Luca

Hi there heartlessfate, hope these tips can help you out! ;)

Find out where you can eat out ahead of time. It can be so disheartening wandering around trying to find a vegan friendly restaurant in a strange town. I’ve been there many times! So, find out where you can eat. Discover new local places you’ve never heard of. 

Learn to cook new dishes. There is an infinite number of awesome recipes and vegan-friendly recipe websites on the internet. Set some time aside to create tasty food and enjoy your own culinary delights. It doesn’t have to be complex; often the simplest dishes are the most tasty.

Be prepared if you go out for the day. It might be tempting to diverge from the vegan path, especially when you go out for the day and have lots of stuff that you used to eat wafted under your nose. So bring some tasty filling vegan snacks in case you can’t find anything while you are out. I’ve always found it invaluable to think ahead.

Stay informed about vegan nutrition. One of the most common concerns about staying vegan is whether or not you’ll get enough protein, iron, vitamin D and other nutrients. There’s a lot of information and insight out there and some reliable books devoted to vegan nutrition. Make sure that you know where important nutrients like B12, vitamin D and iron come from. 

Remind yourself why you went vegan in the first place. For many people it’s because they really care about sentient life. Watch ‘Earthlings’ or ‘If Slaughterhouses had Glass Walls’ or see what new videos are current. It’s very difficult to have anything to do with consuming animal products after reminding yourself of the hard facts.

Find like-minded people. It can be a lonely journey on your own. Find a local vegan contact or groups; join a vegan forum; go to vegan fairs, gatherings, camps, festivals, etc. Getting to know other people socially can make a world of difference. I’ve always found people super friendly and happy to connect, share experiences, meet up, etc. Although I find most vegan people lovely, like all walks of life you get all sorts, so be discerning. Don’t be put off if you meet a bunch that you don’t resonate with. Stick with it and you’ll gravitate to like-minded souls before you know it.

Call the restaurant ahead of time. If you are eating out with friends later, it might seem like a bit of a faff to call the restaurant ahead of time, but it saves that awkward moment of not having a clue what you can eat when you get there (and then sticking out like a sore thumb when you ask a thousand questions about every option on the menu). Most places can usually offer something and you’ll have the opportunity to get any questions out of the way, so that you kick back and relax when you are there.

Make being vegan ‘normal’. Paradoxically, when I stopped being bothered about what people would think about my ‘weird’ eating choices, everyone started accepting it as normal. 

Find new vegan meals, products and dishes ready-made in your local health food store or supermarket. This can be a bit of a fun adventure. What exciting new thing can you discover today? Make sure you’ve always got something tasty in at home to pull out at a moment’s notice. If you haven’t weaned yourself of junk food yet, then keep some semi-healthy vegan junk food alternatives in. At least it will stop you reaching out for something that you’d regret later and you can tell yourself that ‘at least it’s vegan’.

Learn more about which ingredients are vegan and which are not. The Vegan Society has a list of the most common non-ingredients that you might find in packaged foods. Learn to love reading ingredients. It really does get easier with time.