How to become vegan if you enjoy dairy and a bit of meat but want to give them up on principle?

[malificent7]

I used to be vegan 25 years ago before it became trendy. Unfortunately it was tough back then , i gad no support from family/ friends/ society and I was tunnel vision resulting in an eating disorder.
I would like to ve vegan again due to climate change and I genuinely like my veg but i don't want to become they typical vegan bore again and i like meat and dairy. Sounds a bit stupid but id like to give it another go...any tips?

I think it’s far easier at the moment. There are loads of mainstream options available and its high profile.

I'm considering it too, I don't think it'd be that difficult (for me) to give up dairy and meat but my dh and dc are really fussy eaters so I'd still be buying/cooking meat and dairy so I don't know if I'd actually achieve anything.

There are lots of alternatives, I use coconut milk more than cows milk already and the ranges of vegan foods are pretty good most places.

It's the other things I think is struggle with, I already consciously but vegan/cruelty free cosmetics, shampoo, soaps etc but clothing, shoes and everything else is a minefield.

If you’re vegetarian (buying local seasonal produce) and use plant milks and goats cheeses then you’re significantly reducing your carbon footprint already if going vegan is a step too far. Going vegan is generally more about animal welfare issues than environmental issues.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing OP. Switch cows milk for oat milk & cut out meat. Start to make vegan choices without denying yourself a bit of birthday cake if you want it!

Find some alternatives and maybe have one or two days a week where you aren't vegan. As you find and try new alternatives you'll find things you can replace or swap. Don't see it as limiting your choices, you can eat meat and eat vegan food. Cruelty free and vegan cosmetics and other products are a great way to make changes without limiting yourself. There are no rules to it

Get some good vegan cook books - bosh or delisciously ella are good

Go cold turkey on diary (excuse the pun ) you won’t miss it after a few weeks
Don’t bother with vegan cheese

I use lentils instead of mince and Joe wicks has a lovely walnut and mushroom ragu recipe

It’s worth trying meat substitutes but I’m not a fan personally but some of the sausages are good.

Oatly or alpro do a lovely vegan ice cream

What sort of foods do you like?

We are Monday to Friday vegetarians with one vegan main meal thrown in - but the "loved ones" don't know.

We have some meat or fish on Saturday/ Sunday. You can do something similar and have vegan days, much easier.

Dairy not diary

There are loads more foods, recipes and options when eating out now. I would say though that personally I think many people doing what they can is better than a few strict vegans. Maybe transition slowly- replace x meals a week with meat free ones, maybe change milk in hot drinks before changing cereal milk etc.

Have you fully recovered from your eating disorder?

I'm not vegan but am heading towards it. I doubt I'll ever be fully vegan but feel that it's enough to cut right back. So I only eat meat a few times a year - and make sure it's really good quality organic free range meat for a special meal. Fish more often but less than weekly. I've swapped cows milk for oat milk in most things and am consciously reducing cheese (which is hard!!)

I mean, go fully vegan if you want, but it's also making a huge difference if you cut back on meat and dairy. We don't all need to be perfect - we just all need to make an effort

Why become fully vegan? Why not just cut meat and dairy dramatically, say 75%?

So many vegan/vegetarian foods are also contributing to climate change/environmental disaster - almonds and avocados to name two.

Really the only way to eat ethically is to grow your own or buy local. I don't do this btw, but I'm just saying going vegan isn't in and of itself going to help the environment.

Well it is because dairy and meat are the biggest problems.

But the other massive CO2e food problems are air freighted foods and waste. We should be eating seasonal Uk grown food and eating everything we buy. Its perfectly possible to be vegan without eating avocados.

I’ve decided to go as vegetarian as I can for the same reasons. Basically, I’m going to cut out lamb, beef and fish as from what I can gather they have the most impact on climate change. I’ll use coconut milk instead of cow’s milk (used to do this anyway). I’ll eat chicken and eggs if I’m somewhere where it isn’t easy to have a vegetarian option or I’m at a friend’s or something.
I’ll start using the local refill place for staples like rice and pasta. And the greengrocer for veg, or maybe look into a veg box of in season veg? I’m not sure which is better.

DS has oat milk instead of dairy and really likes it. He has smoked tofu if we are having chicken or quorn mince if we are having minced beef based dishes. We make some really lovely vegan family dishes like black turtle bean veggie chilli with brown rice or peppers stuffed with brown rice, mushrooms, onions and nuts with a herby bread crumb topping.

Things like good quality falafel with fresh humous are as good as meat and dairy.

Vegan cheese exists. I think it smells like a rodent has died under your floorboards but you could try it.

The vegan food market has exploded in the past couple of years. Gone is the butternut risotto and in with burgers and pizzas and ice-cream (and healthy food) from major chains and brands... It's great!!!!!

I recently went vegan but have since slipped back to just vegetarian. It's the first time I've properly tried either.
The thought of dairy repulses me and still does, but without it I really struggled.

I enjoyed meat but I don't miss it at all.

Sadly I have also gained about 2 stone since the switch and am trying so much to get back on some sort of diet to shift it but am failing miserably over and over again.

Would like to go back to vegan if I could but am definitely staying veggie at the very least.

I was vegetarian 30 years ago but started eating meat again when I had eldest DC, 20 years ago. 2 years ago I stopped eating meat again because frankly the texture of meat suddenly made me feel nauseous. Then I developed an eating disorder, culminating in dysphasia which meant eating anything other than soft foods was problematic (I share this OP to let you know that I have an understanding). I’m now vegetarian (and 75% recovered from dysphasia) but mostly eat vegan friendly meals. I stay away from processed vegetarian or vegan foods because my gut feeling is that they are still impacting on the environment. Ditto vegetarian ready meals. Plus I’m an old school veggie so all these mass produced “plant based” foods (aka rubbery pathetic attempt at replicating meat) do not appeal. Give me a homemade bean burger or Sosmix sausage any day! I switched from almond milk to oat milk a year ago (I buy a fortified version from M&S). I do eat cheese but rarely. I’m the only vegetarian in my family but I don’t find it problematic to cook for the whole family together. The other 3 eat meat & fish so I often cook all the same sides but different protein. I’m not sure that having only 1 out of 4 being vegetarian is making a significant difference but I feel better physically & the fish/meat that’s consumed is higher welfare/organic/free range etc.

If you have a history of eating disorder then it would be a bad idea to embark on a very strict vegan lifestyle again. As pp have suggested, aiming to eat fully vegan 80% of the time could have significant environmental benefits. You may find that you don’t then want meat / dairy etc in the remaining 20% but simply knowing that you ‘can’ might be enough to stop some of the old issues returning.

Hi OP. As many people have said, these days there are great alternatives to any product you might want to consume, so you won't be missing out.

Honestly, I don't want to be THAT vegan, but the one thing that turned me from a vegetarian into a vegan overnight was reading an article about the dairy industry and the calves being taken from their mothers. (A few months before that, I had given birth to my son so was super emotional at the idea of it). I just couldn't bear the thought of dairy after that.

For me watching land of hope and glory and vegetated did the trick!! Never went back after that!

I've said this before on here, but for me, "going vegan" was too hard. On the other hand, I could have a vegan breakfast, vegan lunch and choose a vegan tea no problem. The one big decision and not being allowed to have meat was impossible, made me crave it more. Also, if you're having an off day and want to each the biggest fattest cream cake in the world, do it. That 1 chocolate eclair cake, won't tip the climate scales forever.

At the end of the day, you're going to intially feel that you're making a sacrifice. This feeling passes eventually after a couple of months (did for me). I used to love cheese, never thought I would give it up but now fully vegan. What really helped me was making a very long list of vegan foods I wanted to eat/try. You could have vegan cheese and vegan meat substitutes. There are vegan pizzas, Greggs now do a sausage and bean melt that's vegan etc. Or you could look at lentil curries, veg stir fries etc. Google junk food that is vegan. Lots of stuff is accidently vegan like Oreos, Lotus spread, Beef and Tomato Pot Noodle. Plan plan plan. And then go vegan!

If your motivation is climate change would it be better to consider food miles and buy local (definitely British) meat, which is reared on lands unsuitable for growing crops. Upland and salt marsh areas could not be used for human food. Look for farms with good welfare.

We buy less meat than we did, make sure it is local and free range when we buy it and try to buy in season fruit and veg.