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Want to Do More than Meatless Mondays? Go Vegan in 5 Easy Steps!
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2. Make Gradual Changes
If you try to do too many things at one time you might find that you can do none of them or you become frustrated. Don’t try to go cold turkey; it only sets you up for failure. Don’t pressure yourself, either, going vegan takes time for most people, so if you forget and share a big plate of nachos with friends after work and realize that you forgot that those nachos have beef, don’t beat yourself up about it. Tell yourself that you will try to do better next time and forget about it.
You don’t have to start by removing all meat (or meat products such as eggs) right away. Start with small changes. You might want to start by making only 1 meal a day that contains meat. Or start having meatless weekends in addition to meatless Mondays. (This would mean you are going vegan 3 days a week, an excellent start!) Take things slowly and you will be more successful.
SEE ALSO: 15 Foods For Vegetarians Infographic
3. Plan Your Menu
As the old saying goes, if you fail to plan, then plan on failing. Now of course the perfect diet would consist of you making many foods from scratch (such as bread or pasta) but as we mentioned earlier, right now the idea is to transition as easily as possible. So for beginners, let’s just focus on eating healthy and slowly eliminating meat. So your grocery list should look like this:
- Fresh organic vegetables and fruit
- Beans and legumes
- Frozen goods (vegetables, stir-fry, fruit)
- Canned goods
- Baking goods
- Condiments and spices (seasonings)
- Meat (limited quantities of free range, organic meat only)
Be sure that you are choosing baked goods that are whole grain. Try experimenting with one or two new foods per week such as perhaps split green peas, lentils, garbanzo beans, jasmine rice, or black beans. Rather than cans, try to find foods in glass bottles or at least buy those that have no added sugar or corn syrup. Many people find that when they get the munchies, eating some whole grain crackers or non-GMO corn chips and salsa really help to satisfy those urges so be sure you pick up some of those items as well.
You might want to think about keeping this grocery list and not making any more cuts for two or three months. Give your body (and mind) time to adjust. When you think you are ready, move on to steps 4 and 5.
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