So you think you can’t be vegan?
Maybe you know the benefits of a vegan diet, but still can’t imagine yourself ever eating this way. So why not dabble a little bit in vegan eating for a while? See what feels reasonable to you first. You might find that vegan meals—either all the time or most of the time—are easier than you think.
Start with what you know. What’s already on family menus that is vegan or could be vegan with just a tweak or two? How about pasta with marinara sauce? Or tomato soup? (Make it with soymilk instead of cow’s milk.) Make Sloppy Joes using a canned sauce and meatless “ground beef.”
Explore substitutes. Check the natural foods section of your grocery store for vegan sour cream, cream cheese, veggie burgers, and vegan mayonnaise. Here are more ideas for substitutes that make vegan meal-planning especially easy.
Take the work out of dinner with convenience foods. Granted it’s best to eat whole plant foods most of the time. But when you are new to a vegan diet—or just plain too busy to cook—it’s really nice to know that Rice-A-Roni is there to lend a hand (and some flavors are indeed vegan.) Other convenience foods that make life a little bit easier are spaghetti sauce, vegetarian baked beans, and (my personal favorite) soup in a box.
Lose the meat mindset. In a culture where meat is the central focus of every meal, it can seem like there is a big empty hole in the middle of the vegan dinner plate. You can fill it up with beans, a veggie burger or some type of meat substitute, of course.. But it’s also okay to just move the rest of the food over to cover up that hole. Who says you need a serving of an official “protein food” with every meal? In many (healthier) cultures meat is used sparingly to flavor food, not as the center of the meal. So have a big platter of brown rice, topped with teriyaki-flavored sautéed veggies and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. That’s dinner; no meat or meat substitute needed.
Here are 7 dinners for newbie vegans that help to take some of the challenge out of meal-planning.
• Pasta with spaghetti sauce with meatless “ground beef,” topped with vegan parmesan cheese. Italian bread and salad with oil and vinegar.
• Baked potato, vegetarian baked beans, steamed carrots, and coleslaw made with Veganaise mayonnaise.
• Progresso lentil soup, toast with sun-dried tomato or tapenade spread and salad with balsamic vinaigrette.
• Vegetables—try cabbage, mushrooms, and broccoli—sauteed in canola oil, seasoned with teriyaki sauce from a jar and a topping of toasted sesame seeds. Serve over rice or noodles.
• Veggie burger, sweet potato fries, and steamed green beans.
• Butternut squash soup (available in aseptic box from Trader Joe’s and Imagine Foods). Add carmelized onions, frozen corn, canned tomatoes, and sliced veggie sausage.
• Burritoes: refried black or pinto beans in corn tortillas with chopped tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, vegan sour cream and salsa.