3 tips for going vegan in the new year!

Jan. 02, 2022, 1:00 p.m. | Published: Jan. 01, 2022, 5:30 a.m.

Moroccan Vegetable Tagine and Indian Fruits and Chickpea Salad are examples of vegan meals. (Photo: Beth Segal, special to cleveland.com)

“Veganuary” is a UK-based nonprofit that started in 2014 to encourage people to try a vegan or plant-based diet for the month of January. Such diets exclude animal products, including meat, fish, eggs, dairy, whey, honey and gelatin.

People opt for a plant-based lifestyle for a variety of ethical reasons:

The harming and killing of animals, the role animal agriculture plays in pandemic outbreaks, the conditions for workers in such industries or the effect on the climate. Or, they may seek to eat a more nutritious diet by decreasing their consumption of animal products, which typically have more calories and saturated fat than whole plant foods – so, a vegan diet could help one achieve a New Year’s resolution of weight loss.

Whatever the motivation, switching from a standard American diet to a vegan one can be difficult in a society where the frequent consumption of animal products is normalized. Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer has compiled 6 transition tips offered by Dr. Natasha Koren, a bariatric medicine specialist with Summa Health, and registered- and licensed-dietician Julia Zumpano with the Cleveland Clinic.

1. Ease into the transition.

You might want to go all-in and immediately go 100% plant-based for the month. While that could be effective in achieving your goals, it could also cause you to crash and burn.

“All-or-nothing is not exactly a good approach for success,” Koren said. “Most people don’t keep a diet for longer than 20 weeks.”

“If it’s something that you may want to instill more than a month, I would suggest going more of a transitional period,” Zumpano said. “I would generally start with one or two meatless meals a week, but if you’re looking to speed up the process, just do it for the month.”

2. List vegan foods you already like.

“Start with your preferences,” Koren encourages. What are your favorite fruits? Which vegetables do you prefer as a side dish?

As far as your favorite meals that include animal products, can they be “veganized?” Try searching the internet for “easy” or “quick” vegan versions of traditionally animal-based dishes. Also, the availability of vegan alternatives for various meats, milk, butter, cheese and eggs has grown exponentially in recent years, making it easy to swap out ingredients.

Additionally, dozens of popular packaged foods are “accidentally” vegan, including Oreos, Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos, Fritos, a variety of potato chips and most crackers including Ritz, Triscuits and Wheat Thins.

Although, for health reasons, Koren and Zumpano encourage people to limit their intake of processed foods and to instead focus on whole foods.

3. Don’t stress over small amounts.

As you start reading ingredients, you’ll likely be astounded by how common it is for very small amounts of animal products, especially milk or milk powder, to be in foods that you wouldn’t expect – so much so, it has even become a meme among vegans on the internet.

You might discover that some of the foods you have at home, such as your favorite bread, might contain a small amount of milk. Your favorite cereal might be fortified with Vitamin D, which is typically made from lanolin, which comes from sheep’s wool. The jar of peanuts in your pantry might contain gelatin. And you might be troubled to know that most white sugars are typically refined using animal bone char.

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