The VegNews Guide to Being a Fabulous Vegan

Day1

The best thing for you is the best thing for the planet, the best thing for the people of the world, and the best thing for the animals. And the greatest part of it all? It’s so damn delicious.

Vegan.

There are few other words in the English language that immediately bring up such a knee-jerk reaction among pretty much everyone. Of course, you’ve got your stereotypes (vegans are weak, they’re angry, they’re hippies, they’re annoying, they’re probably right); your immediate defenses (“If I go vegan, I’d miss my mom’s amazing Christmas pot roast, and I won’t be able to put creamer in my coffee”); and—admit it—your curiosity (“Veganism does seem to be the best way to lower my carbon footprint… Not to mention, I just saw some supercute new vegan shoes that I kind of want”). Anyone who has ever considered going entirely plant-based—whether or not they ever followed through—has struggled with the exact same questions, faced identical food-scarcity fears, and wondered whether it was healthy. Let’s just start off right now by saying that you—as well as your skepticism and intrigue—are not alone.

The fact that you’re even reading this is indication enough that this book is for you, because regardless of where you fall on the vegan-curious spectrum—from “My girlfriend gave me this book and told me I have to read it or she’ll break up with me” to “Here! Take my leather belt! Where can I get a hemp replacement? I’m all in!”—leaning into plant-based living, whether you want to try it for a month or you’re ready to go full-throttle, has something for everybody.

There’s so much we can’t control. Politics. Missed trains. Elevator music. What our ex says about us.

And yet there is so much we can control. How we react to missing that train. The song we rebelliously sing in our head when the elevator music is making us fall asleep. The choice to finally block our ex on social media.

What we eat. What we don’t.

In today’s tech-driven, fast-paced world, there is solace and order in the power that comes when we align our values with what we consume. It’s something we do have control over. For most of us, pushing past our comfort zone long enough to ask ourselves the tough questions—whether our diet truly matches our vision for how we want to feel—results in an often indisputable shift toward eating plants.

Veganism. There’s that word again… the one that bounces around our head when we stare at the late-night menu selections at the diner and momentarily question whether that hamburger is really the right choice. Won’t it make us feel sluggish and heavy? Why does it seem so viscerally disgusting to so many of us? Or what about those of us for whom meat is extra tasty, a fact that secretly riddles us with guilt? Yet we order it anyway, because that’s just what we do.

But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it can’t be. Since the advent of factory farming in the 1950s, the animal agriculture industry has created a monstrosity of epic proportions that is entirely unsustainable any way you look at it—both for the planet and for our own bodies. Speaking of our glorious bodies, when it comes to feeling great so that we can perform as best as possible at the gym, the answer is simple: we have to start fueling ourselves with plants. And fear not, because veganism today is not your mother’s vegetarianism of yesterday.

When you’re talking about stepping up your fitness game, the easiest and most effective answer is to go vegan. Whether it’s long-distance runners, weightlifters, baseball players, football players, or tennis players, so many of the people who are truly interested in optimizing their health—world-class athletes—are turning to vegan diets and experiencing incredible results. The evidence is piling up that plant-based eating is not only possible from a nutritional perspective, but it’s the healthiest possible way to feed yourself.

In fact, plant-based diets can help prevent all sorts of diseases, from heart disease to type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke, obesity, and the myriad other chronic diseases plaguing America, including many forms of cancer. Plants are incredibly good for you and have all sorts of nutrients that are absolutely crucial for optimal health and fitness. As you’ll see in these pages, plant-based food also tastes totally fantastic.

While most of us know that too much of these animal-derived foods are unhealthy, until recently, we didn’t realize that we didn’t need them at all, and that plants are truly where it’s at when it comes to optimal health, the health of our planet, and our collective care of individual animals.

This book is going to break all of that down in really specific ways that will set you up for success. We will delve into common questions about things like protein (spoiler alert: vegans get plenty, and they get it from the same exact place as rhinos and elephants); things that everyone wonders but no one asks (another spoiler alert: yes, breast milk is vegan, and yes, vegans have better sex); and things that you didn’t realize you need to know, but now you’re so glad you do (no, you don’t need to keep swallowing expensive, inhumane fish oil to get your omegas).

A really common concern people have when going vegan is the perceived permanence of the word. It can indeed sound really big and really serious, especially if the only vegans you know exist online. Let this book help you ease into veganism, taking it one day at a time so that you don’t get overwhelmed by all the things you’re worried about and then don’t try at all. This book is not about perfection, and neither is veganism.

So, try it for thirty days in a row. Or not in a row. Make all of the mouthwatering recipes in these pages, or just read them as you snack on popcorn. Read a chapter every morning, or read this whole book in one weekend. Buy a copy for your skeptical dad so he can understand why you’re doing this cockamamie thing, or get a copy for your newly vegan cousin—or give yourself the gift of keeping it all for you.

There are no rules for reading this book, and there are no rules for going vegan.

Wait, that’s not true. There’s one rule: don’t eat or use animal products. That’s what vegan means, and it’s easier—and more interesting and fun and fashionable and delicious—than you think.

Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes with Creamy Rémoulade Sauce

Day2

You’ll get your protein from the same place as the elephants, giraffes, and moose: nutrition-packed plants.

Look around.

Do Americans look like they have a protein deficit, or a deficit of anything? We are hardly a country full of people who are wilting away. The “protein question”—which vegans are very, very used to being asked—is almost always worthy of an eye roll, but the truth is, folks really, actually want to know. It has been drummed into our head that we need a lot more protein than we actually do, and that animal flesh is the best way to achieve that. Yet all of that is severely misguided. Slow your roll, because we can absolutely get more than sufficient protein on a vegan diet.

A whole lot of experts and medical professionals underline this point. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics—the United States’ largest conglomerate of food and nutrition professionals (representing over 100,000 registered nutritionists and technicians)—has stated, “Plant protein can meet requirements when a variety of plant foods is consumed and energy needs are met.” There you have it. Feel free to move on to the next chapter now. (Just kidding. Keep reading this one first.)

And the myth that vegans don’t get enough protein is just part of it; the other side of the story is that, in general, most people get way too much protein. Have you ever heard of kwashiorkor? Probably not. Kwashiorkor is protein malnutrition caused by famine, and—though extremely rare—is seen mostly in undeveloped countries; harrowing images of starving children with big bellies and skinny limbs might come to mind. The reason we don’t see it in developed countries, such as the United States, is that it’s very uncommon. Although there are instances in the United States where someone might have less-than-adequate protein (but not kwashiorkor) this is also extremely rare because there’s protein in everything.

And we do mean everything. Vegans specifically get protein from healthy and robust foods, including lentils, beans, seeds, nuts, whole grains (such as quinoa and oats), fruit, vegetables (bok choy, kale), soy products (tofu, tempeh, edamame), and seitan (vegan meats).

If you dive into the protein question, you will find there are two other related questions: “What is a complete protein?” and “Do I need to combine foods to get a complete protein?” It takes twenty different amino acids to make protein; some of these are made from our bodies, while others—essential amino acids (EAA)—have to be provided by what we eat. To get enough EAA, we need to keep filling up with a variety of plant foods so that we can replenish our supply. The antiquated idea, popularized in the 1970s, that we need to combine foods to get a perfect protein—such as eating beans and rice together (but not individually)—has been wildly disproven. As long as we’re eating a variety of plant-based foods, we will obtain all the complete protein we need. In fact, we will thrive. As long as we eat our beans.

If it calls to you to actually calculate how much protein you need, follow this rule: Adults should eat 0.36 grams a day for every pound of healthy body weight (if you’re 150 pounds, that equals about 60 grams of protein per day). You really don’t need to overthink this, though. If you’re taking in enough calories and are eating mostly whole foods—again, that’s vegetables, beans, fruit, and whole grains—you will get enough protein. Pinkie swear.

Another way of looking at it is to aim for three to four servings of legumes each day (one serving can look like ½ cup of cooked beans, tofu, or tempeh; 2 tablespoons of peanut butter; or ¼ cup of peanuts). Word to the wise: split peas or lentils are less gas-producing and higher in protein because they are nonbean legumes (you’re welcome). One other thing to keep in mind is that as far as dairy-free milks go, soy milk and pea milk (yes, pea milk is a thing, and the brand Ripple makes it particularly well) have more protein than almond, rice, oat, and hemp.

Much like religion, our deeply ingrained mindsets around food often present themselves in our conversations and blindly dictate our meal choices. The idea that we don’t get enough protein without meat is so completely absurd (do you actually know anyone who has ever suffered from protein deficiency?), and yet it’s in many of our go-to belief systems. But why? The meat industrial complex and dairy lobby force-feed us this kind of messaging, starting when we are little kids and are told that milk “does a body good” and that meat and dairy are required for strength and optimal nutrition. There is big money behind these kinds of misperceptions, and these mega-companies are literally relying on our willful ignorance to eat it up. Our suggestion is to spit it out instead.

So, the next time a meat-eater asks you where you get your protein, you might want to respond by asking them where they get theirs. Then, you have full permission to rip this page out and hand it to them (whether you ask them to actually eat this page is totally up to you). Then, take them out for a bucket of seitan wings, your treat.

BBQ Oyster Mushroom Sliders

Day3

The practice of leaving animal products off your plate is older than time; it existed before Beyoncé, before Instagram, and before your great-great-great grandparents were putting supper on the table.

Boomerang.

Pet celebrities. Smoothie bowls. They are Instagram-worthy, shocking, and fleeting. Although some trends find their way back to the zeitgeist, whims pass for a reason. In diet-speak, we’ve seen everything from the watermelon diet to the carb-free diet, the carb-only diet to the eat-every-other-day diet. Low-fat, high-fat, low-carb, all-meat, keto, paleo, Atkins… you get the picture. Diets come and go, but veganism—a term coined in 1944 by British activist Donald Watson—is no passing thing.

In the last few years, veganism officially entered the mainstream. Research firm Global Data compiled a report that highlighted six key trends in the worldwide prepared foods industry, two of which—“go meat-free” and “ethical eating”—specifically centered on eliminating or reducing animal products. The keen interest in ditching animal products cannot be denied and is further proven by the fact that the number of Americans identifying as vegan has gone up by 600 percent in just three years. This explosive growth is influenced by a myriad of factors, including the environmental and health benefits of eliminating animal products, the ethics of leaving animals off our plates, and (for better or for worse) an onslaught of countless celebrities who are suddenly hashtagging things #vegan. Veganism is not just a trend, but a lifestyle choice that’s dislodging itself from the margins and becoming the norm.

The surging popularity of veganism is far-reaching, with worldwide implications and manifestations. Around the globe, people are making the connection. Plant-based companies in Brazil are growing at a rate of 40 percent annually. In China, the vegan population has increased to more than fifty million. CNN recently posited that Germany is leading the way for a vegan revolution, pointing to the exponential growth of vegan products being released in the country faster than you can say Ach du lieber Gott! (a whopping one in ten of all new products there are entirely plant-based). In Canada, 53 percent of residents consume meat alternatives. Omnipork, a brand-new plant-based product that mimics the flavor, consistency, and versatility of ground pork, recently launched in Hong Kong at the Michelin-starred, Cantonese fine-dining restaurant Ming Court. In the United Kingdom, there are an estimated 3.5 million vegans. In the Middle East, Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia announced his plans to open at least ten vegan restaurants in an effort to boycott fast-food eateries, empower people to reach their optimal health, and combat the obesity epidemic that he says is a disaster plaguing the region.

And this craze is nothing new. Although it’s been in the spotlight more and more—especially as enormous fast-food chains introduce vegan options (Burger King, Carl’s Jr., and even KFC now offer vegan versions of traditional, animal-based menu items), plant-based eating is as old as food itself. Those who follow such religions as Buddhism, Jainism, and Seventh-Day Adventism pretty much wrote that book. Japanese Buddhist monks were practically donning vegan message-wear back in the sixth century when they created the cuisine known as shojin ryori, a type of vegetarian cooking focused around simple tastes and fresh foods. And Seventh-Day Adventists—veg for over 150 years—are known for their long life expectancy. By the time the term vegan was actually coined, eschewing animal products was old hat. And by the time Miley Cyrus caught wind of the benefits of a vegan diet in 2014, animal studies had already been an official degree for students studying at New York University.

Veganism has deep roots in Africa, too. Precolonial Africans relied heavily on plants, making up the bulk of their diet. It was a mix of globalization and cultural appropriation that caused many African societies to revolve around meat. But prior to farming, Africans were hunters and gatherers, focusing their finds on vegetables, including tubers, bulbs, and edible flowers—with the occasional game. It wasn’t until just five centuries ago, when slave-traders showed up, that larger-scale crops—such as animals used for food—were introduced, becoming a lucrative field and changing the shape of how Africans ate.

So, veganism is clearly no breeze-through novelty. Its roots have been planted for eons, and it is the only way forward. And whether the global shift to plant-based living is based on health (the United Nations has stated that a well-planned vegan diet can be optimal); athleticism (the rise in vegan athletes is exponential, as evidenced by the 2019 James Cameron–produced Sundance documentary The Game Changers highlighting multiple professional champion athletes from the NFL, NBA, and WWF); the environment (the carbon footprint of people who eat meat every day outweighs the footprint produced by vegans by 1.8 tons); or ethics (more than fifty billion land animals worldwide are raised and slaughtered for meat annually); all signs point to veganism as the sustainable and sound lifestyle choice. There is nothing fleeting about that.

Pineapple-Habanero Bean Tacos