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As some of you may know, I myself am not a Raw Vegan. When I started working at Raw Food Central, I was eating the crappiest of the crappy food. Over the months that I have been here, I have had a sudden change a heart, and have been closely paying attention to what I eat now. While I am not 100% raw or vegan, I am slowly but surely getting to the Vegan mountaintop.
It has not been an easy journey. For the past 28 years, I have eaten anything and everything. Steak? Sure. Cheese? Make it double. Taco Bell? My favorite. But I have slowly learned that all the stuff I have been consuming can have terrible effects on not only me, but my environment.
One of the hardest parts was giving up all of those “convenience foods.” The sugary drinks, the bags of chips and all that delicious fast food. I found myself searching for what was vegan and what was a healthier alternative. Here are some tips, that helped me, and maybe you, to becoming Vegan.
1. Do your homework. I used to walk aimlessly around Whole Foods for hours trying to find products that were Vegan. I quickly realized that I should be researching a lot more. It saved me tons of time in the Grocery store to do the research before hand, and have a game plan when I went into the store. It made my life easier and saved a bunch of time.
2. Have a plan of attack. Going Vegan is no easy feat for me. I found that if I planned my meals and snacks ahead of time, I was more likely to stay on the path, instead of grabbing a non-vegan unhealthy snack in a pinch. And to go back to my first point, the more research I did, the easier it was to grab the correct snack or meal in a pinch.
3. Be strong and stay focused. At first, giving up certain foods was torture. Cheese and Bacon were two big ones for me. While I do occasionally have these, it is very rare now, and I’m not too happy with myself when I do. But I stay focused on what I want to accomplish, being Vegan, and that makes it a little easier.
4. Find Substitutes. While this isn’t always easy, it did help me. For me, cheese was always on everything. When I first started my Vegan quest, I found a few cheeses that were Vegan. While some were better than others, it made the transition easier, knowing that there were healthier and just as tasty alternatives out there.
5. Start slowly. There is some story about a tortoise and a hare. I’m sure you’re familiar with it. Be the tortoise. Start slowly and work your way up. I initially started and tried to go full blown Vegan the first day. What I didn’t realize was that I set myself up for failure. It takes time, but in the end worth it. Start by implementing a few Vegan meals a week and keep on increasing them. You’ll be animal-free in no time!
So good luck on your journey to become Vegan. You can do it! It’s takes time, patience, a bit of planning in the beginning, but in the long run, you’ll be happy you did!
