Perhaps you’ve dabbled with meat free meals but can’t fathom a vegetable lasagne without a cheese sauce. Or perhaps you’re daunted by a potential uphill struggle in completely changing your shopping and cooking routine if you decide to cut out more than just meat. We get it. And we’re here to get you to the top of that mountain with delicious and nutritious options every step of the way. Attempting something out of your comfort zone can be extremely rewarding and these goodies will make a vegan diet feel familiar in no time. We won’t be surprised if you start making cashew parmesan sooner rather than later 😊
Both vegans and vegetarians avoid eating animal products, but to differing extents. A vegetarian diet avoids all meat, game, fish, poultry and shellfish (sometimes also dairy and eggs) whereas a vegan diet avoids all of the above as well as products derived from animals such as honey and gelatin.
You may choose a vegan lifestyle for health reasons (wanting to limit saturated fat intake, increase fibre intake for heart and digestive heath etc.), for religious reasons, environmental reasons, or to live in such a way that excludes animal exploitation and cruelty. It may even be a combination of these reasons.
- A vegan diet, especially when starting out, requires quite a bit of planning to ensure an adequate intake of nutrients like iron and calcium by choosing suitable vegan foods or fortified products. It’s worth taking some time to think how you can incorporate those alternatives in your meals.
- Animal by-products are often used in the production of foods, cosmetics, cleaning products etc. For a full list of these, this is a great resource: https://www.peta.org/living/food/animal-ingredients-list/
