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Easy Ways To Get Your Family To Go Vegan
Not Only are Plant-based Meals Good for You, They’re Good for the Planet, too!
Thinking of shifting to plant-based meals? Being vegan is usually associated with being a health buff or an environmental advocate. Honestly, the word does sound pretty intimidating. Still, choosing to be vegan, or maybe to start incorporating more vegan ingredients into your diet, does have its benefits.
According to Healthline, some benefits may include a lower cancer risk and a healthier heart. You’d also be doing the planet a favor. According to a 2019 CNN Philippines article, livestock emissions make up 14.5 percent for the globe’s total. A vegan lifestyle is being embraced by a growing number of Filipinos, including celebrity, Nadine Lustre. There’s also a Facebook group named Manila Vegans with more than 50K followers.
Curious to Know More about Plant-based Meals and Diets?
What does being vegan mean?
Healthline describes it as “a lifestyle that excludes all animal products and attempts to limit the exploitation of animals as much as possible.” You can choose to go this route, but there are also other lifestyles that incorporate a lot of plant-based dishes—with some exceptions. For example, pescatarians each fish. There are also different types of vegetarians including lacto-vegetarians, who still include dairies in their diet; and ovo-vegetarians, who still include eggs in their diet.
One Bite at a time
Learning about the vegan lifestyle can be quite overwhelming especially if you’re a carnivore. What more if everyone in your family is used to eating meat? We suggest doing it gradually. You don’t want to shock anyone! One way would be to start increasing vegetables in meals, while simultaneously decreasing meat products and by products. Another way would be to assign a meatless day e.g. Meatless Mondays, and either stick to that or slowly apply it to more days.
Like anything, going green might not be for everyone. It’s important not to force it on anyone. Rather, introduce the idea that incorporating more vegetables, or more greens than meat, in their diet is actually a healthy and sustainable choice.
Where to shop
So how do you substitute your usual staples? Cow’s milk can be replaced with coconut milk, soy milk, or almond milk, while honey can be replaced by agave or stevia. There are also a lot of plant-based meat replacements to choose from. Rare Food Shop actually has a whole vegan section. We’re eyeing the chicken nuggets and the Hungarian sausages.
Ordering out
Ordering out? The good news is that there is an increasing number of establishments that have plant-based meals in their menu including the fast-food chains Burger King and Shakey’s . There are also some that feature a solely vegan menu. Check out Magandang Gulay (try their Chicarot) and ELPI Vellychon Haus (their veggie lechon is a hit!).
“One of the challenges of turning vegan is giving up your favorite comfort food. Who says you have to? Magandang Gulay was born because we wanted to provide quality, comfort food that didn’t involve hurting any animals. Some of the dishes that we have come up with include chicharrón (Chicharot) and buffalo wings (Buffalowers).” shares Leah Gonzales, co-owner of Magandang Gulay.
We wish you luck on you quest for the greens! Remember not to pressure yourself. Enjoy the process and don’t be shy to seek the help of long-time vegans or experts.
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