Lets get Started!
Don’t stress. Making any type of lifestyle change can seem quite daunting initially, but making the switch to a vegetarian diet needn’t be overly complex. Visit your local grocery store in advance to take stock of their vegetarian and vegan isles, and see what catches your eye. Gone are the days of sparsely stocked shelves of vegan and vegetarian options. As more people begin adopting plant-focused diets, the options available have increased substantially.
There’s a nearly endless supply of free websites with pages upon pages of mouthwatering vegetarian recipes to experiment with. Take some time to explore, and save the recipes you’d like to try making yourself! The Ethical Eating Day Facebook page is a splendid place to begin crafting your collection.
Think about the meals you normally enjoy, and see how easily they can be made vegetarian. Quite a few of them may only require a simple switch of a single ingredient for another. Lots of things you buy — like pasta, rice, peanut butter, jelly, canned tomatoes and tomato puree, bread, tea, coffee, and fruit juice — are already vegetarian.
Keep an open mind. If you’ve ever gone about your usual grocery shopping and wondered what some of those more unfamiliar-looking fruits and vegetables tasted like, now’s your chance!
Not all vegan or vegetarian substitutes will taste like the non-vegan ones. It’s good to keep this tip in mind when testing differing alternatives. For example, you may find that while you don’t particularly like one kind of plant milk, you absolutely love another.
One of the most common concerns individuals face when considering switching to a vegetarian diet is whether or not they’ll be getting all the important vitamins and nutrients their body requires. We’ve got you covered there, too!
There are quite a number of helpful apps that you can refer to on your journey. HappyCow can help you find venues to eat and shop at while on the go worldwide, and Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen is a useful means of keeping track of the foods you eat daily to keep healthy.
Spend some time learning more about the impact that one’s food choices have on individual and community health, on Mother Earth, on animals, and on vulnerable populations, such as food and farmworkers.
Tell your family and friends — they just may join you. Having people around to provide their support oftentimes makes things easier. And the more people that join in, the greater the impact on the planet.
Be kind to yourself. It sometimes takes time to adjust to new things. If you make a mistake or slip, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed — go ahead and try again!
