While it is easy to feel helpless in the face of many of the world’s worst problems, individuals actually hold great power when it comes to some of the most serious crises threatening our planet. Indeed, more and more people are waking up to the tremendous impact of our food choices on everything from widespread animal suffering, to human diseases and pandemics, biodiversity loss, climate change, and global hunger.
For more than a decade, scientists and environmental experts— including, most recently, the United Nations IPCC— have urged a switch to plant-based diets as the single most important shift individuals can make to halt the course of climate warming and prevent the most catastrophic impacts.
To inspire conscious eaters, we’ve compiled some go-to resources that make choosing a plant-based diet easier and empowering. Below are recipes, weekly meal plans, nutrition tips, and online communities where you can ask questions and discuss your experience with other new vegans.
Materials to Get Started
Veganuary: this popular month long vegan challenge is FREE and can be done any time, not just in January. Participants receive 31 days of coaching emails, nutritional guidance, easy recipes, a free celebrity vegan cookbook, and more.
Vegan Starter Kit (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine)
21 Day Vegan Kickstart: FREE guided three-week intro to eating vegan from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
10 Weeks to Vegan: this FREE guided challenge from Vegan Outreach is available in more than 30 languages, and includes free vegan mentorship, a Guide to Eating Out, nutrition education, recipe and meal planning, tips on communicating with friends and family, and more.
30 Day Vegan Challenge: FREE program from Vegan Easy includes guidance via daily emails; original & fitness Meal Plans; online support groups; tons of recipes; tips to ease the transition, and more.
Plant-Based Nutrition
Eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, and legumes makes it easy to be healthy. But, as with any diet, it’s important to know about specific nutrients and which foods supply them.
Basic nutritional knowledge also comes in handy when there are questions from people who wrongly assume it is necessary to eat animal products for good health. In addition to familiarizing yourself with vegan nutrition basics, the easiest way to ensure you are getting optimal nutrition on a vegan diet is to eat from these six plant food groups every day, and supplement with Vitamin B12 (and possibly Vitamin D).
Online Nutrition Resources:
NutritionFacts.org: Dr. Greger’s database, videos, and much more
Daily Dozen: Dr. Greger’s simple checklist (and app) of foods to include each day
The Power Plate from they Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Vegan Nutrition Primers: which foods to eat for which nutrients
VeganHealth.org: comprehensive info on vegan health from doctors and dietitians
Vegan Diets: Nutritional Myths by Ginny Messina, MPH, RD
The Vegan RD by Ginny Messina, MPH, RD
Nutrition In a Nutshell from Veganuary
Nutrition Guide from ChooseVeg
What to Eat
Whole Foods
When transitioning to a plant-based diet, some people immediately want to learn more about preparing delicious, balanced meals from whole plant foods.
This is a great stage to get to, but not everyone moves at the same pace. Consider experimenting with one or more whole foods veggie recipes per week.
Once you’re familiar with the nutrient content of a few of the many vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, nuts and seeds available, it’s easy to throw together a hearty plant-based meal.
Vegan Balance Bowls, also known as Buddha bowls, nourish bowls, veggie bowls, or power bowls, are a versatile, filling and flavorful way to start, combining excellent nutrition with colorful presentation and ease of preparation. Here’s a roundup of 25 mouthwatering, protein-packed veggie bowls you can easily put together at home.
For more delicious variations on these no-fuss, nutrient-packed meals, try the Everyday Nourish Bowl, the Abundance Bowl, and the Big Vegan Bowl. And check out the cookbooks Vegan Bowl Attack!, Plant Power Bowls, and Plant-Based Buddha Bowls.
Plant-Based Meat & Dairy
When it comes to plant-based food, there has never been a better time to be vegan. From burgers, bacon, and deli slices to meltable cheeses that would fool the most diehard dairyhead, delicious animal-free versions of your favorite meat, dairy and egg products abound. Frozen pizza? Check. Faux fish sticks? You bet. Coffee creamer? Take your pick, there are literally dozens of them.
At the Store
If you’re new to shopping vegan at the store, it may take a few trips to familiarize yourself with which products are where. Some supermarkets have clearly marked Plant-Based sections in their frozen and refrigerated aisles, while others sometimes stock vegan products in their “natural” or “health-food” sections. In Big Box stores, vegan deli slices, mayonnaise, and tofu are frequently in the produce department, while plant-based butters, milks and creamers are often next to their dairy counterparts. Frozen plant-based pizzas may be beside the non-vegan pizzas, or may be in a designated plant-based freezer. Don’t hesitate to ask a store clerk where to find something if you can’t locate what you are looking for.
Not sure which products to try, once you do find them? Not to worry. You can simply do an internet search for “best vegan pizza,” “best vegan coffee creamer,” etc and you’ll find tons of recommendations from vegan bloggers. And while they don’t rank them, Vegan.com also offers an extensive list of available plant-based alternatives to animal-based foods, if you’d like to better familiarize yourself with some of the brands. For standout stars by category, here are a few roundups:
Best Frozen Vegan Pizza (our fave: American Flatbread’s Vegan Harvest and Vegan Meat Lovers)
Best Vegan Burger (for patties that most resemble traditional juicy grillers, Beyond Burgers are your best bet)
Best Vegan Cheese (our fave for slices, blocks, and shreds is Violife; for artisan wedges, Nuts for Cheese)
Best Vegan Ice Cream
Best Vegan Bacon
Best Vegan Milk (includes recommendations for cereal vs coffee vs smoothies vs baking, etc)
Best Vegan Eggs
Best Vegan Deli Meat
In the Kitchen
If you’re someone who cooks at home, then it’s crucial to have some go-to vegan recipes in your arsenal. Thankfully, there are thousands of vegan recipe blogs to suit every preference. There are vegan sites devoted to just about every global cuisine, culture, cooking style, and diet type, so whether you’re looking for quick and easy; comfort food; “free from” recipes for people with allergies or sensitivities (ie soy-free, gluten-free, nut-free); low-fat, raw, keto, or whole-food, there’s a vegan recipe blog for you. Korean Vegan? Yes, please. Ethiopian? Yes and yes. 20 minutes or less? Easy as 1, 2, 3.
More Great Websites
Eating Vegan on a Budget
Afro-Vegan Society Recipes
VeganMexicanFood.com
VeganChineseFood.com