. Mince, burgers, sausages, fish and chicken all have vegan substitutes available and in some cases it’s really quite difficult to spot the difference. Oat milk is the winner for its sustainability credentials, with almond milk now generally frowned upon. Butter substitutes have been around for years; vegan cheese is available but is a bit of an acquired taste. Replacements for eggs depends on the recipe, so you’ll have to do your research. If this way of eating is going to stick, you’ll want to try some new recipes. Most recipes have considerably more ingredients that meat-based meals do, including herbs and spices. If you love cooking and have lots of jars of flavourings in your cupboards you won’t mind this. Otherwise, you might want to consider a ready-to-cook option. For this, look at the booming market of recipe boxes. British company Gousto offer around 60 recipes each week, with 20% vegan and a further 30% vegetarian (meaning over half the meals don’t contain meat). Around 80% of HelloFresh meals contain meat so they are not a great choice, but you could try their sister brand GreenChef and another popular provider, Mindful Chef.

Ready-to-eat

Supermarkets have a selection of plant-based ready meals and frozen meal deliveries are available from a number of companies, including Planty and Allplants. Take-away food is a bit more challenging. It is possible though and the online menus should offer a clear indication of which of their options are vegetarian and vegan.

Eating out

Choose a restaurant or pub that offers many of the same options as usual but in a veggie version, and some recipes that are specifically targeted for nonmeat eaters. Even better is a specific vegan menu, and Wagamama deserve recognition for having introduced this at the start of 2021. Happy Cow (happycow.net or download the app) is a useful resource with social feedback on many eateries, or your local Facebook group will have lots of people giving you recommendations (or ‘avoids’).

Be realistic

Like any new regime, a wholesale overnight change will be challenging and will often lead to failure. But even if you could just do one no-animal-products day each week, you will have cut your meat intake by 14% and in time you’ll realise that you often prefer the veggie or vegan option.

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