{"id":4357,"date":"2016-11-18T12:41:07","date_gmt":"2016-11-18T12:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tetrisandcheesecakes.com\/?p=4357"},"modified":"2016-11-18T12:41:07","modified_gmt":"2016-11-18T12:41:07","slug":"newbie-vegan-5-handy-tips-for-going-plant-based-cruelty-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/?p=4357","title":{"rendered":"Newbie Vegan? 5 Handy Tips for going Plant-based & Cruelty-free"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over a year ago I took the plunge and stopped consuming animal products. I went from being an omni who \u201cdidn\u2019t eat much meat\u201d to vegan in a matter of months, with a wee pit stop at vegetarianism. It wasn\u2019t something that happened overnight for me and I was really and truly going in blind. I\u2019d always assumed that vegans were uber healthy and that everything would just magically fall into place. Vegan junk food?<\/em> I didn\u2019t even realise that was a thing.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t be telling you to go watch documentaries about the horrors of livestock farming or what really<\/em> happens at a slaughterhouse, because chances are you\u2019ll have already been directed to a few. Maybe you’ve even watched one or two. Maybe you\u2019re like me and had other reasons<\/strong><\/a> <\/span>for becoming a vegan in the first place. I don\u2019t really want to repeat what other vegans or bloggers have already said, so these are just a few things I personally found helpful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. Why do you want to go Vegan?<\/h2>\n

First of all, think of why it is you want to adopt a vegan lifestyle. I\u2019m not talking about what other people say it means to them, I\u2019m talking about YOUR personal reasons. Whether it\u2019s for health, the environment, or the animals, that question can\u2019t be answered by anyone else. I feel like so many people say they\u2019re \u201cvegan for the animals\u201d that newbies almost feel like they have to rattle off that same answer, but remember there really is no right or wrong response except what\u2019s right for you.<\/em><\/p>\n

I work for someone who has been a strict vegan for almost ten years, and for them, it was entirely for health reasons. The environment? Great. The animals? Well that\u2019s just a happy coincidence. They literally cannot digest animal products after a disastrous operation, so they learned to adapt their lifestyle to a vegan one. Remember that everyone has their own processes, so however you come to that decision just makes that the right route for you.<\/em> It\u2019s also good to remember that everyone has their own motivations, so we really shouldn\u2019t judge anyone if theirs\u00a0are different to our own.<\/p>\n

2. Ask question. A lot of questions<\/h2>\n

I found one of the most important things when starting out as a newbie is to ASK. This is pretty much true of any situation, but let\u2019s just use it for this example shall we? That first week I didn\u2019t know anything, but I swallowed my pride and asked my Facebook friends for their advice, knowing that at least a few of them were vegans. I had no idea what seitan was, other than a word that\u2019s fun to slip into everyday conversations. What the hell was a tofu press? There are plant-based milks other than soy and rice? Mind, blown. I also now know why vegans don\u2019t eat honey, why free-range eggs still aren’t cruelty-free, why China is the Big Baddie when it comes to cosmetics and animal testing, and what the hell a \u201cparent company\u201d is. Oh and I also know that if someone tells you they are a Level 10 Vegan, they\u2019re an asshole.<\/p>\n

3. Don’t panic buy<\/h2>\n

Don’t just go out and blindly buy a whole shopping basket full of unfamiliar vegan foods or products. Unless you have loads on money, this will likely bankrupt you and you might end up with a lot of food you don’t necessarily like. So instead of going out of your way to buy vegan versions of things, just replace the fresh produce you already have. Think about what you eat and cook on a regular basis, and look for recipes on how to make these vegan friendly. You might be surprised how easy it really is.<\/p>\n

4. What do you like? What do you hate?<\/h2>\n

You need to figure out what you do and don\u2019t like. It sounds like I\u2019m stating the obvious, but I honestly can\u2019t count the number of times I\u2019ve heard a vegan friend say they really feel like they *should* like avocados, or kale, or Linda McCartney\u2019s sausages. Every other vegan in the world might wax lyrical about a particular brand of dairy-free cheese, but if you personally think it tastes like damp socks? Don\u2019t force yourself. You\u2019ll get disheartened.<\/p>\n

Your tastebuds WILL adapt, but if you seriously detest a particular food, don\u2019t force yourself to eat it just because you feel like you have to. There are so many fruits, vegetables, grains and pulses out there. Everybody has different tastes, so don\u2019t feel pressure to like something just because it seems like the \u201cdone\u201d thing for vegans to enjoy. If you hate courgettes, don\u2019t eat them. If faux meats make you gag, don\u2019t buy them. You won\u2019t have the same taste in clothes or be looking for the same traits in a partner, so why should food be any different?<\/p>\n

5. Social Media<\/h2>\n

One of the first things I did as a newbie vegan was follow a whole bunch of vegan Instagram accounts. It took maybe five minutes, and then another hour of drooling over their incredible photos, and it really opened my eyes to some of the incredible vegan food out there. Go and check out the #Vegan<\/strong> and #WhatVegansEat<\/strong> hashtags for some inspiration.<\/p>\n

I knew very little about animal testing in the beauty industry before I started to follow a few cruelty-free blogs and social media accounts. Twitter is pretty awesome for that, with bloggers and activists using the #CFBeauty<\/strong> hashtag and taking part in weekly chats. Whenever I have a question about which shampoo I should try to keep my hyper-bleached hair looking healthy, or what brand of liquid eyeliner I should try for an idiot-proof flick, these lovely folk are always there to help.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been working on a list of some of my favourite cruelty-free beauty bloggers, but here are\u00a0a few of the ones I regularly follow in the meantime. Definitely check out Vivi at Sammy Sans Cruelty<\/strong><\/a><\/span>,<\/span> Vicky at Ethical Elephant<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, and Steph at The Zombie Said<\/a><\/strong><\/span>. They are all incredible bloggers who really know their stuff when it comes to beauty products that don\u2019t, you know, hurt bunnies. Also if you\u2019re a Korean Beauty addict like I am, this post by Fii at Little Miss Fii<\/strong><\/a> <\/span>is the best I\u2019ve ever read.<\/p>\n

If Lifestyle blogs are more your bag, check out Laila at Tape Parade<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, Jess at Jessthetics<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, Mo at Mo’Adore<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, and Nadia at (Not So) Quiet Girl<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span> Laila’s guide<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/em> to the best dairy-free alternatives to milk is\u00a0incredible, and I love love LOVE Nadia’s post<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/em> on why veganism is a feminist issue. Go! Read! Their! Blogs!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In theory, all vegans want everybody to transition. Right? I mean I\u2019m even pretty chuffed when a friend tells me they\u2019re cutting down their dairy and meat intake significantly, or an omni friend comments on my Instagram pic of my plant-based lunch. I\u2019m a great believer in positive encouragement, so I\u2019ll be the one in the corner bringing my friends delicious vegan cake and making them a tasty plant-based dinner. I remember vegan friends inviting me over for food when I was first starting out, recommending the best places for me to eat, and presenting me with the most gorgeous vegan cupcakes. Being nice can accomplish great things.<\/p>\n

Having said that, as with any movement, there are some raging douchebags out there. These are the people who will judge you for every little thing, and in their eyes you will never be \u201cvegan enough\u201d. There are *shudder* vegans out there who have zero compassion for their fellow human beings, so PLEASE don\u2019t let these extremists put you off.<\/p>\n

Now go forth and eat (vegan) cake!<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over a year ago I took the plunge and stopped consuming animal products. I went from being an omni who \u201cdidn\u2019t eat much meat\u201d to vegan in a matter of months, with a wee pit stop at vegetarianism. It wasn\u2019t something that happened overnight for me and I was really and truly going in blind. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","category-vegan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/luciedhog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}