this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2024
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What regular everyday dishes depend on nonvegan options to the extent that they cant just be omitted? If Im coming home from uni Im not going to fire up a barbecue Ill probably make some stir fry or spaghetti
If you just ommit all non-vegan products I highly doubt the average person would end up with a diverse, healthy and tasty diet.
French fries, pasta with tomato sauce, some veggies might be left, yeah.
You need to find new sources of protein such as lentils, peas, beans, tofu, tempeh, nuts etc. Ideally, you should learn at least the basics about nutrients, healthy fats, vitamins, etc.
And then you have to learn new recipes. In Germany many traditional dishes are just some kind of carbs with some kind of meat. If you then want to do Indian curries, lentil lasagna, black bean patties, seitan burgers, tofu bolognese etc. you need new ingredients, new recipes, possibly even new kitchen supplies.
I live in germany i am german and I had 0 issue going vegan by just omitting whats not vegan. Like even at christmas there is mash, there is red cabbage, there are lentils, gravy it really is not difficult technically speaking. You got to give up your treats however, so more akin to quitting smoking.
That's really cool! But it's not that easy for everyone. In my family even vegetarian food barely existed growing up. Lentils were at best used to make soup and that soup also contained bacon or sausages. Mash is made with milk and potentially butter. Even salads often contained bacon, cheese or at the very least milk in the seasoning. Even store-bought bread is not necessarily vegan. Red cabbage should be vegan even in my family, I agree. So while everyone else is feasting duck, mash, various appetizers, desserts, christmas cookies, I would have been left with cabbage. Not exactly healthy and tasty. More a concept for being laughted about.
Sure, if you're an experienced cook already and mostly prepare your own food, it might be easier. But in my situation, going vegan step-by-step also gave my social circles some time to adapt to the new situation. So there's less weird comments and less social pressure to 'stop with that bullshit'.
By the way, as you mentioned smoking: also cigarettes aren't vegan in many cases. I luckily was never addicted to that shit but if I imagine myself in the 'cabbage situation' above who is now also on tobacco withdrawal that sounds like a perfect intro for a mental crisis. Not exactly a situation that would have motivated myself to keep going. Nevertheless, for those affected, try to stop smoking guys! :)