Here’s the thing…

You can blow animal products out of the water with vegan plant-based whole foods products.

You do not need to eat animal products to feel like you are eating a delicious and varied diet.

It’s never been easier to ‘veganize’ the food that you like to eat.

With the idea of going vegan trending more and more into the mainstream, people are coming up with easy ways to substitute what we have formally been using eggs, meat and dairy for in the ingredients.

When cooking, my goal is to try and replace the animal sources with plant-based food sources. The idea is that these are all-natural and as they come out of the ground. That way I try to ensure that the foods I am eating are as nutritious as possible.

Foraying into the vegan diet for the first time, it’s a whole new world and it’s difficult to decipher what should be used instead of what.

And what goes with what?

What’s healthy and what isn’t?

How do I switch out my eggs, dairy and meat and what for?

Let’s break it down.

PLANT-BASED FOOD MADE SIMPLE

Eating plant-based doesn’t have to be complicated. This Complete Plant-Based Diet Foods List makes grocery shopping quick, easy and delicious.

Eggs – How To Eat Vegan Eggs

Can be one of the toughest animal products to cut out of your diet. If you’re like me and really you love the taste of eggs on toast your options are limited.

However, if you’re baking and looking for a binder or something that does the job an egg did, then you do have a few different options to try out.

You can take superfood powerhouses ground chia seeds or flax seed and add to water and leave for five minutes. Proportion wise, place in a small bowl 1 tablespoon with 2.5 tablespoon water and leave for five minutes. The seed mixture will expand and leave you with a gooey sticky ingredient similar to an egg.

Alternatively you can take the juice from a can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), known as aquafiba and whisk it. This is will create a texture similar to egg whites and is used for baking meringues.

Pancakes, a gift of the universe, can be made with eggs. Well, have you tried replacing the eggs with mashed banana?! This is one of my favorite kitchen tricks because they make the best tasting pancakes I’ve ever had!

There is another egg product taking the vegan world by storm, JUST egg. It’s made entirely from plant-based ingredients and tastes just like actual eggs. You can even take it one step further and put it in French toast, waffles, pad Thai and quiches. Although it’s plant-based it’s still a processed food. But I couldn’t write this without including it as really this is the closest thing you’ll get to enjoying an egg for the taste of an egg.

Tofu scrambled eggs. This is a thing, a very popular one. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about so I have tried them out as part of ordering a vegan breakfast, I really liked them. I haven’t made them at home as to me tofu is a man-made food. That’s not to say it’s bad for you, I just prefer to eat food that has come out of the ground in its original form.

Milk – How To Drink Vegan Milk

One of the biggest hit industries of right now is the milk industry.

Dairy milk sales have slumped and alternatives have sky rocketed.

We were told as children that we needed the calcium in milk for strong teeth and bones. I’m sorry to say this is all just a load of BS. The health properties found in milk can also be found in plant-based foods.

Almond, cashew, macadamia, coconut, pea, soy, rice, hemp, flax or even spelt milk are all calling your name to be tried. You can find options in most supermarkets.

There has never been a better time to ditch dairy!

Almond is great for nutrition, coconut amazing for cooking and soy milk to make frothy coffee.

You’re reading this article so I know you’re like me and probably like to just have something as natural as possible. Plant milks have been hand made and consumed for centuries by various cultures! It’s so easy to make your own. Just soak the raw nuts and strain, voila!

Cheese – How To Eat Vegan Cheese

“Oh but I could never give up cheese”

That’s what almost every vegan said before they went vegan.

Well, fear not, you don’t need to give up cheese, just dairy based cheese.

Vegan cheeses really have come such a long way over very recent years.

Many ready made alternatives are hitting the supermarket shelves. You can find slices, blocks or even grated mock cheeses.

But “What about making your own?” I hear you cry. Yes! It can be done. There are recipes out there of cheese made with a base of nuts that are more delicious than actual cheese. Yes, hard to believe, but it’s true.

Nutritional yeast. A nutty cheesy flakey taste sensation. Super high in protein and B12 vitamin, it serves as a great topping or as part of a vegan cheese recipe. Okay, okay, it didn’t come out of the ground in this flakey format, but the ingredients mostly read as a list of B vitamins so I’ll take it this time.

Artisan cheese plate style cheeses are on the up and up so keep your eyes peeled for recipes.

Love your cheese sauces?

With combinations of cashews, nutritional yeast, basil leaves, lemon, garlic, olive oil you can make a great vegan ricotta. With other ingredients you can make an amazing queso cheese.

I love blending macadamia nuts, quite expensive compared to other nuts, but SO CREAMY.

For macadamia nut cheese, you can take my money!

There’s a whole world of combinations out there of cheese made from nuts and plant-based ingredients.

Meat

You have two routes with this, to go vegan mock-meat substitute, or to go plant-based replacement.

The vegan meat based substitutes are getting SO GOOD, the Beyond Meat products in particular. Several taste tests have taken place and between the Beyond hamburgers or crumbles, taster testers haven’t been able to tell the difference between that and real meat!

Meat based substitutes are just that, there to taste and make you think you’re eating meat. They may not be that healthy but can taste amazing. They are brilliant for those transitioning. I’m not afraid to admit I’ll have a Beyond Meat burger when the family are having a BBQ.

I know that you would like to know what’s the healthiest to way to go about it like me.

For all of my old favorite recipes at home, I replace the former meat with a plant-based protein source. And I just want to say that I feel ONE THOUSAND TIMES BETTER for it.

I also dropped the five pounds in a month that I’d been trying to shake for around a year.

After every meal I feel light, never sluggish or tired. I feel ’satisfied’ but never overly full. My digestion is next level better than when I ate meat.

You can absolutely get the protein you were formally getting from meat from vegan plant-based sources.

Do you love a good pasta bolognese? Previously I had beef, now I use lentils.

Do you love a good curry? Previously I had chicken, now I use chickpeas.

Do you love a good burrito? Previously I had the beef, now I have black beans.

Do you love a good roast? Previously I had pork, now I have nut roast.

Do you love a good Shepherd’s pie? Previously I had lamb, now I have lentils and nuts, chickpeas and nuts.

Do you love a good pulled pork sandwich? You can now get these with Jackfruit.

Do you love bacon? You must try bacon made from mushrooms!

All of the above plant-based protein sources are packed with nutrients!

Sandwich Spread – How To Eat Vegan

Who doesn’t love bread?

Fresh bread from the bakery.

Untoasted, toasted…just get in my belly.

There are several healthy plant-based sources that will keep the nemesis that is bread as addictive as it’s always been.

To die for sandwich spreads can be vegan pesto, hummus, avocado, nut butter or cashew cheese.

Milk Chocolate – How To Eat Vegan

This is an easy one.

When cutting down on animal products you do not have to cut out this heavenly joy of life.

The great news that dark chocolate is known for its anti-oxidant properties. I

t’s also known for being an aphrodisiac, wink wink.

Yes it might have a little sugar in it, but the benefits far out way the negatives.

The great news often the dark chocolate can be found easily in health food shops or the natural food isle in the supermarket. You can also often find chocolates that are fair trade or organic – it’s a win win.

Butter – How To Eat Vegan

I put this one lower down the as we already covered sandwich spread but butter is a world of it’s own really.

Yes its processed and sure, its properties are close to that of plastic, but who can live without any kind of butter? I know I would find it tough as I use in recipes but also I REALLY love toast.

Butter substitutes, like the milk substitutes, will replace the bad fats and cholesterol with good fats that are better for you. Vegan fats are still calorific so you still need to be mindful of portion size.

Non-dairy margarine is the substitute for butter.

The healthiest kind of non-dairy marg is one that contains no trans-fats or hydrogenated oils.

I’ve yet to discover a butter that you can make purely from plants at home. One day.

Mayonnaise – How To Eat Vegan

Did you know that you can make your own light and creamy mayonnaise at home purely from plant-based sources? Made from garlic, lemon, Dijon mustard, aquafaba (juice from chickpeas), chickpeas, olive oil and salt.

The aquafaba acts as the egg-white base you have in regular mayo.

Try it and see for yourself!

If you truly love mayo from a jar and the convenience then there a few store-bought options out there too – check your local health food shop.

Gelatine – How To Eat Vegan

It can act as a glue and thicken recipes up.

For your recipes you can try instead using agar flakes or agar powder.

Honey – How To Eat Vegan

But honey, what about honey in baked goods?

For every one tablespoon of honey you can use maple syrup and it will taste great. You can also try agave nectar, the caramel taste is the bomb! Even though it tastes so sweet and so great, it’s actually low on the glycemic index meaning that overall its not that all that bad for you.

All of this information may seem overwhelming, but with time it only gets easier.

It’s incredible to think of all of the vegan products or recipe ideas that have popped up in just the last five years.

The trend towards vegan eating is changing the dial in buyer behavior.

Thankfully, replacing animal products in your diet isn’t as hard as you first might think. Once you have tried or made everything once, that’s the hard part over.

The best way for your health is to replace the animal products in a whole foods plant-based way. Switching to a vegan plant-based diet is very powerful for your health, but only if you eat the right kinds of foods.

It’s about keeping the processed substitutes to a minimum and eating whole foods.

Eating plants instead of animal products can all feel very natural and the key is choosing a variety of whole foods to get the vitamins and minerals from different sources.

Tasting all of these new foods for the first time is really fun!

Grab your grocery list and add some of the above to start seeing what your tastebuds love the most.

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