How To Transition from Vegetarian To Vegan In 3 Easy Steps

There is one question I get asked more than any other from fans of the facebook page. “How do I transition from vegetarian to vegan?” Luckily it’s an answer that I am somewhat qualified to answer because that is how I made my way to veganism.

Six years ago one of my best friends asked me to watch a video. We were having lunch, senior year of college, on my birthday. Becky, my friend, had made me a chocolate cupcake and instead of a candle on it, she had place the stem of a flower into it. It was a beautiful piece of food art that only Becky could create. About half way though eating that cupcake she showed me a video that changed my life forever. I had never seen animals being abused or slaughtered. It left a permanent mark on me and I went vegetarian the next day.

Fast forward to a little over a year and a half ago and I get a text from Becky. She is going vegan. She sent me a video showing how cows are forced to produce milk, have their calves ripped away from them over and over again, and finally when they can’t produce milk anymore they are killed. Once again Becky and her videos changed me. I decided to go vegan that day. I thought it would be pretty easy but I was wrong. I did make the move from vegetarian to vegan though and I learned a few things along the way.

There are basically three groups of things you have to let go of as a vegetarian. The first one is eggs. Next is milk and cream. And last is cheese. Looking back on my journey towards veganism I wish I had come up with a better plan. It would have saved me a lot of headaches and frustration. I know there are some vegan purist out there that say “Once you watch the animals being brutalized it should be easy to give up cheese. Just don’t eat it!” Ahh, if only it were that easy for everyone. But it isn’t. In the case of cheese, science has shown that it is actually addictive. So not only are you having to give up a food you love, you are likely addicted to it as well.

I have taken my personal experience of making the change from vegetarian to vegan, used the power of hindsight combined with all that I have learned as a vegan, and come up with a plan to help you make the switch. It’s best if you take it in stages. Stage one is milk and cream. Stage two is eggs. Stage three is the hardest for most people. That is when you will give up cheese.

If you are ready to take the leap and go vegan, my plan should make it easy for you. It all starts with stage one! Find out exactly how to do it on the next page.

Stage One: Giving up milk

This is by far the easiest of the three steps to becoming vegan. It’s really as simple as changing what you buy when you go grocery shopping. The only complicated part about it is choosing which non-dairy milk to buy. Other than that it is simple. Any place you would use milk as a vegetarian you simply replace it with non-dairy milk. One to one ratio. No conversions or tricks. One cup of milk is equal to one cup of non-dairy milk. So which milk will you like best? The guide below will help you.

Soy Milk

In my opinion soy milk is the closest to dairy of any option. It depends a lot on the brand of course. Some are better than others. The only rule I would have for deciding which brand to try is make sure it’s organic.

Almond Milk

Almond milk is my second recommendation. In fact it’s almost a toss up between soy or almond. The tricky thing about almond milk is the many flavors and options. You will see sweetened, unsweetened and vanilla flavored. Your goal should be to drink the unsweetened version. It will be the healthiest. But when making the transition you may find it easier to drink the sweetened or vanilla flavor. Between those two it’s just a matter of personal preference. You may have to try one of each. I personally would recommend sweetened.

For your first trip to the grocery store you should buy one of each. Get pints if they have them. If not then get a half gallon of each. The key is not to switch back and forth when you get them home. Pick one and only drink that one until it is gone. This will give you time to adjust to it and really know how much you like it. Once it is finished, move to the other type and use it until it is gone. When you are finished you should know which one you like best.

Other Non-Dairy Options

There are many other varieties for you to try. Coconut milk, hemp milk, cashew milk, and others. After you settle on one of the two options mention above, then you can start trying some of these as you go to see how you like them.

You can use soy milk or almond milk to drink straight, over cereal, in baking or to make smoothies and slushes. Anything you were using regular milk for you can substitute these.

Stage two is on the next page. Eggs. How do you give up eggs? I have a couple of really easy tips!

Stage Two: Eggs

Unless you are a person who loves eggs for breakfast every single morning then you should be able to give them up very easily. The hardest part of not using eggs for most people is simply not knowing how to cook without them. In stage one you learned that any non-dairy milk will work in place of milk in recipes. And now you will learn how to replace eggs. But first let’s deal with the eggs for breakfast issue.

Having eggs for breakfast is like a tradition in America. Many people have them almost every morning. Scrambles, over easy, sunny side up, everyone has a favorite. But you can enjoy a nice egg substitute for breakfast that is really delicious. You really have two options here. You can give up the idea of eggs for breakfast completely, or you can find a good alternative. If you can just give them up that is easiest. You will need to find a new favorite breakfast though. I love smoothies and have them nearly every morning for breakfast, What is my favorite?

Breakfast smoothie

Put 3/4 cup of water, 2 bananas, 3 large medjool dates, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 4 or 5 shakes of cinnamon in a blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy! It is like liquid cinnamon rolls and it is delicious. As you make these you can tweak to your own taste. Want it sweeter? add more dates. Want more spice? up the cinnamon. Is it too think? Add more water. You get the idea.

Scrambled “Eggs” and Omelets

Tofu is amazing. It takes on the flavor of whatever you season it with. It’s texture is perfect for replacing meat, eggs and other things as well. Since you are vegetarian you are probably already familiar with tofu as a meat replacement. You can use it to make amazing scrambled ‘eggs’. We have one of the best recipes ever for tofu scramble on our website. You can get it here: Tofu Scramble Recipe

You can also have a nice vegan omelet. Try this recipe: Vegan Omelet

Pancakes, French Toast Etc.

There a many different egg substitutes and each one is better for different kinds of recipes. For things like pancakes and french toast it is very easy. You simply replace the egg with a flax seed egg. All you need is flax seed you can grind into a powder, or just buy the flax powder. You then mix 3 parts water to 1 part flax powder. Using tablespoons makes one egg. After you mix it, let it stand for about 5 minutes and it will achieve an egg-like consistency. Then you use it in the place of egg to make that stack of pancakes!

Stage Three is on the next page. It is by far the hardest for most people. How do you give up cheese? I have some great tips! You can do it!

Stage Three: Cheese

I’m going to be honest with you. If I told you on the previous page how hard it is for most people to give up cheese…you probably wouldn’t have clicked through to this page. So I apologize for being tricky. But I know you can do it!

Many of you reading this will not like my advice for removing cheese from your diet. Please keep in mind that I am speaking from experience as well as many vegans I know. There really is only one way to give up cheese. It is the easiest by far.

Stop eating cheese

I know that sounds harsh. Cheese is addicting. Even the thought of it. I bet you have seen or heard about the many vegan cheese options on the market. Our most popular articles on this website are “cheese’ recipes. But I am doing you a favor right now by telling you to drop cheese and never look back. You need to be free from it. Stop eating anything that usually has cheese. Get it out of your system!

It will take you about 6 weeks to fully forget cheese. And this is if you stop it completely, cold turkey. If you keep slipping up or you eat cheese alternatives you may never break free from the power of cheese. This is one reason we do this process in stages. Make sure you are over drinking milk. Make sure that is not an issue. Then make sure you are over eggs. They should be completely in your past. Then you conquer cheese.

Six weeks. No cheese. You will live.

Want some good news? After 6 weeks you should be able to incorporate vegan ‘cheese’ dishes into your meals and not have a problem with them. The strong pull of cheese will be out of your system. Out of sight. Out of mind.

You CAN do this. Start with stage one. Master it. Move to stage two. Master it. Then tackle stage three…cheese.

After that it’s clear sailing. You will have to give up honey but that is really easy for most people. And there are so many tasty replacements. Agave, maple etc. And start buying your sugar organic. Organic sugar is vegan. So that’s another easy thing to fix.

Welcome to veganism! See, that wasn’t so hard Photo: Kristian Niemi