-How2GoVegan- the Parlock

If you’re seeking help with going vegan, you’ve already done the hardest part: making the decision! While it’s perfectly natural to feel overwhelmed and even intimidated with the “nuts and bolts” of how to go vegan, reaching the point of understanding why you should go vegan—and actually deciding to take action—is by far the most challenging step. Going vegan is the easy part!

This page provides some guidance to help you get started on your vegan journey with confidence.


It’s a common misconception that going vegan takes super-human willpower. Willpower is needed when continually depriving yourself of something, but the truth is, vegan diets vary just as much—and often even more!—than non-vegan diets. Many people discover entirely new foods and cuisines when going vegan, and with the array of vegan substitutes these days, it’s hard to find a food that doesn’t have a vegan alternative! It’s likely you won’t even need to change the nature of what you eat—just replace the non-vegan options with vegan ones. Vegan burger for burger, vegan milk for milk, etc. The hard part nowadays is deciding which vegan burger or milk!

On a higher level, reframing your thinking about going vegan can be powerful. After all, going vegan isn’t about deprivation—quite the opposite. It’s not that you can’t eat animal products—it’s that you don’t have to anymore. You no longer have to contribute profoundly to the destruction of our environment with your dietary choices. You no longer have to damage your health with the adverse impacts of animal products….You no longer have to pay other people to harm…sentient, feeling beings in your name.


The most important aspect of going vegan isn’t your meal plan—it’s your “why”. If you have a clear reason for why you want to go vegan—and connect with it fully—going and staying vegan is not a challenge. No one can tell you your “why” but you. If you go vegan for someone else, you’re more likely to go back to eating and using animals eventually.

This decision has to come from within yourself, and tied to something genuine. Veganism then becomes integrated into your core values, rather than viewed as some “diet” you’re trying. In the beginning, it may even be helpful to write down your “why” and keep it in your pocket or wallet to remind yourself. You can also choose an object or piece of jewelry that signifies your “why” to keep as a reminder. These suggestions may sound silly, but we humans tend to connect with concrete and tactile things over concepts—in moments of doubt, having something solid and tangible can make a huge difference.


There are an infinite number of ways to be a vegan when it comes to dietary choices. A vegan diet simply means not eating anything of animal origin. Beyond that, it’s a free-for-all. Your veganism doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. No two vegans are alike—just like no two people are alike.

While the diversity of choices for eating vegan is a great thing, it can be overwhelming when trying to determine where—and how—to start. The most basic, and sustainable approach to transitioning to a vegan diet is straight substitution. This approach is just what it sounds like: take your normal meals and make them vegan!

When it comes to the question of how “fast” to go, using straight substitution is a way of going fully vegan “overnight” without the “shock” of a massive dietary change. I’ve heard from a lot of people who attempt to go from a junk food diet—akin to the Standard American Diet—to a “high raw” vegan, living off of only carrots and wheatgrass juice. Unsurprisingly, they fall back into consuming animal products. Going vegan wasn’t the problem—it was making such a dramatic shift, and not consuming adequate calories and nutrition. That’s not a realistic transition, nor a sustainable way of eating.

Outside of not consuming enough food, what often pulls people back to their old ways of eating is comfort, habit, and emotional ties. Food is very powerful culturally and emotionally. Certain dishes may have a powerful draw for you due to your upbringing or experiences you’ve had around those meals. Taste and smell can evoke emotions and memories in an instant.

Going fully vegan all at once doesn’t have to be a jarring experience. By substituting what you currently eat with vegan alternatives, you can go vegan all at once, rather than in “stages”, and still have the comfort of routine and familiarity.

As you progress in your vegan journey, you may want to branch out into some new and different foods and ways of eating, whether for health and nutritional reasons, or to experience something new. This won’t be true for everyone, of course—if you’re comfortable with your vegan diet the way it is, stick with it!


While more and more vegan alternatives are indiscernible from “the real thing,” you may find some options do not taste exactly like your old favorites. If you’re unhappy with a particular brand, try another. It’s human nature to assume that because you don’t like one brand of vegan cheese, for example, all vegan cheese is gross. But if you ever had a brand of dairy cheese that you didn’t like, did that mean that all dairy cheese was gross?

In additional to brand variations, if you’re new to cooking with vegan ingredients, it may take some time to become familiar with how to prepare them the way you like. Be patient—you may even find the difference in taste to be an improvement! Never give up on your first attempt, and remember that diving into some vegan junk food when the urge to give up arises is a far better solution than going back to animal products.

Aside from issues of taste preference, the two most common barriers to successful straight substitution are finances and availability. If finances are tight, some straight substitutions may be more expensive, especially if you eat a lot of processed cheese, deli meats, and other packaged foods. Or you may not have stores that supply many vegan alternatives in your area.

If it’s an issue of availability, there may be options that you’ve not even known to look for in your local stores. Be sure to ask staff for help. If they don’t carry the options you’re looking for, you can always request that they do—if there’s interest, many stores will bring in requested options.

Of course, you don’t have to include vegan alternatives in your diet at all, but if you’re wanting to, but have limited finances and/or product availability, you can make your own vegan milk, cheese, and meats.

For help eating vegan on a budget, see the section on eating vegan on a budget and addressing issues of access.


One of the most exciting things you can expect from going vegan is to finally be living in line with your values. I think it’s safe to say that most people love animals, but continue to consume and exploit them. When we live in a way that conflicts with our values, it takes a toll—whether we’re aware of it or not.

We must maintain a severe disconnect deep within ourselves in order to be able to love our cats and dogs while we pay others to enslave, torture and kill pigs, cows, and chickens for us. It doesn’t make sense, and leads to the absurd objections we throw around when confronted with the discontinuity. The bare truth is that we don’t want to face our actions.

The same is true of environmentalism. Many people want to be environmentally-conscious. They recycle, take shorter showers, even drive hybrid cars. But nothing makes near as large of an impact on the planet than what we eat.

We all want to think of ourselves as good people. But when we are contributing to the murder of innocent beings and the destruction of the planet, we have to do some pretty intense mental gymnastics to preserve this concept of ourselves.

The same goes for our health. We may have health goals to get into shape, or reverse chronic disease so we can have more time with our families, or increase our energy to achieve our life goals. But if we’re still consuming foods that contribute to disease, weight gain, and lethargy, then we aren’t able to live in line with our values.

When you go vegan you’ll have peace of mind knowing that you’re finally living your values. As Franz Kafka said while viewing fish in an aquarium,

“Now I can look at you in peace; I don’t eat you any more.”


Nutrition is one of the most common concerns for new and potential vegans. There is a widespread misconception that it’s difficult to impossible to get adequate nutrition on a vegan diet. The truth is that a balanced whole-plant-foods-based diet can have a profoundly positive impact on your health—even preventing and reversing the #1 killer worldwide: heart disease.

While a vegan diet can definitively be nutritionally sufficient and health-promoting, it’s important to note that “vegan” does not equal “healthy” by default. As mentioned earlier in this guide, there is an astounding array of vegan junk foods available: ethically sound, yes—but nutritionally, not so much. This is not to say that vegan treats have no place in a healthy lifestyle—just that their vegan status should not be taken as a synonym for balanced nutrition.

Unfortunately, one of the greatest barriers to understanding vegan nutrition is wading through the staggering amount of misinformation and disinformation. Even with a cursory search, it doesn’t take long to start finding directly conflicting advice. Always be vigilant in assessing the source of any nutritional information. There are plenty of cases of nutritional studies, governmental recommendations, and even independent bloggers tailoring their content to industry and corporate influences.

A great place to start is the Vegan Nutrition Concerns series, which addresses head-on the common nutrient-specific concerns when transitioning to a vegan diet—including specific concerns for children—and touches upon the health impact of animal products. The series covers protein, b12, omega 3 fatty acids, iron, calcium, vitamin D, zinc, iodine, and even carnitine, creatine, and carnosine.

With all the noise and misinformation about nutrition, and the ever-cycling dietary trends and fads, these resources provide grounded information on ensuring proper nutrition on a vegan diet.


A well-balanced, whole-foods-based vegan diet is positively packed with nutritional goodness. However, there are certain nutrients you should pay particular attention to, and possibly supplement.

Vitamin B12 supplementation is highly recommended. The effects of B12 deficiency are incredibly serious, and can take significant time to develop after the cessation of adequate intake. Luckily, the solution is simple: supplement! While it’s possible to get adequate B12 through fortified vegan foods, supplementing is far more convenient, and less expensive.

With our modern methods of water sanitation, and the state of our soil, non-fortified foods are not reliable sources of Vitamin B12. Even the animal products industries give the cows, pigs, and chickens B12 supplements! So, skip the middle animal, and go for the source yourself!

Learn more about Vitamin B12 and recommended intake levels in B12 On A Vegan Diet, from the Vegan Nutrition Concerns series, where you’ll also find information on the other main nutrients to watch: omega 3 fatty acids, iron, calcium, vitamin D, and iodine.


Vegan Shopping List: Essential Grocery Items
https://vegan.com/food/shopping-list/

When you’re a brand new vegan, or attempting to go vegan, it can seem daunting to shop for food. Where do you find these elusive vegan items? What do all the crazy ingredients on labels mean? Why the heck are eggs and dairy in so many things unnecessarily?

It’s impossible to provide guidance that is totally universal, as every country, state, city, area, and even grocery store is different. This section addresses some of the general basics. These may not apply perfectly to your experience, depending on your location.

Work the Perimeter & Go for Bulk - Usually, your best bet for vegan options—especially whole-food options—is to work the perimeter. Most stores are designed such that the outer perimeter houses the fresh produce and bulk sections. Not only is it cheaper to buy unpackaged bulk items, but you’re more likely to find vegan foods—and easily avoid sneaky ingredients.

Fruits and vegetables are an easy pick. They have one ingredient, so there’s no question about hidden animal-derived ingredients—except the wax on some fruits. Most grocers don’t have the information on which fruits are coated with beeswax or shellac rather than plant-derived wax. If you’re wanting to fully avoid potential animal-derived coatings, you can try contacting the farms individually and inquiring what they use. Or, if you’re in a position to, you can always grow your own fruits and vegetables.

Bulk sections are another “safe zone” in that most of them only have one ingredient. Rice, oats, beans, et cetera. One thing to keep an eye out for is bulk granola, which can contain honey or milk-chocolate pieces.

Many larger grocery stores have a “natural” section of some sort. This is often where you can find vegan cheeses, meats, ice creams, yogurts, cream cheese, chips, and more—basically the vegan version of the rest of the grocery store. In other stores you’ll find the vegan cheese by the dairy cheese, the vegan milk by the dairy milk, the vegan meats by the flesh meats, et cetera. You’ll learn the layout of your store with time—don’t be afraid to ask for help.

One word of caution about “natural” sections—just because something is in the natural section, doesn’t mean it’s vegan. These sections also contain products with other distinctions, such as gluten-free, antibiotic-free, organic, et cetera—none of which mean they are vegan. Always check the ingredient to be sure—even meat-free does not mean vegan. Many Morningstar brand meat-free products, for example, contain eggs and dairy.


Despite the common misconception, eating vegan doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s even possible to eat vegan on $4 a day! As mentioned above, many vegan staples are incredibly affordable—especially when purchased in the bulk sections of stores—and cruising your local farmers’ markets, or connecting with a CSA can help cut down costs.

If your circumstances are such that you’re struggling to afford or otherwise access healthy food, there may be resources available in your area. Many countries have governmental food assistance programs, and food pantries provide free food for community members in need. While it is again impossible to provide guidance that is totally universal, below are some guideposts and resources for finding assistance.

Food Pantries - Depending on where you live, and what your circumstances are, getting access to quality produce and healthful foods can be challenging. Food pantries are an incredible resource if you’re in need of some assistance. Depending on your area and the season, many pantries will have organic produce, and even carry vegan alternatives like vegan milks, cheeses, and more. The assortment of food will fluctuate week to week, so don’t give up if your first trip wasn’t very fruitful.

There are even programs that connect local gardeners and community gardens with food pantries to donate their excess harvest, both reducing food waste and increasing accessibility to fresh, local, often organic produce.

Resources for finding access to fresh food
• Ample Harvest (connecting local gardeners with food pantries in the US)
• Grow A Row (same concept in Canada)
• Learn About Food Deserts & Find Resources For Change from Food Empowerment Project
• A Well Fed World
• Brown Paper Bag Movement
• Philadelphia Community Gardens
• Detroit Area Community Gardens
• Chicago Community Gardens
• NYC Community Gardens
• Atlanta Community Gardens
• Urban Farming


The hardest part of being vegan is living in a non-vegan world. Becoming acutely and painfully aware of the extreme exploitation and cruelty all around you can be overwhelming, to say the least. You may struggle to explain your new path to friends and family. You may feel isolated and unsure of yourself. Don’t give up. You are not alone.

You can find guidance for navigating these moments, as well as common challenges for new vegans, such as dining out, socializing, dealing with friends and family, and finding hope and joy in difficult times on the Stay Vegan page (currently in development).

More than anything, it’s in these times of struggle and doubt, that it’s so very vital to remember your why. More than any tips and tricks anyone can offer, staying connected to why you’ve decided to go vegan will keep you grounded. You may have lost the “comfort” of denial, but you’ve gained the comfort of knowing you no longer have to participate in and support horrific acts of violence, the destruction of our planet, and the diversion of global resources. The impact of your decision to go vegan reaches far beyond yourself.

Stay open. Keep learning. This is just the beginning.

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Excerpt of article:
https://bitesizevegan.org/get-started/go-vegan/


🌱 FAQs 🌱
https://www.reddit.com/r/vegan/wiki/beginnersguide

🎽 Vegan Bootcamp 🎽
Free personal guidance by mentors & registered dietitians
https://veganbootcamp.org/

💑 Challenge 22 💑
Free online guidance by mentors & registered dietitians
https://challenge22.com/

📃 Vegan Grocery Shopping List 📃
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/08/kathys-vegan-essentials-shopping-list.html

💬 Your Vegan Fallacy Is 💬
A vegan fallacy is usually just a logical fallacy, which is to say that it is based on a flaw in reasoning....This web site is designed to help you identify and respond to this shaky logic wherever it may be found.
https://yourveganfallacyis.com/en