the blog.
Veganuary
If you're like most people at this time of year, it's likely you're trying to nail down your 2016 New Years Resolutions. And it's likely that somewhere on your list of goals is weight loss, improved energy, improved health, less impact on the environment, more time and effort dedicated to helping others, or maybe all five! Let me tell you a secret: going vegan allows you to do all of these things. That's where Veganuary comes into the picture!
If you're like most people at this time of year, it's likely you're trying to nail down your 2016 New Years Resolutions. And it's likely that somewhere on your list of goals is weight loss, improved energy, improved health, less impact on the environment, more time and effort dedicated to helping others, or maybe all five! Let me tell you a secret: going vegan allows you to do all of these things. That's where Veganuary comes into the picture!
Instead of making many resolutions, and making it hard on yourself to stay on track on all of them, why not make one resolution which will help you to achieve many (or all) of your goals?
Going VEGAN for the month of January will...
- help you to lose weight more effortlessly;
- reduce your impact on the environment more than giving up your car;
- improve your health by reducing cholesterol, improving digestion, and reducing the intake of carcinogens;
- make you a kinder person who puts others first;
- increase your energy and feelings of well-being;
- perhaps even inspire you to make a more permanent change to the most compassionate way of living on Earth!
I suggest you go to veganuary.com to learn more about going vegan for the month of January and to sign up for the challenge. Think of it as a test-drive to see how going vegan can impact your life - I promise you will notice many of the benefits very quickly!
Look out for my next post with tips and tricks for going vegan to help you crush Veganuary! In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to the weekly Plant Based Bride newsletter for your FREE copy of the Vegan 101 info booklet!
Until next time,
Are you going to sign up for Veganuary this year? I want to hear about it in the comments!
Surviving the Holidays as a Vegan
Out of the 23 Holiday Seasons I've experienced in my time on this Earth, 20 were just regular, omni holidays. I then spent 1 of them as a vegetarian and 2 of them as a vegan. As I prepare for my third holiday season without any animal products I begin to feel the anxiety that has become standard for this time of year. If you don't eat a "normal" diet, you may understand what I mean. As we get nearer and nearer to family Christmas, I begin to think more and more of how I will handle those days amongst family. I am by no means an expert, but let me share with you what I've learned so far and what I plan to implement this year to survive the holidays as a vegan!
Out of the 23 Holiday Seasons I've experienced in my time on this Earth, 20 were just regular, omni holidays. I then spent 1 of them as a vegetarian and 2 of them as a vegan. As I prepare for my third holiday season without any animal products I begin to feel the anxiety that has become standard for this time of year. If you don't eat a "normal" diet, you may understand what I mean. As we get nearer and nearer to family Christmas, I begin to think more and more of how I will handle those days amongst family. I am by no means an expert, but let me share with you what I've learned so far and what I plan to implement this year to survive the holidays as a vegan!
Now, in my ideal world, my family would eat 100% vegan while we're together. To be fair, I've never asked them to. I don't want to force feed veganism to my family, as I know it will only push them further away. But despite that I find myself thinking; "You've had countless meals to eat whatever you want since the last time we saw each other, and you know how I feel about consuming and using animal products. Can't you just go one meal, or one day, without hurting animals?"
For those of us who are ethical vegans, the holidays are an emotionally fraught time. I am lucky enough to be marrying a man who shares my values, and therefore live in a 100% vegan home. That means that the only times I have to break bread with non-vegans are in the lunchroom at work or if I go to a non-vegan restaurant (not a common occurrence). But at the holidays? I may be spending as much as a full week eating every single meal surrounded by death. It's not fun.
I love my family, and I want to spend as much time with them as I can. But I DON'T want to spend all of that time incredibly stressed and trying to hold in the sadness, anger, and frustration I feel as I watch them destroy their health, the lives of animals, and our environment so that our time together can be pleasant.
So this year, I'm making a plan. I'm going to think of as many different circumstances and conflicts I can ahead of time and find solutions so that this year the holidays can be a joy like they're meant to be (as much as possible). And I'm sharing it with you so that you can have the resources you need to survive the holidays as a vegan, especially if it's your first one!
P L A N A H E A D
Since you're reading this article, you're definitely on the right track! Grab a notebook and a pen or pencil to take notes on the points that apply to your family and life and get prepared for a happy holiday season!
M A K E A L I S T
Of every single person who you'll see at the holidays. Every single one! If you have a big family this might take a while, but this will be so helpful for maneuvering this tricky time.
Made your list? Good.
Now I want you go down that list and think about each person individually. What are they like? Have they every commented on your diet, or the diet or someone else, before? What did they say? Do they like to ask a million questions? Get into debates? Make jokes? Poke fun? As you ask these questions about each person I want you to turn to a new page and jot down every comment, joke, or question you can imagine being asked by these people about your vegan lifestyle.
C R E A T E C A N N E D R E S P O N S E S
This tip is a LIFESAVER. Once you have your list of potential questions and comments, I want you to come up with a handful of responses that fit each eventuality. This is perfect if you...
A) Aren't great at thinking on your feet or get flustered easily, or;
B) Tend to get upset or angry quickly and can't think of a response OR say something that will hurt the other person (or the cause!), or;
C) Are really shy or afraid of offending people.
Some examples would be:
- (Where do you get your protein, iron, calcium, etc.) From plants.
- (So how do you like just eating salad?) There are over 20,000 types of edible plant foods and I love the huge variety in my diet!
- (Why won't you eat what I made for you? I worked so hard on it just for you!) I love you, and I would love to eat anything you made for me if it was animal product free. But I can't compromise my values no matter how much I love you and your cooking. I hope that being here and spending time together will be enough to show you how much I love and appreciate you!
- (Humans are omnivores. We're meant to eat meat, just like it's natural for lions to eat gazelle.) You are not a lion. And you're not a carnivore. You don't chase down your victim and catch it in your teeth. You don't rip into their living flesh and start eating them raw. You don't eat every piece, every organ, of their body without discrimination. You are NOT meant to eat meat.
- (Being vegan is dumb. Vegans are weak hippies. Why don't you care more about people than you care about the animals?) I don't discriminate against ANY living being, regardless of its species. That's why I'm vegan. I don't wish pain and suffering on any living thing, including humans. Did you know that if every person went vegan we'd have enough food to feed the entire human population?
B R I N G F A C T S T O B A C K I T U P
If you don't feel confident holding your own in a debate, use your list of potential questions, criticisms and comments to do research ahead of time and jot down facts and figures with sources. You can just pull it out of your pocket and read it to them! Another option is to download and print off my Vegan 101 pamphlet and pass it around to friends and family. I created it in a printable format as well as a PDF appropriate for reading on the computer or a mobile device, so you can also send it to them if you'd prefer to save paper and ink! Fill out the form below and I'll send the link to you, 100% free.
U S E T H E B U D D Y S Y S T E M
Everything's better with an ally. Is there anyone in your family who is vegan or vegetarian, or even just a little more sympathetic? Talk to them beforehand, if possible, and ask them to help back you up with certain family members or if you're being ganged up on. Make sure they know that you don't expect them to agree with your stance, if they don't, but that you just need that support and someone to tell others to take it back a notch if it gets to be too much.
E A T B E F O R E H A N D
Not sure if there will be anything you can eat at Christmas dinner? Eat before you go! If it's just a dinner thing, or if you can manage to sneak out for a half-hour, try eating a full meal ahead of time so that you won't have a hard time sticking to the few vegan options. If you know there will be a bit more for you to eat I still suggest as least a big salad, or something else light yet filling, just in case! It also helps for those of you who are new to veganism and are still having cravings or trouble with motivation.
B R I N G O R M A K E F O O D
For everyone to try! This is my favourite thing to do at the holidays, because it helps to show that a vegan diet can be more than salad, and that it can taste GREAT! This year Jason and I plan to make dinner for everyone - shepherd's pie, vegetable soup, and apple crisp for dessert. I bet no one is going to miss the meat or dairy in that hearty meal!
You can also ask if you can help out in the kitchen and make suggestions to make dishes vegan. You can explain how if the carrots are cooked without butter you can enjoy them too, and everyone else can put as much butter as they like on their own carrots - everyone's happy!
C O M P R O M I S E
If you normally eat a fully raw, vegan, low fat diet, you may need to compromise with a cooked vegan diet, or foods with a higher fat content for a couple of meals. Or say a family member bought you vegan cookies with oil, and you usually avoid oil. It is far better to make an exception than to uphold a perfectly healthy diet and hurt someone who has tried so hard to accommodate you. Perfection is the enemy of the good. Being vegan is important to you, and it's important for the world. You don't want to compromise on that! But don't let an all or nothing attitude about your 100% clean diet ruin all of your hard work. A couple of days of vegan junk food won't hurt you, and it may just show your family that veganism isn't quite as scary as they may have thought!
I hope this post helped you, just as I hope the original conversation with my newly-vegan friend, Amanda (which inspired this post) did! If you haven't already, be sure to scroll up and fill in the form for your free Vegan 101 booklet! I've been working on it for a while and I think it will be a great resource for those of us with omni families. If you're a Plant Based Bride newsletter subscriber you will receive your link automatically, as you do with all free resources as soon as they go live!
Happy Holidays and good luck!
Until next time,
What's your number one tip for surviving the holidays as a vegan? Let everyone know in the comments below!
10 Tips To Help You Go Dairy-Free!
Decided to cut dairy out of your diet but not sure where to start? First of all, congratulations on taking the first step! I'm so proud of you and I want to help you make this change, so today I am sharing my top 10 tips for going dairy-free that I used when I transitioned from a vegetarian to a vegan diet almost 3 years ago. What are my credentials, you ask? Good question!
Right up until the day I committed to being vegan I was a cheese addict. I would eat cheese with every single meal and snack. I would eat melted cheese on a bagel for breakfast. I would eat sliced cheese as a mid-afternoon snack. I would eat a bowl of parmesan cheese with a spoon for dinner. (True story). Let me tell you, my family and friends were pretty shocked to hear I was no longer on the dairy train. So how did I, as a major cheese addict, give it up cold turkey? Keep reading to find out!
Decided to cut dairy out of your diet but not sure where to start? First of all, congratulations on taking the first step! I'm so proud of you and I want to help you make this change, so today I am sharing my top 10 tips for going dairy-free that I used when I transitioned from a vegetarian to a vegan diet almost 3 years ago. What are my credentials, you ask? Good question!
Right up until the day I committed to being vegan I was a cheese addict. I would eat cheese with every single meal and snack. I would eat melted cheese on a bagel for breakfast. I would eat sliced cheese as a mid-afternoon snack. I would eat a bowl of parmesan cheese with a spoon for dinner. (True story). Let me tell you, my family and friends were pretty shocked to hear I was no longer on the dairy train. So how did I, as a major cheese addict, give it up cold turkey? Keep reading to find out!
On to the tips!
ONE Have a clear image of WHY you're going dairy-free.
Every change is easier with a strong motivation. What's yours? Mine was purely ethical, read here for more on that, but there are a multitude of reasons to reduce, or even better eliminate dairy from your diet for health and environmental reasons as well! I've written about these in detail on my blog, if you need a starting point in your research:
The Truth About The Dairy Industry
Building Strong Bones With Plants
Should You Worry About Your Body's pH?
Milk IS NOT the Best Defence Against Osteoporosis
Still on the fence about giving up cow's milk and the products made from it? I encourage you, if you haven't already, to read my latest blog post, The Truth About The Dairy Industry, and peruse the resources I shared throughout. You can go now, it's ok, I'll wait! Still not sure? Comment below or send me an email at plantbasedbride@gmail.com and I'll answer any questions you may have and or chat with you, whatever you need! I want to be a support for you, so please don't hesitate to shoot me an email (or a tweet or a Facebook message or whatever social media you like using! I am on a good number of platforms. You can find links to my profiles on the right side of this page on a desktop or at the very bottom on a mobile device!)
Once you have your motivation, do whatever you need to do to keep it at the forefront of your mind. I found just having learned the truth about the dairy industry was enough for me, but you may need to write it down in your planner, or post a picture of dairy cows in a factory farm on your fridge, or have reminders pop up at meal times on your phone to keep your mind on your why. Whatever method works for you, do it!
TWO Consider your past successes.
Have you ever made a big change in your life? Were you successful? If so, take note of how you made that change. Did you do it cold turkey? Or was it more of a gradual change?
I won't tell you that one way is better than the other. Everyone is different and each individual person needs to approach their life in the way that best fosters their success! I cut out dairy in one fell swoop. No more milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, cream, etc. just like that. I won't lie, it was hard. But for me it was the very best option. I am not great with moderation; a slow transition would have left too much temptation to cheat and have "just a little bit more". My why was just too important for that.
The good thing is, no matter how you do it, you'll be making a huge impact! Even just a small reduction in your diary consumption at first will start to create improvements in your body as well as reducing the pain and suffering of animals and slowing the destruction of the environment. Do not beat yourself up if you're not a cold turkey kind of person (I'm not either *wink wink*), and don't let others beat you up for it! You're on your own journey. No one else can feel what you feel or is thinking your thoughts. You know which way is better for you and you are making a huge difference, no matter what anyone says!
THREE Tell your family and friends.
I'm not saying you should start preaching high and low, but I am saying you should hold yourself accountable. The best way to do that? Tell the people you're closest to your goal! It is especially important to tell those you find yourself eating with the most often. If the people in your life know you're off dairy, they'll give you a hard time for cheating! I found this to be one of the most helpful things I did to keep me on track in those first couple of weeks.
A caveat to this: Some people will try to derail you. Unfortunate, but true for almost any goal you could set. People feel strongly about what they put in their mouths everyday (not surprising, as we are literally made from it!) and will sometimes get defensive or feel judged, even if you didn't once lay judgement on them. It's ok. It can be very hard, but don't let them push you to go against your values or miss your goal. Maybe schedule more non-eating activities with them, or spend a little less time with them in that initial tough period while your willpower is still low. They will stop trying to make you cheat eventually, once they see you won't budge. I promise!
FOUR Try removing one form of dairy at a time.
If you're having trouble going full bore but aren't great with moderation, cutting out one type of dairy at a time could be the answer! Try removing milk from your diet, then once this has become easier add yogurt, then butter, then cheese... you get the picture. Focusing on just one product at a time can make a big goal seem a little more attainable!
FIVE Stock up on dairy substitutes.
While I don't encourage regular consumption of these products on a long-term vegan diet, dairy substitutes can be a life saver while transitioning!
Craving cheese? Here's some daiya! Need something for your breakfast cereal? How about some vanilla almond milk!
For any and every dairy product, there is a dairy-free substitute. Don't be afraid to rely on these heavily at first! I had daiya cheese daily on my salads and dinners for the first two or three weeks of giving up dairy, and it stopped me from caving many many times!
SIX Try something new!
Do you always go to the same restaurant and get the same dairy-laden dish? Maybe it's time to try something new! I suggest checking out vegan restaurants in your area (Happy Cow is a great resource for that) as there won't be any dairy in sight! Breaking your routine can really help cement the change.
You can even try this tip at home! Why not look up some new dairy-free recipes to try a couple of times a week, rather than just trying to cut out or substitute for the diary in your go-to meals? Check out these incredible blogs for some inspiration:
And check out my recipe posts!
SEVEN Eat well.
As they say, you don't win friends with salad. While I disagree (salad is awesome and so are friends!), eating foods you don't like is not going to help keep you on track. Eat well! Treat yourself to dairy-free deliciousness every single day. Don't give yourself the chance to start fantasizing about poutine. And if you do, go out and get a vegan version! (Poutineville and Fresh in Toronto both have ridiculously delicious vegan poutine!) The goal is not to deprive yourself, it's to thrive.
EIGHT Start a journal.
Not everyone likes journaling. I don't. But I really really wish I'd kept a journal before and after the switch to have more tangible proof of why I felt better. I definitely did, and could feel it, but recording my sleep, feelings, aches and pains, skin clarity, stuffiness, gas and bloating, and more would have really helped me recognize the benefits I was getting, right from the start!
Try keeping one every other day, or once a week, if your not a journal person. I promise you'll be glad you did!
NINE Don't do it alone!
Recruit your significant other, your best friend, your sibling, or your coworker to give up dairy with you! Everything is easier with a little teamwork, and making a significant dietary change is no different. You can encourage each other, go for meals together, and talk about the toughest and best parts of going dairy-free!
TEN Seek support.
This is especially important if you don't have someone to do it with you or if your closest friends and family aren't on board. Try vegan or dairy-free groups on Facebook, chatting on message boards, or reaching out to someone who has done what you're trying to do, even if you don't know them personally!
Like I said earlier in this post, I want to help you make this change. I am being 100% serious when I say you can email me (plantbasedbride@gmail.com) or direct message me on instagram (@elizabethturn) anytime you need support! I would be honoured to be the person to help you make a positive change in your life.
Whether it's me or not, seek that support and don't be afraid to use it!
Now, go forth and go dairy-free!
Until next time,
What helped you give up dairy? What was the hardest part? I want to hear about it in the comments below!
Easy Nana Ice Cream Recipe!
Nana ice cream, banana ice cream, nice cream; whatever you call it, it's delicious! Dairy-free ice cream is widely available, which is incredible for those of us who still want a sweet chilly treat from time to time. But what if you don't want to have to run to the store? Or you want something lower fat and less full of preservatives? Nana ice cream is the (mouth-watering) solution. Today I'm sharing a super simple recipe for you to make your own!
Nana ice cream, banana ice cream, nice cream; whatever you call it, it's delicious! Dairy-free ice cream is widely available, which is incredible for those of us who still want a sweet chilly treat from time to time. But what if you don't want to have to run to the store? Or you want something lower fat and less full of preservatives? Nana ice cream is the (mouth-watering) solution. Today I'm sharing a super simple recipe for you to make your own!
Easy Nana Ice Cream Recipe
serves 2 // 5 minutes prep time
- 4 frozen bananas
- 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 fresh dates, pitted
- handful cocoa nibs
Throw all ingredients but the cocoa nibs in your trusty blender, and blend until smooth. Add cocoa nibs on top. That's it! Keep in mind that if your blender runs hot you may need to pop your ice cream in the freezer for a 10-20 minutes to get it cold and solid again.
Looking for something simpler? I've got you covered!
Even Easier Nana Ice Cream Recipe
serves 2 // 5 minutes prep time
- 4 frozen bananas
- as much water as is needed to help the blender conquer those bananas
Blend and enjoy!
Nana ice cream is one of the absolutely simplest tasty treats you can make, and is so easy to change up! Try out adding your own ingredients to get new flavours every day of the week and tag me in your yummy food pictures so that I can see your creations (@elizabethturn)!
Until next time,
What's your favourite nana ice cream recipe? Share it below for everyone to try!